Anxiety gives you an advantage. Unlock it with neuroplasticity | Wendy Suzuki

“Anxiety is focused on things that are important to you in life. That is the key.”

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What if one of our most uncomfortable emotions could actually be seen as a gift, bringing us a wealth of insight, productivity, and empathy?

Neuroscientist Dr. Wendy Suzuki argues that by reframing anxiety as a misunderstood superpower, we can take advantage of it as fuel to enter flow state. Suzuki shares her science-backed trick for those saddled with the emotion, transforming it from a daily burden to a powerful tool.

00:00 The protective nature of anxiety
00:37 How to turn anxiety into a superpower
03:40 Anxiety in the brain
05:47 Using brain plasticity
10:33 Top 3 superpowers of anxiety
12:33 Using anxiety for flow

Read the video transcript ► https://bigthink.com/series/the-big-t...

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About Wendy Suzuki:

Dr. Wendy A. Suzuki is a Professor of Neural Science and Psychology in the Center for Neural Science at New York University. She received her undergraduate degree in Physiology and Human Anatomy at the University of California, Berkeley in 1987, studying with Prof. Marion C. Diamond, a leader in the field of brain plasticity. She went on to earn her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from U.C. San Diego in 1993 and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health before accepting her faculty position at New York University in 1998. Dr. Suzuki is author of the book Healthy Brain, Happy Life: A Personal Program to Activate Your Brain and Do Everything Better.