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Fika: The Swedish Ritual of Coffee, Connection and Calm

The AHA! Team — Fri, 01 Aug 2025 05:03:54 +0000

Joe Boland via Dr. Axe – In the bustling world we live in, finding moments of solace and connection is increasingly precious. Enter “fika,” the Swedish tradition that’s not just about grabbing a coffee, but a cultural institution centered around relaxation, socializing and indulging in life’s simple pleasures. Forget the ordinary coffee break. Fika (pronounced fee-kah) is a Swedish tradition that elevates the simple act of grabbing a cup of joe into an art form. It’s more than just caffeine — it’s a social ritual, a moment of mindfulness and a cornerstone of Swedish culture. So let’s explore the essence of fika, its distinction from a mere coffee break, its potential benefits and how you can embrace this delightful ritual in your own life. What Is Fika? Fika is more than just a word in Swedish — it’s a way of life. Essentially, it entails taking a break from work or daily routines to enjoy a cup of coffee or tea, often accompanied by a sweet treat or light snack. It’s not merely about refueling. It’s a cherished cultural practice deeply ingrained in Swedish society, fostering connections, relaxation and mindfulness. Fika translates to “coffee” in Swedish, but it encompasses so much more. It’s the act of taking a break, often with coffee and a sweet treat, to connect with friends, family or colleagues. It can happen anywhere, from cozy cafes to park benches, and at any time of day. Fika vs. Coffee Break While fika may seem similar to a typical coffee break, the two differ significantly in purpose and ambiance. While a coffee break may be a hurried affair, fika is a deliberate pause, an opportunity to slow down, savor the moment and connect with others. It’s about quality over quantity, emphasizing the social aspect as much as the refreshments themselves. While similar to a coffee break, fika goes deeper. It’s not just about a quick caffeine fix. It prioritizes social interaction, creating a dedicated space for conversation and connection. It’s a chance to slow down, de-stress and build stronger relationships. Potential Benefits Beyond the pleasure of indulging in delectable treats, fika offers a range of potential benefits. It provides a mental breather, allowing individuals to recharge and return to tasks with renewed focus and creativity in similar way that taking a mental health day does. Moreover, the social aspect fosters a sense of community and strengthens interpersonal relationships, contributing to overall well-being and happiness. Here are some more benefits of fika: 1. May Boost Productivity Short breaks like fika can actually improve focus and concentration when you return to work. In fact, research shows that taking breaks — even short ones — may help the brain learn new skills. 2. Helps Strengthen Relationships Fika fosters a sense of community and belonging, leading to stronger bonds with colleagues and loved ones. Not only that, but several studies show that people who feel a sense of belonging tend to have better health outcomes — or at least report feeling better and having stronger overall health. 3. Can Reduce Stress Taking a mindful break allows you to de-stress and recharge, improving overall well-being. This can have huge benefits to health considering stress plays a key role in just about everything aspect of the human body. 4. Promotes Mindfulness Fika encourages you to savor the moment, appreciate simple pleasures and disconnect from the daily grind. Taken to together, it can help teach you how to be happy, such as by hacking brain chemicals to boost happiness, combating loneliness and enhancing friendships. How to Fika Like a Swede Embracing fika in your own life is simpler than you might think. To fika like a Swede: Prioritize quality over speed. Choose high-quality coffee or tea, and pair it with a delicious pastry or sandwich. Set aside dedicated time for fika, ideally in the morning and afternoon, to break up the day and cultivate a sense of routine. Most importantly, invite others to join you, whether it’s colleagues, friends or family, and engage in meaningful conversations while relishing the moment. Ready to embrace the fika lifestyle? Here’s how to do it right: The Food: Coffee is a must, but tea is also acceptable. Pair it with a classic Swedish pastry like a “kanelbulle” (cinnamon bun) or a “havrekaka” (oatmeal cookie). The Time: There’s no set time for fika. Swedes often enjoy it mid-morning, afternoon or even during work hours. The Company: Fika is best enjoyed with others! Invite colleagues, friends or family to share a cup and conversation. The Ambiance: Find a cozy spot – a cafe, park or even your own home kitchen. The key is to create a relaxing atmosphere for conversation and connection, similarly to the way Danish people embrace hygge. Conclusion Fika is more than just a coffee break — it’s a philosophy. It’s a reminder to slow down, connect with others and savor the simple pleasures in life. Next time you crave a coffee break, consider incorporating the spirit of fika. You might just discover a new way to relax, reconnect and find joy in the everyday niceties. In a world that often glorifies business and productivity, fika serves as a gentle reminder to slow down and appreciate life’s little joys. It’s a practice that transcends borders, offering a universal prescription for connection, relaxation and mindfulness. So, the next time you feel overwhelmed or in need of a pick-me-up, why not take a cue from the Swedes and indulge in a fika? After all, there’s no sweeter way to nourish the body and soul. To read the original article click here.

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How Sex Can Improve Your Mind

The AHA! Team — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 08:23:24 +0000

Dr. Caroline Leaf – In this podcast (episode #472) and blog, I talk about relationships, communication, sex, and the mind. This is part 1 of a 3-part series. High-quality intimate relationships are good for our health—we all know this! But did you know that sexual intimacy is also good for us? I recently interviewed Dr. Elissa Epel about her work with telomeres and stress, and she mentioned that one of her most interesting and popular studies, published in 2017, was on a correlation she and her team found between longevity and safe and consensual sex. In this study, Dr. Epel and her team observed that couples that are more sexually intimate have longer telomeres, which contribute to our cellular health and longevity. Couples that are more sexually intimate have longer telomeres Other researchers have also found that the frequency of sexual intimacy for individuals in healthy relationships is linked to greater mental and physical health outcomes, such as more general happiness and greater life satisfaction (Muise et al., 2016), greater heart variability (Costa and Brody, 2012), lower daily somatic symptoms (Stadler et al., 2012), reduced daily diurnal cortisol (Ditzen et al., 2008), and a more robust immune response! Researchers have even found that the frequency of safe sexual intimacy for individuals in relationships has been linked to greater mental and physical health outcomes, such as more general happiness and greater life satisfaction (Muise et al., 2016)! But this is not just about sex. As Dr. Epel discusses in her work, our telomeres are correlated with how supported we feel in a relationship. Healthier romantic relationships tend to predict a positive stress response and better longevity. The stronger your relationship is, the better your sexual intimacy will be, which, in turn, can help improve not only your mental health but also your longevity! Of course, this is a lot easier on paper than it is in real life. In a romantic relationship, you literally imprint that person onto your brain. This means that you are connected in ways that are both emotional and physical. You really do affect each other, which can be both a good and bad thing. These kinds of relationships can be incredibly challenging at times—I don’t think you need me to tell you that! Below are some tips to help you build a healthier relationship through communication and improve your sexual intimacy and overall health: 1. Establish an open line of communication: It is important to establish an open line of communication with your partner on a regular basis by encouraging them to share what is on their mind AND sharing how you feel. Work on creating an environment where you both feel like you can talk about everything that is happening in your lives, from the small to the big things. This will help you both feel more supported in the relationship. 2. Think before you speak: Make sure you have thought about what you want to say and work on staying calm when confronting your partner or discussing an issue. If you raise your voice or become aggressive, it can quickly spiral into a fight. It takes about 60-90 seconds for emotions to pass through you, so if you feel upset, it’s critical you not do anything besides just breathe and gather awareness during this period. This is the time when most people react and then regret what they said or did. Waiting for about a minute or so before speaking gives your brain and nonconscious mind the time to dynamically self-regulate by adjusting to and organizing the incoming information. 3. Ask before you speak: Ask your partner if you can talk to them about what is bothering you, rather than just demanding that they listen to what you have to say. 4. Don’t run away from the uncomfortable: Whatever you say might be hard for your partner to hear or process in the moment, and they might react in anger or sadness. Just keep reminding yourself that they are experiencing their own emotions and may be surprised by what you are saying. Don’t try to suppress or avoid uncomfortable situations. You can tell your partner that you value what you have with them, but be assertive about your desire for something more and your need to communicate what you don’t feel happy about. 5. Learn to just “be” with each other: Yes, great sex and exciting date nights are amazing. But times of quiet, where you can just “be” with your partner, are equally important when it comes to feeling supported and loved. Just sitting quietly with your loved one, for example, has a beauty in and of itself. I call this the “live your best life” mentality: learning to notice beauty in the small things will make your time with your partner feel like a gift—something to be treasured and appreciated every day. For more on relationships, sex and the mind, listen to my podcast (episode #472). Podcast Highlights 0:37 The science behind relationships & the mind 5:48 Sex, relationships & longevity 9:10 How improving our relationships can improve our health 10:33 Why communication is so important in a relationship 11:22, 18:28 Ways to improve your communication so you feel supported in a relationship 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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Essential Techniques for Self-Healing with Alex Elle

AHA Publisher — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 08:00:23 +0000

Dr. Caroline Leaf – In this podcast (episode #433) and blog, I talk to wellness educator, certified breathwork coach and Restorative Writing teacher Alex Elle about the importance of journaling, her new book How We Heal, why we need to model our experiences as adults so that we can teach our children to handle life’s challenges, focusing on our own journey instead of trying to change other people, and so much more! Writing came into Alex’s life by way of therapy and the exploration of healing through journaling and mindfulness. The intention behind Alex’s work is to build community and self-care practices through literature and language. She teaches workshops, courses and retreats to assist others in finding their voices and creating clarity in their lives & relationships. She is also currently a teacher in residence at CIVANA Resort in Carefree, Arizona. As a restorative writing teacher, Alex is passionate about helping people find true healing and get closer to themselves through the pages of their journal, which she discusses in depth in her amazing new book How We Heal. This book is full of techniques for self-healing, including journaling rituals to cultivate innate strength, accessible tools for processing difficult emotions, and restorative meditations to ease the mind. Complementing these practices are powerful insights from Alex Elle’s own journey of self-discovery using writing to heal, plus remarkable stories of healing from a range of luminary voices, including Nedra Tawwab, Morgan Harper Nichols, Dr. Thema Bryant, Barb Schmidt, and many more. Alex is passionate about reminding people that we are our own greatest teacher. When it comes to healing and transformation, there has to be a sense of self-trust. The healing journey begins when we learn how to trust ourselves—that we are on the right path even when we feel we may not be. Alex’s work centers around guiding people on this journey and teaching them to become their own truth-tellers. She teaches them how to name what they need, give themselves permission to put down things they no longer need, and to honor their own desires. A key part of this process is what Alex calls “restorative writing”, which includes journaling. This kind of journaling and writing doesn’t have to be a “dear diary” experience. You can simply start with a prompt like “I am choosing joy because…” and make a list of what choosing joy looks like for you. Journaling is not just about uncovering trauma and moving forward, which is of course important. It is also about tapping into our joy and inner peace, which is extremely powerful. Trauma is not our resting place—we don’t just have to sit in our trauma. Part of the healing journey also means seeking out joy and self-celebration. This is not just something we do as individuals. It is a communal act. Self-care and self-healing is an act of community care. When we heal ourselves, we heal each other—we heal our lineages and we dismantle cycles of trauma. Yet choosing joy is not just about positive affirmations. As Alex notes, affirmations without actions are just words. Taking action is an important part of any healing journey—we cannot just write “I am worthy” and “I am enough” and think everything will change. We need to take steps to lean into our worthiness and implement actual changes in our lives. This kind of work will have lasting impact in our lives. It is also important to understand that it is okay to not have all the answers. When we tap into our inner joy and peace, we can also find a sense of stability even when things are uncertain—even when we are in the midst of a storm. This kind of journey is not a one-off event. Healing isn’t band-aid work—it is forever work. Healing is a partner in this life, because as long as we are alive, we will face challenges that can affect us emotionally and physically. Healing is not about escaping something. It is about leaning into life and befriending the things that make us afraid so we can tap into our self-compassion and truly move forward. If we stay in the pain and “What ifs”, we will not find acceptance for what we cannot change, which will keep us stuck in the past. But, if we befriend our pain and fears and face them without contention or judgment and with compassion, grace and understanding, we will find true healing. This doesn’t happen overnight. Healing is something that we need to practice. It isn’t easy, but it is worth it, and it gets easier the more we walk the journey. The more we practice tapping into our own experiences, the more we access our own answers: our own how, why, when and where…our own journey forward. We learn to trust ourselves and heal. And, when we model this for our children and share our journey, we teach them from youth to manage their mental health. We teach our children that this is a lifelong journey, and that when we heal ourselves, we heal others. We show our children how true healing is about community. We are all students of life and of each other. When we give ourselves permission to heal, we give other people the permission to do the same. At the same time, it is important to recognize that you can only change yourself, not other people. Our job is not to change people—it is to accept people, even if that means accepting them from afar. This can be hard, especially if it is someone we love. The greatest permission we can give someone to change is to lead by example. Likewise, it is more important to like ourselves than have other people like us. If you don’t like yourself, you will find it hard to truly be yourself around other people, or like other people on a genuine level, which will affect your relationships and your mental health. For more on trusting yourself, the healing journey and improving your mental health, listen to my podcast episode with Alex (episode #433), and check out her amazing work and book. To read the original article click here.

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Discover 10 Ways to Deal With Doom Fatigue

AHA Publisher — Wed, 09 Nov 2022 08:00:48 +0000

Stephanie Woods via NaturalHealth365 – It’s everywhere you look these days, doom and gloom, and the world is falling apart. It’s on the television, social media, newspapers, magazines, and on the lips of just about everyone you meet, from your best friend to the gentlemen in the checkout line at the grocery store. They’re all talking about how the economy is tanking, out-of-control immigration, scary pandemics, rising homelessness, increasing government overreach, and people hating each other for the political party they support, the religion they choose, and the car they drive. Sometimes it seems like all this drama sucks the air right out of the room, and if you’re like many people, you probably wish you could just turn it off and breathe for a while. But you can’t. It is relentless and pervasive, and you feel so overwhelmed and anxious. You need a break. What you need a break from is “doom fatigue.” “Doom Fatigue” Leads to Sleep Issues, Anxiety, and More A person with doom fatigue feels overwhelmed because they are bombarded with one negative or stressful event after another within a short window. Because it is constantly put before them in one form or another, they may perceive that the issue is bigger or worse than it really is. The main reason is that they are constantly receiving input about it, hearing reports and discussions about it from a number of sources. This can result in obsessive thoughts that can lead to depression, anxiety, sleep problems, and increased stress that can affect blood pressure, heart conditions, and other stress-related health issues. The human body was not meant to be in a permanent fight, flight, or freeze status; that is too taxing on the organs. To escape or avoid all of that, some people will shut it all down completely, refusing to look at any news outlets or listen to any reports. Unfortunately, this complete avoidance can also be detrimental because they could miss vital information that they need to know. It is a delicate balance, but there are ways to manage it all without suffering from information overload and succumbing to doom fatigue. Discover 10 Simple Strategies for Managing Doom Fatigue There are ways you can manage doom fatigue and stop feeling like you have a little black cloud hovering over you. Some of these tips may be hard at first, but it’s important to stick to them. You will be healthier and happier as a result. Narrow your pool of sources. Bombardment starts because the information is coming from everywhere. Control the bombardment and choose only a few sources that you trust and only get your information from there. Find other ways to occupy your mind. Read a book, do crafts, play a video game, paint, work in the yard – do something that will occupy your mind so you aren’t contemplating the issues that overwhelm you. Get your head out of the game. Shut it down and walk away for a while. Stop engaging with the topic, watching every YouTube video, and reading every social media post about it. Give your mind and your body a break. Walk away from it for a while. Schedule your news check-ins. Resolve to only reading the news or viewing news videos at certain times of the day. Avoid when you first wake up and right before you go to bed. Instead, opt for mid-morning and early evening or some schedule like that. Get social in person. Get off social media. Get off your devices. Go out and talk to real live human beings. Hang out with friends, join a club, or take a class. Just do something to get you in the presence of other human beings in real time. Stay away from the comments! When you are reading articles or watching videos online, do yourself a huge favor and stay away from the comments. That is where facts really get tangled, and emotions run high. It isn’t worth it, and most of the time, there is no profit in it at all. Assess your assumptions. Take some time to reflect on your assumptions and beliefs. Challenge them and examine them to see if they hold water or if they have just become a habit. Then, it may be time to let them go. Put down the device. Do yourself and your family a favor and put down your device. Don’t use it while eating, right before bed, or as soon as you wake up. Give your brain a break. There are more than enough hours in a day to be able to spend time on your device, but it should not be all day. Put it down and engage with the real people in your life. Focus on the things you can control. If you can’t control it, then worrying is wasted energy. Instead of looking at where you are powerless, look at the areas that you can control and focus on them. Take care of yourself. Eat right, exercise, get plenty of sleep, stay hydrated, and practice stress management strategies. Taking care of yourself will make it easier for you to manage your doom fatigue until it isn’t even an issue any longer. Sources for this article include: ActivistPost.com HBR.org To read the original article click here.

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Vacation Health Benefits: How Taking Time Off Changes Your Brain

AHA Publisher — Mon, 01 Aug 2022 07:00:47 +0000

Kissairis Munoz via Dr. Axe – We can probably all agree that leaving the cubicle and heading out on a holiday or taking a midday break to meditate and de-clutter our minds feels good. But did you know that these disruptions in our regular schedules actually change our minds and bodies for the better — on a biological level? A study published in Translational Psychiatry found that both taking a vacation and meditating actually make an impact on our molecular networks. The study followed 94 healthy women between the ages of 30 to 60 years old. They all stayed at the same resort, with half simply on vacation and the other half following a meditation training program. To better understand the “meditation effect,” the scientists behind the study also followed a group of 30 experienced meditators staying at the retreat the same week. The research team looked at changes in 20,000 genes to figure out which genes changed during and after the resort trip. The results showed that spending a week at the resort significantly changed the molecular network patterns of participants in all the groups — the vacationers, the beginner meditators and the experienced meditators. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most notable gene activity was in those areas relating to stress response and immune function. A month after the experience was over, those newbie meditators were riding the relaxation wave with fewer symptoms of depression alongside visible stress relief compared to the non-meditating vacationers. Essentially, while it seems logical that taking a vacation or engaging in heavy meditation would reduce stress, this is one of the first times that researchers have been able to pinpoint large changes in the body’s genes in a short amount of time. What happens in your body when you go on vacation or meditate? Vacation Health Benefits Let’s start with the elephant in the room: Most of us don’t enough time off. In fact, more than half (55 percent) of Americans don’t use all of their paid time off (PTO), and when they do take off, 52 percent say they have worked during time they took off. While it might seem that you’re just getting ahead and proving your worth to your boss, not taking full advantage of those days off means you’re not receiving the benefits of vacation time. For starters, just planning a vacation can actually boost happiness levels. Whether it’s from the anticipation of the unknown or the excitement of planning time away, getting ready for a holiday can increase happiness, with one study finding that participants saw their mood levels improve about eight weeks before going away. But the real magic occurs when you vacation. Being in a new environment, particularly abroad, affects how our neural pathways respond to things — also known as neuroplasticity— and can make us more creative. When we’re in our normal, day-to-day lives, our brains can go on autopilot: They know how things work and where places are. When our brains are exposed to new sounds, tastes and cultures, different synapses fire off in our brains, revitalizing our minds and encouraging us to try new things, if only because we have to. Maybe you’re not too keen on getting in touch with your creative side. Going on vacation will help you physically, too. The Framingham Heart Study, which began in 1948 and is still going strong, found that women who took vacations just once every six years were nearly eight times more likely to have a heart attack than those who took one at least every two years. A University of Massachusetts study discovered that among middle-aged men at high risk for coronary heart disease, the frequency of annual vacations was associated with a reduced risk of dying. Men who went on vacation regularly were 21 percent less likely to die of any cause and 32 percent less likely to die of heart disease. Who needs medicine when you can lie on the beach? Maybe you don’t have the luxury of jet-setting off to an exotic locale or taking weeks off at a time. That doesn’t mean you should skip taking time off. Turning off your email and “unplugging” can ease you into a vacation state of mind, whether you’re enjoying a “staycation” or hitting the road with your family. Being willing to try new things, whether you’re in an unfamiliar location or not, can keep your brain active and on its toes. Try local food and an adventure you might not normally indulge in. Staying local? Check out a restaurant with a cuisine you might be unfamiliar with, or visit a nearby town you haven’t explored yet. How Meditating Changes Your Body Meditation has been around for thousands of years, and the positive effects from people who practice “mind exercising” have been touted for nearly as long. Now science can back up that the benefits you feel after taking a few minutes of zen are real and actually transform your cells. For instance, a 2014 study published in the journal Cancer found that cancer survivors who participated in stress-reducing techniques, including meditation and yoga, physically changed their cells. At the end of the three-month study, the two groups who meditated had longer telomere lengths than the control group, which only participated in one six-hour stress-reduction workshop. Telomeres are bits of DNA at the end of our chromosomes. Shortened telomeres are associated with aging, diseases like cancer as well as death. As our telomeres age and can no longer shorten, the cells they’re attached to begin dying as well. This is how our bodies age. When the study was over, the telomeres of those who meditated were the same length as when the study began. The control group’s telomeres were shorter, indicating that something about the stress-reducing activities was able to keep the telomeres intact in those three months. “We already know that psychosocial interventions like mindfulness meditation will help you feel better mentally, but now for the first time we have evidence that they can also influence key aspects of your biology,” said Linda E. Carlson, the study’s lead investigator. Meditation has also been proven to help reduce anxiety, and it all comes back to the “Me Center,” or the medial prefrontal cortex. This is the area of our brains that processes information about ourselves and the world around us (hence the “me”). Usually, the neural pathways from the sensation and fear areas of our brain to the Me Center are quite strong, triggering a reaction in the Me Center. Meditation actually weakens this connection, so the instinct to react to an upsetting situation weakens. At the same time, our Me Centers link to the brain’s lateral prefrontal cortex, or Assessment Center, strengthens. Instead of freaking out about a situation, our minds are able to assess what’s happening in a more rational manner. So, for example, if you email your boss a question and it takes her a few hours to respond, instead of worrying that your job is in jeopardy, you’re able to ascertain that she’s probably in a long meeting and unreachable at the moment. Regularly meditating might actually make you a more compassionate person as well. A 2008 study found that when meditators heard sounds of people suffering, their temporal parietal junctures, the area of the brain linked with empathy, had a stronger response than in the brains of those who don’t regularly meditate. You don’t need to spend hours or money to start meditating. You can get started with free or inexpensive smartphone apps like “Stop, Breathe & Think,” “Headspace” or “Buddhify.” Even just mindfully taking a few deep breaths in and out can help ease our minds. (Also, check out our “guide” to guided meditation.) It’s fantastic to see that science is getting closer to understanding just how our minds affect our bodies and health. But let’s be honest — most of us don’t need a scientist to tell us that going on vacation or meditating will help us feel better. To read the original article click here.

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The Anatomy of Anxiety: Understanding & Overcoming the Body’s Fear Response

AHA Publisher — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 07:00:31 +0000

Dr. Caroline Leaf – In this podcast (episode #389) and blog, I talk to holistic psychiatrist, acupuncturist, and yoga teacher Dr. Ellen Vora about the importance of taking a functional medicine approach to mental health, addressing imbalances at the root, taking a whole person approach to wellbeing, her amazing new book The Anatomy of Anxiety: Understanding and Overcoming the Body’s Fear Response, exploring what anxiety tells us, why women are often accused of being more anxious than men, anxiety and hormonal changes, and so much more! As Dr. Vora points out in her new book, anxiety is not just in your head. Our mind, brain and body are separate but integrated systems. They work together—the human mind is embodied. Anxiety and panic attacks are very real phenomenon that have physical aspects, and should not just be dismissed as “they are just in your head” by medical professionals. Mental health is physical health. Unfortunately, since the 1990s, healthcare has largely been influenced by the assumption that mental health is mainly determined by our genetics and our brain chemistry, essentially setting our destiny upon factors we cannot control. Yet, as Dr. Vora points out, our brain chemistry is often a downstream affect of something that is happening in the brain and body. Many mental health issues are closely related to physical health issues, which is why it is so important that we also address mental health on the level of the physical body. We should not just be looking at genes or brain chemistry. This is a more hopeful way of approaching mental health, because it means that, to a certain extent, we can influence our genes, DNA and biology. Our environment plays a very big part in our mental wellbeing, and is something that, in many ways, we can learn to control. This doesn’t mean we are to blame for our mental health issues, because we often cannot control what happens to us. We can, however, control how we react to what happens to us, which is incredibly empowering and hopeful—we are not just victims of life! We can learn what contributes to mental health issues, and make incremental and approachable adjustments to our lifestyles that can positively impact how we feel mentally and physically. And we all need this hope. As Dr. Vora notes, more than 40 million Americans suffer from anxiety in any given year, a number that has only increased as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. We need more than just “more access to mental healthcare”. We need mental healthcare that works—that empowers and heals people without doing harm. Of course, seeking professional help for mental issues is important if needed. But there is also a lot we can do as individuals that can improve our mental health over time, which is empowering! Mental health should not just be the purview of those in the ivory tower who gate-keep knowledge. If you are very symptomatic, psychiatric medication can narrow the range of effect, which some people may find helpful for a certain period of time. However, these medications are not a cure; they are a bridge that may help you get to a place where you can heal. (For more on this, read the book Anatomy of an Epidemic by Robert Whitaker, and check out the Mad In America website.) However, for many people, psychotropic drugs do not meet their mental health needs and have many unwanted side-effects. These people often find it incredibly difficult to stop taking them, and need help during the withdrawal process, which can be challenging. There is no single system in place to help people withdraw from these medications, and professionals are often not taught how to support their patients or the best way to help them withdraw. In fact, not a lot is known or published about the best way to taper off psychotropic medications, while many professionals tend to deny the validity of people’s struggles when they are in withdrawal. This process is also often confused with “relapse”, which further distorts the situation and can make the person’s mental distress more chronic and acute. I discussed this in detail with psychiatrist Dr. Joanna Moncrieff in a recent podcast and blog. As Dr. Vora points out, progress in mental healthcare is always about the why: understanding the root cause(s) of why things are out of balance and why we feel what we feel. Depression and anxiety are the beginning, not the end, of the inquiry. They are signals we need to explore and manage, not just suppress or ignore. Part of this process is understanding the difference between false anxiety and true anxiety. As Dr. Vora discusses in her book, The Anatomy of Anxiety: Understanding and Overcoming the Body’s Fear Response, false anxiety is not a “fake” form of suffering. Rather, it means that there is a physical basis and a physical way out — it is a stress response to modern life, not a “true” part of who you are. When the root cause of this false anxiety is addressed, it is possible to reduce its impact on someone’s mental health by doing things such as: – Improving sleep – Changing diet – Reducing technology usage “True” anxiety, on the other hand, is purposeful anxiety. It shouldn’t be pathologized; it is a way of communicating with yourself. It doesn’t have a physical basis. Rather, it is the way we are tuned in or sensing what is not right in our personal lives, communities and the world around us. It can lead to suffering, but the good news is we can learn how to slow down and listen to what this anxiety is telling us. This helps us control our anxiety because it drives purposeful action to reduce mental suffering. Ways we can start listening to our true anxiety and listen to the message it is sending us after we deal with our false anxiety include: – Practicing mindfulness and self-regulation – Journaling We also need to examine how we think about postpartum depression and anxiety. Massive hormonal changes after pregnancy (and after a pregnancy loss) can dramatically affect how we feel mentally. This is not something we should feel ashamed about—we should have compassion for ourselves and understand that this is what happens when we go through major hormonal crashes. On top of this, mothers and mothers-to-be have the added stress of role transitions, as well as the added physical stress of nutritional demands from the pregnancy and breastfeeding, which can have an impact on a woman’s mental wellbeing. Even under the best of circumstances, it takes time to recalibrate, and this should be taken into consideration when helping new mothers with mental health struggles. Thankfully, wherever we are in our lives, there are some simple ways we can all manage anxiety, such as: Avoid bringing our phone into the bedroom at night. This helps us avoid “doom scrolling” and spending too much time online, which can disrupt our circadian rhythm and impact our anxiety levels. Eat a diverse diet full of nutrient-rich foods, so that the brain and body get the nutrients they need to function well, which also helps our mood and anxiety levels. Prioritize community—connecting with the people we love does wonders for our mental health. We are hardwired to feel safe and calm when we are in community. Embrace anxiety as a messenger. We need to listen to what it is telling us about what is going on in our lives and how we can learn and grow as human beings. To read the original article click here.

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Small Things You Can Do Every Day to Protect Your Mental Health

AHA Publisher — Fri, 20 May 2022 07:00:09 +0000

Dr. Caroline Leaf – In this replay from Lewis Howes’ amazing podcast The School of Greatness, I talk about ways to handle the mental conditions that affect us all. Lewis and I dive deep into the topic of how mismanagement of mental health is on the rise, and I share my five-step Neurocycle process to help people manage their minds. We also discuss how to protect your mental health if you’ve undergone painful and traumatic experiences in your life. Emotional states like anxiety and depression are our body’s way of responding to painful experiences. Despair, anger, depression, anxiety—these are all normal responses to life. In fact, they can be helpful. They are messengers and warning signals telling us what is going on in our lives, not just scary illnesses. We need to shift our focus and change the way we talk and think about mental health. It’s important to focus on the story and the person’s experience, not just their symptoms. The mind is complicated, and to properly heal, we need to focus on specific ways of dealing with negative emotions. This is where the Neurocycle comes in. This process is an alternative way to manage our mind’s response to traumatic memories or painful experiences. For instance, in a tremendously acute traumatic state, you have the options of going into two zones. The first is the mental mess that you’re in, where you are the pilot. However, you also have the zone of the co-pilot, which is also you. The only difference is that your co-pilot can see what is going on from a more objective point of view. It has its wisdom because inside each of us is what I call our “wise mind”. This co-pilot state is necessary for us to prepare ourselves for the Neurocycle process. Once we hand the control over to our mind’s co-pilot, our wise mind, then we can proceed to the five-step process below: Gather awareness: In this gather step, you are gathering awareness of your emotional and physical warning signals, behaviors and perspective/attitude. It’s a bit like gathering apples into a basket versus letting them all fall on your head and knock you out. In this analogy, the apples represent all of these warning signals. In this step, allow yourself time to feel. Validate your feelings, don’t run away from them! Reflect: Put your thoughts and feelings on the witness stand in your mind. Ask yourself questions like: Why do you think you feel the way you do? What has happened recently? What has happened in the past? Have you been suppressing or ignoring anything? Are you trying to avoid anything? What triggered you? Be as specific as possible. You can do this in a minute or less because you don’t need too much information—you don’t need to find all the answers right now! Allow yourself to be curious with your emotions and feelings. What you are feeling is valid, but may not be true, so question everything. Write: Pour you mind and brain on paper. This doesn’t have to be organized or even make sense—just get it out! You can organize in step 4. This type of “pouring your mind out” writing will pull what’s in the depths of your being up and will help you both organize and clarify your thoughts and feelings. It also increases brain health, so that you can think more clearly, be less impulsive and have more wisdom and cognitive flexibility! Recheck: In this recheck step, you are making more sense of what you have gathered, written and reflected on. So, I want you to go back over what you discussed, wrote down and thought about more deeply, reflecting and analyzing your thoughts and feelings. Do a mental autopsy; become a detective and look for patterns, triggers and activators. Write whatever you discover into your journal in another color so you can track what you are reconceptualizing. Some questions to ask in this step could be: What truths are hidden in your writing? What patterns? What are you noticing about your thoughts and reactions? Has anything changed? How are you planning to proceed? What can you learn from your reactions? What can you learn from what happened in your relationship? How can you reconceptualize this situation? How can you turn the destructive into something constructive? Active Reach: This step is essentially an action you take to reinforce the new, reconceptualized pattern of thinking you want in your life (which is replacing the old relationship habit). This step will be based off what you rechecked in step 4. If you want something to change, what will this look like? How can you practice this change? If you want to restore the relationship, what will you do? Once you start permitting your mind’s co-pilot to take the reins, it’ll be easier to fight that urge to come back to that dark place. It is also helpful to engage in brain building to build up your cognitive resilience. This means taking the five steps of Neurocycling to learn new information. Every morning, new cells are born, just waiting for us to use them. If we don’t, they become toxic waste and affect our brain negatively. There are many ways to build the brain, like reading, studying, and even doing physical activities. By allowing your mind to engage itself in thinking, you can build your mental and physical resilience, take control of the urge of going back to that deep dark place, and transform your life altogether! To read the original article click here.

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This One Common Thing Could Be Damaging Your Brain

AHA Publisher — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 07:00:38 +0000

Dr. Caroline Leaf – In this podcast (episode #374) and blog, I talk about learning how to use the mind well and why it is important to manage our thinking, feeling and choosing to avoid “milkshake multitasking” and mental overload. The mind is more than a “machine” that runs nonstop. It is an extremely complex driving force that runs the brain and body. The mind “shows up” in the brain and body and becomes our “aliveness”. Our minds are where our identity and uniqueness are formed. It is where who we are is recognized—our consciousness. The mind runs 24/7. When we are awake, we use our minds to build the experiences of life into our brain and our body; at night, we use our mind to sort out the thoughts that we have built while awake. If our minds are unmanaged and messy, our brain and body and how we run our life (our lifestyles, our words and actions, or everything we do and say) will also be messy, and our mental and physical health can suffer. Because our mind is such a vast and intricate part of our being, we must recognize that mind management is an essential, ongoing skill necessary for life, and that there are no quick fixes or shortcuts when it comes to how we manage our minds. One thing to avoid doing if we want to train our mind and brain to think deeply and wisely is to avoid what I call “milkshake multitasking”. There is much research providing evidence of the benefit of deep, intellectual thought versus multitasking in the brain. Deep, intellectual thinking activates the prefrontal cortex (just above your eyebrows) in a positive way, resulting in increased concentration, less distraction, more effective switching between tasks, decreased emotional volatility, better decision-making and an overall increase our ability to “get things done”. On a conscious level, we should not be paying attention to everything all the time, because we cannot consciously act on everything simultaneously. Our conscious mind is not made to multi-task; it is meant to do one thing at a time because it is the part of our mind that is doing the actual process of learning new information. When we try to multitask, research has shown that our ability to develop deep insight, creativity and intelligence can decrease. The key thing here is to understand the different parts of the mind. Our conscious mind system does not have the capacity to do a bunch of important, demanding tasks at once. Our nonconscious mind, on the other hand, is much faster than the conscious mind, and goes way beyond multi-tasking into synonymous processing, which enables us to talk and drive a car, cook and talk to friends, and so on. What we are generally doing when we think we are multitasking is actually switching between tasks using the conscious mind in a very disorganized way. Doing this draws energy from our brain and creates something akin to a dust storm in our minds, which can affect our energy levels and even our mental and physical health. It also means that we are more likely to make mental errors and we cannot give what we are doing the attention it deserves. When we multitask, we end up with what I call “milkshake thinking”, which is the opposite of deep thinking and good mind management. Every rapid, incomplete, and low-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 and stress in our life. This kind of multitasking also affects working memory, which occurs in the conscious mind. People who are multitasking will be less likely to retain information, and this can affect daily problem-solving tasks. We can, however, consciously learn how to manage our attention and choose what to pay attention to instead of jumping from one task to another. This includes learning how to mono-task quickly and effectively instead of multi-tasking ineffectively—it is possible to get more things done better in a shorter amount of time without multitasking! This can be something as simple as making a choice to put your phone on silent during a meeting or asking people not to disturb you while you are working on a deadline. Mental overload is another thing that can affect our ability to use the mind well. As mentioned above, we all need to learn how to use our mind to change and “reprogram” the brain. This kind of mind-management, however, is a lifestyle, not a quick-fix. Our mind never stops, so we need to learn how to constantly manage our minds. The more we do this, the more self-regulated we become. My research and clinical experience have shown that to prevent going backwards into previous states of toxicity and mental overload, we need to develop healthy mind-management routines. Behavior change doesn’t happen in 1 day or 4 days or 21 days, as is often stated. It occurs daily in cycles of 63 days, which I have demonstrated in my clinical research and applied therapeutically over more than three decades. In chapter 14 of my book Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess, I explain how to use the system of mind-management called the Neurocycle that I developed as a daily routine to clean up the messy mind and reprogram the neural networks of the brain, which includes 7-15 minutes of directed self-regulation each morning. (I also walk you through this process in my app Neurocycle.) The Neurocycle is a great way to deal with the root of the toxic cycles causing mental overload in your life, reconceptualizing them and how they impact your genetic expression. It is done in 5 steps: Gather awareness of what you are feeling emotionally and physically as you work on a toxic cycle in your life. Reflect on why you feel the way you do—be as specific as possible. Write this down—this is way to help organize your thinking and gain clarity. Recheck what you have written. Look for patterns in your work life, your relationships, your responses, your attitudes and so on. Take action. I call this step an “active reach”. It is essentially an action you take to reinforce the new, reconceptualized pattern of thinking you want in your life (which is replacing the old, toxic cycle). As you go through the five steps of the Neurocycle, you can learn how to reverse engineer toxic issues by tracking backwards from the signals these produce (emotions, behaviors, physical feelings and perspectives) to the thought behind them (the root or origin story they came from). You can also use the Neurocycle to be proactive in building new healthy lifestyle habits and managing day-to-day challenges. This is both empowering and hopeful! To read the original article click here.

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Intrusive Thoughts: What They Are & How to Not Let Them Run Your Life

AHA Publisher — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 07:00:16 +0000

Dr. Caroline Leaf – In this podcast (episode #366) and blog, I talk about intrusive thoughts, and how to manage them using what I call “thinker moments”. Intrusive thinking is can be defined as uncontrollable, unwanted thoughts that we feel unable to resist. This kind of thinking is often a way of coping with an underlying, unresolved issue. It’s not always the most effective or sustainable way to deal with pain or trauma, but it’s a coping mechanism—a type of distraction you use to try to keep the source of your pain bearable, at least in the short term. If we are constantly trapped in a web of intrusive thinking, it can become a toxic mindset. Whatever we think about the most grows because we give it energy, which, in turn, can impact our ability to think and our overall health. Fortunately, these thoughts can be changed through the process of reconceptualization. And this includes one very powerful tool that is often overlooked: daydreaming! As you have heard me say many times before, the brain is neuroplastic. This means it is constantly changing. We merge with our environments through our choices, including how long we decide to spend on our phone. “Thinker” time is very important because it balances our minds, allowing us to observe our environment before we just let it influence and direct our thinking, as I discuss in detail in my books Think, Learn, Succeed and Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess. Contrary to popular belief, the mind does not grind to a halt when you are doing nothing. Spontaneous thought processes, including mind-wandering, creative thinking, and daydreaming, arise when thoughts are relatively free from focused thinking and external influences. This type of internal thinking plays an important role in contributing to the richness of intentional thinking and subsequent learning, adding a powerful creative aspect to our lives. Learning in the “thinker” moments can enhance our success in work, school, and life. Indeed, the process of understanding what allows free thinking, and what allows something to get “stuck in our heads,” is crucial to mental self-care. Analyzing our thoughts in this way gives insight into how we can capture and change toxic and intrusive thoughts that are blocking our success—those things and feelings we just can’t seem to move past, which grow stronger as we think about them. Deliberate, persistent, negative thinking like “I can’t do it” or “This is too hard” can result in harm in the brain and body, setting the stage for future mind and brain issues. These types of thoughts can literally paralyze our imagination, inhibiting success in school, life, and work, and creating negative reinforcing feedback loops. The mind can be hijacked, so to speak, by these thoughts as they move up from our nonconscious mind, unless we learn how to control them. Thankfully, “thinker” moments allow us to manage our mind and regulate these intrusive thoughts. Controlling the mind-wandering “thinker” is actually known as an awake resting state. It activates the coexisting default mode network (DMN) and task positive network (TPN) in the brain in a constructive and healthy way. These networks form the brain’s inner life with the DMN dominating and becoming especially active when the mind is introspective and thinking deeply in a directed rest or idling state. The DMN is a primary network that we switch into when we switch off from the outside world and move into a state of focused mindfulness. It activates to even higher levels when a person is daydreaming, introspecting, or letting his or her mind wander in an organized exploratory way through the endless myriad of thoughts within the deep spiritual nonconscious part of who we are. The TPN, on the other hand, supports the active thinking required for making decisions. So, as we focus our thinking and activate the DMN, at some point in our thinking process we move into active decision making. This activates the TPN, and we experience this as action. Being alone with our thoughts can also provide valuable and potent insight into how we function and can positively influence our judgment and decisions. As Socrates once said, “the unexamined life is not worth living.” Thinker moments allow us to examine our own internal lives and develop our unique imagination. Management of our mind and thinking is the key to success, which is why it is the overriding objective of all my work, research, books, and programs. It is your perceptions of your thoughts, and what you do with your thoughts, that are important. Learning to capture thoughts and evaluate them logically by developing a thinker mindset is one of the most significant parts of any mental self-care regimen, allowing us to become more self-evaluative and self-regulatory. Here are some simple ways to activate your “thinker mindset” and build up your resilience against intrusive thoughts: The average person spends up to eight hours a day using technology. Some of the worst effects of electronic devices seem to be mitigated when devices are used less than two hours a day. Find ways to limit your use of technology throughout the day. Thinker moments aren’t an odd quirk of the mind but are natural and spontaneous. Allocate time, at least sixteen minutes a day, to just thinking and allowing your mind to wander. You can spread this across the day in two or three intervals. As mentioned above, thinker moments teach you how to live the self-examined life. As your mind wanders, think about what you are thinking and your own experiences, perhaps writing about your thoughts in a journal or notepad. During your thinker moments, write down, in a self-reflective way, which thoughts are free-flowing as well as which thoughts get stuck. Track the direction of free-flowing thoughts over time. Schedule in time to work on the thoughts that you feel are keeping you stuck. Evaluate whether your thoughts give you a sense of peace or make you worried. If your thoughts concern you, think differently about the same thing every time that thought pops up. In other words, reconceptualize the disturbing thought. Next, practice developing the newly reconceptualized positive thought daily and automatizing it over time into helpful, useful, and successful memory. For more on this process see Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess, my app Neurocycle, and my previous blogs and podcasts. To read the original article click here.

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