emotion regulation Archives - Amazing Health Advances

The Role of Co-Regulation in Building Self-Regulation Skills

AHA Publisher — Wed, 10 Aug 2022 07:00:41 +0000

Dr. Caroline Leaf – In this podcast (episode #400) and blog, I talk about co-regulation. Co-regulation is a way of helping someone develop self-regulation. The person co-regulates by staying present for the individual, helping them navigate a challenging experience and move towards greater self-awareness. This involves a supportive relationship between two or more people that is process-driven—the goal is to help a person self-regulate themselves while in a highly emotional state. Self-regulation is a skill we increasingly develop over time starting from childhood, and co-regulation is one of the ways we can develop this skill. Our ability to self-regulate can be affected when we have experienced trauma or are distressed; co-regulation can potentially help us get back to self-regulating our thoughts, feelings and choices. Self-regulation can be disrupted to varying degrees, especially during challenging life events and adverse circumstances. This is where co-regulation can be helpful: it is a way of helping someone who is struggling mentally and emotionally rebuild their own self-regulation skills, which are needed to manage their mind. When someone is in acute distress, they may find it difficult to think rationally or problem-solve. This is because since their state of mind is literally all over the place, they experience a chemical rush that can cause a type of neurochemical “chaos” in the brain. This often leads to reduced blood flow and oxygen at the front of the brain, thereby increasing impulsivity, while the two sides of the brain act out of coherence, which results in too much high beta energy activity and not enough alpha energy activity. All of this decreases a person’s ability to reason and make good decisions in the moment. When we co-regulate, we are helping to quiet the other person’s mind, enabling their active (conscious mind) and dynamic (nonconscious mind) self-regulation to work together, which brings balance and coherence back into the brain. There are two main phases of healthy co-regulation: Phase 1- Physiological: There are many strategies to deescalate/calm down a highly emotional situation in the moment, such as a 10 second breathing exercise (breathe in for 3 counts and out for 7 counts), havening, tapping, hugs, stress balls, reading out loud to someone, and movement like yoga. Phase 2 – Veto power: Once the person has calmed down physiologically, as a co-regulator, you can help them learn to use their “veto power” over their thoughts. You can literally walk them through the process of “capturing” their thoughts and, using their self-regulatory veto power, change them. As you do this, you help them override the force generated from the energy of their toxic thought or experience and teach them that they can choose to speak or act, or not speak or act, according to this thought. As the co-regulator, you are essentially doing this for the person in the distressed state, and in a sense, modeling it for them. You help them gain perspective; you empower them by showing them they have agency and control in their life. Below are some steps to help you become a better co-regulator: These steps can have a healthy and calming effect on the mind, brain and body that can help someone manage their stress response in the moment and prevent it from becoming toxic. These steps can help increase the oscillations in their brain, which help generate a healing wave through the brain and body, regulating gene expression in a way that alters gene activity in the part of the brain that is involved in emotional perceptions (the amygdala) and helping elicit a positive response in the person being co-regulated: 1. Establish eye contact This helps the person feel seen and can be very calming. It’s important that the person doing the co-regulating establishes calm and loving eye contact. 2. Create physical contact The level of contact must be comfortable for the person trying to self-regulate how they feel. This could be as simple as sitting near the distressed person. 3. Hear and validate their emotions You may need to help this person by putting words to their experience. You can do this by naming what you observe, asking if this is correct, and then offering calming decompression techniques like deep breathing as needed. Create a judgement-free environment where all feelings and emotions are allowed. 4. Model self-regulating Co-regulation involves openly modeling how you self-regulate, but only do this after steps 1-3! I recommend using the system I have created called the Neurocycle, which teaches self-regulation using a 5-step mind directed process that demonstrates awareness, acceptance and engagement of one’s internal climate, and helps people embrace, process and reconceptualize what they are dealing with. The Neurocycle, which I discuss in detail in my latest book, Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess and app Neurocycle, is a way to harness your thinking power through mind-management that I have developed and researched over the past three decades; any task that requires thinking can use it, which means everything can, because you’re always thinking! This de-stressing, self-regulation technique can really work with any issue, and can be done anywhere, any place and at any time—all you need is you! First, calm the brain down by breathing deeply. I recommend breathing in for 5 counts and out for 11 counts, and repeating this technique 3 times (for around 45 seconds). Then, GATHER awareness of the emotional and physical warning signals your body is sending you, such as tension in your shoulders, which can be a sign of fear of sleep. Embrace these signals, don’t judge them or try to suppress them (spend around 30 to 45 seconds doing this). Now, REFLECT on how you feel: ask, answer and discuss why you are feeling the way you do. Use specific sentences, like “I feel this anxiety because …”. What is happening during the day that may be affecting you? Do this for around 1-3 minutes. After reflecting, WRITE down what you feel and why. This will help you gain clarity into your thinking and behavior. Then, RECHECK what you have written, looking for your triggers and the thought patterns you may have developed that are affecting you. For example, you may notice that you start stressing before bed because of something going on in your life, which puts you in a heightened state of anxiety and increases your likelihood of having nightmares. What is your “antidote”? How will you reconceptualize this way of thinking and acting? Lastly, take action (I call this step the ACTIVE REACH). This can be a positive statement that validates your feelings, or an action, such as having more “thinker moments” in your day, where you switch off to the external and onto the internal and just let your mind wander and daydream for around a minute. These thinker moments help calm down anxious thinking and reboot your mind. When appropriate, help the person use a self-regulation technique like the Neurocycle. For example, you help them by co-regulating what they are going through using the 5 steps mentioned above. To read the original article click here.

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The Effect of Diet on Mental Health

AHA Publisher — Fri, 08 Apr 2022 07:00:04 +0000

Dr. Liji Thomas, MD via News Medical – The brain controls and regulates most of the body’s vital functions, conscious or not. For this reason, it is essential that the brain receives a steady supply of fuel and oxygen. The fuel is obtained by metabolizing nutrients made available in the bloodstream, originating in the digested food. The brain consumes 20% of the daily intake of calories, that is, about 400 (out of 2000) calories a day. Structurally, about 60% of the brain is fat, comprising of high cholesterol and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Thus, the food one eats is directly linked to brain structure and function, and thus affects the working of the mind. Many studies have found that diets that are too rich in refined sugars are toxic to brain functioning because the high content of simple sugars stresses the pancreas and induces insulin resistance. The high sugar levels with compensatory insulin responses stimulate the counter-reactive surge of autonomic neurotransmitters like cortisol and glucagon. These are known to produce increased anxiety, hunger and irritability. Moreover, they induce inflammatory and oxidative stress. This has been linked to an exacerbation of symptoms of depression and other mood disorders. These findings have led to the emerging field of nutritional psychiatry that traces relationships between food, feelings, gut microbiota, and human behavior. Deficiency Disorders and Mood The deficiency of nutrients like cobalamine, folate and zinc is known to be associated with symptoms of depression and dementia, cognitive decline and irritability. Both overeating and food insecurity are associated with mood and anxiety disorders. Mental illness is ranked among the largest contributors to the global health burden, especially depression, which accounts for the major chunk of disability in the more developed countries, especially in the age group of 15-44 years. Therefore, it is crucial to explore nutritional strategies to ameliorate these conditions. Not only do people eat differently when anxious or depressed, but these changes may occur in either direction. Conversely, depression may be the result, at least partly, of poor eating habits, or may become worsened by the inability of the patient to stop eating comfort foods and choose a healthy diet. Such inability may be financial, psychological, or iatrogenic. Serotonin and the Gut Serotonin is a monoamine neurotransmitter that helps to control sleep and appetite, inhibit pain, and to regulate mood. About 95% of the serotonin is produced in the gut, which is rich in neurons – the enteric plexus contains a hundred million nerve cells. Thus, the gut is intimately involved in emotional regulation, pain perception, and vital physiological functions. Interestingly, the function of these neurons and their secretion of serotonin, and other neurotransmitters, is closely regulated by the metabolic byproducts of the trillion or so bacteria that comprise the gut microbiome. These bacteria ensure epithelial barrier integrity for the intestine, preventing the entry of bacterial toxins and pathogens into the systemic circulation. They also prevent the spread of inflammation beyond the gut lumen, enhance nutrient absorption, and activate gut-brain neural pathways – the gut-brain axis. Monoamine neurotransmitters are synthesized from amino acids in a process that is mediated by mineral-dependent cofactors. Both folate and vitamin B12 are essential for the methylation that occurs during these synthetic processes, also regulating the formation of homocysteine – a metabolite that is strongly linked to cardiovascular risk and depression. Dietary Fats and Brain Functioning Anti-inflammatory fats such as omega-3 fatty acids (FAs) are known to be essential components of neuronal cell membranes, and also play a role in many vital neural processes such as neurotransmission, gene expression, neurogenesis and neuronal survival. They are also known to have antioxidant properties. Omega-3 FAs are used to treat a number of psychological disorders, including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, bipolar depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A high omega-6 proportion is linked to a higher incidence of these conditions, especially the first two. The standard Western diet is rich in omega-6 but low in omega-3 FAs, primarily because of the consumption of refined flours and sugars, and highly processed foods, and low amounts of seafood (including fish) and grass-fed beef. Some studies have confirmed that diets that are richer in healthier carbohydrates and fats, and lower in refined and highly processed foods, such as the Japanese and Mediterranean diets, are linked to a reduction in the incidence of depression by anywhere between a quarter to over a third, compared to the standard American diet. Inflammation and the Diet Inflammation of the nervous system is also important in the pathogenesis of mental illness, and this is also linked to the diet. Many biomarkers of inflammation, such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) were associated with a dietary pattern that was linked to a higher risk of depression over the next decade or so. This pattern included high simple sugars (sweetened drinks and refined flours), red meat and margarine (saturated fats), and little green or yellow vegetables, coffee, wine, or olive oil, which are all features of the stereotypical Western diet. The high content of vegetables, fruits, grains, and seafood, with less dairy and meat content, and no refined foods, of the Mediterranean and Japanese diets, compares very favorably with the Western diet. The former uses small amounts of red wine and cheese or yogurt in the daily diet. The mechanism is thought to be via the brain-derived neurotrophic factor or BDNF. This important molecule is implicated in the plasticity and survival of neurons, and neurogenesis. It is reduced in many mental health conditions including depression, PTSD and schizophrenia, and is affected by many antidepressants that are commonly prescribed. Not only so, but the former presents many of the fruits and vegetables in fermented form, which provides probiotics protecting the gut by enhancing the content of health-promoting gut microbes and reducing or preventing inflammation throughout the body. Thus, including more foods with omega-3 FAs in the diet when on inflammation-inducing medications, not only prevents inflammatory changes but also prevents the induction of depression in such individuals, according to recent, admittedly early, work. Again, the Mediterranean diet promotes gut microbes that produce anti-inflammatory metabolites. Of course, depressive tendencies or stressors may prevent the beneficial effects of healthy food from manifesting themselves as reduced inflammation or improved mood. Secondly, only some depressed individuals show this inflammatory tendency, which may mean that diet plays this role in only a proportion of people, perhaps with other inflammatory conditions or due to constitutional factors. Conclusion Many experts would recommend that people pay attention to the relationship between their diet and the foods they eat over a month or at least two weeks. If they could reduce or eliminate processed foods and sugars for this period of time, before bringing back these foods one by one, it would be instructive to notice how they feel. Better eating strategies are essential to promote mental health and recovery from mental illness. It was over 2,000 years ago that the famous Greek physician Hippocrates said, “Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.” Not only does the Mediterranean (and similar) diet affect the availability of the basic building blocks of the brain and neurotransmitters, including myelin, the neuronal membrane, and monoamine neurotransmitters, but it modulates key chemicals like BDNF to alter neuroplasticity, mutes system inflammation, and determines the health and state of the gut microbiome. Many such traditional diets are known to include mostly nutritious whole foods without much processing. The role of a dietary specialist in helping patients with mentally ill-health to choose approaches that promote the ability to take care of oneself and enhance one’s health is very important and should be encouraged. As one set of authors comment, “This message supports the idea that creating environments and developing measures that promote healthy, nutritious diets, while decreasing the consumption of highly processed and refined “junk” foods may provide benefits even beyond the well known effects on physical health, including improved psychological wellbeing.” To read the original article click here.

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New Finding Offers Promise in Researching Depression Together With Obesity

AHA Publisher — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 07:00:20 +0000

University of Illinois Chicago via Newswise – Is problem-solving therapy effective in treating individuals who have both depression and obesity? Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have identified an important step toward discovering how and why therapies and treatments work. Research published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has shown that problem-solving therapy led to short-term changes in the amygdala — the gateway to emotion regulation in the brain. Dr. Jun Ma, Beth and George Vitoux Professor of Medicine at the UIC department of medicine, is a senior author of the study: “Problem-solving therapy–induced amygdala engagement mediates lifestyle behavior change in obesity with comorbid depression: a randomized proof-of-mechanism trial.” “The goal of the study is to explore whether an intervention for comorbid obesity and depression has an effect on brain function as a causal mechanism that leads to behavior change and symptom improvement,” Ma said. In previous research, depression has been characterized by heightened amygdala activity along with a loss of amygdala regulation. Changes in amygdala activity correlate with responses to cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression and antidepressants. The new study is the first to investigate these neural targets in response to depression treatment for weight loss and behavior change among patients with both obesity and depression using a randomized clinical trial. For the current study, adults with both obesity and depression received problem-solving therapy for depression for the first two months in a yearlong, integrated behavioral treatment for both conditions. They underwent functional MRI brain imaging at the beginning of the study, then after two months. Their body mass index (BMI), physical activity and diet were measured at the study’s beginning, as well as after 12 months. Neural target changes were measured and compared with the control group, which received no problem-solving therapy. The research found amygdala changes associated with physical activity levels as well as energy expenditure.The neural target changes at two months predicted the improved behavioral outcomes after 12 months, which is important to demonstrate potential causal mechanisms, Ma said. “The goal is to study the causal mechanisms and understand how and why behavioral treatments such as problem-solving therapy work so that we can more precisely target the mechanism in order to improve treatment efficacy for patients,” Ma said. “These findings give us a promising direction for future research to hopefully confirm this causal pathway.” To read the original article click here.

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