Lorwen C Nagle, PhD Profile picture
Aug 6, 2025 16 tweets 5 min read Read on X
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. Image
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: Image
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." Image
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. Image
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. Image
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... Image
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. 🙏

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More from @LORWEN108

Feb 8
CO₂ sensitivity is one of the most powerful (and ignored) nervous-system interventions.

But, most people don’t know this system exists.

Here are 7 ways to calm your CO₂ alarm + lower your anxiety (in seconds).🧵
1. Stop “silent overbreathing.” Image
Image
Most anxious people aren’t breathing too little.

They’re breathing TOO MUCH (fast, shallow, chest-only breathing).

That keeps your chemoreflex on a hair trigger.

Instead:

breathe quieter
breathe lower (belly/ribs)
slow your pace
2. Lengthen your exhale.

This instantly downshifts your nervous system's thread detector.

Slow breathing with longer exhales reduces nervous system anxiety and shift body stress within minutes.

Try:

Inhale 4 seconds → Exhale 6–8 seconds

Do 6 cycles at first.
Read 10 tweets
Feb 4
Ernie Hudson is 80 years old.

And he looks stronger than most men half his age.

His secret?

No “get shredded in 30 days"...

Just repeatable systems he’s followed for years: Image
Image
He basically treats physical fitness like mental fitness:

Small reps.
Daily repetition.
No drama.

And that’s why it lasts decades.

The lesson?
Consistency beats intensity.

A system you can run for 20 years beats a “transformation” you quit in 20 days.

Your body and mind are your responsibility.

Hudson says, "Build habits that compound."

At 30 you call it “fitness.”

At 80 you call it freedom.
Read 9 tweets
Feb 3
Anxiety isn’t overthinking.

It’s your brain reacting to uncertainty...
and your soul reaching for freedom.

I condensed Kierkegaard into 4 moves. Use this when anxiety spikes.🧵
At 21, Kierkegaard watched his 5th sibling die.

By 30, he was engaged, famous, and set for a conventional life—

Then he detonated it.
He broke off the engagement.

Rejected the “safe path.”

And wrote the line that explains modern anxiety better than most therapists:

“Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.”
Read 13 tweets
Feb 1
David Sinclair is a longevity expert.

But his most underrated “longevity protocol” isn’t supplements.

It’s how he keeps anxiety low in a high-pressure life.

Here's Sinclair's 6-rule system. (you don't want to miss this) 🧵 Image
Image
1. Choose stressors that make you stronger.

Stop lumping all “stress” together.

There are 2 kinds:

1. Biological stress (hormesis) that builds resilience.

2. Psychological stress that grinds you down.

They shouldn’t even share the same word.
2. Schedule “quiet time” like it’s medicine.

Not “vibe” time.
A calendar rule.

Book quiet time daily—so problems don’t hijack your nervous system.
Read 14 tweets
Jan 31
Most people aren’t “burned out.”

They’re stuck in always-on stress.

Here are 7 ways to switch it off (without meds) 🧵

1. Stop putting your brain in scatterbrain mode. Image
When your attention is constantly yanked around, your body stays keyed up.
Even “rest” doesn’t feel restful.

Try this:
Check social 2x/day + 30 minutes phone-free quiet or device-free walking.
2. Get morning light—especially in winter.

Morning light sets your body clock, which stabilizes mood and sleep.

Try this:
10–20 minutes outside early (no sunglasses if you can).
Read 11 tweets
Jan 28
5 personality traits that predict how you handle stress.

Find yours in 30 seconds (and how to work with it) 🧵 Image
Image
First: the Big 5 are not “labels.”

They’re your nervous system’s default strategy.

When you're aware of your default strategy, you can build on it and let it empower you. Image
Let's dive in...

1. High Neuroticism = The Threat Sensor

When you're high on neuroticism, you feel everything early, before others. You're very sensitive.

The signs of Neuroticism are:

→ overthinking
→ health worries
→ tension & rumination
→ The inner feeling: “I can’t turn this off.”

Quick fixes:

Regulate first, analyze second.
One sure-fire way to regulate is to walk outdoors without devices.
You want to downshift your alarm system. Walking is primo.
Read 10 tweets

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