chronic anxiety Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Surprising Reasons You May Be Anxious + How to Use the Neurocycle to Manage & Reduce Anxiety

AHA Publisher — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 07:00:33 +0000

Dr. Caroline Leaf – In this podcast (episode #286) and blog, I am going to talk about anxiety. I get asked so many questions about anxiety, what it is, and how to manage it that I decided to dedicate a whole podcast to this topic. Here are some examples of the questions I have received: Why do I feel anxious in certain situations and not others? Why does my whole body react (to the point where I feel sick) when I am anxious? Why do some situations result in more anxiety than others? What do I do when I feel constantly anxious around a loved one or work colleague? What do you tell your mind to ward off PTSD-related anxiety when emotionally triggered? Can you give insight into how to control anxiety or being panicked when left alone and how to keep your mind at peace? Is anxiety genetic? Can it be wired in relation to a specific fear? What is hypervigilance? Everyone experiences a level of anxiety from time to time; this is completely normal. Often, there are times in our life where “stuff” really accumulates, and it is okay to be anxious occasionally. However, if left unmanaged, this “stuff” can progress to a point where we feel so overwhelmed with anxiety that our ability to go about daily life is obstructed, especially if it results in debilitating anxiety or a panic attacks. The key word here is “managed”. How we manage anxiety will be based on how we view anxiety. If we just see anxiety as a “disease” or “biochemical medical illness”, it can be pretty scary! This label can lock us in, potentially shaping the way we see ourselves and our capacity, or stigmatizing our biology—some people may view us as inherently lacking control and potentially unstable or even dangerous to ourselves and others. But there is another way to look at anxiety, one that I believe is more hopeful, kinder and less stigmatizing. Anxiety can be seen as a warning signal—a helpful messenger. It is telling us there is something going on in our lives that needs attention because it’s threatening our peace and survival. It’s pointing to the narrative that is related to our anxiety, that is what has happened to make us feel this way, rather than just focusing on a biological root as the cause of the anxiety. Indeed, what we think and experience affects our biology, so of course we will experience anxiety as physical symptoms. The cause isn’t necessarily in the brain, although, of course, physical brain damage or ill-health can affect how we feel and make us anxious. However, if we think the anxiety we are feeling and experiencing is just because we have a damaged brain or body, we can lose hope and a sense of agency, which may make our anxiety worse. We need to remember that the brain is not a preprogrammed body of grey matter. We do not just “dance to our DNA”, as the popular saying goes. Anxiety isn’t just a broken brain or illness waiting to manifest. Anxiety means that we, as thinking beings, are responding intelligently to threats to our existence. When there is a foreboding change in our environment, we experience this change through our mind. The mind is the power mechanism by which we experience life, but it is experimental because it’s always hypothesizing and working things out. This means things can get messy, but that’s okay—the point is to look at the messiness of life and learn how to manage, repair and grow through it. This is mind-management in action, which I discuss in detail in my latest book Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess. The experiences we have are then wired into the brain by the mind. Subsequently, the brain sends signals to all the cells of the body that there is a change in the mind and brain, and, in the case of a negative experience, that change is a threat to our survival. This generates an immune system response, and the entire body responds, including the release of cortisol, homocysteine, prolactin, as well as a biological impact on our telomeres and a change in brainwaves. These responses are communicated back to us through our emotions (anxiety), body (heart palpitations, stomach aches and so on), behaviors (such as panic attacks, withdrawal, or hasty decisions), and perspective, which is a warning signal of this imbalance as a threat to or survival and the desire to restore balance in the brain and body. This is why it is so important to embrace, not suppress, anxiety. We need to acknowledge the abovementioned signals, process what they mean and reconceptualize them – make them work for us instead of against us. When we learn how to do this, we can start to manage, although not necessarily solve, our anxiety. Indeed, sometimes it’s the pure acceptance of the uncertainty of life and the reality of anxiety as a normal part of being human that becomes our reconceptualized understanding—our way of moving forward! Anxiety is a feeling that needs to be understood, not just eradicated. Why? We cannot ignore the connection between our perceptions and our understanding of our experiences to our biology. This link, otherwise known as the mind-brain-body connection, helps us to predict what we need as individual organisms to cope, or to modulate our biochemistry, physiology and our behavior to make sure our body has just enough resources to deal with both acute and chronic life challenges. For example, when we find ourselves in an anxiety-inducing situation, the brain signals the kidneys, telling them that we are going to need a healthy blood supply for the acute situation we find ourselves in. Consequently, the kidneys start pumping in salt water, which constricts the blood vessels and raises our blood pressure. However, if we are on alert every second of the day, especially during a chronic situation, this experience will be wired into the brain repeatedly, which can become a habit if this occurs over 9 weeks (for more on this my book Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess). Essentially, during this time the mind is continually sending a response to the brain and body that something scary is going to happen, which can result in hypervigilance if left unmanaged, putting the brain and body into an emergency state. To cope with these feelings, our level of alertness and various bodily activities must respond to this state of being. Using the same example above, this means the brain is continually telling our kidneys that we need more blood supply, so the kidneys are continually pumping in salt water to constrict the blood vessels, which can have negative repercussions, such as high blood pressure, if we do not learn how to manage this response. If we’re constantly living in a high-alert state, the natural mechanisms of the brain and body stay in high alert, which can have all sorts of mental, emotional and physical consequences. Of course, many people suffer from anxiety, and there are manifold reasons why someone may experience anxiety, such as divorce, poverty, racial inequality, bullying, and war. Getting to the root of these reasons is essential when learning how to manage anxiety. There are also a few surprising reasons why we may be experiencing anxiety, such as: 1. Bad digestion: The gut microbiome, which is the world of bacteria living in our digestive system, doesn’t just exist to help us break down food. There is a constant conversation going on between the brain and gut, which also has its own amazing neurons, just like the spinal cord! This relationship is incredibly important when it comes to our mental health, which is both directly and indirectly affected by what we eat. In fact, a growing body of research shows that certain gut bacteria not only influence thought processes and the physical structure of the brain, but also that our thought processes and physical structure of the brain affect our gut bacteria. As I told all my patients in my clinical practice (and anyone who asks me today), what we eat affects how we think, and how we think affects what we eat and how we digest food! So, watch what you eat—try to avoid too much processed food, eating too fast, eating on the go and eating too much, all of which can contribute to increased anxiety levels! 2. Multitasking: When we multitask, we end up with what I call “milkshake thinking”, which is the opposite of mindfulness. Every rapid, incomplete, and poor quality shift of thought makes a “milkshake” with our brain cells and neurochemicals, which is the opposite of how the brain is designed to function. When we consciously try to jump rapidly from one task to another, we essentially cloud our ability to concentrate and think deeply, which impacts our ability to do a task well, leading to unnecessary levels of anxiety in our life. This is why I always recommend choosing to focus on one thing. Where you direct your mind is a choice, one that can affect you in either a positive or negative direction. This is especially the case with multitasking. You can reduce the anxiety that comes from decision fatigue—the feeling of being overwhelmed by the plethora of “would” or “could” choices we all face daily—by choosing, in the moment, to stay focused on a task and disregard less urgent demands. When you do this, you actually build up your mental strength and resilience, which will help you better deal with disappointment, failure and the daily anxieties of life! 3. The search and reward circuit: There is a special circuit in the brain that helps us search for food, comfort, love, relationships, friendships, peace, and so on, called the search and reward circuit. (Much of the research in this area of neuroscience has been done by Peter Sterling.) When we experience these positive experiences, dopamine is released and we can relax until we start the next search. Essentially, we are built to seek out a way of life that rewards us with a dopamine rush—the little searches and little dopamine rushes drive us to seek these rewards, which has a cumulative effect. Often, we are driven by these frequent, small surprises, and if we don’t find them, we can get agitated or anxious. This is especially true if we are in a chronic, unmanaged stress state—we don’t experience this rush as much as we need to, which can make us anxious. 4. Not daydreaming enough: When we don’t give our minds a break and let them just wander and daydream, we can end up feeling really anxious and stressed out. This kind of thinking is not just “nonsense” or “distracted” thinking. When we daydream, we essentially reboot our mind, as talked about in Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess. These moments give your brain a rest and allow it to heal, which increases your clarity of thought and organizes the networks of your brain by balancing alpha activity, helping create an optimal state of relaxation and alertness and bridging the divide between the conscious and nonconscious mind. This, in turn, puts you in a state of peacefulness, readiness, meditation, and beta activity, which is important for processing information, being alert, working through something challenging, focusing, and developing sustained attention. This balanced energy, in turn, increases blood flow to the brain, which helps it function better and helps you deal with mental challenges and manage anxiety. The opposite happens if you don’t take regular thinker moments. Not giving the mind a rest and letting it daydream can reduce blood flow by up to 80 percent in the front of the brain, which can dramatically affect cognitive fluency and the efficient, associative thinking required at home, school or in the workplace. Cumulatively, this can lead to unprocessed thoughts and nightmares, affecting your overall quality of sleep, performance and mental health. To do a thinker moment, simply close your eyes and let your mind wander. Daydream, listen to some music, take a walk outside,...

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9 Habits to Reduce Cortisol Naturally

AHA Publisher — Tue, 08 Oct 2019 07:00:50 +0000

Dr. Don Colbert – Don’t let chronic high stress and cortisol levels bring down your health, brain, or memory. Use these 9 strategies to reduce cortisol naturally today. Cortisol is making news once again. This time, it’s especially concerning for women. If you’ve ever wanted to manage stress and reduce cortisol naturally, this study on brain health is a great wake-up call. According to an October 2018 study, researchers found that increased blood cortisol levels are correlated with impaired memory and lower brain volume in mid-life (1). What’s more, after studying 2231 human participants, they found the effects were more pronounced in women participants than men. Cortisol is a hormone that’s released by the adrenal glands when the body faces stress. In modern times, this stress is often more mental than physical and usually has no outlet. For many, it’s chronic. It builds. And it does damage. High blood cortisol levels are correlated with weight gain and impaired loss, increased blood pressure, negative impacts on mood, sleep and energy, and an increased incidence of diabetes and heart disease (2). And now, lower brain volume and memory issues. What’s this mean to you? Especially if you’re a woman, it’s imperative to find ways to reduce cortisol naturally and lower overall stress. How? Here are 9 daily habits you can use, from the time you wake until bed, to lower yours today. 9 Daily Habits to Reduce Cortisol Naturally Each Day 1. Make mornings easy. Cortisol is naturally highest in the mornings, so don’t add more with a hectic start to your day. Mornings are usually much smoother when you wake up just 5 minutes earlier, prep breakfast and lunches the night before, and keep a bag with everything you need when leaving the house next to the door. 2. Exercise and be active, early and outside if possible. Studies have found that activity outside improves health markers and reduces cortisol, tension, fatigue, and depression. A recent study concluded that men and women over 66 years who exercised outside reported higher levels of total activity per week than inside-exercisers (3). 3. Choose foods and drinks that may reduce cortisol naturally. Try fatty fish like salmon, dark chocolate (70% or higher cocoa), fruits and vegetables, or superfood fruit and vegetable powders. You can also drink cortisol-busting green tea and black tea to lower cortisol levels. Great for chilly winter days! 4. Clear your schedule. Want to know the magic word to lower cortisol naturally? It’s “no.” Instead of filling up your calendar with many obligations, say no more often. Then, decide on a few and engage with quality time. Less is more when it comes to your schedule and feeling busy and stressed. 5. Take charge of your attitude and reaction to any given stressful situation. Cortisol is your body’s reaction to stress. By controlling your reactions, you can impact your cortisol levels. Take a deep breath, respond with reigned-in emotions, or even leave the situation to cool off. It’s never been said better than Pastor Charles Swindoll: “The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life….I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you…we are in charge of our attitudes.” 6. Find a way to laugh every day. Spend time with a friend and laugh. Listen to comedy on your drive home rather than stew in traffic. Play with kids. Read funny books rather than serious ones occasionally. 7. Speaking of friends, cultivate meaningful, positive in-person relationships. If you don’t think you have the time, consider this: According to a 2016 report, most social media users spend an hour per day on Facebook alone. What’s more, using social media correlates with worsening mood, while time spent with friends increases positive moods. Skip just half the social media, and take 30 minutes to meet with a friend instead. 8. Pray and practice gratitude. At the end of each day, take time to practice gratitude and pray. Put down the screens and write three to five specific things for which you are grateful. Pray with thanksgiving, releasing things you cannot control and the stressors you face. 9. Last but certainly not least, get good quality sleep, preferably 7-9 hours per night. It’s not always easy, but sleep is crucially important to brain health and stress levels. While lack of sleep can impair melatonin levels and cortisol, adequate sleep helps our brains rid themselves of toxins and heal. What’s on your short list? What habits do you use to lower stress levels? Don’t let chronic high stress and cortisol levels bring down your health, brain, or memory. Use these 9 strategies to reduce cortisol naturally today. To read the original article click here. For more articles by Dr. Colbert click here.

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