Stop Calming Down: How to Turn Anxiety into Excitement

 

The Human Lab Journal Science + Soul Series | Entry #42: Alchemizing Pressure

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The Lab Report: A Curious Experiment

In a fascinating recent study, researchers took a group of people terrified of public speaking and hooked them up to heart monitors right before they had to give a speech.

They divided the sweaty-palmed participants into two groups.

Group A was told: "Try to calm down. Relax your body. Tell yourself there is nothing to worry about."

Group B was told: "Your racing heart is a sign your body is sending extra oxygen to your brain. It’s fueling you up to perform. Tell yourself: 'I am excited.'"

The results were staggering. Group A (the "calm down" group) remained anxious and their speeches were rated poorly. Group B (the "get excited" group) didn't just feel better—they objectively performed better. Their brains interpreted the exact same physical sensations not as a threat, but as a superpower.

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The Scenario: The Spotlight Effect

We have all been there. It’s five minutes before the big interview, the crucial difficult conversation, or the championship game.

The symptoms are universal: The stomach drops like an elevator. The hands get clammy. The heart plays a chaotic drum solo against the ribs.

In that moment, your brain’s ancient alarm system—the amygdala—is screaming that a tiger is chasing you. It wants you to freeze or run. But you can't run out of a boardroom.

The mistake we make is trying to fight this energy. We try to shove the genie back in the bottle. We think, "If I feel this way, I must be failing."

But what if the science is right? What if that physical rush isn’t fear, but just raw, undirected energy waiting for a label?

Here are five ways, backed by modern neuroscience and psychology, to take that raw pressure and turn it into peak performance.

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The Breakdown: 5 Ways to Hack Pressure

1. The "Re-Label" Trick (Anxiety Reappraisal)

As the opening experiment showed, anxiety and excitement are almost identical twins physiologically. Both involve high energy and a racing heart. The only difference is the story your brain tells about them.

When you feel the pressure mounting, do not say, "I am so nervous." Instead, say out loud: "I am excited."

It sounds too simple to work, but it shifts your brain from a "threat mindset" (avoiding failure) to an "opportunity mindset" (chasing success). You are surfing the wave of energy rather than drowning in it.

2. The "Double-Inhale" Reset (The Physiological Sigh)

Neuroscientists at Stanford have popularized a breathing technique that is the fastest known way to manually slow down your racing heart in real-time. It works faster than deep belly breathing.

It’s called the Physiological Sigh. .

• How to do it: Take two quick inhales through your nose until your lungs are completely full (the second inhale pops open the deepest air sacs in your lungs). Then, slowly exhale everything through your mouth.

Do this just two or three times. It offloads carbon dioxide quickly and forces your parasympathetic nervous system (your "brake pedal") to engage instantly.

3. Use Your Own Name (Cognitive Distancing)

When we are stressed, we get stuck inside our own heads. Our inner monologue says things like, "Why am I messing this up? I can't handle this."

Research from the University of Michigan suggests a powerful fix: talk to yourself in the third person, using your own name.

Instead of thinking, "I need to focus," think: "[Your Name] needs to focus right now. What is [Your Name]'s next best move?"

This creates "psychological distance." It tricks your brain into treating the problem as if it belongs to someone else. We are usually much better at giving smart, calm advice to a friend than to ourselves. Be that friend.

4. Shrink the Target (Dopamine Spotlighting)

Pressure usually comes from looking at the whole, massive mountain you have to climb. The brain gets overwhelmed by the size of the task and releases stress chemicals.

To fix this, shrink the target until it’s ridiculously easy. Don't focus on "crushing the hour-long presentation." Focus only on "delivering the first sentence clearly."

When you succeed at a tiny goal, your brain releases a hit of dopamine—a reward chemical that lowers stress and increases focus. You can chain these tiny "micro-wins" together to keep stress at bay.

5. The "Fractal Fix" (Visual Decompression)

Our brains did not evolve sitting in square cubicles staring at glowing rectangles. We evolved outside.

New research into "biophilia" shows that our brains automatically relax when viewing complex natural patterns called fractals—the repeating patterns found in tree branches, clouds, ocean waves, or the veins of a leaf.

If you are spiraling before a big moment, step away from the screen. Look out a window at a tree for five minutes. If you can't do that, look at high-definition photos of nature. It sounds woo-woo, but it’s hardwired biology: seeing nature tells your ancient brain that you are in a safe environment, lowering cortisol levels within minutes.

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Today’s Brain Note

Pressure doesn't have to mean panic. Your body's physical reaction to stress is just raw fuel. Your mindset gets to decide if that fuel burns the house down or powers the engine.