lack of mental clarity Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Signs You Are Too Hard on Yourself

The AHA! Team — Fri, 27 Sep 2024 08:01:11 +0000

Dr. Caroline Leaf – In this podcast (episode #588) and blog, I talk about why being hard on yourself can cause unnecessary stress, and how to manage your self-expectations. This is a replay of a Neurolive webinar I did on my app. For the full webinar AD-free, please see Neurocycle.app look for Neurocycle on the App Store or Google Play. Being too hard on yourself can cause pressure and toxic stress. Of course, not all stress is bad. Stress can be good for you, but when you put pressure on yourself to live up to certain expectations and you don’t, this stress can become toxic, affecting your mental and physical wellbeing. It creates confusion and uses up your energy resources, throwing off your balance, much like putting too much pressure on an object can throw it off balance. Pressure is a force, and if you are going to apply force in any direction, why not apply it in a positive, uplifting direction? Why not turn this pressure into your biggest fan, encouraging your every step? To do this, it is important to recognize the main signs that you are putting too much pressure on yourself, and what to do about them: Sign 1: “I didn’t get x done.” Often, we tend to focus on what we haven’t done instead of what we have accomplished, then get stuck feeling guilty, frustrated, edgy, and like a failure. When you feel yourself falling into this way of thinking, stop and say or write down what you have done. Remind yourself of what you have achieved, and that there will be time to get the rest done tomorrow. Sign 2: “I have to have it all together.” So many of us feel like we must have it all together all the time, but this denies our humanity and the fact that we all make mistakes, mess up and get things wrong at times. When you feel like this, remind yourself that no one has it all together. And try not to compare your life to what others are doing, because the way you think and act, and your experiences, make you completely and utterly unique! You will never be able to be anyone else but you, and you are amazing, even if you are not perfect all the time. No one is! Sign 3: “I must succeed.” It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that we must succeed at something or achieve something to be worthy. When you feel like this, remind yourself that you define your own success! There is something you can do that no one else can do. Sign 4: “I cannot make a mistake.” Even though we all make mistakes, it is easy to think that we shouldn’t mess up and that we need to get things right all the time. But it is important to recognize that our failures are often as important as our successes, and teach us important life lessons that help us grow as a person. So, next time you start beating yourself up over a mistake, ask yourself what this experience has taught you and focus on how you have grown. Sign 5: “I let everyone down.” Sometimes, it is easy to feel like we always let people down and like we are just failures. Here, it is important to remind yourself that we all fail at times, that your failures help you grow, and that, at the end of the day, life is unpredictable. We can’t always control everything to make sure things turn out well, because so much of life is out of our control. Also, remind yourself that trying your best is the only way forward, even when it doesn’t work out like planned, because you will learn and grow as a person. Sign 6: “I feel exhausted all the time.” We often take on so much and expect ourselves to do so much that we quickly find ourselves stressed out, overwhelmed and exhausted. If this sounds like you, do a lifestyle check, and ask yourself: Do I take enough breaks to recharge? Do I give my brain and body time to rest and reset? Am I having enough fun? Do I take time to take care of my mental and physical health? See what you can change in your life to give yourself the time you need to rest! This is so important for your mind, brain and body health. Sign 7: “I hardly smile anymore.” It is easy to get into a pattern of living where we are so focused on what needs to get done that we forget how to enjoy life, which can have an impact on our wellbeing. If you find yourself smiling less and forgetting why you are working yourself so hard, take a step back and think of ways to enjoy life again. Watch something funny, spend time with a loved one, or do something that makes you smile again! You can even schedule this into your day so you don’t forget to take the time to enjoy life. Sign 8: “I need to do everything perfect all the time.” If you find yourself emotionally “holding onto” the mistakes you’ve made, noticing more of what you’ve done wrong than what you’ve gotten right, and getting anxious when you do a good-but-not-perfect job, you may have fallen into the perfectionism trap, where you can’t accept your weakeness or anyone else’s. If this sounds like you, take the time to notice when you do this, and remind yourself that there is a difference between wanting to achieve certain things and thinking you need to do everything perfect all the time. Remind yourself that mistakes and learning are part of life, and that you can work hard even if you take breaks and set up self-boundaries. And, when you find yourself thinking about what you got wrong, remind yourself of what you have gotten right too! Sign 9: “I am not good enough.” Take the time to observe and analyze your internal dialogue. How do you speak to yourself? How do you think of yourself? If you are using a lot of negative, pessimistic language to describe yourself, take the time to work on the way you think about yourself. Consciously observe and write down your critical self-talk and how often it’s happening. Then, work on creating reconceptualized statements to counter this way of thinking and change the way you speak to yourself. For example, change “I wish I could be as good as…” to “I will never be able to live up to someone else’s example of success because I am unique and define my own success.” This will take time to become a habit, so make sure to practice it every day! For more on learning how to not be so hard on yourself, listen to my podcast (episode #588). Podcast Highlights 1:48 What happens when we put too much pressure on ourselves 4:35 Signs that you are too hard on yourself & how to change this 7:03 You don’t have to have it all together all the time! 12:00 Mistakes are an important part of learning & growing 17:02 The importance of resting & taking time to recharge 19:11 Why you should take a “lifestyle check” when you feel overwhelmed & exhausted 21:46 Why we should all take the time to smile more! 23:04 How to tell the difference between perfectionism & high achievement This podcast and blog are for educational purposes only and are not intended as medical advice. We always encourage each person to make the decision that seems best for their situation with the guidance of a medical professional. To read the original article click here.

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Gluten-Free Diet Offers INCREDIBLE Benefits to Celiac Sufferers, Way Beyond Intestinal Support

AHA Publisher — Thu, 01 Jul 2021 07:00:06 +0000

Karen Sanders via NaturalHealth365 – Are you having trouble with concentration? Does your brain feel clouded and confused? Or, maybe, you just feel like you’re losing your mental clarity and creativity. This frustrating collection of symptoms – medically known as cognitive impairment and informally known as “brain fog” – is unfortunately very familiar to many individuals with celiac disease, an autoimmune digestive disorder that affects roughly 3 million Americans. Research published in the July 2014 issue of Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics shows that adhering to a strict gluten-free diet causes improvements in cognitive function, sharpening memory, and increasing concentration and comprehension – improvements directly correlated with the extent of the intestinal healing. Why Is This Study So Significant? Researchers had suspected that treating celiac disease with a strict gluten-free diet would relieve intestinal symptoms and other related problems. However, this concept had not been clinically tested until now. It is interesting to note that not only did improvement occur, but it seemed precisely linked with the amount of healing that had taken place in the small intestine. Gluten-free diet improves cognitive function. Here is how… In the year-long pilot study, which involved volunteers with newly diagnosed celiac disease, participants were given a battery of cognition tests before the study began, then re-tested at the 12th week and again at the 52nd week. The tests were designed to assess each participants’ attention span, information processing ability, memory, visuospatial ability, and motor function. The volunteers worked with sequences of letters and numbers – which tests processing speed and mental flexibility – generated random words – a test of verbal fluency that measures frontal lobe functioning – and memorized lists of words – a test that measures short-term memory and immediate recall. Did any other testing take place? Yes. At weeks 12 and 52, small bowel biopsies were also performed compared to baseline biopsies performed at the beginning of the study. Researchers also used Marsh scores, which measure damage to the intestinal mucosa and levels of tissue transglutaminase antibody concentrations. Study Reveals Amazing Results from a Gluten-Free Diet The gluten-free diet caused significant improvement, with a full quarter of the patients achieving mucosal remission by the study’s end; others experienced partial but substantial improvements. The participants achieved substantial cognitive improvements over baseline and directly related to the level of mucosal healing. Particularly dramatic was the improvement in quality of attention, verbal fluency, and motor function. Senior study author Dr. Greg Yelland remarked that the work showcases the importance of a gluten-free diet for those with celiac disease – and that the diet relieves the physical impact of the disease and the intellectual impairments. On the other hand, untreated celiac disease causes suboptimal levels of cognition that can interfere with the patient’s concentration and memory, thereby affecting their ability to perform everyday tasks. Celiac Disease Can Cause Serious Physical and Cognitive Issues The University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center estimates that of the 3 million Americans currently affected by celiac disease, a shocking 97 percent are undiagnosed. A lack of digestive symptoms causes many to be “in the dark” about the condition, which is caused when a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley causes the immune system to attack the small intestine, damaging its lining and the hair-like projections, or villi. This damage results in impaired absorption of nutrients, leading to osteoporosis and vitamin deficiencies. In severe cases, patients can suffer amnesia and personality changes; milder cases result in “brain fog.” While classic signs of celiac disease are diarrhea and weight loss, many people have no digestive symptoms. Earlier clinical research has shown cognitive impairments were present in many celiac disease patients This study was not the first to show that cognitive impairments can occur with celiac disease. In a 2001 study published in Brain, researchers discovered that celiac disease patients suffered cognitive impairments affecting immediate recall, verbal fluency, and executive function. A 2008 study published in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology showed that elderly patients with celiac disease had cognitive impairments so severe that some had been wrongly diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. When the patients were treated with a gluten-free diet, symptoms subsided. Going Gluten-Free Can Be a Challenge, But There’s Help With more than 2,000 gluten-free food items now available in the U.S. – and many commonly found in conventional supermarkets – gluten-free products are big business. Since 2006, The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act has dictated that all gluten products must be clearly listed on food labels. Although this makes it easier to go gluten-free, you should naturally first seek diagnosis and treatment with a knowledgeable doctor experienced with celiac disease. The Mayo Clinic advises that wheat, rye, and barley are not the only foods celiac patients should avoid: bulgur, durum, farina, graham flour, and semolina are also off-limits. Celiac disease can be a debilitating condition when untreated; however, a gluten-free diet can provide excellent results, improving not only intestinal health but also the counter-productive, frustrating mental condition so colorfully known as “brain fog.” Sources for this article include: ScienceDaily.com Wiley.com MayoClinic.org To read the original article click here. For more articles from NaturalHealth365 click here.

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