Turn Off the Alarm: A Neuroscientist’s Guide to Inner Calm

Everyday Better is LinkedIn News’ weekly personal development podcast and weekly newsletter hosted by Leah Smart, a LinkedIn News Editor. You’ll hear from some of the world's brightest minds and bravest hearts who use science and story to share strategies for how we can flourish individually, in relationship to others and to the world around us. We talk about improving emotional, work, physical and relational health.

When you’re feeling anxious, your first instinct is probably to try and think your way out of it— to rationalize the fear, meditate, journal, or otherwise distract yourself. But what if those thoughts aren’t the root cause at all? What if anxiety lives deeper, in your body, not your brain?

This week on Everyday Better, we’re exploring a bold new approach to healing anxiety with Dr. Russell Kennedy , neuroscientist, physician and author of Anxiety Rx. Drawing from both clinical expertise and personal experience, Russell explains why traditional tools like medication and cognitive therapy often help us cope but rarely help us heal. The missing link, he says, is learning to listen to your body and reconnect with the younger version of ourselves that still holds unprocessed pain.

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After struggling with debilitating anxiety for decades, Russell had a breakthrough: real healing begins not in the head, but by targeting what he calls the “background alarm” stored in the body. In our conversation, he walks us through how childhood trauma becomes embedded in our nervous system, why highly sensitive people are more prone to anxiety and what it takes to create a sense of lasting emotional safety.

Russell also discusses practical ways to start healing, like shifting your attention from thoughts to physical sensations, learning to “pendulate” between difficult and peaceful body states and practicing gentle awareness with the parts of yourself that feel unsafe. Our conversation is full of paradigm-shifting insights that can help you move beyond managing symptoms and start building true inner calm.

Four Practices for Healing Anxiety in the Body

1. Find the Alarm: The next time you're feel anxious, shift your focus from the thoughts in your head to the feelings in your body. Scan the area between your throat and lower belly. Ask yourself: Where do I feel a tightness, pressure, or pain? Place a hand there and breathe into it. You don’t need to fix it—just notice it.
2. Sensation Without Explanation: Practice Russell’s mantra: “Sensation without explanation.” This means feeling the emotion in your body without spinning it into mental stories. The more you stay with the sensation, the less power the thoughts will have.
3. Pendulate: Call to mind a time in your life when you felt safe, strong, or joyful. Visualize that moment, and notice where you feel it in your body. Then slowly alternate your focus between that sensation and the place you feel anxiety. Over time, this helps regulate your nervous system and create new pathways for feeling calm in stressful situations.
4. Objection Without Contraction: When facing a stressful situation, like a hard conversation or a looming deadline, your instinct may be to fight against it. Russell calls this “contracting” and says it fuels fight-or-flight responses in the brain. Instead, try “objecting without contracting”: acknowledge that you don’t like the situation, but soften your body rather than resist. Drop your shoulders, unclench your jaw, and breathe into the discomfort. Staying open in your body helps reduce reactivity and gives your rational brain more space to respond.

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Read: Anxiety Rx: A Revolutionary New Prescription for Anxiety Relief―from the Doctor Who Created It by Dr. Russell Kennedy

Watch: Reclaiming Your Power: How Awareness Can Change Your Relationship with Anxiety

Listen: The Anxiety Rx podcast

📍 For more advice on navigating panic and anxiety, check out my conversation with ABC News' Chief National Correspondent Matt Gutman.

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Everyday Better is LinkedIn News’ weekly personal development podcast hosted by Leah Smart, a LinkedIn News Editor. You’ll hear from some of the worlds brightest minds and bravest hearts about how to live with more clarity and intention every day, in and out of work. Subscribe to the show's newsletter.