3 Tools For Rewiring The Anxious Lawyer Brain

We can unlearn the anxiety reaction and replace it with a more helpful response.

onAugust 2, 2017 at 4:43 PMAugust 2, 2017 at 4:43 PM

Ed. note: This post is by Jeena Cho, a Legal Mindfulness Strategist at Start Here HQ. She is the co-author of The Anxious Lawyer (affiliate link), a book written by lawyers for lawyers that makes mindfulness and meditation accessible and approachable. Jeena offers actionable change strategies for reducing stress and anxiety while increasing productivity, joy, and satisfaction through mindfulness.

Lawyers struggle with a high rate of anxiety. It makes sense. We’re expected to deliver outcomes that are favorable to our clients, yet, have little control over the outcomes. We don’t get to make the final decision.

It’s helpful to talk about what anxiety actually is. Anxiety is the reaction to situations perceived as stressful or dangerous.

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From Pilot and Above The Law

From an evolutionary perspective, anxiety makes a lot of sense. Our brains are wired to learn from past experiences. So, it looks for patterns. When the brain recognizes a potential stressful or dangerous stimulus, it reacts and the fight-or-flight system is triggered.

Of course, this made a lot of sense when humans were running from predators and were in physical danger, for example, running away from sabertooth tigers. Even though we’re no longer running away from predators, our brain still reacts as if we are.

When you see the caller ID on your phone display the name of your least favorite opposing counsel, the brain automatically goes into fight-or-flight mode. You body starts tensing up. Your heart beats faster. Your stomach tightens. You are reacting to the situation (the phone call) and perceiving it as danger.

Now that we’re no longer running away from sabertooth tigers, these reactions are no longer useful. Fortunately, we can train the brain to be less anxious. We can unlearn the anxiety reaction and replace it with a more helpful response.

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