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Foods to Help Reduce Anxiety: So Many Problems Start in the Gut!

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A number of years ago, my oldest daughter and I both had to give up wheat and gluten entirely, for health reasons. In addition to cutting out certain foods, we also added a great number of healthy foods to our diets. Partly because we needed food to replace all the food we’d now be missing out on, but mostly because when you feel terrible, it serves as a wake up call. Life is a beautiful, beautiful thing and we want to feel our best while enjoying it. For our bodies to perform their best, we have to stop giving them junk and give them good food. Healthy food.

While I wasn’t terribly surprised when the digestive problems cleared up, I was surprised by a few other improvements (more energy, more “give-a-darn,” etc.) Many people, after adopting healthier eating (which, obviously, doesn’t always include having to give up wheat or gluten), rave and rave about the “unexpected” benefits. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read and heard testimonies such as, “Sure, the lost weight is nice, but the best thing is I FEEL better than I have in years. I have my life back!”

Come on, it doesn’t get any better than that.

More and more experts have figured out something that has gone unnoticed for years – there is a direct correlation between what we eat and not only how healthy we are but also HOW WE FEEL. Our emotions, anxieties, moods… they’re all as tied into what we eat as our waistlines.

The gorgeous infographic, below, from Snap Kitchen, tells how different (delicious!) foods can actually help with anxiety. Most people who live with anxiety look for healthy, easy, natural ways to deal and cope. It’s hard to get much healthier, easier, or natural than food. If you’re all too familiar with anxiety, try adding the following foods to your diet.

You may find more benefits than you ever hoped for!

Click for a larger version of the infographic…

Foods to Reduce Anxiety Infographic

Infographic Source: Snap Kitchen


Infographic: Rising Levels of Anxiety in a Digital World

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I was recently discussing anxiety with a family member who is a close, personal friend of the disorder. While she doesn’t experience the symptoms on a daily basis, the disorder is ever-present. Sort of like those of us with asthma – we may not have trouble breathing daily, but we are never free of the disease.

We simply manage it to the best of our abilities.

The thing that fascinates me the most about anxiety is that it used to be something you seldom heard about. I’ve often wondered, as many have, what has caused the obvious surge in anxiety disorders. Through reading a great deal about anxiety (when multiple people in your family suffer from a particular disorder, you pretty much make yourself an expert on the subject), I’ve found that this is a disorder that is FAR from a “one size fits all” situation. One person’s symptoms, in fact, may not even remotely resemble another person’s.

What’s more, the things that cause “flare ups” or even “attacks” greatly differ as well.

One of the things that works against individuals who have legitimate, clinical anxiety disorders is the frustrating fact that countless people are claiming that they have “anxiety disorders” when, in fact, they simply feel “anxious” at particular times or in particular situations.

When I had to give a speech in college, for example, I felt anxious – to the point of nearly feeling nauseous (I hate public speaking!). However, I don’t – nor did I then – have anxiety. I simply felt anxious because of the situation.

The fact that so many people take it upon themselves to say they have an anxiety disorder when they actually don’t does a disservice to the men and women who actually battle the disorder.

The infographic below gives a lot of insight into how our digital world can effect anxiety. It’s actually an angle I had never considered and it’s downright fascinating.

Diet can also play a role in anxiety disorders. I’ve read MANY, MANY accounts where cutting out gluten and sugar have greatly improved people’s symptoms.

When you live with a particular disease or disorder, it’s more than worth it to try any approach you can. After all, any relief is just that….. relief! – Joi (“Joy”)

Rising Levels of Anxiety In A Digital World

How Does Psychotherapy Help With Anxiety?

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Anxiety and Psychotherapy

Are you troubled by anxiety?  Not sure how to manage it effectively?  You don’t have to live with anxiety and fear.  Treatment can help and for many anxiety problems, psychotherapy may be the answer.

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety can be defined as nervousness, apprehension, and self-doubt that may or may not be associated with real-life stressors.  Everyone experiences some level of anxiety periodically, but when feelings of dread and worry are unfocused, overwhelming, recurring or not directly linked to stressful events, anxiety may leave a person severely impaired. When anxiety interferes with daily function, psychotherapy can often be helpful.

Signs and Symptoms

A person with anxiety may experience feelings of panic, fear and uneasiness, with uncomfortable physical sensations such as trembling, sweating, a racing heartbeat, nausea, and shortness of breath.  Anxiety symptoms include obtrusive, obsessive, worried thoughts, confusion and difficulty concentrating, pacing or restlessness, irritability, frustration and despair.

Anxiety can also lead to headaches, insomnia, digestive problems and is at the root of many mental health conditions, including panic attacks and phobias.  It is also often directly correlated with other conditions, such as obsessions and compulsions, post-traumatic stress, and depression.  Because anxiety can interfere with relationships, sleeping patterns, eating habits, work, school and routine activities, if left untreated, anxiety disorders can have severe consequences.

How Can Psychotherapy Help Someone Suffering from Anxiety?

A qualified psychotherapist is highly trained to diagnose and treat people with anxiety disorders.  Rather than treating symptoms alone, as medications do, psychotherapy aims to help you identify and address the source of the anxiety.  Using techniques based on the best available research, it can help you understand the underlying causes of your worries and fears; learn how to relax; look at situations in new less frightening ways; and develop better coping and problem-solving skills.  Psychotherapy can show you the tools to overcome anxiety and teach you how to use them.

How Psychotherapy Works in Treating Anxiety

Therapy sessions are tailored to your specific symptoms and concerns.  The length of therapy will also depend on the type and severity of your anxiety disorder.  The psychotherapist and client collaborate on a treatment plan and explore and devise experiments, strategies and lifestyle adjustments to help relieve anxiety.

With a pro-active psychotherapy approach, the patient is actively involved in his or her own recovery, has a sense of control, and learns skills that not only help them tackle anxiety but can also be useful throughout life.  An integrative psychotherapist will often combine awareness growth with behavioral techniques, to help the individual gradually confront and tolerate fearful situations, in a controlled and safe environment.

The most commonly known anxiety therapy is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT therapy is relatively short-term treatment, which helps identify problematic thinking and behavior that fuels anxiety and utilizes a combination of exercises and experimentation to address anxiety problems.   For a focused piece of work, some people might find 6 sessions could be enough.  Other people may wish to work over a longer time and may find 12 or 16 sessions work better for them.

Sometimes CBT therapy doesn’t enable the client to address certain anxiety issues, in a lasting way.  This can occur because CBT doesn’t comprehensively explore early life experiences, which often feed underlying roots to anxiety symptoms.  This means similar anxiety issues can re-surface some time after a successful course of CBT Therapy has been completed.

A pro-active integrative psychotherapy approach to anxiety can address the gaps when CBT isn’t enough.  A good integrative psychotherapist will help you understand the historical roots that fuel some of your anxiety experiences and by addressing these, alongside the current life anxiety triggers, powerful and lasting change may be achieved.

Conclusion

For people who suffer from anxiety disorders, working with a qualified and experienced psychotherapist can teach you how to control your anxiety levels, stop worrisome thoughts, and conquer your fears.  It can give you a new way of understanding and thinking about your problem and provide you with the skills to deal with the issues that you are struggling with right now.

Set the stage for success by making a conscious decision to promote relaxation, vitality, and a positive mental outlook in your everyday life.  With proper and effective treatment, people suffering from anxiety disorders can gain control of their lives.

Article provided by Mike James, an independent content writer with a keen interest in self-development and brain-training techniques. For the information in this post, London-based specialist Klear Minds were consulted.

How to Overcome Anxiety at Bedtime and Get a Better Night’s Sleep

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Sleep Problem: Anxiety

How to Overcome Anxiety at Bedtime and Get a Better Night’s Sleep

Did you know that May is Better Sleep Month? I didn’t realize it until speaking with someone from Casper. Casper is the most awarded mattress of the century. They were even named one of Time Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2015.

Think they know a thing or two about the importance of sleep? I’d say so.  As Arianna Huffington pointed out in Casper’s Sleep Symposium, “Many of us are so used to being tired all the time that we think that is the new norm. If you go to Google and type in ‘Why am I…’ Do you know what is the most common autocomplete? ‘Why am I so tired?'”

There are various sleep problems that keep us from getting a restful, healing night’s sleep. We’re going to look at a few of them as we close out May. The one I wanted to tackle first it Anxiety.

Why? Because, judging from the e-mail I receive, it’s one of the biggest sleep problems people are experiencing.

We know the basics when it comes to “setting the stage” for a great night’s sleep:

  • Comfortable mattress, pillows, sheets, and covers.
  • Comfortable sleepwear.
  • Keeping your bedroom dark. Our mind, naturally, associated darkness with sleep and light with being awake. This is part of the reason iPads and other devices are such a bad idea at bedtime. Your eyes “register” the light and your brain receives the wrong signal.
  • Comfortable room temperature. Experts suggest that 65 degrees is the best temperature for sleep.
  • Turning off all electronic devices at least 10 minutes before lying down… and (even more importantly) keeping them off!

The problem with anxiety, however, is the fact that its victim can set the stage and still not fall asleep or stay asleep. The reason is they can’t turn off their mind as easily as they can turn off the lights. The light and devices go off, the brain stays on… very much on.

The good news is this is not how the story ends. Not from a long shot. Below are tips that will, I hope, help you get a better night’s sleep if you suffer from any type of anxiety.

Start Thinking About Bedtime at Least Two Hours Before You Hit the Sheets

This may seem kind of odd, but stick with me, it’s actually vital. It’s all about unwinding – or to be more exact – winding down.  If you’re in the habit of watching dramas, action movies, ballgames, or (yikes!) the evening news right before bedtime, you aren’t setting the stage for restful sleep.  I’m not suggesting you give these up… not at all. As a baseball fanatic, I’d just dare anyone to try to get between me and my ballgames!

I understand, nighttime television viewing is a wonderful way to relax after a long day. What I’m suggesting is this – construct a “bridge” between the high-energy tv viewing and bedtime. Depending upon your personal level of anxiety, the prognosis of going from HIGH energy to sleep within a reasonable time frame is about as realistic as the tooth fairy.

You could begin, at the end of your television viewing, reading for thirty minutes. Some people enjoy turning on something incredibly relaxing like the Weather Channel or golf to close out the day. You could even begin recording your favorite cooking show and watching an episode each night before bed. Cooking shows are off the chart relaxing.

Two hours before bedtime, cut off all caffeine. If you battle anxiety, you probably have already cut back on caffeine (smart move) – but make certain you don’t have any for at least two hours before you go to bed. As for food, try not to eat much before bedtime. Digesting requires energy and the e-word is the last thing you want when you’re trying to sleep.

Try Listening to Calming, Relaxing Music

There are countless relaxation apps (just be sure you put your device away when you lie down!) with soothing music. You could also go “old school” and listen to a cd or even relaxing music YouTube. If you search for Japanese Garden Music on YouTube, you will not be disappointed.

As the graphic above suggests, you could find a meditation app and use it right before bedtime.

Nature sounds are also blissfully relaxing. There are apps for these as well. Personally, I love a good old-fashioned fan. In fact, I associate the sound of a fan with sleep so soundly that, in the summer, I have to be careful turning one on in my home office. I made the mistake one day last August and it took me three hours to accomplish one post.

And it was a short one!

Turn off Your Thought Factory

Okay, I’ll go ahead and admit it – I do not battle anxiety, so this is easy for me to say. From what I’ve heard (from readers as well as family members), there is no flip switch on anxious thoughts. Instead of turning thoughts off, let’s just think of turning the channel on our thoughts. If you tend to have worrisome thoughts at bedtime, you’re going to have to outsmart them.

Here’s a cool mental exercise: Think of a small white poodle. It’s a little girl poodle with a pink bow on top of her hair. She’s lying on a big pink pillow and looking cuter than she has a right to look. Now think of a plate of spaghetti. The noodles are mounded up and topped off with a delicious, meaty sauce with mushrooms, onions, and garlic. You better believe it’s topped with Parmesan cheese!

You went from FiFi on a pillow to dinner in the blink of an eye. Why? Because your brain is an incredible machine, that’s why!

In the same way you just switched channels on your thoughts, do so the next time you’re lying in bed thinking of the electric bill, Christmas shopping, your daughter’s ridiculous new haircut, your husband’s spending habits…. switch the thought channel and focus (not just think… focus) on a favorite color, visions of the sky, the sound of rain on a summer afternoon… Pick one thing that is relaxing or satisfying to you and focus entirely on it.

Just be sure you stick with one. If you start out thinking about one, then your brain gets cute and tries to switch to another, you’re going to be annoyed and, worst of all, as anxious as you were before.

Use Imagery

This one is my personal favorite – which is why I saved it for last. While apps, music, fans, etc, can be a wonderful place to start – your ultimate goal is to be able to control your own destiny when it comes to sleep. When you get to where you can unwind and slide deliciously into a restful night’s sleep without the aid of any device or sound, you’ll be in complete control and that’s a wonderful place to be.

After my mother died in 2006, I developed horrible sleep problems. Like those of you with anxiety, my brain would NOT turn off and it was a hideous ordeal. It’s even worse for people who deal with anxiety because a lack of sleep makes their anxiety worse. They pay for it the next day when they aren’t able to sleep. It’s a vicious cycle!

When I went through this period of time, I dreaded bedtime because it felt like a battle each night.  I finally found a trick that worked for me and I believe it can work for anyone who needs a little help shutting off their brain at night. I decided to try something “visual.” I looked through the photographs on my phone – looking for one that evoked a feeling of peacefulness and relaxation.

When I came across a picture of a beautiful lake, I knew I’d found just what I needed. I studied the picture and began, each night, to visualize the photograph. The peaceful setting brought about relaxation but that was only half the magic. Focusing on the picture instead of the pain was probably even more important. If you don’t have personal pictures that do the trick, look through magazines, books, or even do a Google Image search for “relaxing pictures.” You’ll turn up lakes, birds, candles, oceans, etc – just find the one that whispers, “Relaxation” to you.

Use Essential Oils and Aromatherapy

A lot of people, me included, swear by aromatherapy for improving your sleep. Click the link to find out how to use aromatherapy and essential oils to make your sleep as sweet as it can possibly be!

Make Your Busy Mind Work FOR You Instead of AGAINST You

On the playground of minds, anxious minds are in the hyper-active crowd. Busy, busy, busy. So, if this is something you can’t fight, go with it. If your brain refuses to shut off at night, another trick is to focus on an activity.  Some minds are simply too busy to use a relaxing image (like the suggestion above). These busy bee minds need to buzz a little more. If this is the case for you, go ahead and think… just think creatively.

Here’s one exercise: Close your eyes and relive one of the best days you ever had. See the sights, smell the smells, hear the sounds, and feel the emotions. Focus your energy on that day.

Here’s another: Close your eyes and focus on the darkness until an object takes shape. The first one to take shape may be a ball or a star. The next may be more detailed, like a bird or tree. The images and shapes will fade in and out of “view” and (trust me) it’s completely relaxing.

Here’s another: This exercise should probably come under its own category heading, but it’s too late to turn back now. Get comfortable – with your pillow just right and your arms just where they ought to be…. close your eyes.. now imagine that your toes are being massaged. The masseuse is using warm lotion and is working slowly across each toe. Now imagine that the process is carried up to the arches of your feet… then the heels… (by this time your eyes may be rolling into the back of your head). I’ve tried this exercise many times and have NEVER even made it to my knees.

Remember: It’s a Process

As you try each of the above suggestions, remember that it’s a process. You’re a professor and you’re in the lab looking for the cure. You may not find it right off the bat.. then again, you may do just that.

Keep looking until you find your own magic key to unlock the sweetest sleep you’ve ever had.

Thanks to Casper for the image above and the inspiration to write this article!

Wishing you sweet sleep!

~ Joi