Thread by @LORWEN108

No matter how much you spend on therapy and pills...

You're still anxious and stressed 24/7.

It's called "Self-Abandonment Syndrome" & millions suffer silently.

After 40 years of healing clients, here's what's happening & a 3-step protocol to unblock your mind: 🧵

Every time you hesitate before speaking your truth, it's not shyness.

Your nervous system is protecting you from an ancient wound. In my practice, I see this pattern daily.

Your body remembers when authenticity meant losing love.

As children, we're biologically wired for connection.

When a parent says "good girls don't get angry" or "boys don't cry," we adapt.

We become who we need to be for love.

This isn't personality development—it's survival programming.

By adulthood, the mask becomes prison.

• Panic before social events
• Exhaustion from "performing"
• That hollow feeling despite success

These aren't random symptoms.

They're your true self screaming to be heard.

The statistics are staggering:

• 42.5 million Americans have anxiety disorders.
• Less than 37% receive treatment.
• Of those, most get symptom management, not root healing.

We're medicating self-abandonment instead of addressing it.

Here's what brain imaging reveals:

When you abandon yourself, your Default Mode Network goes haywire.

You're literally at war with your own neurology.

The Dalai Lama taught me:

"The mind turned against itself creates all suffering."

The great psychologists knew this:

• Winnicott's "false self"
• Jung's "persona imprisonment"
• Bowlby's "anxious attachment"

Different terms, same truth: We sacrifice authenticity for connection.

The neuroscience is clear:

Self-abandonment → Chronic stress → Dysregulated nervous system → Anxiety

Your amygdala stays hypervigilant, scanning for rejection.

You're not broken. You're brilliantly adapted to an old environment.

But here's the hope neuroscience offers:

Neuroplasticity means these patterns can change.

Studies show 65% anxiety reduction when we heal at the body level.

Here's a 3-step protocol that works:

1/ The Container/Holding Breath

Feeling scattered? Inhale for 4 counts, visualizing gathering yourself.

Hold for 2 counts to contain these feelings.

Exhale for 6 counts, releasing gently.

This mirrors the psychological space needed for integration.

2/ Device-free walking

When you're anxious, take a 30-minute walk outdoors without your phone and let your mind wander.

This strengthens the default mode network (DMN) and breaks rumination patterns.

Walking grounds abstract fears into physical reality.

It stimulates the release of oxytocin, often called the "bonding hormone."

It's been shown to:

• improve sleep
• reduce inflammation
• decrease blood viscosity

3/ "Both/And" Reframe

To break black-and-white thinking, extend both hands.

One holds the challenge; the other, its complement.

Say: "I can feel frustrated AND take action."

This bodily engagement reduces cortisol and enhances perspective.

Hi, I'm Lorwen Nagle.

I've spent 40 years as a Harvard-trained psychologist, studying consciousness with the Dalai Lama, and helping thousands untangle their minds.

If you're tired of battling anxiety alone...

I am launching a program teaching these exact methods.

Anxiety Relief Transformation™

My 40 years of learning packaged into an 8-week program to change your relationship with anxiety forever.

Join our movement: offers.lorwenharrisnagle.com/anxiety-relief…

If this thread resonated with you, I explore psychology, philosophy, and personal transformation in my work.

Follow @Lorwen108 for more insights on the journey to authenticity.

Repost if this helped you. 🙏