You cannot reliably control your mind directly with your mind.

You can reliably control your mind indirectly, however, by regulating your autonomic nervous system with breathwork and vision techniques.

Trying to think your way out of anxiety, rumination, intrusive thoughts, or emotional hijacks often fails or backfires (this is the famous "white bear problem": try not to think of a white bear and see what happens).

The prefrontal cortex has reduced top-down control over the deeper limbic and autonomic layers that drive thoughts, emotions, and attention patterns when the autonomic nervous system is dysregulated.

The solution is to regulate your ANS first.

The body → brain axis is far more powerful than the "mind → mind" route. When you change your physiology, the mind follows almost automatically.

Two of the most direct and evidence-backed ways to do this are:

1. Breathwork

Slow, diaphragmatic breathing (especially with prolonged exhales) activates the parasympathetic nervous system via the vagus nerve.

This increases vagal tone in a way that directly reduces amygdala activity and shifts cortical control back online within 60–90 seconds.

PROTOCOL 1

Physiological sighs (double inhale + long exhale), box breathing, or 4-7-8 breathing consistently reduce anxiety and racing thoughts faster and more reliably than cognitive reframing alone.

2. Vision/Gaze Techniques

Orienting the eyes panoramically (e.g., long-distance gaze, vista viewing, or even simple left-right eye movements akin to EMDR's bilateral stimulation) activates the parasympathetic system and deactivates the sympathetic "spotlight" mode that keeps the brain in hypervigilance.

PROTOCOL 2

Panoramic vision drops autonomic arousal in under a minute; conversely, narrow focus (like staring at a phone) keeps you revved up. This is why looking at the horizon calms people almost instantly. It’s hardwired.

These are physiological off-switches for stress circuitry that otherwise hijacks the mind. Once the nervous system calms, thoughts slow down, emotional charge drops, and the prefrontal cortex comes back online.

Then and only then are cognitive tools truly effective.

You can’t out-think a dysregulated nervous system, but you can out-physiology it.