Earlier this month, students, faculty, and alumni joined Dr. Chloe Carmichael '06GS, bestselling author of the book Nervous Energy: Harness the Power of Your Anxiety, for a special virtual event, How to Turn Your Anxiety into a Super Power.
Dr. Chloe graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Columbia GS, and went on to become a licensed clinical psychologist. She currently runs a practice in New York that helps people from all sectors harness the power of their anxiety.
“The Columbia community was always such a pivotal place for me and it’s really an honor to be back here with you,” she said.
Dr. Chloe introduced nine techniques from her book that can be used as tools to reframe anxiety: the three-part breath, setting aside worry time, establishing what is in your zone of control, creating a to-do list with emotions, mind-mapping, practicing response prevention, creating a mental shortlist, engaging in thought replacement, and using anchoring statements. Students and alumni voted on which strategy was most interesting to them, and Dr. Chloe elaborated on certain techniques based on demonstrated interest. Attendees also participated in a Q&A at the end of her presentation.
“Anxiety has a really healthy function, which is to stimulate preparation behaviors,” she emphasized. “But if we don’t know how to unlock that healthy side, it can be very overwhelming.”
