The Clarity Seminar, a stress and anxiety management seminar, will provide participants with practical tools to understand how thinking can exacerbate stress and anxiety. This is a sponsored post.

THE best way to manage stress and anxiety is to look at what people are thinking, says clinical psychologist Nicole Daly.

Nicole has created The Clarity Seminar, a stress and anxiety management seminar that will provide participants with “well-honed, practical tools and strategies” to help question thoughts and understand how thinking can exacerbate stress and anxiety.

Suitable for individuals or businesses, the seminar will run on April 15 at the Federal Golf Club in Red Hill.

People are often at the mercy of beliefs and biases that they may not be aware of, says Nicole, so “prepare to get to know yourself better” by understanding how perceptions are formed, and realising that people have a lot more control over their reactions than they think.

“Ultimately, we are what we value. The values people hold drive their words, actions and decisions,” she says.

“Our values impact how we conduct ourselves at work or in our personal life, so revealing these hidden drivers can help modify our reactions.”

Nicole says The Clarity Seminar’s analysis of values is a “powerful aid to finding meaning in life”, because everyone’s stress levels, relationships and interactions could be improved with greater self-understanding.

Based on neuroscience research, Nicole says the seminar provides an insight into how people form perceptions and how their interactions are driven by these perceptions.

“Let’s say your boss gave some feedback that you didn’t like,” she says.

“You’re going to react and possibly blame them for how you feel, but the vast majority of our reaction comes from us. The brain has very quickly gone, ‘based on past experiences, I feel this and this, so that’s how I’ll respond’.”

Nicole says that thanks to a synthesis of neurons, neurotransmitters and electrochemical signalling, the brain responds instantly to what’s happening so humans can make sense of the world.

“Repeated experiences become ingrained and form automatic neural pathways,” she says.

“As a result, the brain no longer has to work so hard and can implement a reflexive, emotional response. Unfortunately our interpretation of these signals can lead us astray and increase anxiety in the process.”

Nicole says The Clarity Seminar is about letting people know that the immediate response they have isn’t always right, and that in fact, they construct it, but it happens so quickly that it’s out there before they can think about it.

“It can feel as though the other person is to blame – and that’s not to say there aren’t some situations where that’s true, but most of it is an automatic internal process,” she says.

“Once participants know what emotions are and how they come about, and understand that we’re all brought up with certain beliefs and biases, we can begin to react differently.

“The brain is always making a best guess on what the ‘correct’ reaction is, based on what we know, and this seminar will help people learn there’s space to decide how they’re going to respond, instead of being highly reactive.”

Nicole explains the intensity of emotional reactions is helpful information.

“It’s actually a belief or a value that we’re highly invested in,” she says.

“If a person or situation seems to be threatening this value or deeply held belief, we will react, but once we know this, we gain understanding and space to react differently.”

Nicole says the idea for creating The Clarity Seminar came about because many of her clients suggested she share the stress management tools and strategies she’d taught them with a wider audience. 

“With this application of neuroscience and evidence-based approaches, participants will gain helpful, practical skills to manage stress and anxiety,” she says.

The Clarity Seminar, the Scott Room, Federal Golf Club, Gowrie Drive, Red Hill, from 9am-5pm, on Thursday, April 15, with more seminar dates to come. Fully catered with morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea, it costs $345 and numbers are capped at 25. Visit nicoledalyseminars.com.au, email info@ndseminars.com.au, or call 0422 716507.