She says a physical reaction in our brains can cause us to become stuck in the “fight, flight or freeze” state, hampering our thinking and often prompting behaviour which is inappropriate or even damaging to a business.

For example, Cairnes says that the current economic downturn has prompted company bosses to order smaller batches of stock, experiment with deep discounting and cut costs at precisely the time when very different actions may in fact be needed – and it’s all down to a pre-historic location in our brain called the Amygdala.

These tiny, almond-sized parts of our temporal lobe play a key role in dictating our instinctive emotional reactions. In one moment it can change a relaxed brain to one that is “frozen” with fear, effectively crippling our intellectual capacity and making it impossible to think in a positive, mature and free-flowing way.

Many people will recognise this as the cramping of their brains before they make a presentation, or on receipt of bad news such as a cancelled order. But while in such a state of lockdown, the brain cannot function.

“What business people at all levels do in times of stress is either nothing, or come out fighting when the right approach is to think strategically about our business and relationships” said Cairnes.

“You commonly find people slashing and burning their business, shedding staff and over-reacting in various ways even though this is precisely the time that they need a calm head, the capacity to think, relate, and solve problems.”

Cairnes advises business owners to talk these problems through, even involving employees.

“Your employees can sense when things are wrong and will also become scared, which is the last thing you need” she says.

“You want your workers’ brains functioning as well as possible, so keep them informed and up to date with your business progress and even ask for their ideas about improving sales or performance. Keep them engaged.”

But what can you do if your brain freezes or fires up, as if to fight an unseen aggressor?

In the very short term, Cairnes says that you need a “circuit breaker” which will snap your brain out of its frozen or fearful state. This could be time with friends or family, exercise or meditation – all have proven benefits.

However, rather than treat them as incidental activities, they should be put in your work diary like everything else.

“People need to start acknowledging that servicing their brain is as crucial – more crucial – than maintaining the company’s computers or machinery. Because, as the company owner, you may be the most important asset it has. If you’re not functioning properly, neither will your business” says Cairnes.

Modern neuroscience has now established that anything practiced regularly will physically change the structure of your brain, creating new neural networks and making something that at first feels like hard work seem like no effort at all. With practice, you can stop work-related problems freezing your brain with fear.

These are four commonly-used steps to train your brain and change its habitual response.

1.RELABEL

The first step is to relabel a negative or threatening thought or feeling as something else, usually something positive or at least benign. By doing this you can acknowledge that your fear is a function of a prehistoric part of your brain and not that of a highly functioning adult human being.

How scary is the news, really, in the grand scheme of things? And how badly could the presentation actually go? What is the worst that could happen? Acknowledge the crippling fear as a primitive over-reaction and relabel it as something that your brain is doing because at a subconscious level it thinks it is a matter of life and death. Clearly, that is not the case and has little or no basis in reality. So relabel the fear as “my lizard brain taking over” or “my brain sending me the wrong message,” or even “false alarm.”

In time, by doing this, your brain can be trained to see these false messages for what they are, and eventually take no notice.

2. REATTRIBUTE

You need then to reattribute these false signals to something, and not to what your brain THINKS is the cause. When fear strikes, acknowledge it as a physical process taking place in your brain. There is nothing at that moment that you can do to stop it altogether, but you can attribute it to a malfunctioning or over-sensitive chemical reaction in your brain which prompts the fight, flight or freeze response. It is caused by a reptilian, prehistoric part of the brain which is misinterpreting your current environment.

It is essential to see the fear for what it is: a primitive but biological process taking place. When you reattribute it to a physical process, in time it will feel separate to you, and not like something that reflects you or the person you are. In other words, you will stop allowing this physical process to define you.

3. REFOCUS

This is the crucial step because eventually this will enable you to move on from this state of paralysing fear and into a more positive, calm state of mind. It involves replacing the fear with a more pleasant sensation, usually by doing something else, if only for a few minutes. Playing a favourite song, go for a walk or do some exercise. Say to yourself “I am experiencing irrational fear, I need to do something else” and take control of the situation.

4. REVALUE

After a period of weeks or months of practising, the fourth step should come more easily, and that is to revalue the negative feelings as worthless - an unnecessary distraction that is detracting from your life and your natural abilities. By revaluing the fears or urges as worthless, they lose impact and stop controlling your behaviour. The result is a happier, more confident individual who is no longer controlled by a prehistoric survival instinct that has very value in a working or business environment.

OTHER STEPS

There are other techniques that include meditation, most specifically Mindfulness, which helps the brain stay in the present and not get distracted or locked down by invisible fears.

It requires practice but is now recognised as being one of the most effective ways to create new habits and neural links within the brain to facilitate positive thinking.