RSS Feed

Posts Tagged ‘anxiety’

  1. Book Review: Habits of a Happy Brain

    January 27, 2016 by Diane

    I thought I’d start including book reviews on my site while I’m still off fishing. Here’s my most recent. Let me know if you like this feature!

    Habits of a Happy Brain

    I’ve read several books on rewiring the brain to overcome anxiety and depression by changing our thoughts. And goodness knows there’s a plethora of books on happiness. So I was pleased to discover a new angle on both subjects, because frankly, I’m stressed, and I would love to have those feel-good chemicals zipping around my body instead of the cortisol and adrenaline that I manufacture in Costco proportions.

    Imagine how delighted I was to discover that I can train my brain to switch on those happy chemicals and increase my feeling of well-being. What a nifty trick! I was eager to find out how.

    To begin with, the brain, I learned, has a big job to do: ensuring my survival. Which it seems to be doing rather seriously, ringing all those alarm bells 24/7. But when it sees something good for me, it shoots out those feel-good chemicals: dopamine, endorphin, oxytocin, and serotonin. Yay! The problem is, they don’t last long. Boo. They fizzle out and turn off. Pfft. Gone. And once again, my mammalian brain is back to scanning the environment for danger. Which it finds. Daily. In the news. On the radio. In the mirror. In my imagination.

    So how do I keep more of those feel-good chemicals active? Thankfully, this book explains the process. The author takes the reader through an explanation of how and why the mammal brain works the way it does, why it creates unhappiness, how new experiences stimulate the happy guys, and how to rewire the brain through 45 days of new habits.

    Wait, 45 days? I thought it only took 21 days to learn a new habit.

    Well, apparently 45 days is the required amount of time to boost these chemicals, so 45 days it is.

    But first, I need to know which of the good guys I’m lacking. Is it dopamine, that rewards me when I get what I need? Is it endorphin, that allows me to ignore pain? Is it oxytocin, that enables me to trust others and find safety in companionship? Or is it serotonin, motivating me to get respect?

    Well, let’s face it, I want more than 38 subscribers to my blog. And more than two retweets on my tweets. But isn’t that just an ego thing? Or is it a lack of serotonin?

    And yeah, I feel lonely, even though I’m around people every day. So maybe oxytocin is what I need.

    And I’m definitely aware of every twinge in my body, so it’s clear my endorphins aren’t doing their job.

    And I don’t always get what I need, or at least I don’t feel like I always get what I need, or have the time to achieve all that I want, so is lack of dopamine the culprit?

    The good news is, once I figure out which happy chemicals I’m short on, I can use the tools in this book to balance and easily access all four. How cool is that!

    My take? If  you struggle with anxiety or depression and want to feel more in control of your happiness, this is a book you might want to read. I also recommend it to ye who are fascinated by neuroscience and how to rewire the brain. Uh, that would be me.

    Category Book Reviews | Tags: ,, | 15 Comments

  2. When Panic Attacks, Duck! Tips for Surviving the Holidays

    December 6, 2015 by Diane

    Santa Claus

    Holidays can be stressful, whether you struggle with anxiety or not. But with a sensitive nervous system, all of the hustle and bustle of the season can be the tipping point that sends you into full-blown panic. Here are my tips on how to survive the holidays, and what to do if panic does attack.

    1. Pace yourself

    Christmas is a time of giving and receiving. Don’t give all of your energy to buying and wrapping presents, standing in lines, driving from mall to mall, and attending every party you’re invited to attend. All of these activities will zap whatever energy you’ve got if you don’t allow yourself downtime. Here’s where the receiving comes in. Receive the gift of slacking off in front of the television with a bowl of popcorn. Receive the gift of letting other people do some of the shlepping around. Receive the gift of taking a nap, or a long hot bath, or drinking a glass of wine, your feet in slippers, a good book at hand. And forget about perfection. Kick that demon to the curb. Whatever gift you choose, whatever meal you plan, is good enough.

    2. Take care

    Are you eating well? Exercising? Getting enough sleep? Spending time in nature or in some other sacred space? You’ll need to make an extra effort to take care of yourself when the stress of holidays is upon you. Sweets are plentiful, but limit the sugar, as it feeds anxiety. Ditto for caffeine. Cold weather may keep you indoors, but you can still do some stretching, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, calisthenics, or just dance around the living room in your pjs to release tension. Maintain a sleep schedule, and include a pre-sleep ritual like turning off the tv, cell phone and computer a half hour before you slip under the covers. And try to keep the volume down on the radio. Noise batters the nerves, too.

    3. Slow down

    Tis’ the season to feel rushed. What’s a body to do? Sloooooooow doooooooown. Make all of your movements slower. Walk, talk, whatever it is you’re doing, do it at a more leisurely pace. This will help to calm your heart, unclench your muscles, and lower your blood pressure.

    4. Be mindful

    Instead of thinking about all of the tasks ahead of you, bring your attention to the present moment. Focus on what you’re doing, like a camera zooming in for a close-up. Time will seem to expand, and you’ll feel less overwhelmed.

    5. Ask for help

    Don’t try to cook the whole meal, hang all the decorations, do all the dishes, or anything else involved in setting the scene, all by yourself. If others offer, accept their help. If they don’t, then prod those lazy duffs off the couch and march them into the kitchen. Many hands make for light work. And it’s a lot more fun.

    6. If panic attacks, duck

    Not under the table, into the fetal position. Duck out—to the bathroom, for some deep breathing. Step outside for some fresh air and a larger perspective. Take a walk, play with the kids. Or just start in on those dishes in the kitchen.

    7. Express what you’re feeling

    It’s probably not a good idea, as you’re serving the ham, to announce to the room: “I’m having a panic attack.” But you might want to seek out someone you trust and tell them what’s going on. Why? It lets off some of the pressure that anxiety builds up. You don’t have to suffer alone.

    8. Talk to somebody who’s sympathetic

    Not the family member who’s liable to say: “Snap out of it!” Not the relative who’s uncomfortable with his own emotions, let alone yours. Instead, find someone who understands what you’re going through. It’s a good bet that over half the people gathered together (probably more) deal with anxiety. You only need to find one of those fellow sufferers to talk to. Pull that person aside and say: “I’m feeling anxious right now and can’t seem to shake it.”

    9. Distract yourself

    Count how many red and green objects are in the room. Juggle the Christmas tree ornaments. Take notes on how your family behaves after a few stiff drinks. You can use the information in your next novel. Find someone who looks more frazzled than you, and do something to make them feel less so. Try not to make it all about you, or your anxiety, even though it feels that way.

    10. Be the observer

    Observe the action going on around you as if you are the calm, still center of the storm. Observe your panic go up and down in intensity. Observe yourself observing yourself, as if you are standing in the back of a movie theater, watching yourself in the third row, watching your life on the screen.

    Remember…this too will pass. The anxiety, the day. And when it does, pat yourself on the back for having survived.

    Category Fer Cryin' Out Loud | Tags: ,,,, | 6 Comments

  3. A Spoonful of Gratitude Helps the Anxiety Go Down

    November 29, 2015 by Diane

    practice gratitude

    As Thanksgiving dawned once again, I was beset by nervous tension. Why? It’s just another day, right?

    Not to my mind. To my mind, holidays require extra oomph. Preparing a special meal, even a fairly simple one, zaps my energy. Interacting with people for a good part of the day, even people I know and love, zaps my energy. As an introvert, my energy reserves are already limited. Even more so after a night of poor sleeping, kept awake by a mind that won’t allow my body to let go.

    So, with Thanksgiving upon me, and maybe a spoonful of energy available for the entire day, I knew I was in trouble. I needed to build my reserves. I needed to pull my brain from its anxious mode of thinking before it drained whatever remained in that spoonful, and open my heart to all that is right in the world. And what better way than to give myself a healthy dose of gratitude practice.

    Here’s how it works: ponder, talk about, or write down the things you are grateful for. As you do, your energy shifts, your vibrations rise, your perspective broadens. Even a teensy bit is a step up the emotional ladder.

    Here are five things I’m grateful for:

    1. I’m grateful to have a brain that holds my memories, a brain that allows me to create and imagine and discover and understand and make sense of life, even though that brain doesn’t always work well. Sometimes the circuitry gets stuck in anxietyville. Sometimes the messages it sends are lies. Still, for the most part, it’s a brain that I am grateful to have.

    2. I’m grateful to have a body that holds my spirit, even though that body complains at times, gets achy and painful and inflamed and shoots out much too much adrenaline and cortisol. Still, it carries me from point A to B, and allows me to see the sunset and hear the patter of rain on my roof and taste chocolate truffles, the dark ones from See’s, and smell the lavender bushes as I walk the neighborhood. It allows me to hug and cuddle and dance and hike and swim, and defend myself if need be.

    3. I’m grateful to have a cottage that houses my body, even if that cottage is the dimensions of an over-sized closet. Still, it’s bigger than a cardboard box, and it’s not under a freeway overpass, and I have my own bathroom.

    4. I’m grateful to live in America, a country where people who own playhouses the size of over-sized closets can rent them out at exorbitant fees, even though that country has a government that is sometimes populated by clowns. Still, it’s a government that ensures my food is safe to eat, the air is safe to breathe, and the water is safe to drink. It provides aid if I need it, and will rescue me if I’m taken hostage somewhere. Or at least attempt to rescue me. And I’m grateful to live in a country that accepts immigrants because I came from immigrants, we all did, unless we happen to be of Native-American ancestry and really, the only people who have the right to complain about immigrants are the Native-Americans, and why shouldn’t they, since it was immigrants who brought disease and wiped out their buffalo population and stole their land and turned it into high-rises and freeways, and truth be told, if my immigrant ancestors had been walled out by the native tribes, I wouldn’t be living here now, in an overpriced closet, shooting out adrenaline and cortisol. And I’m grateful to have the right to say any of this without being jailed or tortured or put to death.

    But I digress.

    5. I’m grateful to you, my reader. It’s you who make all this outpouring of words worthwhile. It’s you who keep me going when showing up at the keyboard seems like a monumental task. It’s you who make the process of writing complete, who answers the question: if a writer writes and no one reads what is written, do the words matter?

    They do. Because when I write with you in mind, I learn something about what it means to live on this big crazy revolving ball of energy.

    Blessings and love.

    Category Ain't Life Grand | Tags: ,,,, | 10 Comments

Older Entries
Newer Entries