Do you find yourself overly stressed, tired and even notice weight gain despite not changing your diet or workout frequency? Your cortisol levels may be out of whack. More specifically, they may be too high.

Cortisol is often called the primary “stress hormone” because it’s one of the main hormones we release when we’re under any sort of pressure and our evolutionary-based “fight or flight response” kicks into gear. Although most think of cortisol as a bad thing — such as contributing to acne, weight gain or high blood pressure — there’s actually a lot more to cortisol levels than just our stress response and its unwanted symptoms. We need it to live.

While producing cortisol is a necessity for life and helps keep us motivated, awake and responsive to our environment, maintaining abnormally high circulating cortisol levels can become dangerous and contribute to long-term problems. Long-term use of corticosteroids and chronic stress are two of the biggest contributors to high cortisol. Chronic, high cortisol production is tied to symptoms and ailments including weight gain, anxiety, sleep disorders, hormonal imbalances and fertility problems, in addition to many other problems.

The good news is there are many natural ways to lower high cortisol levels.

What Is Cortisol?

The adrenal gland, following signals from the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, is responsible for the secretion of cortisol, a type of essential glucocorticoid steroid hormone. Cortisol levels are highest in the morning around 7 a.m. and lowest at night (called a diurnal rhythm).

Cortisol is also present in both chronically stressed individuals and those who are perfectly healthy. This vital hormone possesses dozens of different purposes within the body and makes numerous chemical interactions every single day.

What does cortisol do exactly? Cortisol receptors are scattered throughout the entire body, found in nearly every cell, and serve different essential functions, including:

• helping to keep us awake and alert
• preventing fatigue or brain fog
• keeping our metabolisms running (it helps us burn fat for energy)
• balancing blood sugar levels (since it allows cells to take up and use glucose for energy)
• reducing inflammation and helping with healing
• balancing fluid levels based on salt and water intake
• contributing to control over blood pressure
• helping with many cognitive processes like learning and memory formulation
• allowing us to respond to and escape perceived dangers
• helping to develop the fetus during pregnancy

Levels of cortisol rise when the pituitary gland releases another hormone called adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). ACTH signals the adrenals to pump out more cortisol. Why does this happen? Many different things trigger this release, including various forms of physical or emotional stress, a poor lifestyle, too little sleep, or illnesses and infections.

While cortisol (a stress hormone) can increase in response to good or bad stress, it tends to remain elevated when someone is dealing with chronic, unresolved stress. A so-called positive stress is also called eustress.

Cushing’s Disease

When the pituitary or adrenal glands produce abnormally high levels of cortisol for a duration of time, a doctor (perhaps a endocrinologist) may diagnose a serious, chronic disorder called Cushing’s disease.

Cushing’s disease is usually caused by tumors on the adrenal or pituitary glands and often causes symptoms like rapid weight gain, a swollen face, fatigue, and water retention/swelling around the abdomen and upper back. It impacts women between the ages of 25 to 40 most often, although people of any age and gender can develop this condition.

Diagnosable Cushing’s disease caused by an overactive adrenal gland is considered much rarer than just having generally high cortisol levels. In other words, you have a much greater chance of experiencing high cortisol at certain times due to increased stress in your life than you do of ever being diagnosed with Cushing’s disease.

While people experience at least somewhat high levels of cortisol at one time or another during very stressful episodes (such as a job loss, family crisis or major change), rates of Cushing’s disease diagnoses are still very low compared to other hormonal/endocrine conditions like thyroid disorders or diabetes, for example.

It’s estimated that Cushing’s disease impacts between 10 to 15 people per million, but comparatively high cortisol levels above what are considered normal affect millions of people and most adults. While symptoms of Cushing’s disease and high cortisol tend to be similar, those caused by Cushing’s disease are usually more severe, last longer and more often cause other complications.

Cushing’s syndrome is not the same as Cushing’s disease. They’re similar but also different conditions: Cushing’s syndrome is less serious and refers to “the general state characterized by excessive levels of cortisol in the blood,” while Cushing’s disease is the condition caused by a pituitary tumor that secretes the hormone ACTH, which causes excess cortisol.

Addison’s Disease

On the other hand, the opposite of having Cushing’s disease — experiencing abnormally low cortisol levels — can result in a condition known as Addison’s disease, adrenal insufficiency or adrenal fatigue. Addison’s disease is also rare and is considered a type of autoimmune disease, since it causes the immune system to attack the body’s own healthy tissue. In this case, tissues within the adrenal glands themselves becomes damaged and inflamed, which alters how the adrenals produce hormones.

Certain symptoms of Addison’s disease are essentially the opposite of symptoms of Cushing’s disease, since they’re caused by a deficit in cortisol rather than an excess. Addison’s symptoms can include fatigue, weight loss, muscle wasting, mood swings and changes to the skin. Symptoms of adrenal fatigue can be similar.

Symptoms

According to research done by the Genetics Learning Science Center, the long-term danger of having high cortisol is that it activates the fight-or-flight response, which temporarily shuts down normal reproductive, digestive and immune functions. The body targets these systems for shutdown because it doesn’t need them for immediate survival.

Sensory nerve cells pass the perception of a threat, or stress, from the environment to the hypothalamus in the brain. This signals the pituitary and primary adrenal glands to produce more cortisol. If this cycle goes on for too long, someone becomes more susceptible to all sorts of illnesses, infections and hormonal problems.

Some clues that may signal you’re living with high cortisol levels include:

• weight gain, especially around the abdomen/stomach (this can happen despite not changing your diet or exercise routine)
• a puffy, flushed face
• mood swings and increased anxiety
• fatigue (including feeling “tired but wired”)
• trouble sleeping normally
• irregular periods and fertility problems (chronic stress drives pregnenolone/progesterone into conversion to cortisol, which competes for precursors available for synthesizing of other important hormones, like DHEA, estrogen and estradiol
• high blood pressure levels (cortisol narrows the arteries while the epinephrine increases heart rate)
• acne or other changes in the skin
• higher rates for bone fractures and osteoporosis (cortisol can lower hormones like estrogen, which are important for bone health)
• muscle aches and pains
• changes in libido due to changes in estrogen or decreased testosterone
• excessive thirst
• increased urination
• higher susceptibility to infections (the stress response can lower immune system functions)

Causes

Wondering what underlying conditions could be contributing to your high cortisol levels? Cortisol tends to go up as perceived stress goes up, so anything that triggers a negative mind states — things like anxiety, worry, anger or frustration — contributes to high cortisol levels. Medication use, inflammation, poor sleep and a poor diet can also trigger high cortisol levels by altering hormonal balances and negatively affecting the immune system.

Corticosteroid medications like hydrocortisone, prednisone pills or other medications used to treat inflammatory-related diseases or symptoms are common causes of high cortisol levels. Aside from corticosteroids, other major factors contributing to higher than usual cortisol production include:

• depression
• over-exercising or overtraining
• nutrient deficiencies
• addiction (alcohol or drug abuse)
• higher than normal estrogen levels
• malnourishment and eating disorders
• severe kidney or liver disease
• hyperthyroidism
• obesity
• pregnancy or birth control pills
• recent surgery, illness, injury or whole-body infections (which all trigger inflammation)

Testing and Diagnosis

Your doctor can order a number of tests to determine if you have abnormally high cortisol levels. Both blood and urine testing help reveal a problem, but a 24-hour urine test is used more often than a cortisol blood test to diagnose Cushing’s disease or syndrome.

The cortisol values listed below, which can be obtained from a blood test, serve as a reference range for what’s considered normal. Cortisol levels above this normal range are considered high and can be risky or problematic.

But keep in mind that values differ depending on time of day, age and the type of cortisol test preformed. Saliva tests are now also recommended and appear to be as reliable as a blood sample. Additionally, an overnight dexamethasone suppression test may also be recommended, and it involves taking a dose of a corticosteroid medicine called dexamethasone to determine how blood cortisol is affected.

Because of this, your doctor will always need to evaluate your results in light of your specific symptoms and medical history.

• Normal cortisol ranges for adults and children in the morning are between five to 23 micrograms per deciliter (mcg/dL) or 138 to 635 nanomoles per liter (nmol/L)
• Normal cortisol ranges for adults and children in the afternoon are between three to 16 mcg/dL or 83 to 441 nmol/L
• Normal cortisol for a newborn baby is between two to 11 mcg/dL or 55 to 304 nmol/L

If your test results reveal that you’re at risk for Cushing’s disease or Cushing’s syndrome, you’ll be treated dependent on what’s causing cortisol levels to rise in the first place. Cushing’s syndrome and Cushing’s disease are most often caused by benign tumor growth on the pituitary gland (called a pituitary adenoma), cortisol-like synthetic medication use and the cortisol-increasing lifestyle factors mentioned above, so all of these will be addressed by your doctor if they’re contributing to your symptoms.

A high percentage of people with either Cushing’s disease or syndrome display at least small tumor growths on their pituitary glands and need to have these removed with surgery or reduced with medications and lifestyle changes in order to resolve cortisol-related symptoms.

It’s important to talk to your doctor if you suspect you might have Cushing’s disease or syndrome to assess whether or not you need to discontinue or lower use of medications that increase cortisol (such as steroids), undergo life-saving surgery to remove the tumor, or use radiation and/or medications to shrink the tumor. However, keep in mind these are very rarely needed interventions, and most people with high cortisol levels are able to manage their conditions naturally without surgery or medication.

How to Lower Cortisol Levels Naturally

You can greatly help manage cortisol levels and regain your health by changing your diet, exercise routine, sleep and stress levels. Assuming you haven’t been diagnosed with Cushing’s disease (see above) by your doctor, here are steps you can take to help lower high cortisol levels naturally:

1. Switch to a Whole Foods, Anti-inflammatory Diet

Poorly managed blood sugar levels (especially hypoglycemia, having low blood sugar) and high levels of inflammation can contribute to high cortisol levels and other hormonal imbalances. Following an anti-inflammatory diet low in processed foods and high in antioxidants, fiber and essential nutrients is key to balancing hormones, controlling your cravings and getting you on the right track. These same strategies can also help with adrenal support, allowing you to reach and maintain a healthy weight, boosting energy during the day and helping you sleep better at night.

Some of the most significant dietary contributors to inflammation and high cortisol levels include:

• high-sugar, high-glycemic diet (with many packaged foods, refined grain products, sugary drinks and snacks)
• consuming high amounts of refined and trans fats
• drinking too much caffeine and alcohol
• experiencing insufficient intake of micronutrients and antioxidants
• not consuming enough fiber (which makes it hard to balance blood sugar)
• not consuming enough healthy fats or protein (which can lead to hunger, weight gain and high blood sugar)

Instead, switch to a low-glycemic diet, include healthy fats and proteins with every meal, and make sure to get enough fiber and phytonutrients by eating plenty fresh fruits and veggies. Some of the most useful foods for lowering cortisol and stabilizing blood sugar include vegetables; fruits; coconut or olive oil; nuts; seeds; lean proteins like eggs, fish and grass-fed beef; and probiotic foods (like yogurt, kefir or cultured veggies).

2. Reduce and Manage Stress

Chronic stress is now linked with just about every health problem out there. Stress affects most people at least to some degree and impacts health by sending chemical signals around the body, including to the heart and blood vessels, immune system, lungs, digestive system, sensory organs, and brain. Stress has the power to increase breathing, heart rate, pain and muscle tension, your appetite (including overeating), and sleep-related problems.

Fortunately, stress management is something you can begin without too much trouble. The natural stress relievers listed below are proven to help lower cortisol and decrease the negative impact stress has on your health:

• Meditation or “mindfulness”: This practice has been shown to help train the brain and body to turn off the stress response and promote more relaxation. And these benefits are possible without impairing alertness, concentration or memory. Many studies show that daily mediation or even healing prayer for just 15 to 30 minutes can offer significant reductions in cortisol. Participating in a regular “mindfulness-based stress reduction” program also offers significant reductions in cortisol and stress-related symptoms or diseases. Using meditative methods can also improve brain and heart health while bolstering your immune system.
• Acupuncture: Trusted for thousands of years in Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture treatments help naturally control stress and reduce symptoms like muscle or joint pain, headaches, fertility problems, troubling sleeping, and poor circulation.
• Deep breathing exercises: Taking deep breaths helps turn down the sympathetic nervous system and kick in the body’s natural relaxation response by activating the parasympathetic nervous system. Diaphragmatic breathing is an easy technique to learn on your own and practice throughout the day to relieve muscle tension and anxiety.
• Spending time in nature/outdoors: Studies show that physical settings play a role in stress reduction, and being in nature is a well-documented way to promote relaxation. Try going for walks (try forest bathing) or runs outside (especially barefoot running or walking, a practice called “earthing“), spending time at the ocean, walking through forests, gardening at home, or doing other things outdoors and away from technology to reduce anxiety.

3. Exercise Regularly

According to research published by Harvard Medical School, regular exercise (about 30 to 60 minutes most days of the week, depending on the intensity) is one of the best ways to manage stress, balance hormones, sleep better and aid normal metabolic functions (like balancing blood sugar levels). The key is to avoid overtraining and overexerting yourself, which can actually cause even more cortisol to be released.

Exercise benefits hormone levels because although it temporarily increases adrenaline and cortisol production, it generally helps bring cortisol back down to normal levels afterward. This cycle helps your body better handle stress and gives your autonomic nervous system (the one that controls your stress and relaxation responses) its own workout. This means the next time your stress hormones rise due to a perceived threat, you should be able to lower cortisol levels more easily, since your body becomes primed to this during physical activity.

4. Use Adaptogen Herbs and Superfoods

Adaptogen herbs help naturally lower high cortisol levels in several key ways. They help balance hormones; reduce inflammation due to their strong antioxidant, antiviral and antibacterial effects; have natural antidepressant effects; lower fatigue; and help balance blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Many adaptogens, such as reishi mushrooms and cocoa, have been safely used for thousands of years to promote better overall health with little to no side effects.

There are at least 16 different proven adaptogenic herbs that can help lower cortisol, including:

• ashwaganda
• astragalus
• licorice root
• holy basil
• medicinal mushrooms, including resishi and cordyceps
• rhodiola

5. Try Essential Oils to Promote Relaxation

Similarly to adaptogen herbs, essential oils are also helpful for fighting stress and balancing hormones. Essential oils, including lavender, myrrh, frankincense and bergamot, contain potent, active ingredients that have been shown to naturally lower cortisol, reduce inflammation, improve immunity, and help with sleep and digestive functions.

Try inhaling some of the best essential oils for hormones, diffusing them in your home, making bath soaks or body washes using your favorite kinds, or rubbing them directly into your skin when mixed properly with a carrier oil (like coconut or jojoba oil). If you’re dealing with side effects of high cortisol, including acne, indigestion or bloated stomach, certain essential oils like lemon or peppermint can help with that, too.

6. Get Enough Sleep

Getting enough sleep helps us control cortisol production, but having high cortisol levels can make it hard to rest. In people with normal circadian rhythms, cortisol levels rise during the early morning hours and then drop very low at night prior to sleep and during sleep. People who develop high cortisol levels can wind up feeling the opposite: wired and anxious at night, but then fatigued during the day — thus, they can’t sleep well at the times they’re supposed to.

This overactivity of the adrenal glands is one of the biggest signs of Cushing’s disease or adrenal fatigue and is usually tied to stress and hormonal imbalances. By taking the steps listed above, you should be able to rest more easily. Ideally, you should aim for seven to nine hours of sleep per night to reset your circadian rhythms and bring hormones back to balance.

Final Thoughts

Although cortisol is often viewed as a bad actor, we need it to live. The problem is medications, a lack of exercise, processed foods and high stress levels can leave us living with too much cortisol in the body. In rare cases, a (usually benign) tumor could be the root cause of high cortisol levels. Your doctor can order routine tests to determine your cortisol levels and suggest ways to lower it.

Regardless, we could all probably tap in to natural cortisol-lowering techniques like mindfulness, exercise, and a diet rich in fresh vegetables, clean protein and fruit. So in order to keep your cortisol levels in check, remember the following:

• Here are some steps you can take to manage your cortisol levels: switch to a whole foods, anti-inflammatory diet; reduce and manage stress; exercise regularly; use adaptogen herbs and superfoods; use essential oils to promote relaxation; and get enough sleep.
• You have a much greater chance of experiencing high cortisol at certain times due to increased stress in your life than you do of ever being diagnosed with Cushing’s disease, though Cushing’s disease is usually caused by tumors on the adrenal or pituitary glands and often causes symptoms like rapid weight gain, a swollen face, fatigue, and water retention/swelling around the abdomen and upper back. It impacts women between the ages of 25 to 40 most often, although people of any age and gender can develop this condition. While symptoms of Cushing’s disease and high cortisol tend to be similar, those caused by Cushing’s disease are usually more severe, last longer and more often cause other complications.
• Symptoms of high cortisol levels include weight gain; a puffy, flushed face; mood swings and increased anxiety; fatigue; trouble sleeping; irregular periods and fertility problems; high blood pressure; acne or other changes in the skin; higher rates for bone fractures and osteoporosis; muscle aches and pains; changes in libido due ot changes in estrogen or decreased testosterone; excessive thirst, increased urination; and higher susceptibility to infections.
• Corticosteroids, depression, over-exercising or overtraining, nutrient deficiencies, alcohol or drug abuse, higher than normal estrogen levels, malnourishment and eating disorders, sever kidney or liver disease, hyperthyroidism, obesity, pregnancy or birth control pills, and recent surgery, illness, injury or whole-body infections can all cause high cortisol.

The post Natural Remedies for High Cortisol Levels & Excessive Stress appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Anxiety can be a disabling condition that’s accompanied by long-term stress and a decline in overall health. It contributes to many chronic diseases, even when treated with conventional medications. That’s why we need to use natural remedies for anxiety and other mood disorders that address the root of the problem instead of putting a Band-Aid on your anxiety symptoms.

In fact, anxiety can affect people of all ages, with a lifetime prevalence between 4.3 percent and 5.9 percent. In addition, 40 percent to 60 percent of people with anxiety experience signs of depression, which makes it an even more serious and difficult condition to treat properly.

Research shows that people with anxiety have difficulty successfully achieving short- or long-term remission, with remission rates remaining as low as 38 percent after five years.

The good news is that there are many natural remedies for anxiety that are safe and don’t cause adverse side effects like so many anti-anxiety medications. By eating a clean and well-balanced diet that contains important nutrients like B vitamins, magnesium and omega-3s, and using essential oils for anxiety, you may notice an immediate difference in your mood, energy levels and sleep patterns.

Plus, there are many supplements and lifestyle changes that serve as natural remedies for anxiety.

Related: ASMR: What Is Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response & Does It Work?

Causes and Risk Factors

Anxiety is a normal response to stress or a dangerous situation. It’s often referred to as the “fight or flight” response.

It’s also the most prevalent mental health condition. Anxiety becomes problematic when it is constant or in reaction to inappropriate circumstances, which over time can negatively affect your day-to-day life.

In fact, there are a number of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, social anxiety disorder and panic disorder.

Causes of anxiety include:

• stress
• traumatic life experiences
• thyroid problems
• dysfunctional serotonin
• excessive alcohol
• caffeine or sugar intake
• hormone imbalance

In addition, research shows that risk factors for anxiety disorders include being female, experiencing stressful life events in childhood and adulthood, having a family history of mental health disorders, having limited economic resources, and being shy in childhood.

Related: Sunday Scaries: How to Deal with Work Anxiety

Signs and Symptoms

Although anxiety is characterized by excessive worrying and tension, other physical and psychological symptoms of anxiety include:

• muscle tension
• chest tightness
• heart palpitations
• high blood pressure
• insomnia
• digestive problems
• panic attacks
• irritability
• difficulty concentrating
• restlessness
• sweating
• anxiousness
• inability to socialize

Related: What Is Autophobia? How to Treat the Fear of Being Alone

Conventional Treatment

Typically, anxiety is treated with a combination of psychotropic drugs and cognitive behavioral therapy. Pharmacologic interventions for anxiety include:

• Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs): SNRIs are used to treat anxiety, depression, panic disorder, fibromyalgia and back pain. They work by blocking or delaying the reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine, which helps improve your mood. Some SNRI brand names include Cymbalta, Pristiq, Effexor and Savella. Common side effects of these medications include dizziness, nausea, loss of appetite, sexual problems, constipation, weight loss, insomnia, headaches, dry mouth and agitation.
• Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs): SSRIs are used to correct low serotonin levels in the brain. SSRIs are used to treat anxiety disorders and depression. Some examples of commonly prescribed SSRIs include Lexapro, Prozac, Zoloft and Celexa. Possible side effects of these medications include drowsiness, nausea, diarrhea, headache, sexual problems, agitation, dizziness, dry mouth, insomnia and blurred vision. In fact, research shows that approximately 30 percent to 50 percent of patients on SSRIs experience these kind of mild side effects.
• Benzodiazepines: Benzodiazepines are used to enhance the effect of GABA, a neurotransmitter that reduces the activity of neurons that cause anxiety. Benzodiazepine drugs are used to treat anxiety, insomnia, alcohol withdrawal, pack attacks and seizures (due to their anticonvulsant properties). The most popular types of benzodiazepines include Xanax, Valium, Librium and Tranxene. These medications come with side effects like dizziness, headaches, blurred vision, sweating, trouble sleeping, impaired coordination, confusion and an increased risk of falling in elderly patients.

The controversial botanical substance kratom is also sometimes used to alleviate anxiety and help with pain relief. Thankfully, there are natural remedies for anxiety to try as well.

Natural Remedies for Anxiety

Diet

1. Eat a Clean and Well-Balanced Diet

Several studies show that there is a connection between the diet choices and psychology, physiology and behavior. Dietary choices impact a person from the moment he or she is born to adult life.

Consuming too many or too little calories can increase anxiety symptoms and other psychological or emotional disorders. Also, poor diet can lead to many anxiety symptoms, including moodiness, fatigue and abnormal blood sugar levels that cause nervousness and the jitters.

A poor diet can also lead to weight gain, and this can impact your body image and bring on feelings of worthlessness and self-doubt.

Eating anti-inflammatory foods can be a natural remedy for anxiety because they are important for neurotransmitters synthesizing and balancing your mood and stress response. In addition, it’s also important to eat healthy fats, unrefined carbohydrates and lean protein.

To improve anxiety symptoms, make sure to add vitamin B foods, magnesium-rich foods, foods high in calcium and omega-3 foods to your diet too, including:

• wild-caught fish (like salmon, mackerel, tuna, white fish and herring)
• grass-fed beef
• organic chicken
• nutritional yeast
• eggs
• yogurt or kefir
• leafy greens (like spinach, kale, chard and collard greens)
• fresh vegetables (like celery, bok choy, broccoli, beets and artichokes)
• fresh fruits (like blueberries, pineapple, banana and figs)
• sea vegetables
• healthy fats (like avocado, coconut oil and olive oil)
• beans (such as black beans, adzuki beans, chickpeas and fava beans)
• legumes (like lentils and peas)
• nuts (such as walnuts, almonds and cashews)
• seeds (including flaxseeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds and pumpkin seeds)
• unrefined grains (like farro, quinoa and barley)

2. Avoid Sugary and Processed Foods

Research shows that consuming foods that have a high glycemic index can contribute to anxiety and depression. Sugar and refined carbohydrates can give you blood sugar highs and lows throughout the day, increasing anxiety, nervousness and fatigue.

These foods can cause mood swings and alter your energy levels, making it more difficult to get your anxiety symptoms under control. They also contribute to inflammation and alter your brain structure and neurotransmitter function.

To maintain normal blood sugar levels and improve your anxiety symptoms, stay away from refined foods, including baked goods (like pastries and cookies), sweetened beverages, fast foods, fried foods, processed meat and refined grains (which can be found in cereals and packaged breads).

One specific dietary option that covers many of these bases and may actually influence anxiety is the keto diet. Preliminary research in animals has found that following this high-fat, low-carb diet may result in a lowered risk for anxiety.

3. Limit Caffeine and Alcohol

Too much caffeine or alcohol can increase anxiety symptoms like moodiness, nervousness and the jitters. A study published by the British Journal of Psychiatry found that abstinence from alcohol is associated with a lower risk of anxiety. To reduce anxiety, avoid alcohol completely, or limit your alcohol intake to one to three drinks per week — but no more than two at a time.

Research also shows that consuming too much caffeine can induce anxiety symptoms, and people with panic disorder and social anxiety seem to be particularly sensitive to the effects of caffeine. Limit coffee or black tea to no more than one cup per day.

Supplements

4. Ashwagandha

Ashwagandha is an adaptogen herb that is often used as a natural remedy for anxiety because it helps stabilize the body’s response to stress. In a systematic review that assessed data on the effectiveness of ashwagandha as a treatment for anxiety, researchers found that most studies concluded with significant improvement in anxiety symptoms with ashwagandha therapy.

However, ashwagandha is not only a stress reliever. It also protects the brain from degeneration, and it works to improve anxiety symptoms by destroying free radicals that cause damage to the brain and body.

Research shows that ashwagandha helps improve focus, reduce fatigue and fight anxiety without the side effects of most anti-anxiety medications.

5. Kava Root

Research shows that kava root can be used to treat anxiety because it’s a nonaddictive and non-hypnotic anxiolytic. Kava is used to improve mood, ease anxiety and boost sociability. It works by stimulating dopamine receptors and inducing euphoria.

In fact, a randomized, controlled trial conducted in Australia found that kava can be considered a first-line therapy for generalized anxiety disorder, and it’s shown to be safe for people undergoing treatment. A meta-analysis reported by Cochrane that involved seven trials suggests that there are significant effects from kava treatment for anxiety with few side effects, which are all considered mild.

Take kava under the guidance of your health care provider, as it can interact with certain medications. Also, do not consume alcohol if you are using kava, and be aware of the most common side effects, including headache, drowsiness and diarrhea.

6. 5-HTP (5-hydroxytryptophan)

Supplementing with 5-HTP, which is synthesized from tryptophan (an essential amino acids that acts as a mood regulator), can help to treat a number of issues that are associated with anxiety, including trouble sleeping, moodiness and headaches. 5-HTP increases serotonin, which is a calming neurotransmitter that transmits signals between the nerve cells and alters brain functions that regulate your mood and sleep patterns.

Studies show that 5-HTP therapy is associated with a significant reduction in anxiety due to its calming effects. However, it’s important that you do not take 5-HTP with any prescription anti-anxiety or antidepressant medications.

7. GABA (Gamma aminobutyric acid)

GABA is an amino acid that is responsible for decreasing anxiety in the nervous system, and it also helps relax your muscles. It’s used for a number of conditions in addition to relieving anxiety, including reducing PMS, relieving insomnia, stabilizing blood pressure, treating ADHD, burning fat and relieving pain.

GABA is also an inhibitory neurotransmitter that can cause a sedative effect, helps regulate nerve cells and calms anxiety. Anti-anxiety drugs, like Xanax and Valium, work to increase the amount of GABA in the brain.

There are GABA supplements available in your local health food or vitamin store. Another option is to use valerian root, which naturally increases your brain’s GABA level and helps calm anxiety.

8. Magnesium

Magnesium plays many important roles in the body, and magnesium deficiency is one of the leading deficiencies in adults. If you’re struggling with anxiety, you may want to try taking a magnesium supplement.

Magnesium helps relax your muscles and calm the nervous system. Also, it’s vital for GABA function and regulating certain hormones that are crucial for calming the brain and promoting relaxation.

Magnesium is commonly used to combat anxiety, poor digestion, muscle spasms and trouble sleeping. Look for magnesium in citrate, chelate and chloride, which are forms that the body absorbs better.

However, be aware that too much magnesium can cause diarrhea, so be careful with the dose. Because of this, start with smaller amounts of magnesium, and work your way up to a dose that’s effective for you.

9. Vitamin B Complex

B vitamins help combat stress and stabilize your mood. Vitamin B6, in particular, serves as a natural remedy for anxiety because it works to boost mood, balance blood sugar levels and maintain a healthy nervous system. In fact, symptoms of a vitamin B6 deficiency include anxiety, irritability, depression, changes in mood, muscle pains and fatigue.

In addition, vitamin B12 is also important for fighting chronic stress, mood disorders and depression. It helps improve your concentration and energy levels and allows your nervous system to function properly. (20)

Related: 5 Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT Tapping Benefits for Stress, Pain & More

Essential Oils

10. Lavender Oil

Lavender oil has been shown to reduce anxiety and help relax the body. A multi-center, double-blind, randomized study conducted in Germany found that Silexan, an oral lavender oil capsule, was just as effective as benzodiazepine, anti-anxiety medication that usually induces sedation and had a high potential for drug abuse.

Research also shows that using lavender oil topically or inhaling lavender can help induce calmness and relieve symptoms of anxiety, like nervousness, headaches and muscle pain.

Put three drops of lavender oil in your palm, and rub it onto your neck, wrists and temples. You can also diffuse lavender oil at home or at work, inhale it directly from the bottle for immediate relief, and add five to 10 drops to warm bath water to fight anxiety naturally.

11. Roman Chamomile

Roman chamomile essential oil is used to calm nerves and reduce anxiety because of its mild sedative and relaxation-promoting properties. Inhaling it works as an emotional trigger because the fragrance travels directly to the brain to help fight anxiety symptoms.

A study published in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine found that when chamomile oil is taken orally, it causes a significant reduction of anxiety and depression symptoms when compared to a placebo.

Diffuse five drops of Roman chamomile oil at home or at work, inhale it directly from the bottle, or apply it topically to the neck, chest and wrists. Roman chamomile is also gentle enough for children to use as a natural remedy for anxiety.

Lifestyle

12. Physical Activity

Regular physical activity helps improve sleep quality, reduce inflammation, boost confidence, improve energy levels, and ease stress and tension. People with anxiety can benefit from exercises like yoga and tai chi because they promote relaxation and involve deep breathing techniques that help reduce stress and muscle tension.

A 2012 review published in Alternative Medicine Review found that of the 35 trials that addressed the effects of yoga on anxiety and stress, 25 of them noted a significant decrease in stress and anxiety symptoms as a result of practicing yoga.

In fact, yoga changes your brain by impacting your GABA levels and suppressing neural activity.

Besides yoga and tai chi, you can practice other exercises that help to calm the body. For example, running, walking or hiking outdoors, lifting weights, and even dancing can help combat stress.

13. Get Enough Rest

Researchers at the University of Berkeley found that a lack of sleep can amplify anticipatory anxiety by stimulating regions in the brain that are associated with emotional processing. This means sleep deprivation can contribute to common anxiety symptoms. These symptoms include excessive worrying, and by restoring proper sleep patterns, people with anxiety can reduce feelings of fear, worry and tension.

Aim to get seven to nine hours of sleep every night in order to reduce stress, balance your hormones, prevent moodiness and reduce fatigue. You can also diffuse lavender or Roman chamomile essential oil in your bedroom to help induce relaxation.

14. Meditate

A 2013 randomized, controlled trial published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry found that mindfulness meditation had a beneficial effect on anxiety symptoms and improved stress reactivity and coping mechanisms when faced with a stress challenge.

If you’re new to this, try guided meditation as one of your natural remedies for anxiety, which is available on YouTube and podcasts. It helps reduce your cortisol levels, improve your sleep quality, boost your productivity at home and at work, and treat your anxiety.

15. Find Support

In your effort to overcome anxiety, finding support from your family, friends, community and professional therapists can be extremely helpful. For example, cognitive behavioral therapy is a type of psychotherapy that focuses on a person’s underlying thoughts in determining how that person acts and feels. Therapists help change your thought patterns and reactions so you can better handle stressful situations.

If your anxiety affects your quality of life, consider joining a local support group or connecting with other people who are dealing with anxiety. Together, you can use these natural remedies for anxiety with members of your community and work through tough situations with their support.

Precautions

If you choose to use any of these natural remedies for anxiety, do so under the guidance of your health care provider. Also, make sure that he or she knows what other medications you are taking in order to avoid dangerous interactions.

For example, some of these natural remedies, including kava root, 5-HTP and GABA, do interact with commonly prescribed anti-anxiety and anti-depression medications. Do not use these supplements or herbs along with prescribed drugs.

Related: How to Practice Positive Self-Talk for Better Health and Happiness

Conclusion

• Anxiety is a normal response to stress or a dangerous situation. However — referred to as the “fight or flight” response — it’s the most prevalent mental health condition.
• Research shows that people with anxiety cannot always successfully achieve short- or long-term remission, with remission rates remaining as low as 38 percent after five years.
• Conventional treatments for anxiety include a combination of psychotropic drugs and cognitive behavioral therapy, though there are natural remedies for anxiety too.
• Natural remedies for anxiety offer alternative therapies that don’t cause adverse side effects and have been proven effective. These natural remedies for anxiety include supplements like magnesium, GABA and vitamin B complex; herbs like kava root; essential oils; and dietary and lifestyle changes.
• Try these natural remedies for anxiety if you suffer from this condition.

The post Anxiety Natural Remedies: 15 Ways to Relax & Find Calm appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Oxytocin — nicknamed by some experts “the tend and befriend hormone” — is one of the most important hormones that humans (and many other mammals) produce. It plays an important role in:

• social bonding
• building relationships
• reproduction
• childbirth
• breastfeeding
• raising children

Here’s something that may come as a surprise: According to the American Psychological Association, oxytocin is released in response to both positive social connection and stressful conditions.

Levels have been found to be higher when someone is under stress, such as when exposed to social isolation or when in an unhappy relationship. It’s thought that increased levels may help motivate people to reach out for help.

On the other hand, situations that make us feel safe, happy and connected tend to cause the release of several “feel-good hormones,” including oxytocin, dopamine and serotonin.

What Is Oxytocin?

Oxytocin is a hormone (technically a peptide or neuropeptide) that is involved in bonding. As a neuropeptide, it’s a “chemical messenger” that acts on organs, including the brain.

What does oxytocin do, and where is it produced?

Oxytocin is produced in the hypothalamus region in the brain, often called the “control center” of the brain. It’s also thought to be influenced by activation of the amygdala, which is the region of the brain mostly associated with fear and memories.

Once the hypothalamus sends signals for oxytocin to be produced, it’s either released into the bloodstream or to other parts of the brain and spinal cord. It binds to oxytocin receptors, influencing how we feel and behave toward others.

Oxytocin influences the autonomic nervous system and the immune system. This includes having an effect on the “hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis” (also called the HPA axis), which dictates release of many hormones.

This peptide hormone has been said to have “broad implications” for general health, including facilitating adaption to stressors, development, growth, healing, reproduction and social behavior. It also seems to have anti-inflammatory and even antioxidant effects, since it defends the body against trauma, illness and stress-induced damage.

Additionally, it helps keep blood pressure levels in the normal range and also balances cortisol levels, a primary “stress hormone.”

We usually think of it as a feminine hormone, but do men produce oxytocin too?

Yes — while it was originally considered a hormone that was only found in women due to its tie to labor, lactation and raising children, it’s now known to be present and important in both men and women (although women are still thought to produce more).

For example, oxytocin helps with male reproduction — as well as female reproduction — by supporting production of testosterone in the testes and motility of sperm. Additionally, it affects both sexes’ metabolisms, moods, immune systems and more.

Related: How to Hack Brain Chemicals to Boost Happiness

The post Oxytocin (The Love Hormone): Benefits + How to Increase Levels appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Do you know what it feels like when you’re longing for someone? Maybe you can’t concentrate on anything else because you’re constantly thinking about a love interest or love lost. You may be experiencing lovesickness, which can occur when you’re feeling sad, unmotivated or even physically ill because of your lover’s absence.

The truth is that there are some varieties of lovesickness, and the emotions can feel like a bit of a roller coaster. Why does this happen, and if you’re trying to move on, how do you overcome feeling lovesick?

What Does It Mean to Be Lovesick?

Lovesickness occurs when you’re longing for someone so intensely that it’s changing the way you think and feel. This can occur after you’ve lost a loved one and are grieving, perhaps from a breakup or death.

You may also feel lovesick when you have unmatched feelings for someone or when you’re distanced from a partner and can’t connect emotionally or physically.

As you may already know, the feeling of love is not triggered by the heart, but comes from activity in the brain and hormone fluctuations.

A 2018 study published in Frontiers in Pharmacology suggests that lovesickness alters dopamine, serotonin, noradrenaline, testosterone and cortisol levels. Researchers indicate that being lovesick can cause traits that range from frenzy and intrusive thinking to despair and depression.

Symptoms

The term “sick” is used for a reason — you may actually feel both physical and emotional symptoms when experiencing lovesickness. Being lovesick can interfere with your normal life and routine.

Some of the most common symptoms include:

• lack of motivation
• fatigue
• anxiety
• sadness or depression
• trouble sleeping
• mood changes
• loss of appetite
• irritability or agitation
• restlessness
• increased pain or tension
• digestive problems
• thinking about the person excessively/constantly
• feeling isolated
• poor dietary and lifestyle choices

Now, it’s not uncommon to feel lovesickness symptoms when you’re first starting to fall in love. That excitement, inability to focus on other things, euphoria and feeling of desire are sometimes described as being lovesick, but using the term lovestruck is more accurate.

While it can feel confusing and overwhelming to fall in love, the experience is generally positive and exciting, which makes it different than feeling lovesick.

How to Overcome Lovesickness

There may not be an overnight cure for lovesickness, but there are ways to reduce the symptoms and change your mindset so you can better cope with the loss you’re experiencing. In most cases, lovesickness is temporary and will fade over time, especially if you help yourself to get back on track with your normal lifestyle.

1. Practice Self-Care

One of the best things you can do for yourself when feeling lovesick is love yourself more than ever. Recent research defines self-care as having the ability to care for oneself through awareness, self-control and self-reliance in order to achieve optimal health and well-being.

You can do that with self-care activities or exercises, like:

• reading inspiring books
• spending more time outdoors
• getting more involved in your community
• decluttering your home,
• working out daily
• improving your diet
• getting enough sleep or downtime

2. Spend Time With Friends and Family

To ease those lovesick symptoms, engage in face-to-face interactions with loved ones. This promotes a feeling of connectedness and boosts those happy hormones.

Nurturing the relationships you have boosts your mood and self-confidence. In fact, research shows that having strong, healthy friendships is associated with life satisfaction.

3. Talk About It

It’s not healthy to suppress your feelings, even if it feels like the easier thing to do. Talk about how you’re feeling with someone close to you or a professional. This will help you to process your emotions and work through them over time.

A 2018 study published in Clinical Epidemiology found that early treatment with talk therapy is associated with reduced long-term risk of serious mental health conditions in people dealing with serious bereavement after the loss of a loved one.

4. Increase Oxytocin

Oxytocin is the love hormone, often called “the love drug.” It’s responsible for many aspects of pleasure and social bonding, but it also helps soothe the body and mind.

There are ways to naturally boost the production of oxytocin, like:

• hugging friends and loved ones
• getting a massage
• watching a funny movie
• exercising
• listening to calming music
• speaking to someone you trust

Risks and Side Effects

It’s not uncommon to feel lovesick after a breakup, separation or loss of a loved one. If this begins to impact your day-to-day routine and ability to function, seek help from a trusted source or professional.

Remember to prioritize self-care and your own personal health.

Conclusion

• Lovesickness occurs when you’re longing for someone so intensely that it’s changing the way you think and feel.
• Feeling lovesick may occur after you’ve lost a loved one and are grieving, perhaps from a breakup, separation or death.
• Some signs of lovesickness include trouble concentrating, fatigue, insomnia or restlessness, mood changes, appetite changes, and digestive issues.
• If you’re experiencing these symptoms, prioritize self-care, connect with friends and family, talk about your feelings with a trusted source or professional, and work on boosting your happy hormones by getting outside, laughing and being creative.

The post What Is Lovesickness and How Do You Overcome It? appeared first on Dr. Axe.

You’ve probably heard the expression “a roller coaster of emotions,” and it’s a pretty accurate description of what’s possible in a given day. The list of emotions that are experienced by humans on a daily basis are complex.

But don’t be fearful because not only is it normal to experience numerous feelings, it’s expected.

Although all humans wonder how to be happy, seemingly negative emotions have helped humans survive dangerous situations. Neurotransmitters in our brains adjust to circumstances so that our bodies can react appropriately.

It’s when we deal with chronic negative emotions that our health is in jeopardy, but there are ways to regulate emotions and pinpoint emotional triggers — allowing you to stay in control of your mental and physical health.

What Are Emotions?

Emotions are instinctive states of mind or feelings that are derived from a person’s circumstances. Within the brain, they are stimulated by a movement of neurotransmitters in response to stimuli.

Researchers suggest that our basic emotions have been hardwired into us since primitive times, when the emotions of our ancestors evolved in response to everyday challenges. Really, these basic emotions are in place as a means of survival.

They are triggered automatically, unconsciously and quickly during certain situations.

A popular concept is that there’s a basic list of emotions, pointing out the primary and primitive emotions that humans experience daily. These serve as the building blocks of more complex emotions.

Scientists in the field have varying opinions about what can be labeled as basic versus what are more complex or uncommon. Here’s a quick roundup of the scientific theories out there regarding primary emotions:

• In the 1870s, Charles Darwin suggested that all humans (and some animals) express emotions through remarkably similar behaviors. He expressed that they are separate discrete entities. He also focused on facial expressions, or the visible, but temporary changes in appearance.
• In the 1890s, German physician Wilhelm Wundt (who is known as the “father of psychology”) described different emotions or feelings as classes, rather than single processes. He pointed out that emotions such as joy, hope, anxiety, care and anger are not concrete in their descriptions and vary greatly from time to time, depending on the circumstance.
• In the 1970s, Paul Ekman identified six basic emotions, including anger, fear, disgust, sadness, happiness and surprise.
• In 1980, Robert Plutchik discussed eight core emotions, plus eight derivative ones that are constructed of two basic ones. His theory is that complex emotions are a mixture of two primary emotions. He came up with a “wheel of emotions” that looks like a color wheel to explain this visually. When two basic emotions mix, they create a new color or complex emotion.

This, of course, doesn’t touch on every theory, but it does show the progression of thought. In a nutshell, after pinpointing the most common, or basic emotions, researchers agreed that they exist along a gradient and sometimes in combination with other emotions.

Related: How to Overcome Jealousy to Improve Overall Health

List of Emotions

When researching emotions in psychology, many articles discuss the work of Paul Ekman, a leading scientist in the field who has worked to pinpoint a list of emotions.

When Ekman surveyed over 100 scientists who research them, he found that emotional labels were empirically established, with high agreement on five basic emotions:

• Anger
• Fear
• Disgust
• Sadness
• Happiness

Other ones in the list of emotions that were endorsed by 40 percent to 50 percent of scientists as basics were shame, surprise and embarrassment.

Within the five types of emotions list, there are several complex ones and even facial expressions, so let’s dive a little deeper into each one on the main list of emotions for a better understanding.

1. Anger

Let’s start with the most debated basic emotion, anger. It may be difficult to detect during development, and it can be directed both inwardly and outwardly.

Although it’s often considered a negative emotion, anger is normal and necessary for survival. It allows humans to defend themselves during dangerous or toxic situations.

A list of emotions associated with anger include feeling:

• frustrated
• irritated
• infuriated
• enraged
• mad
• offended
• outraged
• displeased
• aggravated

2. Fear

Fear is caused by a perceived risk of safety and for the safety of others. The endocrine and autonomic nervous systems prepare the body to face danger, triggering the “freeze, flight, fight, fright” reactions that occur in the face of fear.

This is a normal, necessary emotional reaction that allowed our ancestors to deal with everyday dangers and threats.

Research highlights that a person’s perception and reaction of fear depends on his or her personality and mental health status. For example, a person who struggles with severe anxiety experiences greater levels of fear, even if the threat is considered less fearful by others.

Feelings that are associated with fear include being:

• nervous
• panicked
• anxious
• stressed
• worried
• horrified
• concerned
• unsettled
• uneasy
• alert

3. Disgust

Thought to emerge when our ancestors were triggered by potentially harmful foods, disgust is a strong disapproval and rejection of something offensive.

Feelings of disgust come about after experiencing something unpleasant, whether it’s a smell, sight or thought.

Feelings of disgust can also be described as:

• revulsion
• offensive
• nauseating
• disturbing
• disapproving

4. Sadness

Ekman describes sadness as a basic emotion that occurs when one loses a valued person, fails to achieve a goal or loses a sense of control. Research discussing the numerous expressions of sadness indicates that it can cause tears, chest aches and feelings of powerlessness.

It’s completely normal to feel sadness, and every one of these basic emotions, from time to time. It’s chronic sadness that impacts your daily life that becomes problematic.

Feelings associated with sadness include being:

• unhappy
• gloomy
• heartbroken
• disappointed
• disconnected
• grieving
• mournful
• sorrowful
• hopeless

5. Happiness

Since Aristotle, happiness has been described as an emotion that consists of pleasure and a well-lived life (or meaning). Of course, everyone strives for happiness, but what actually makes us happy differs depending on our culture and expectations.

Happiness is known to be highly individualized, as a person’s state of contentment is associated with his “wanting” and “liking,” according to researchers.

Some words that are commonly used to describe feelings of happiness include:

• joyful
• elated
• hopeful
• peaceful
• amused
• glad
• satisfied
• pleased
• delighted
• amused

Beyond this list of emotions, researchers agree that there are others that deserve research and recognition. They include:

• shame
• surprise
• embarrassment
• guilt
• contempt
• love
• awe
• pain
• envy
• compassion
• gratitude

Related: What Is Autophobia? How to Treat the Fear of Being Alone

How Emotions Affect Us

Emotions are related to the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain. These chemical messengers, like dopamine and serotonin, are released when the brain receives happy news, giving you that light and warm feeling that comes with this basic emotion.

On the other hand, a drop in these neurotransmitters causes sadness and the heaviness that comes with this emotion.

It’s completely normal for neurotransmitter levels to increase and decrease throughout the day in response to your experiences and thoughts. In fact, emotions help keep us out of danger and allow us to stay connected socially, which is so important for survival.

The most common neurotransmitters involved in positive and negative emotions include:

• Dopamine
• Serotonin
• Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)
• Noradrenaline
• Oxytocin
• Acetylcholine

Although a shift in these neurotransmitters is normal and expected, chronic negative emotions can have a major impact on your health. Negative emotional states cause stress on the body, leading to increased inflammation, higher risk of mental health issues and weakened immune function.

Research published in Frontiers in Neuroscience advises that psychological stress triggers inflammatory activity and cognitive changes. Chronic sadness, for example, plays a significant role in the onset and recurrence of depression.

To recap, a shift of emotions, from negative to positive, is normal, but when you experience negative ones chronically, it can have major health implications. This is exactly why you want to work to regulate your emotions and address the triggers of negative feelings.

Related: Effects of Negative Thinking + How to Overcome Negativity Bias

How to Control Them

Identify Emotions

Being able to identify what you feel based on the list of emotions helps you control them or deal with them appropriately. This usually takes mindfulness and reflection.

Pay close attention to the physical signs of emotions, like sweating palms and racing heart for fear, body aches for sadness, and increased body temperature for anger.

Reflect on Emotional Triggers

The root of emotions aren’t always obvious — they can stem from deeper issues or insecurities. If you are confused about why you feel a particular emotion, investigate the potential triggers.

It may actually stem from an unexpected source, like being tired, missing a friend or family member, being hungry, or eating an unhealthy meal.

Practice Mindfulness

Practicing mindfulness, which is a mental state achieved by focusing on your awareness at the present moment, helps you understand and accept your feelings. This moment-by-moment awareness makes it easier to detect and understand your emotions.

Research shows that mindfulness-based interventions have positive effects on psychological well-being.

How do you practice mindfulness? One of the best ways is mindfulness meditation, which allows you to focus on the feelings in your body.

Any other moments of quiet reflection are helpful, like taking a walk outdoors, practicing yoga, gardening and cooking.

Mindfulness or quiet reflection can help you work through your feelings, calm your mind and regulate your feelings.

Take Care of Yourself

It’s normal to experience uncontrollable emotions from time to time, as you are faced with a positive or negative situation. To control your everyday feelings, self-care is key.

How can you understand and regulate your feelings if you aren’t tuned in to yourself and taking care of your health?

Your self-care checklist should include aspects related to your physical, social, mental, spiritual and environmental health.

Are you eating a healthy, balanced diet, getting enough rest, moving your body, engaging with loved ones, spending time in reflection and spending time outdoors? These are just some of the actions you should take every day to promote your overall wellness.

Related: Dangers of Toxic Positivity + What to Do Instead

Conclusion

• The list of basic emotions has been debated and researched for centuries. Scientists seem to agree that there are five primary ones: anger, fear, disgust, sadness and happiness.
• This list of negative and positive emotions is triggered by stimuli that alter neurotransmitter levels in the brain. This is normal and necessary biological process, and it’s in place to ensure human survival.
• When humans experience chronic negative feelings, they deal with serious repercussions, such as an increased risk of mental, physical and social health problems.
• To regulate your feelings, practice mindfulness, identify your feelings and their triggers, and make self-care a priority.

The post List of Emotions: What Are They & How Can They Be Regulated? appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Do your energy levels plummet once the summer months are over? Does your motivation to socialize with friends and family or even leave the house disappear when the sun does, and do you start to feel more “normal” when springtime — and more daylight hours — return? You might be suffering from seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

The winter blues are well-known and quite common — after all, these months come packed with a lot of holidays that can be emotionally draining. Combine that with minimal time in the sunshine, especially if you work in an office, and cold weather that seems to scream “stay home and get in a blanket,” and it’s no wonder that people tend to be a bit anti-social and grumpy from November until about April.

For some people, the “winter blues” are more than just curling up with Netflix for a few weekends in a row. Those who suffer from seasonal affective disorde actually experience a type of depression that rears its head during certain seasons.

What Is Seasonal Affective Disorder?

SAD is a form of clinical depression that comes and goes in a seasonal pattern. It’s also referred to as “winter depression,” because that’s usually the time when symptoms become more pronounced and noticeable. This bout of depression begins and ends around the same time each year.

Millions of Americans suffer from SAD in its strictest form each year, and it seems to affect women more than men. SAD affects people from September to April, with peak (read: worst) times occurring in December, January and February.

For most people, their first winter experiencing seasonal affective disorder will occur between the ages of 18 and 30 years old, though a change in location, such as a major move later in life, can bring on symptoms.

Related: Sun Lamp Uses and Benefits (Plus How to Buy One)

Causes

Researchers aren’t sure what causes SAD, but it is a type of major depressive disorder. SAD patients can be just as depressed as those suffering from other forms of depression ­— this is a serious condition.

While the exact reasons for SAD aren’t clear yet, it’s believed that a vitamin D deficiency and a lack of sunlight keep a part of the brain, the hypothalamus, from working properly, leading to a disruption of circadian rhythms. When our circadian rhythms are out of whack, it can affect our levels of melatonin and serotonin.

In people with SAD, melatonin, the hormone that makes us feel sleepy, might be produced in higher levels, leading to increased feelings of lethargy. On the other hand, serotonin levels decrease.

Serotonin is a hormone that affects mood and appetite. Not having enough serotonin is linked to depression.

Because seasonal affective disorder seems to be more common in women than men, being female is a risk factor. Additionally, there seems to be a genetic predisposition to seasonal affective disorder, as it often runs in families.

Unsurprisingly since seasonal affective disorder is so tied to sunlight, location makes a difference. SAD is more common among people who live far north or south of the equator, thanks to abbreviated daylight winter hours and longer days during summer months.

Related: Color Therapy Benefits for Mood & More (Plus How to Do It)

Symptoms

Seasonal affective disorder symptoms vary from person to person. Generally, symptoms might start out mild and become more severe during the peak winter months of December through February. They start to ease up once sunnier spring days begin emerging.

People suffering from SAD experience:

• a decrease in energy
• trouble sleeping
• a loss of interest in activities
• difficulty concentrating
• depressive feelings
• a decreased sex drive
• appetite or weight gain changes —

Sugar addiction and cravings for carbs and other comfort foods are also common in people with seasonal affective disorder.

It can be difficult to determine if a person is suffering from “traditional” depression or if it’s SAD. The telltale sign is when you begin experiencing these depressive feelings.

Usually, the feelings begin in September, are at their worst during the peak winter months, and start easing up in March or April. A diagnosis will often not be made until two to three consecutive winter seasons with the symptoms.

Health professionals will evaluate that you’ve had depression that begins and ends in a specific season every year, no episodes of depression during other seasons, and more seasons of depression than seasons without depression. Your doctor will probably do a physical exam, which might include lab testing to rule out any other health problems and a psychological evaluation.

Related: How to Cope With Cabin Fever: Symptoms, Tips & More

Treating SAD with Natural Remedies

There are several natural, prescription-free remedies you can try for seasonal affective disorder.

1. Get a Light Box

If your outdoor hours are limited during the winter months, a light box might be a worthwhile investment. In fact, the majority of SAD patients see improvements in their disposition.

Light therapy allows you to get exposure to bright, artificial light during the most difficult months. It’s recommended that SAD patients use light therapy daily, from the first signs of symptoms until the springtime, when SAD resolves itself.

Most people require between 15 to 30 minutes of therapy a day and will start feeling improvements within two to four days, with the full improvement happening within two weeks.

Because seasonal affective disorder symptoms return quickly once light therapy stops, remaining consistent with treatment during the winter months is crucial. It’s also often recommended that light treatment occur in the morning to prevent difficulties falling asleep later in the evening.

Light therapy boxes are available without a prescription, but they can come with side effects, like headaches or eye strains. Because of UV exposure, it’s also recommended that you see a health provider who specializes in light therapy to ensure you get the right amount of light and filter out dangerous UV rays.

2. Keep Exercising

I know ­— it can be difficult enough to hit the gym when you’re feeling great, never mind when you’re not up to par. But regular exercise has been proven to help with traditional types of depression, and SAD is no different.

Staying active increases the production of feel-good chemicals that can help ease depressive feelings and even brain fog. In one study, just 30 minutes of walking on a treadmill for 10 consecutive days was enough to produce a significant reduction in depression.

Research also suggests that the frequency and consistency of exercising, rather than the duration or intensity, has the most positive effect. You don’t need to run a marathon or start up CrossFit to reap the healing benefits of exercise.

Join a group fitness class, rev up the treadmill or practice yoga. It all helps.

3. Add a Vitamin D Supplement

Vitamin D, or the sunshine vitamin, has been linked to depression. Patients with seasonal affective disorder often have low levels of the vitamin.

While scientists aren’t sure why that’s the case, it’s worth checking with your doctor to make sure your vitamin D levels are up to par. Because most U.S. adults have some type of deficiency in the vitamin, adding a supplement could help you feel better and even improve bone health and boost your immune system.

In addition, there is some evidence that using St. John’s wort together with phototherapy works even better as a way to beat the winter blues.

4. Get Outside

When there is a ray of sunlight during the cold, dark months, take advantage.

Sleep with curtains and blinds open to get in any glimmer of sunshine in the morning. Break up your workday with an early afternoon walk to soak up some vitamin D naturally.

Bundle up and try to get as much natural light as possible. Your brain and body will both thank you for it.

Bonus points if you can squeeze your workouts in outside, no matter if it’s an early morning stroll solo or a weekend game of fetch with the dog.

5. Talk It Out

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a type of psychotherapy that helps people change unhelpful or unhealthy habits of thinking, feeling and behaving, can help alter your way of thinking, focusing on positive solutions instead of saying, “Forget it, I’m skipping those dinner plans I made.”

While CBT is useful for many types of depression and mental health disorders, there’s renewed interest in using it as a treatment for seasonal affective disorder. In fact, a study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry found CBT could be more helpful to SAD patients than light therapy in the long run.

The study tracked 177 people with seasonal affective disorder as they were given either light therapy or cognitive behavioral therapy designed for SAD over six weeks and then checked in with them over the next two winters.

During the first winter, light therapy and CBT worked equally as well in reducing depression symptoms, but by the second check-in appointment, CBT pulled into the lead. In the group of patients who received CBT to treat their seasonal affective disorder, 27.3 percent had their depression come back the following winter, while 45.6 percent of those who received light therapy did.

For those folks who were treated with CBT but still experienced a return of seasonal affective disorder, their symptoms were milder than those who were treated with the light therapy.

The difference, according to Kelly Rohan, a lead author of the study, might be that CBT teaches people skills and coping mechanisms they can employ at any time, while light therapy requires spending a certain amount of time daily to reap the effects, while not feeling in control of emotions.

6. Eat a Healthy Diet

It all comes back to food, doesn’t it? While people with SAD crave comfort foods — starchy carbs, sweet treats and more — eating that way ensures you’ll look and feel worse.

Instead, focus on a SAD-busting, healing diet. Lots of lean protein, leafy greens and fish will keep hormones in check and boost serotonin levels.

When you do get the urge for carbs, choose complex, whole-grain varieties, like whole-grain pasta and bread, instead of nutrition-deficient white carbohydrates.

7. Reach Out for Help

Depression, no matter the type, can feel extremely isolating. Reaching out to friends and family and establishing a support network can help ease the burden.

If you suspect you’re at risk for seasonal affective disorder, be sure to reach out to your health professional.

The post 7 Seasonal Affective Disorder Natural Treatments That Work appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Stress: We all deal with it, yet we know how much better off we’d be — both physically and mentally — if we could only get it under control and find stress relievers that really work. While stress can be a positive, motivating factor at times (such as when you’re under pressure to perform well at work or to ace an important exam), more and more research shows that chronic stress impacts the body in ways similar to a poor diet, lack of sleep or sedentary lifestyle.

Would you believe that 75 percent to 90 percent of all doctors office visits are related to conditions caused by stress? How exactly does stress negatively affect our health in so many ways? It mostly boils down to changes in our hormones, which then cascade to an increase in inflammation and various other problems.

Uncontrolled stress experienced over a long period of time is considered “chronic stress,” dangerous and capable of increasing someone’s risk for heart disease, diabetes, weight gain or obesity, mental disorders, autoimmune diseases, digestive disorders, and even cancer.

Let’s face it, the stress we face today isn’t going anywhere, which is exactly why it’s more important than ever to find natural ways to relieve stress that work well for us. Studies show you can greatly benefit from carving out more time in your busy schedule for things like regular exercise, meditation, spending time outdoors and keeping up with fun hobbies.

If you adhere to the following eight practices, you’re likely to better manage your stress on a daily basis.

Higher Stress Levels Today

In many parts of the world, more people today report experiencing negative experiences — which includes physical pain, worry, sadness, stress and anger — on a daily basis than at any recent point in history. What is causing everyone to feel so stressed and burnt out?

The American Institute of Stress tells us that a number of studies and polls have found that some of the top reasons people feel stressed and mentally unwell include:

•   Worries over finances and the economy
•   Health and health care-related concerns
•   Disapproval of government performance and worries over politics
•   Anxiety over current events, including natural and societal events such as mass shootings, climate crisis, racial tensions and terrorism
•   Stress due to social media and technology use
•   Feelings of loneliness and depression

We know that stress can negatively affect nearly all parts of the body, including the musculoskeletal system, respiratory system, cardiovascular system, endocrine system gastrointestinal system, nervous system, and both female and male reproductive systems. Here are some of the ways ongoing stress can lead to discomfort and disease:

•   Causes tension headaches and migraines
•   Makes it harder to sleep and causes fatigue (even adrenal fatigue)
•   Triggers digestive issues such as stomach aches or IBS
•   Can lead to overeating and weight gain, or sporadic eating patterns and skipping meals
•   Makes it more likely that people favor sedentary activities and don’t exercise
•   Can lead to social isolation, loneliness and poor relationships
•   Cab increase obesity, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and asthma.

Related: Sunday Scaries: How to Deal with Work Anxiety

What Is Chronic Stress?

Chronic stress is considered the type of stress that interferes with your ability to function normally over an extended period, such as more than 6 months.

Obviously people of all ages can experience chronic stress, but it’s thought that younger and middle-aged adults between the ages of 15 and 49 are most likely to deal with debilitating chronic stress. “Generation Z” is considered to be the most stressed-out age group in many industrialized nations, due to factors like violence, political turmoil, poor finances and poor health, while “Millennials” report the highest rates of anxiety, loneliness and depression.

Do people always know that they are dealing with chronic stress? Not necessarily. It’s not always easy for someone to make a connection between stress in their lives and symptoms such as pain and brain fog. People also tend to struggle with identifying exactly what’s causing them to worry or to feel angry, overwhelmed or depressed.

When chronically stressed, you release more “stress hormones” such as adrenaline and cortisol, a steroid hormone in the broader class of steroids called glucocorticoids that is secreted by the adrenal glands. When levels of stress hormones remain elevated over time, they impact many bodily functions.

Natural Stress Relief

1. Exercise and Yoga

One of the best stress relievers available to us is exercise, a natural remedy for anxiety because it releases powerful endorphin chemicals in the brain, which act like the body’s built-in painkillers and mood-lifters.

Research suggests the negative effects of stress on the body seem to be exaggerated in people who are inactive, a phenomenon called”stress-induced/exercise deficient” phenotype. Because we react to stress by experiencing changes in our neuro-endocrine systems, regular exercise is protective because it regulates various metabolic and psychological processes in the body, including reinforcing our natural circadian rhythms, sleep/wake cycles, moods and blood sugar levels.

Exercises improves insulin sensitivity, can help someone become more aware of their hunger levels, improves confidence/self-esteem, and leads to better mental processing and a lower risk for depression. Can’t sleep? Well, exercise can help with that too, which is very important considering quality sleep is needed to regulate hormones and help the body recover.

Yoga has been shown to have similar benefits, reinforcing the “mind-body connection,” improving how people (especially women) feel about their bodies, helping with sleep and controlling anxiety. A review of over 35 clinical trials that tested the effects of regular yoga on stress levels and health found that, overall, yoga offers significant improvements in various physical and psychological health markers for the majority of people.

Looking for an even more impactful way to feel the benefits of exercise? Do so while listening to uplifting music. Research findings indicate that music listening positively impacts the psycho-biological stress system, helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system, improves recovery time, and has benefits for hormonal balance and brain functioning overall.

Another terrific way to relieve stress is through forest bathing. To forest bathe, you immerse yourself in naturally beautiful and health-boosting forest surroundings by using your various senses of sight, hearing, smell, etc. It’s meant to be a very peaceful and positive experience that has been shown by science to provide various health benefits. A study found that the tree’s compounds can decrease stress hormone levels in both men and women.

2. Meditation/Devotional Prayer

Meditation and healing prayer are both proven stress relievers that help people deal with worry, anxiety and finding peace of mind. Best of all, they can both be practiced conveniently anytime of day, in your own home and with no therapist, practitioner or program needed, making them a no-brainer.

Meditation and prayer have been used for literally thousands of years to improve well-being and connection to others, but today they’re actually backed up by science as well. Breathing exer

Natural stress relief meditation and mindfulness-based stress reduction are types of simple mental techniques that are practiced for as little as 10–15 minutes once or twice a day in order to bring about more “mindfulness” and reduce stress or anxiety.

Various other forms of meditation have been shown to lower physiological responses to stress, improve mental alertness, and help people overcome various emotional and physical problems, such as: anxiety, depression, poor mental health that affects quality of life, attention problems, substance use, eating habits, sleep, pain and weight gain.

3.  Acupuncture

Acupuncture has increasingly been used to treat many stress-related conditions, including psychiatric disorders, autoimmune or immunological-related diseases, infertility, anxiety, and depression. Researchers have found that acupunture treatments result in changes in the cardiovascular and immune systems, increasing protective T-cell proliferation and helping with cellular immuno-responses.

Studies have shown that acupuncture is one of the best stress relievers for patients recovering from heart disease because it helps regulate the nervous system, therefore having positive effects on blood pressure levels, circulation, hormones and other factors.

4. A Nutrient-Dense Diet

A steady supply of nutrients like essential vitamins, trace minerals, healthy fats, electrolytes, amino acids and antioxidants all help your brain handle stress better, therefore benefiting your entire body. It’s also a great weight loss tip for women and men.

Some of the most nutrient-dense foods for natural stress relief include:

• Foods high in B vitamins (which the body uses to convert nutrients to energy) — raw or cultured dairy products, cage-free eggs, grass-fed beef, wild-caught fish, poultry, brewer’s yeast and green leafy vegetables.
• Foods high in calcium and magnesium — as relaxing minerals and electrolytes, calcium and magnesium are important for relaxing muscles, relieving headaches and helping you sleep. Try unsweetened organic yogurt, wild-caught salmon, beans/legumes, leafy green veggies, cruciferous veggies like broccoli, avocados and nuts.
• High-protein foods — foods with protein provide amino acids that are needed for proper neurotransmitter functions.
• Healthy fats and omega-3 fatty acids — cold-water, wild-caught fish like salmon or sardines can reduce inflammation and help stabilize moods, plus omega-3s are great for the brain, development and heart health. Other healthy fats that support brain health include nuts/seeds, avocado, olive oil and coconut oil.

On the other hand, foods to avoid in order to keep stress levels down include:

• Packaged or sugary foods — processed, refined foods or those with added sugar can give you blood sugar highs and lows throughout the day, increasing anxiety and causing cravings and fatigue.
• Too much alcohol or caffeine — both alcohol and caffeine can cause or worsen anxiety, make you dehydrated, interfere with sleep leaving you tired, and make you unable to cope with stress well.
• Refined vegetable oils — imbalances in polyunaturated fatty acids, meaning getting much more omega-6s than omega-3s from your diet, are tied to metabolic damage, inflammation and even poor gut health, which can affect mental processes.

5. Challenging Your Thoughts with “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy”

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a type of therapeutic practice that has been proven to lower anxiety, stress and multiple disorders — including addiction, eating disorders, insomnia and depression. Knowing that at least 50 percent of the time experiencing a mental disorder is due mostly to chronic, untreated stress reactions, therapists use CBT to train all types of people to better react to situations that are stressful.

CBT focuses on challenging and changing your thoughts first and foremost, since the way you perceive an event (not the actual event itself) means everything in terms of how your body reacts. Once you can identify the root thought pattern that is causing harmful behaviors, you can work on changing how you think about events and therefore react to them.

The idea behind CBT is this: If you can reframe the way you think about events in your life — for example, instead of panicking over a job change you choose to embrace it, prepare as best you can and seize the opportunity to start fresh — you can literally reduce the stress you wind up feeling from the event.

CBT is useful for training us to avoid internal causes of stress, such as “all-or-nothing” thinking, jumping to conclusions, pessimism, having unrealistic expectations for ourselves, always expecting the worst-case scenario, and feeling guilt or shame over events that are out of our control.

6. Spending More Time in Nature and Being Social

Making time for connecting with the people around you, spending time outside and doing things you love with family, friends and your spouse are all stress relievers that are good for your health in many ways. Social connection is tied to longevity, since it helps people feel like they’re a part of something larger than themselves and helps give them perspective.

Being outdoors has some similar effects, reminding people that they’re one piece of a much larger universe, lifting their moods and making it easier to get good sleep.

For many American workers, their work stress accelerates because they don’t take their full vacation or who are always on call. Instead, take your deserved vacation days to give your body and brain a break from work. Same story with a packed work day — go outside for a walk; don’t eat lunch at your desk; try not to work past 5 p.m. if you started earlier, etc.

7. Keeping a Journal

Keeping track of your emotions, both positive and negative, along with the events that can trigger them helps you identify what’s causing stress. A journal is an easy, effective way to monitor your state of mind throughout the day, focus on thoughts that cause you harm and figure out what’s really bothering you when you’re unsure.

A journal can also reduce stress by helping you to stay organized, such as listing out appointments, household responsibilities, job assignments or other tasks so you’re less frantic and likely to miss important deadlines.

8. Using Adaptogen Herbs and Essential Oils

Several adaptogenic herbs and essential oils have been shown to improve anxiety symptoms by reducing the effects that stress and cortisol have on the body. Adaptogens (including ginseng, ashwagandga, maca, rhodiola, holy basil and cocoa) are a unique class of healing plants that balance, restore and protect the body and make it easier to handle stress by regulating hormones and physiological functions.

Essential oils such as lavender, myrrh, frankincense and bergamot are also capable of reducing inflammation, improving immunity, balancing hormones, and helping with sleep and digestion.

Bonus Stress Relievers:

• Breathing Exercises
• Cooking Therapy Benefits for Stress + Mental Health
• Singing Bowl and Sound Bath Benefits for Stress Relief & More

Final Thoughts

• We can’t always control sources of stress in our lives, but we change how we react to them. The good news is that the human body is actually designed to experience and handle stress, which is exactly why our bodies react to it so strongly.
• With some practice, we have the power to learn to use certain elements of stress to our advantage (for example, the fact that stress keeps us more alert and attentive), while better controlling other negative reactions (like digestion problems or giving in to cravings for unhealthy foods).
• That’s why it’s so important to find the proper stress relievers to maintain a strong quality of life. The eight stress relievers above can help you maintain a good mood, remain calm and better handle your day-to-day stress.

The post 8 Natural Ways to Achieve Stress Relief appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Denmark consistently ranks as one of the happiest countries in the world, but why? Well, a concept called “hygge,” pronounced “HUE-gah,” is believed to be a big part of that.

What is hygge lifestyle all about? It’s a bit hard to put into words, but it involves practices that make the winter feel cozy, warm and comforting.

I turned to Danish happiness expert Meik Wiking, the founder and chief executive of the Happiness Research Institute, a think tank based in Copenhagen dedicated to exploring why some societies are happier than others, to help us better understand the benefits of hygge.

What Is Hygge?

The word hygge is described in various ways depending on whom you ask. According to the Hygge House website, the meaning of hygge is “a feeling or moment, whether alone or with friends, at home or out, ordinary or extraordinary as cozy, charming or special.”

The Oxford Dictionary defines hygge as “the quality of being warm and comfortable that gives a feeling of happiness.”

Wiking, author of “The Little Book of Hygge,” reveals that hygge has been explained as everything from “the art of creating intimacy” and “cosiness of the soul” to “cocoa by candlelight.” He says that this concept is engrained in the culture of Denmark.

Wiking told the New York Times that “Danes see hygge as a part of our culture, the same way you see freedom as inherently American.”

Some of the key ingredients of hygge include:

• Togetherness
• Relaxation
• Indulgence
• Presence
• Comfort

Danes essentially created hygge to cope with difficult feelings like boredom, coldness, darkness and mundaneness. While hygge is a year-round concept in Denmark, it’s becoming a more commonly adopted practice to help others around the world get through the dark, cold winter months while maintaining a positive attitude.

How to Practice Hygge

You can think of hygge as” making the ordinary extraordinary.” With a mindful component of focusing on and enjoying a simple moment, hygge is something Americans could certainly use more of. (American ranked No. 16 in the 2022 world happiness index, while Denmark consistently captures the No. 2 slot in terms of happiness rankings.)

Wiking says the true essence of hygge is the pursuit of everyday happiness — it’s basically like a hug, just without the physical touch.

How do you live a “hygge life”?

Hygge is about feeling safe and secure, and ultimately, you know it when you feel it. It might look like cuddling up to a loved one on the sofa when it’s cold outside or sharing comfort food with your closest friends.

What are examples of hygge? Some ways in which it’s practiced include:

• Reading books while snuggling in warm blankets
• Sitting around a fire sipping a cup of hot cocoa or coffee (Danes are the fourth-biggest coffee drinkers in the world)
• Enjoying some wine over candlelight while having deep conversations
• Cooking a satisfying meal with your family, such as Danish favorites like meat, potatoes and a healthy dessert
• Taking a walk or bike ride outdoors wearing cozy socks, gloves and a hat

Louisa Thomsen Brits, author of “The Book of Hygge,” suggests creating an atmosphere conducive to hygge by focusing on details like:

• wooden bowls
• cuddling
• brushing your teeth while your partner brushes his or her teeth and stands next to you
• being naked
• vintage textiles
• pendant lights
• circular tables
• burned spatulas
• old shoes
• honking geese
• line-dried laundry

Here’s an example Wiking shared to help us understand hygge:

One December, just before Christmas, I was spending the weekend with some friends at an old cabin. The shortest day of the year was brightened by the blanket of snow covering the surrounding landscape. When the sun set, around 4 in the afternoon, we would not see it again for 17 hours, and we headed instead to get the fire going.

We were all tired after hiking and were half asleep, sitting in a semicircle around the fireplace in the cabin, wearing big jumpers and wool socks. The only sounds you could heat were the stew boiling, the sparks from the fireplace and someone having a sip of their mulled wine. Then one of my friends broke the silence.

“Could this be any more hygge?” he asked rhetorically.

“Yes,” one of the girls said, “if there was a storm raging outside.”

Wiking shares his hygge manifesto in his book, which can help us all get a little more hygge in our lives. Here are his thoughts, as well as other experts’, on how to add more to your life:

Atmosphere

• Turn down the lights. The most comforting spaces for hygge feel warm, relaxed and are usually dimly lit.
• Bring out the candles and fireplaces. (Dr. Axe note: Never ones with fake fragrances. I recommend beeswax only to avoid petrochemicals and toxic synthetic scents.)
• Turn off devices to help you focus.

Togetherness

• Build relationships and narratives.
• Gather and talk about things like, “Do you remember the time we …?”
• Don’t be afraid to dive into deeper topics that help people bond, such as the meaning of life, fears, goals, etc.
• Practice creating a space that is trusting, secure and supportive.

Gratitude

• Take it in. Slow down, and live in the moment.
• Understand that this might be as good as it gets.
• Learn to be content rather than to strive for more.

Equality

• Think “we over me.”
• Share the tasks and the airtime.
• Practice self-compassion and self-care.

Potential Benefits

What is a hygge lifestyle beneficial for? The main benefit is that it can reduce loneliness and depression while contributing to greater meaning in life and happiness. It helps us focus on what’s truly important in life, such as relationships and meaning.

Think of hygge as giving yourself and others a treat, to savor simple moments filled with good food, conversation and company.

How does hygge impact happiness?

Perhaps Benjamin Franklin said it best: “Happiness consists more in small conveniences or pleasures that occur every day than in great pieces of good fortune that happen but seldom.”

More and more people around the world are questioning what defines happiness. It’s a difficult thing to measure and to explain.

Research suggests that an increasing number of people feel unhappy and “left behind,” particularly when there is talk of their country moving forward.

The great thing about hygge is that it’s available to everyone and doesn’t cost much money at all. In fact, happiness experts like Wiking hope that hygge can help people better understand that wealth and well-being are not always closely tied.

According to research findings, after our basic needs are met, more money doesn’t lead to more happiness, and instead, we can focus on what brings us a better quality of life.

We know from many studies that things like close relationships, gratitude, sharing conversation and food, and presence contribute to happiness in various ways, such as by:

• Decreasing loneliness by increasing feelings of connectedness, security and kinship
• Helping us cope with seasonal active disorder and side effects of stress
• Improving relaxation, which can assist in getting better sleep
• Decreasing distractions so we are more productive
• Increasing feelings of contentment, which helps counteract anxiety
• Lowering the risk for unhealthy coping strategies, such as drinking too much alcohol or using drugs
• Improving quality of life, even among those who are in difficult situations
• Potentially increasing physical activity if it involves going outside skating, bike riding, hiking or walking — all of these can help lower stress levels and increase in self-esteem

Conclusion

• What is the concept of hygge? It’s a lifestyle practice that includes elements of togetherness, relaxation, indulgence, presence and comfort.
• Hygge is all about creating warm, cozy and comforting feelings that can contribute to greater meaning in life, close relationships and happiness.
• To create more hygge in your life, burn beeswax candles in your home, snuggle up with blankets to stay warm, indulge in clean comfort foods, read books by the fire, and spend a lot of time together telling stories and appreciating the small moments in life. The goal is to focus on being present in the moment.

The post Hygge: The Danish Trick for True Winter Happiness appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Writing a gratitude letter may not seem like a huge deal, but thanks to brain imaging studies, we now know it’s a powerful exercise that produces a cascade of positive, long-lasting emotions — for both the recipient and the the letter writer.

But how you share the letter matters. (More on that in a bit!)

The benefits of gratitude, in general, are well-documented. That’s why happiness experts commonly recommend keeping a gratitude journal or reciting what you’re grateful for every morning.

It’s no surprise that practicing gratitude elicits feelings of, well, gratitude, but it also brings forward other positive emotions, as well. These include feelings of elevation and connectedness.

Researchers also note that gratitude:

• Reinforces new and existing relationships
• Predicts more committed, longer-lasting relationships
• Improves relationships and results in spending more time together
• Reduces the likelihood of experiencing envy, narcissism and cynicism
• Improves sleep and immune system health
• Can reduce inflammation

Gratitude is also part of new, cutting-edge research aimed at building resilience, something more important than ever today. According to an ongoing study, partaking in mindfulness and gratitude exercise as part of the “Strength-Focused and Meaning-Oriented Approach to Resilience and Transformation” program significantly helps people improve emotional emotional flexibility, coping skills and outlook.

What Is a Letter of Gratitude?

A gratitude letter is just as it seems: a letter of appreciation that you write to someone who has impacted you personally. As Michigan State University points out, writing a letter of gratitude is a great way to show appreciation for someone who made a difference in your life.

Sitting down to construct your letter, whether you handwrite it or type it out, allows you to reflect on how someone helped shape you into the person you are today.

Why Write One?

Figuring out how to write a gratitude letter may seem daunting, but it’s important to understand that your letter doesn’t have to be long, elaborate or fancy in order to be effective. In fact, keeping things simple and writing a heartfelt gratitude note can bring potent, long-lasting results.

“A gratitude letter is one of the most powerful tools for increasing happiness because it can forge social bonds and really change someone’s life,” explains Laurie Santos, Ph.D, professor of psychology and instructor of Yale’s Science of Wellbeing course.

In fact, we now know that writing a letter of gratitude can actually change your brain for the better. In 2015, Indiana University researchers published a study showing that people who participated in gratitude letter writing experienced more gratitude themselves and “significantly greater neural modulation by gratitude in the medial prefrontal cortex three months later.”

Also of importance is the fact that writing a gratitude letter is accessible — it’s virtually free or very low-cost.  One study found that a single “gratitude letter–writing intervention appears to be a promising low-cost, brief and meaningful tool” to improve well-being.

In the Science of Well-Being course, Santos outlines research by positive psychology pioneer Martin Seligman and stresses that the biggest happiness benefits for the letter writer and recipient take place when you deliver your letter in person and read it to the recipient. (Over the phone or video chat is OK, too, but in-person is best.)

“However you meet up, you should read the letter aloud,” the Yale outlines. “We also recommend that you both have some tissues handy for this one.”

How to Write a Gratitude Letter

The gratitude letter is a key positive psychology exercise. To stress the above findings again, we know that a letter of gratitude and appreciation is most effective when delivered in-person during a “gratitude visit” and when you read it out loud to the recipient.

If you take Yale’s free, online Science of Well-Being course, writing a gratitude letter and conducting a gratitude visit is a key assignment.

Whether it’s a letter of gratitude to a boss, a letter of gratitude to a teacher or someone else who made a difference in your life, the idea is to write to someone living, someone you genuinely care about — and someone you haven’t properly thanked yet.

Then, Santos recommends:

1. Finding a quiet spot when you have a half-hour free.
2. Writing a heartfelt letter to that person explaining how she or he touched your life and why that person is meaningful to you.
3. Making the letter as long as you like, but aiming for at least 300 words, which is about a page.
4. When you schedule your visit, don’t tell the person you’ll be reading him or her your letter.
5. Do, however, make sure you allow at least 30 minutes for your gratitude visit, so you’ll have time to bond and discuss any emotions the reading bubbles up for you and your recipient.

More Tips

Still need a little direction? Not sure whom to write to?

Maybe one of these suggestions will feel right. Just make sure it’s someone you never properly thanked:

• A coach or instructor who mentored you
• A teacher who opened up your horizons
• An aunt, uncle or other relative
• A colleague or friend
• A health care worker who saved or otherwise positively changed your life

Note: It’s OK, and can actually be beneficial, if you choose someone you haven’t spoken to or thought about in a while.

The University of California, Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center also offers some great tips. In fact, a gratitude letter is also part of its free, weight-week Science of Happiness course, too.

When it comes to writing a letter of gratitude, it suggests:

• Write as though you are addressing this person directly (“Dear ______”)
• Don’t worry about grammar or spelling
• Be specific in describing what this person did, why you are grateful for that person and how that person’s behavior affected your life
• Describe what you are doing in your life now and how you often remember her or his efforts

Delivering Your Gratitude Letter

• Upon arrival, tell the person you’re grateful for her, and share that you’d like to read a letter you wrote outlining that gratitude.
• Politely ask that he waits to comment until you finish reading.
• Don’t rush through your reading, which can often happen when you’re nervous. Take a deep breath, and savor each word.
• Be sure to pause to notice the feelings arising in yourself.
• Make contact, and notice your recipient’s reactions, too.
• After you have read the letter, be receptive to the reaction and discuss your feelings together.
• Don’t forget to give the letter to the person you’re honoring before you leave!

Conclusion

• Gratitude is shown to elicit feelings of happiness and connectedness. It can also improve your relationships and outlook.
• Practicing gratitude can even reduce inflammation and improve your immune system.
• Writing a gratitude letter to show someone that you’re thankful for her impact on your life — and then reading that letter to her in person — is one of the most powerful ways to practice gratitude.
• The reader and the recipient can both receive a mental health boost. For the person writing and reading the letter, the positive impact cast last for at least three months, according to brain scans.
• A letter of gratitude doesn’t have to be long or fancy. Shoot for at least 300 words, and don’t stress about perfect grammar. Just be authentic.
• Sharing specific examples of what a person did or said to help you along the way is an effective strategy for gratitude letter writing.

The post How to Write a Gratitude Letter appeared first on Dr. Axe.

What’s one simple way to be happier? Find more things in your life to be grateful for and practice gratitude.

Gratitude is linked to not only reduced risk for depression and anxiety, but also a boost in overall well-being, kindness, relationship satisfaction and physical health markers, too.

What Is Gratitude?

What does gratitude really mean? Gratitude is defined as “the quality of being thankful.”

It means having a readiness to show appreciation for something and the ability to express it. The word gratitude itself is derived from the Latin word gratia, which means grace, graciousness or gratefulness.

Is gratitude an emotion? It’s considered to be a temporary feeling/emotion, a mood, a personality trait, as well as a practice.

Due to factors like how genetics influences one’s personality, some people are thought to experience more gratitude naturally, while others have to work a bit harder at it.

According to psychologists, the “social emotion” of gratitude can have many benefits — such as helping to strengthen relationships, self-esteem and overall mental health. It can help people feel happier and defend against loneliness, jealousy and other negative emotions.

Anthropologists believe that gratitude has roots in evolutionary history. It helped humans survive by bonding with others in their social circles, encouraging helping others and being helped in return.

Recent studies have demonstrated that when someone feels grateful, specific regions in the brain become more activated. This includes parts of the prefrontal cortex that allow for reflection and heighten sensitivity when imagining future experiences.

Related: Dangers of Toxic Positivity + What to Do Instead

Health Benefits

Based on recent research, here are some of the main benefits of gratitude:

1. Protects Against Depression and Boosts Happiness

In one review published in the Journal of Positive Psychology, when researchers investigated the connection between gratitude and human health in over 50 studies, they found that gratitude is associated with higher levels of emotional and social well-being and more experiences of positive emotional states, such as happiness, life satisfaction and flourishing.

As one article describes this phenomenon:

Studies show that practicing gratitude curbs the use of words expressing negative emotions and shifts inner attention away from such negative emotions such as resentment and envy, minimizing the possibility of ruminating, which is a hallmark of depression.

According to recent research, delivering a letter of gratitude to someone who was never properly thanked for his or her kindness led to participants immediately experiencing a significant increase in happiness scores that lasted for weeks, more so than any other intervention.

In another study, when college students receiving counseling services were assigned to either a group that was instructed to write one letter of gratitude to another person each week for three weeks or to write about their deepest thoughts and feelings about negative experiences, those participants who wrote gratitude letters reported significantly better mental health four weeks and 12 weeks after their writing exercise ended.

Researchers concluded that this data, as well as evidence from other studies, suggests that gratitude writing can be beneficial for those struggling with mental health concerns such as depression, even if they already receive psychological counseling.

2. Reduces Stress and Anxiety

People who make an effort to be more appreciative seem to do better at dealing with adversity and facing tough decisions or situations because they focus on the positives and see challenges as useful lessons and even gifts, rather than as curses.

According to an ongoing 2020 study focused on helping health care providers battling COVID-19, it’s believed that an approach called “Strength-Focused and Meaning-Oriented Approach to Resilience and Transformation” — which includes mindfulness and gratitude exercises — may be one of the most effective at improving emotional flexibility, coping skills and outlook.

Data overall suggests a gratitude practice can increase psychological resilience against chronic stress, anxiety symptoms, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and unhappiness. When reflecting on the positive elements of the past and present, people are more prone to being hopeful and optimistic about the future.

3. Improves Relationships

Expressing gratitude often makes people feel more connected to something bigger than themselves. Being thankful for your life also makes it less likely that you’ll experience envy, cynicism and narcissism, which can all damage relationships and decrease happiness.

You’re more likely to pay good feelings forward when you feel more grateful —such as by showing more compassion, patience and generosity — plus gratitude tends to encourage more volunteering and prosocial behaviors.

Couples who show appreciation for one another also seem to benefit from better communication overall, including the ability to work through conflicts, according to certain studies.

Thankfulness also tends to make people better family members, spouses, students and employees. A 2016 study found that keeping a gratitude diary increased students’ sense of belonging among other students.

Other studies have found that expressions of gratitude by managers tend to motivate employees to be more productive at work due to feeling more seen and appreciated.

4. Helps Encourage Healthier Choices/Self-Care

There’s evidence suggesting that gratitude interventions can have long-lasting positive effects when it comes to promoting healthy choices — such as eating a nutrient-dense diet, exercising, sleeping enough, staying on top of school and work-related tasks, and so on. When you feel grateful for your life and the relationships in it, you’re more likely to take better care of yourself so you can show up as your “best self.”

In one study, after 10 weeks, those who wrote about gratitude were more optimistic and felt better about their lives. They also reported exercising more and having fewer visits to physicians compared to those who focused on sources of aggravation in their lives.

5. Can Help Improve Sleep and Physical Health

In studies, gratitude has been shown to foster both physical and psychological health, meaning it may help decrease chronic pain, tension, fatigue, sleep issues like insomnia and other symptoms tied to stress/depression.

Overall, research suggests that grateful people are less prone to experiencing sleep troubles tied to stress and may also benefit from having stronger immune systems. One study even found that gratitude journaling may improve biomarkers related to heart failure morbidity, such as reduced inflammation.

Related: What Is an Internal Monologue? (And Does Everyone Have One?)

How to Practice

While it’s technically a feeling/emotion, cultivating more gratitude can be thought of as a practice. In order to boost thankfulness in your life, it’s important to actually make it by a habit by making a conscious efforts to “count one’s blessings” more often by looking for the positives in your life.

How do you practice gratitude? You can do so by:

• keeping a gratitude journal (writing down several things daily that you’re thankful for)
• expressing your appreciation to others in your life, such as by writing letters/emails or complimenting them
• praying and meditating to practice being more mindful/present and optimistic
• simply making an effort to bring things to mind each day that make you feel warm and happy

What are some of the people, places and things in your life that you can focus on in order to feel more grateful? Try bringing to mind:

• your relationships with loved ones, such as family
• your connection to friends
• your support from your employer and colleagues
• your connection to nature and animals
• your health and physical abilities

Why It’s Important

Why is gratitude important? Here’s how gratitude can contribute to overall well-being, with help from some popular gratitude quotes:

• “Gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible. With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives. In the process, people usually recognize that the source of that goodness lies at least partially outside themselves. As a result, gratitude also helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals — whether to other people, nature, or a higher power.” — Harvard Health Publishing
• “What I’ve come to realize is that no matter the state or quality of our lives, whatever outcomes we’ve produced, goals we’ve reached (or failed to reach), what decisions we’ve made, and where we’ve ended up, has almost everything to do with focus. While some things might be out of our control, much of what happens based on our thoughts, emotions and behaviors, are largely a conditional response to our focus…I’m grateful for the air that I breathe, for the heart beating blood in my chest, for the organs in my body, for every living cell and fiber that are functioning towards my survival, I am grateful. We forget about those things from time to time. Until of course these things come into jeopardy.” — Wanderlust Worker
• “Gratitude may be one of the most overlooked tools for increasing happiness. Research shows it is the single most powerful method of increasing happiness. Having an attitude of gratitude doesn’t cost any money. It doesn’t take much time. But the benefits of gratitude are enormous…it touches on many aspects of our lives. Our emotions. Personality. Social dynamics. Career success and health. All of these can contribute to increasing our basic happiness.”— Happier Human

How is gratitude related to positivity?

Positivity is defined as “the practice of being or tendency to be positive or optimistic in attitude.” It goes hand in hand with gratitude because both help you see the world in a positive light and focus less on the negative.

It’s been shown that a gratitude practice can become a habit that encourages more positivity overall. As the saying goes, “neurons that fire together wire together,” so every time you practice pointing out the good in your life, you’re more likely to feel thankful in the future.

What Happens When It Fails?

If you’re not often in a thankful frame of mind, this can wind up taking a toll on your physical and mental health. People who feel less grateful overall are more prone to experiencing problems such as:

• Depression and anxiety
• Relationship issues
• Substance abuse problems
• Symptoms tied to stress
• Insomnia
• Chronic pain and tension

This may be true because a lack of gratitude can lead to envy, jealousy and low self-esteem due to feeling like your life and your accomplishments are never good enough. The opposite of gratitude can be described as condemnation, thanklessness and ungratefulness — all of which can lead to a life that feels less rich, meaningful and motivating.

Conclusion

• Gratitude is defined as “the quality of being thankful.” Why is gratitude important? It helps boost happiness, positively, self-esteem, relationships and self-care.
• Research shows that being grateful can protect against issues such as depression, envy, anxiety, insomnia, pain and relationship issues.
• Here’s how to practice gratitude: Keep a journal/diary of some “little joys of daily life,” write down “three good things” that happened, write letters of appreciation to others or compliment people more, and imagine what your life would be like without daily comforts or special people.

The post Benefits of Gratitude for the Body & Mind (Plus How to Practice It) appeared first on Dr. Axe.

There’s plenty of research suggesting that spending time with their grandchildren is beneficial to grandparents’ health. What about the benefits of grandparents to their grandchildren?

Many of us have heart-warming memories involving our grandparents. Whether it’s holiday get-togethers, waving to them from the sidelines of a sports game, getting a little treat from them during a visit or just the day-to-day love you received from a grandparent — for many, grandparents positively impact their mental, emotional and even physical health.

We know that this relationship is special for so many reasons, but few know that research actually shows there are plenty of benefits of grandparents being in their families’ lives.

In fact, data shows that these relationships can reduce the risk of mental health issues and promote overall well-being.

Benefits of Grandparents

It’s impossible to count the many benefits of grandparents. They are nurturers and have a major impact on the lives of their children and grandchildren.

For many American families, they are invaluable.

One scientific review pointed out that grandparents play an important role in raising grandchildren for logistical reasons, too. As women and mothers become more integrated in the workforce, mothers depend more on extended family, particularly  grandparents, to provide care for their children.

The number of single-parent homes has also increased. As of this 2017 report, about 7 million (10 percent) of grandparents lived with at least one of their grandchildren.

What are the benefits of grandparents in children’s lives? I’m sure you could make a long list based on your own personal relationships, but there are some specific benefits that have been proven.

Many reports indicate that multigenerational bonds increase the well-being, stability and support for children.

Here are some proven benefits of grandparents:

1. Improve Mental Health

Like the benefits of aunts, grandparents promote mental and emotional health for their grandchildren.

The emotional support and closeness received from a grandparent can reduce the risk of depression among adult grandchildren, according to research conducted at Boston University. Researchers found that for both grandparents and adult grandchildren, a close relationship reduced depressive symptoms.

The bonding sessions between grandparents and grandchildren improves mental health because they provide a sense of support, patience and love.

2. Provide a Sense of Security

Grandparents are known as a security blanket. They are trusted and provide great emotional support.

They are also tremendously comforting, with their physical affection and even with the way that they are present in a grandchild’s life. In a time of need, a grandparent is there, which doesn’t go unnoticed by the grandchild.

One report called grandparents the “first line of defense” when families are in need, troubled or disrupted. They are often there to contribute time, caregiving and even financial resources when necessary.

3. Share Interests

Are any of your favorite hobbies or activities passed down from your grandparent? Maybe it’s fishing, hiking, biking, painting, reading books, listening to music or playing chess.

It’s common that grandparents and grandchildren share interests that bring joy to both generations and increase their bond even further. Plus, grandparents have the experience and wisdom that can be passed down from generation to generation.

For many grandchildren, they continue these activities or interests through childhood and adulthood, always keeping a piece of their grandparents with them.

4. Improve Physical Health

We know that grandparents help improve the mental health of grandchildren, even when they become adults, but what about their physical health?

A study published in PLoS One suggests that grandparents may reduce grandchildren’s cancer risk factors. This is because of the positive influence that grandparents have on their grandchildren’s health, especially related to issues like smoking, alcohol use, diet and physical activity.

5. Help with Childcare

Grandparents commonly help with childcare, which is a tremendous help to parents. We also know that the benefits of grandparents raising grandchildren are extensive.

Research published in the Journal of Family Issues found that children living in mother-only families that include a grandparent are substantially less likely to be living below or near the poverty level compared to children living in mother-only families without a grandparent present.

Data shows that not only do grandparents provide their time, but they enhance the financial security of children in some circumstances, especially those living in three-generation households.

How to Stay Connected from Afar

When it comes to the grandparent-grandchildren connection, sometimes it’s necessary to care from a distance. In fact, many of these relationships involve a ton of affections and attachment but little day-to-day interaction.

Thankfully, there are many ways to stay connected with grandparents from afar. Here are a few easy ways to stay engaged:

1. Talk often: Whether it’s over the phone or using an app like FaceTime or Zoom, talking to grandparents regularly can help keep the connection strong and boost the emotional health of all generations. Try to speak at least one to two times per week when you can’t see each other in person.
2. Have virtual playdates: Who said you couldn’t read books, play board games or do puzzles virtually? You can using video apps like Zoom, Skype and FaceTime. This is a great way to engage in playtime, even if you can’t do it face-to-face.
3. Write letters: There’s nothing better than a good old-fashioned letter. Letter writing is great practice for children (and young adults), and there’s something special about receiving a handwritten letter from a loved one. You can include what you’ve been doing throughout the week, your favorite meals, future plans and more. This is also a great opportunity for grandparents to maintain the sense of emotional support that’s so important for grandchildren.
4. Send photos and videos: If you aren’t able to meet in person, sending digital photos and videos can be a sweet surprise for grandparents. You can also make a photo book online and have it sent to the grandparents as a special gift. This is a great holiday gift idea if you aren’t able to get together this year.
5. Do a drive-by: These days, drive-bys for loved ones aren’t uncommon. Even parades for birthdays, graduations and other special events have become popular. This is a fun way to show your love and support for someone, even if you can’t be close to that person. A drive-by for grandparents is just a little reminder that they are still special and you miss them. You can make fun posters, cheer and even play music from the car.

Other Ways to Engage with Grandparents

Spending quality time with grandparents promotes the overall health and well-being of the grandparent and grandchild. The ways that you can engage with your grandparent are endless, really. Just sitting around and chatting does the trick.

If you are looking for new ways to engage with your grandparents, here are some ideas:

For older grandchildren:

• Walk through the park
• Go out to eat
• Get a cup of coffee
• Take a class together
• Cook dinner together
• Take a trip
• Go to a sports game
• Go to the movies

For younger grandchildren:

• Go to the playground
• Go to the library
• Do a craft together
• Work on a puzzle
• Go for a walk
• Attend a community or school event
• Go to a sports game
• Read books
• Fly a kite

Conclusion

• It’s hard to explain the importance of grandparents on child development and well-being. Research shows that spending time with grandparents improves a child’s (and adult grandchild’s) mental, emotional and physical health.
• Grandparents benefits include providing a sense of security, providing childcare, improving mental health, boosting physical health and sharing life-long interests.
• Even if you can’t be with your grandparents physically, using phone or computer apps to communicate virtually, writing letters and sending photos are great ways to stay engaged and connected.

The post Benefits of Grandparents (+ How to Stay Connected from Afar) appeared first on Dr. Axe.

The onslaught of family, friends and social events that occurs during the holidays is enough to make even the most social person want to sneak away and enjoy some alone time. However, if your idea of relaxing during the festive madness translates into checking in on Facebook, drooling over Insta-worthy photos or playing a marathon video game session, it might be time to back away from the electronics and start unplugging for the holidays instead.

Benefits of Unplugging

Unplugging for the holidays is more than just sticking your smartphone or other tech devices into another room for a few hours. Instead, it’s about making a concerted effort to give your brain a break and allow yourself to enjoy life’s smaller pleasures:

• the company of loved ones
• truly enjoying a meal without first snapping photos of it
• even just having some mental downtime

If that sounds a little hokey for you, there are actually scientific benefits to disconnecting and plugging back into real life:

1. Say Goodbye to Nomophobia

Does putting down your phone give you FOMO? If so, you’re not alone.

About half of American adults check their phones numerous times an hour — in fact, nearly one in 10 Americans has used his or her phone during intimate moments!

Welcome to the world of nomophobia, or the fear of being without your smartphone.

Reducing your screen time means you’ll have less time to waste on things like cat videos and more to spend on things you’ve been putting off because you “have no free time,” like baking more, trying out a new hobby or just unwinding with a good book. It might take some time to get used to, but soon you’ll find yourself keeping your phone switched off more than on.

2. Reduce Anxiety

If you’re already stressed, too much tech time can make you feel more anxious and increase levels of depression.

The pressure of waiting for a new like, the seemingly endless social media scrolling — it can eventually take a toll on mental health. Luckily, unplugging for the holidays can reverse those effects.

Because anxiety can lead to a host of side effects, from headaches and trouble sleeping to an elevated heart rate, which can lead to heart disease, seize any opportunity (or these handy natural stress relievers) to decrease it! You’ll feel better, and your body will thank you, too — as will your family members, who will appreciate the more cheerful you!

3. Your Brain Will Focus Better

Do you find yourself switching between apps, talking on the phone while playing computer games or simply trying to listen to that story your partner is telling you while checking tomorrow’s weather? All that multitasking is doing things to your brain, and they aren’t good.

See, our brains aren’t actually designed to multitask, and we don’t actually do it. What happens instead is that our minds just shift focus super quickly, losing cognitive function in the process.

In fact, people who multitask tend to be more stressed and impulsive than their one-track-mind counterparts, likely because multitasking can increase production of the stress hormone cortisol along with adrenaline.

Shutting off your technological tempters will allow you to practice mindfulness and give all your attention to what’s happening in front of you, whether it’s playing with your nieces and nephews or enjoying that delicious bite of apple pie. You might notice that you remember small details a bit better, as your brain is able to focus on the task at hand and process info more quickly.

4. Get More Sleep

Watching Netflix in bed or checking your email one last time is ruining your shut-eye. The screens on your favorite gadgets emit a blue light.

To your brain, blue light is the same as daylight and acts to stifle the production of melatonin. That’s a big deal, because melatonin is the hormone that’s responsible for setting our sleep-wake cycles, or circadian rhythms.

This makes it harder not only to fall asleep, but fall into the deep sleep that our bodies need to properly refresh.

The importance of sleep cannot be overstated. In fact, missing sleep can take years off your life. It can also lead to increased weight gain, up your chances of getting sick and affect your mood negatively.

Luckily, unplugging can help improve your sleep. You might find your memory improving, as sleeping seems to help new concepts “set” in the brain.

Getting enough Z’s also reduces inflammation in the body, lowering your risk of everything from heart disease to diabetes.

5. Feel Happier and Healthier with Loved Ones

While too much together time might be what’s driving you to seek the comforts of technology, it might be time to get cozy. Spending time with your friends and family actually improves your health.

It turns out the more shy and lonely you feel, the likelier you are to be addicted to your smartphone. In addition, people without strong relationships increase their risk of dying prematurely by 50 percent, which is greater than the effect of obesity or physical inactivity.

Unplugging for the holidays gives you an opportunity to nurture those relationships that are important to you and reconnect, while increasing longevity. Not bad!

5 Tips for Unplugging for the Holidays

Ready to unplug but not sure how? These tips will help you have a tech-free holiday and enjoy the benefits of unplugging for the holidays.

1. Get Everyone on Board

It’s a lot easier to stay away from your smartphone if everyone else you’re with follows suit. Let family and friends know you’d like to do a digital detox during your time together.

Have everyone turn their phones off, then collect them and keep them in a separate room.

2. Pre-plan Activities

The day might seem boring if everyone’s phone is taken and there’s no plan for entertainment. Pre-empt this, and design a list of activities everyone can get involved in.

From making popcorn and watching a movie to going on a hike, baking cookies or playing board games, you’ll be surprised by how much fun you can have together.

3. Keep Your Phone Out of the Bedroom at Night

Invest in an alarm clock, and keep your phone out of the room when you’re getting ready to sleep — ideally, you’ll turn it off at least an hour beforehand. You’ll steer clear of the blue light that can keep you awake and won’t start your day with a social media blitz.

4. Take Time to Unwind

Whether it’s reading a book or taking a hot bath with essential oils, take time to enjoy life’s little pleasures sans technology.

5. Practice Yoga

Yoga changes your brain in a variety of ways, and they’re all for the better! With all the extra time you’ll have from your digital detox, you’ll have time to unroll a mat and get your namaste on.

The post 5 Benefits of Unplugging for the Holidays + 5 Tips appeared first on Dr. Axe.

How do you feel about adopting the “clutter-free holidays” mentality? Does the idea bring a sense of calm? Perhaps it would allow you to focus on what truly matters: loved ones … and not buying loads of stuff!

Maybe you feel just the opposite: Your chest tightens at the thought of not spoiling everyone on your gift-giving list. The notion of a Christmas tree without a sea of presents underneath it seems unfathomable — downright Scrooge-like!

Wherever your opinion falls, one thing is clear: There are many proven physical and mental health benefits that stem from stepping away from materialism.

Before you close out this screen in protest, take a deep breath. You can still give gifts. You can still support your local economy. It just won’t look like traditional holiday gifting, and that’s OK.

(Your friends who really don’t need those clunky bread makers and toxic scented candles thank you in advance!)

Giving Is Good for Us

When it comes to your personal health, it’s still a good idea to remain active in the gift-giving game.

Researchers who study the act of giving presents and related emotions (yes, that is a real job!) highlight some interesting findings:

• Giving a gift to someone else creates more joy than buying a gift for yourself.
• That gift doesn’t have to be a wrapped-up package; money, experiences and the gift of time together boost happiness for the giver and receiver.
• A gift-giver’s joy remains strong for days after giving.
• Giving to others doesn’t seem to get old — happiness levels remain high even with repeated giving.
• Experiential gifts produce greater relationship improvements compared to material gifts (aka “stuff).
• Interesting finding alert! You don’t have to participate in the experience  you gift someone for your relationship with that person to grow in a positive way.
• We’re more socially connected but lonelier today, but giving experience gifts helps close the loneliness gap.

Generosity through giving, including volunteering your time, is connected to the following health benefits:

• Lower blood pressure
• Increased self-esteem
• Less depression
• Lower stress levels
• Longer life
• Greater happiness and satisfaction

One Quick Note

Now, before we go any further, let’s clarify something: There are millions of people currently living at, below and even above the official poverty line in the U.S. who are struggling to survive and thrive. I’m not suggesting skipping on physical gifts in this instance.

(Perhaps, though, the greatest gift we could give would be to read and act on “The Sum of Us” by Heather McGhee.)

This article focuses on reducing excess stuff in our gifting — unnecessary clutter that’s actually holding us back, maxing out our credit cards and messing with our mental health.

What Does Clutter-Free Mean?

One definition of clutter is a collection of things lying about in an untidy mass. In a New York Times article, clutter researcher Joseph Ferrari, Ph.D., and professor of psychology at DePaul University in Chicago, defines it as “an overabundance of possessions that collectively create chaotic and disorderly living spaces.”

How do we give and receive in a way that doesn’t clutter up people’s lives, which can actually lead to physical and mental health troubles? We embrace the clutter-free holidays frame of mind!

Benefits of Less Clutter

In its extreme form, clutter can build up to the point of hoarding, which can pose immediate life-threatening risks, but even “everyday” clutter can trash our happiness levels.

Feeling like you’re living in a cluttered home may contribute to chronic stress, as it can elevate the stress level cortisol. Chronically high cortisol is linked to all sorts of health concerns, including:

• Weight gain
• High blood pressure
• Mood swings
• Fertility problems
• Acne
• Increased anxiety
• Higher risk of osteoporosis
• Muscle aches and pains

The Procrastinator Angle

People who procrastinate are also more likely to already live among clutter, according to research. For these folks, delaying decisions about what to get rid of compounds the problem.  That means it’s even more important to focus on experiential gifts for the procrastinators in your life.

Avoiding material gifts may be a good idea for the more mature people in your life, too. Older adults with too much stuff report a significant decrease in life satisfaction. A 2020 study published in Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services found that reducing clutter is beneficial for the aging brain.

The Climate Factor

Buying less stuff with a clutter-free holidays mentality is also a more climate-friendly approach. After all, it takes a lot of energy to mine materials, manufacture and ship out the “stuff” we clutter our homes with.

According to the Nature Conservancy and many leading schools of thought, the average carbon footprint for a person in the U.S. is 16 tons. That is one of the highest rates in the world.

Globally, the average carbon footprint is closer to four tons. To have the best chance of avoiding a two degrees C rise in global temperatures, the average global carbon footprint per year needs to drop to under two tons by 2050.

Use Nature Conservancy’s Carbon Calculator to see where you fall.

How to Have a Clutter-Free Holiday (and Home)

You can cultivate a more clutter-free home for the holidays when it comes to giving and receiving.

Make it clear to your friends and family members that you don’t want any physical gifts for the holidays. Otherwise, who knows what gifts could arrive:

• A third pressure cooker?
• A juicer you won’t use?
• Unwanted clothing you may forget to return on time?
• Yet another No. 1 dad mug?

You can avoid all of the awkward, unwanted gifts by being politely direct and providing “non-stuff” alternatives. (Remember, it’s good for people to give.)

Here are some examples:

• Create a fundraiser for a charity you believe in, and direct people there. (Make sure it’s a Charity Star Navigator four-star rated nonprofit.)
• Ask people to volunteer to a cause close to your heart and share their experiences with you.
• Suggest a coffee and library date or dinner date instead.
• Ask for a membership to a cool museum or arboretum in your area.

Aside from reducing unwanted gifts, you can also minimize your own holiday decorating. It will be less to stow away later. Only keep holiday decorations that truly elicit joy and special memories and don’t add to your stress levels.

Clutter-Free Gift Giving Ideas

“Togetherness Presents”:

• Organize a family (or friends) volunteer effort — and make sure to include your favorite elders! A University of California, Berkeley study discovered that elderly people who volunteered for two or more organizations were 44 percent less likely to die over a five-year period than non-volunteers, regardless of if they smoked or exercised or not.
• Set up a Project FeederWatch subscription to become “community scientists” and have fun tallying official bird counts for Cornell University scientists.
• Coordinate a family nature stroll. Being in nature, also known as forest bathing, can lower blood pressure, improve your immune system and boost your brain in many key ways.
• Take your kids, nieces or nephews out for a geocaching adventure. (Adventure Lab has fun “missions,” too.) When you get really good, you can create your own caches for others to enjoy.

Here are a few ideas to get your creative, giving mindset flowing…

• Public library dates with your friends
• Massage sessions
• Volunteer in someone’s honor to a cause that person cares about
• Donate to a cause your recipient is passionate about
• Orchestra tickets
• Sessions with a cleaner or professional organizer
• Set up monthly visits to a retirement home with your friends (paint nails, do henna tattoos, share stores, etc.)
• Movie passes
• Theatre tickets
• National or state park passes
• Passes/membership to a museum or aquarium
• Dinner dates (homemade or going out)
• Bowling passes
• Gentle yoga and relaxation classes
• Gas cards
• Oil changes
• Babysitting services
• Train passes
• Sessions with a certified personal trainer (look for trainers certified through the National Strength & Conditioning Association, National Academy of Sports Medicine or American College of Sports Medicine)

Final Thoughts

• The holidays can bring many material gifts, which adds to our already cluttered lifestyles.
• Clutter is bad for our health, both mentally and physically.
• Living in a cluttered atmosphere can lead to higher cortisol levels.
• High cortisol is linked to high blood pressure and anxiety, skin problems, increased risk of osteoporosis, and more.
• Giving gifts provides even more happiness than receiving them, but giving experience gifts creates the most happiness compared to material gifts.
• Giving more clutter-free experiential gifts helps people keep their living spaces less cluttered, thereby reducing their stress levels.

The post Clutter-Free Holidays: Top Ways to Celebrate Without the Stress of Stuff appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Bickering about finances, debating child-rearing methods and arguing about whose turn it is to take out the garbage — sometimes the daily grind of married life can leave you feeling a little less than enthusiastic about your spouse. Even when your partner is driving you up the wall, though, that person might actually be providing health benefits of marriage.

That’s right: It turns out that married people enjoy certain health advantages over singles. Now, that doesn’t mean that tying the knot automatically makes you happier or healthier, but a major happiness study does suggest relationships are at the root of  finding joy.

To be clear, though, health benefits of marriage don’t extend to people who are in unhappy, abusive or stressful relationships. (This includes things like being married  to someone with narcissistic personality disorder, for instance.) In these cases, being single with a supportive, loving circle of family and friends is healthier than being trapped in an unhappy, stressful or abusive marriage.

In general, however, the lifestyle choice of getting hitched can translate into being healthier. Here’s how…

Top Health Benefits of Marriage

1. Lower Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

One study from New York University, which examined the records of more than 3.5 million people aged 21 to 102 years old, found that both men and women who were married enjoyed a lower rate of ever having a heart attack than their single counterparts. Those results held true even after adjusting for factors like age, sex, race and other risk factors.

Interestingly, being divorced or widowed meant a greater likelihood of cardiovascular disease than being married or single. When it comes to heart disease, it’s not better to have loved and lost.

Men also experience more health benefits from marriage than women. A Canadian study found that, among men who were experiencing chest pain, the married ones went to the doctor to get checked out significantly earlier than single men, leading to a lower risk of cardiovascular death.

Could spousal “nagging” to see the doctor be the cause? Maybe doctors should start sharing the benefits of marriage as part of a loving prescription for supplementing coronary heart disease treatment.

2. Less Stress

It might seem counterintuitive when you’re in the midst of an argument, but being married actually leads to a hormonal change that affects stress levels. One study looked at 500 master’s degree students to learn more about that.

Researchers asked study participants to play a series of computer games that tested economic behaviors. In order to make the games stressful and affect levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, students were told the test was a course requirement that would impact future career placement. Each student gave a saliva sample before and after the test to measure cortisol.

The study found that cortisol levels were increased more in men and women who were unmarried compared to those who were married. Additionally, those who were unmarried had a higher baseline of cortisol, meaning they suffered from higher stress levels to begin with. Researchers believe that while marriage can be stressful, it can also serve as a powerful tool for helping people deal with other life stressors.

Normally, cortisol levels rise after waking and fall as the day progresses. Another study analyzed cortisol levels and slopes in 572 healthy adults who were either married or in marriage-like relationships, never married, or previously married.

Samples of cortisol-containing saliva were collected at different times on three nonconsecutive days. Researchers found that the married group had lower levels of cortisol than the non-married or previously married groups.

The married group also showed a faster drop in cortisol levels compared to the never-married group. The differences between the married and previously married groups were minimal. Again, marriage showed signs of helping to keep stress at bay.

3. Better Chance of Surviving Cancer

A bit more grim but equally as important, being married boosted survival rates of cancer patients in one study. Published in a peer-reviewed journal, a University of San Diego study pored over the information of almost 800,000 California adults who were diagnosed with invasive cancer between 2000 and 2009, and followed up with them in 2012.

Researchers found that for males, on average, the rate of death was 27 percent higher for those who were unmarried. For women, it was 19 percent higher.

The most benefits were found in married, white men. The researchers attributed the higher survival rate among married patients with a stronger support system than for singles.

Of course, if you’re not married, you can seek similar benefits by connecting to those in your close network of family and friends. Translation: Don’t let a cancer diagnosis isolate you from others.

4. Longevity

Finally, getting wed could mean you’ll live longer. One study published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine found that being married through middle age could be the key to reaching old age.

Those people who never married were more than twice as likely to die early than those who’d been in stable marriages in their adult lives. Being single or widowed and never remarrying reduced the chances of reaching old age, even after the researchers adjusted the study for risky behaviors.

A Downside of Marriage

Singles, it’s not all doom and gloom. There is one case where marriage doesn’t help: obesity.

People who are married suffer from higher rates of obesity than singles do. Because obesity is tied to so many other health ailments, like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer, it’s important to continue making healthy choices once you’re married — together.

Going on fun, active dates is a great way to keep the spark alive while keeping fit. Consider exploring the neighborhood by bike, hitting up a rock climbing gym or taking a cooking a cooking class together instead of going out for dinner and a movie.

A lack of communication and stress eating can also lead to problems with weight. If you’re having trouble getting through to your partner, think about seeing a couples therapist who can help you work through tough spots in your marriage together instead of turning to food for comfort.

Conclusion

• Being in a safe, stable marriage can help you live longer, reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and reduce stress levels, among other benefits of marriage.
• For those with cancer, being in a healthy marriage seems to increase the odds of living longer. However, if you are unmarried and living with cancer, avoiding isolation and tapping in to your network of family and friends can provide similar benefits.
• One downside? Being married increases your changes of being obese, so adopt an active, healthy lifestyle together.

The post Top 4 Health Benefits of Marriage appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Stress. It’s an awful word and a worse feeling, isn’t it? The thing is, stress isn’t all bad. Without it, we wouldn’t be motivated to take steps to protect ourselves, to plan for the future or to perform.

A certain level of stress (especially “good” eustress) helps us to adapt to our environment and pushes us to excel. The stress that is worrisome is chronic stress, which many in the world and particularly the U.S. may be suffering from right now, between the pandemic and now the social unrest that recently erupted after the killing of George Floyd by a police officer.

What does chronic stress do to your body? It can affect you negatively in multiple ways; for example, research confirms that elevated cortisol levels can increase susceptibility to some illnesses, sleep deprivation, and even brain shrinkage and memory problems in adults of middle age.

According to the CDC, chronic stress can kill your quality of life and even dampen your immune system, which is why it’s important to incorporate natural stress relievers into your regular routine to help you cope.

What Is Chronic Stress?

Stress is defined as “a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances.”

Your central nervous system (CNS), which is in charge of your “fight or flight” response, controls levels of “stress hormones” like cortisol and adrenaline that circulate through your body. Your hypothalamus communicates with your adrenal glands to release more stress hormones when you’re feeling threatened or overwhelmed.

While stress itself may not be a good thing, in reality each of us is only here because of the stress response. Our ancestors reacted to a threat by fighting or fleeing, literally or figuratively, and so survived thanks to this fight or flight instinct. Whether it was a food shortage or a physical threat, they went into what the prominent science center, the Franklin Institute, refers to as “metabolic overdrive.”

• During periods of acute stress, adrenaline and cortisol flood the body
• Blood pressure, breathing and heart rate increase
• Glucose is released into the bloodstream for ready energy
• Digestion, growth, reproduction and immune system functions are suppressed or put on hold
• Blood flow to the skin is decreased, and pain tolerance is increased

Chronic stress vs. acute stress: what’s the difference?

It typically takes about 90 minutes for the metabolism to return to normal following an acutely stressful event. However, with chronic stress, most people tend to ignore or push down symptoms until they eventually “burn out,” which can take months.

When facing chronic stress, many of us don’t physically dispel stress hormones or take the time to resolve the real problems (if they are even capable of being resolved). If we aren’t able to soothe ourselves, to grieve or to take the time to question our priorities, stress can linger on and on for many months or even years.

What are examples of chronic stress? Chronic stress examples can include:

• Emotional distress due to grieving the death of a loved one
• A serious health diagnosis, especially one that limits daily functioning and requires a hospital stay/ongoing treatments
• Financial problems, including unemployment
• Work stress, including feeling overwhelmed with everyday responsibilities and stress tied to commuting
• Emotional stress plus fatigue when taking care of others among doctors, nurses, EMTs or other health care providers/first responders
• Feeling socially isolated
• Family-related stress, often due to feeling short on time, rushed and overwhelmed
• War and violence, especially if serving in the military
• Relationship problems, especially those involving abuse or divorce
• Major life changes like moving to a new city or starting a new demanding career path
• Injuries that lead to chronic pain
• Imprisonment
• Internal causes of stress tied to one’s mindset, including living with guilt and regret, pessimism, rigid thinking, lack of flexibility, negative self-talk and perfectionism

Again, during this pandemic and now the ongoing protests triggered by George Floyd’s death sweeping the nation, chronic stress is palpable in nearly every household.

Related: How to Practice Positive Self-Talk for Better Health and Happiness

Symptoms

What are the symptoms of chronic stress? According to the American Institute of Stress, chronic distress can cause more than 50 symptoms. Five of the most common chronic stress symptoms include: irritability, anxiety, depression, headaches and trouble sleeping.

Here are some of the many negative effects that unresolved stress can have on your body:

• Reduced ability to concentrate and act efficiently, as stress has negative effects on memory and learning. It can lead to less fuel being sent to the brain, and poor communication between brain cells.
• Increased risk for substance abuse problems, including use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs
• Weakening of your immune system, making fighting infection much more difficult
• Increased inflammatory responses and release of compounds known as cytokines, which affect tissues and organs all over the body
• Food addictions, gambling, checking out with television and video games
• Accelerated symptoms tied to aging, including brain shrinkage and worsened symptoms tied to arthritis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and osteoporosis
• Increased chronic pain, including neck and back pain, headaches, joint pain and muscle pain
• Metabolic dysfunction and potentially weight gain, since cortisol can trigger accumulation of dangerous belly fat and worsen cravings for fat, salt and sugar
• Higher risk for a variety of digestive disorders and symptoms, like ulcers, a bloated stomach, cramping, constipation and diarrhea
• Trouble sleeping, and then irritability and fatigue as a result
• Depression symptoms, such as feelings of helplessness and lack of control
• Becoming more accident-prone
• Not being able to plan for the future or make decisions
• Experiencing increased for a number of health problems, potentially including diabetes, heart attack, heart disease and stroke. Stress increases your heart rate and force, constricts and damages your arteries, and can lead to inflammation.
• Worsened asthma symptoms
• Reduced sexual desire and erectile dysfunction in men
• Menstrual changes in women, including worsened PMS and irregular periods
• Skin/hair conditions like eczema, hair loss, acne and rashes

Related: How to Practice Progressive Muscle Relaxation for Stress & Pain Relief

Causes

A high percentage of Americans consistently worry about money, job security and the political climate in the U.S. The American Psychological Association published research focused on the “Most Common Sources of Stress.” They found that:

• 63% worry about the future of our nation
• 62% worry about money
• 61% worry about work
• 57% worry about the political climate
• 51% worry about violence and crime

According to some research, two of the biggest drivers of suicidal thoughts and attempts are job loss and social isolation.

When you go through an acute/short-term crisis, your actions normally wind end up reversing many of the stress-related processes described above. You can essentially either fight or flee and resolve the problem — then take comfort in contact with loved ones or satisfaction in your abilities. You might dispel adrenaline through pacing or some other soothing effort to restore balance.

Life today, however, doesn’t often offer us the opportunity to enact a full stress response and resolution. Instead, we operate as if we’re in a constant, low-grade state of emergency, with no real end in sight.

Related: What Causes Self-Sabotaging Behaviors? (And How Do You Stop?)

Diagnosis

How do you know if you have chronic stress? Ask yourself if you’re dealing with the most common stress-related symptoms (like mood changes, trouble sleeping, pain/tension — including tension headaches — and so on). Are you feeling things are out of your control and that the future is hopeless?

If you can relate to many of the symptoms above, it might be time to speak to a therapist, or at least to rethink how you’re handling your current situation. If stress has led to specific symptoms such as breakouts, GI issues and chronic pain, talk to your doctor about tests that can determine the underlying causes and come up with a holistic treatment plan together.

A therapist, or even your primary care giver or a functional/naturopathic doctor, can help you manage stress with coping strategies such as mindfulness, breathing exercises, journaling, physical exercises and tools for changing your thought patterns.

Remedies

Plenty of research has found that stress management and relaxation techniques can help you become more able to adapt to stressful events, more efficient in functioning during stressful times and better able to recover from stress.

Ultimately, chronic stress treatment and recovery time depends on how severely someone is stressed and the coping mechanisms they choose to employ. Based on findings from a large body of research, these are some of the most impactful ways you can cope with chronic stress:

• Get regular exercise, which is one of the best ways to cope with stress and help your body return to homeostasis.
• Make time to engage in pleasantly challenging activities, like reading, exercising, painting, etc.
• Take deep breaths and stretch.
• Get outside and get some sunlight exposure.
• Get plenty of sleep, and even nap if you’re feeling run down.
• Eat a nourishing diet that includes balanced meals emphasizing whole foods (check out this article on eating a diet to manage anxiety symptoms, which includes foods like fish, organic chicken and free-range eggs, grass-fed beef, whole grains, nuts, seeds, olive and coconut oils, and lots of fruits and vegetables).
• Have something to look forward to.There’s evidence demonstrating that positive anticipation can reduce stress and anxiety because it leads to more hopeful anticipatory thoughts, leaving less room for negative thoughts and worry.
• Try mindfulness training, Meditation can serve as one coping mechanism, since it helps to bring your attention to the present and decrease the amount of time you spend worrying about the future.
• Avoid becoming overly absorbed in the 24/7 news cycle.
• Find ways to gain a sense of control, such as by creating a schedule and boundaries for yourself. Stress, anxiety and depression are fueled by feelings of helplessness and overwhelm. Schedule tasks, prioritize and delegate so you’re better able to cope.
• Try journaling, especially “gratitude journaling.”  Your thoughts and emotions are the very things that you can learn to control, no matter what happens in your environment. Take a look at your life, and identify what’s causing you stress. Pay attention to your moods, and try to identify the thoughts and beliefs that may be contributing to them.
• Avoid alcohol and drugs, which can actually wind up worsening stress.
• Connect with others to talk about how you’re feeling, even if it’s over the phone, Zoom, etc.
• Listen to your favorite music — and sing along. Listen to music can ease anxiety and even physical pain.
• Try tapping techniques. Also known as the emotional freedom technique, or EFT, can reduce acute or chronic stress and improve sleeping habits.

Related: Catecholamines and Stress Response: What You Need to Know

Final Thoughts

• Stress is normal, and some kinds of stress are good. However, chronic stress symptoms like indigestion, brain fog, fatigue and trouble sleeping that last many months are not normal.
• Chronic stress can affect every physical and psychological system in the body. Examples of such stressors can include financial worry, work stress and health-related stressors.
• Even if your problems are here to stay for now, you can learn how to better manage stress by incorporating stress-relieving practices into your life. See the list above, which suggests coping mechanisms like exercise, sunlight, gratitude journaling, etc.

The post What Is Chronic Stress? Learn How to Overcome Naturally appeared first on Dr. Axe.

If you’re like a lot of folks, just the idea of making a life-long commitment to exercise and healthier habits can seem overwhelming. Maybe you just have a few pounds to lose, or a spare tire to shed around the midsection. Let’s not get crazy and insist you become a chiseled athlete!

That thought may be enough to keep you sitting on the couch, binge watching episodes of Ted Lasso.

I’ve coached many patients who honestly didn’t believe they had what it took to stick with an exercise program. I’ll let you in on a secret that I share with them: You need the highest amount of grit on the front end. Then it gets easier.

Finding the motivation to exercise is toughest when you’re out of shape and carrying those extra pounds. As someone who has climbed mountains, and run through mud and jungles, I can attest that for the person who is already exercising daily, staying motivated is just not as hard.

Once you have a mindset of resilience, commitment and perseverance, your physicality and endurance will follow.

So, if the biggest exercise hurdle is the commitment to start, what is the chemistry of commitment? It is learning how to fire up the portions of your brain that will help you stay motivated and focused.

How to Develop Healthier Habits

The recipe for commitment to exercise and healthier habits is relatively simple. You just need to remember three things: food, psychology and supplementation.

1. Food

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with motivation. Wow, sounds great! You want more of that, right? Unfortunately, high dopamine levels also jump start food cravings. Pretty soon, you’re raiding the freezer for a pint of Ben and Jerry’s instead of lacing up your athletic shoes.

The key is achieving a healthier dopamine balance in your brain. Eating foods rich in the amino acid L-tyrosine — the natural building block of dopamine — may give you a consistent low-grade sense of feeling good, and help you cut your ties with whatever you’re craving.

Foods high in L-Tyrosine include dark chocolate, oatmeal, chicken, ricotta cheese, edamame and wheat germ.

2. Keep it simple. Don’t overthink it.

Remember, you’re working on the ambition to get off the couch, not train for a marathon. If you just make a point of moving for three minutes, three or four times a day, you’re training your brain to make a commitment. The truth is that you probably won’t stop after three minutes. Most people end up doing 10 minutes at a time.

Certainly, if you are easily distracted and your mind is prone to wandering, it will be much harder for your brain to stay committed to exercise. For that three minutes (or 10 minutes), you want to be focused on moving your muscles. The next task on your list can wait.

3. One easy shortcut is supplementing with slow release caffeine and L-theanine.

This ingredient combination, widely available as Spartan Focus, sharpens your mental preparation and helps you stay in the zone. As important, it won’t give you caffeine jitters or make you nauseous.

Exercise Recommendations

No gym or special equipment required (although you do need a floor!). Our bodies are meant to lift, push, pull, jump, squat and run. Get all those movements in and you’re golden. Short bursts of structured exercise — check out HIIT workouts — boost dopamine and increase focus.

Here is an example of what that might look like:

• First set in the early morning: Find a staircase. Go up and down for three minutes or until you can’t hold a conversation, whatever happens first. Then get down on the floor and do three sets of 10 push-ups.
• Mid-day: Do jumping jacks, again for three minutes or until you can’t hold a conversation, whichever comes first. Then, find a chair. Get up and sit down on it for three sets of 20.
• End of day: Start with a light three-minute jog, to the same level as the staircase and jumping jacks. Then pick up an object that you feel is heavy for you to hold in one hand. This is about 15 to 20 lbs for most people. Find a table or chair and do single-sided bend over rows for three sets of 10 each.

It can also help to find a sport or activity that you absolutely love and want to practice more often. Take, for example, the trendy sport of pickleball that has taken country by storm. Or perhaps it’s golf, tennis or cycling.

Committing to Exercise Is Easier than You Think

So, that’s really it. Just follow these three steps and your brain chemistry will be well on its way supporting your newfound life-long commitment to fitness.

And since the true physical and emotional benefits come from exercising daily, you’ll soon be enjoying a healthier, more balanced life.

Bryce Wylde, BSc (Hon), DHMHS is a leading health expert specializing in integrative and functional medicine, homeopathy, clinical nutrition, and supplementation. As associate medical director at P3 Health in Toronto, and director of My Health Report, he blends the latest in science and technology with traditional and ancient remedies. Wylde is the author of three national best-selling books, previous host of CTV’s Wylde on Health, and is a frequent guest health expert on U.S. and Canadian TV.

The post How to Form Healthier Habits & Commit to Exercise appeared first on Dr. Axe.

We often talk about the many health benefits of dark chocolate, perhaps because it’s so darn tasty. Its impressive antioxidant profile and impact on cardiovascular health are added, guilt-reducing bonuses.

Well, good news: A new preclinical study shows that dark chocolate may also help your brain adapt to chronic stress.

Study Findings: Dark Chocolate Could Boost Stress Response

A June 2022 study published in Nutritional Neuroscience analyzed the impact of dark chocolate dietary patterns on the hippocampal CA1 brain region in rats when exposed to chronic stress.

Thirty-five rats were placed into five groups: a control group, a stress group and three groups made up of different dark chocolate dietary patterns. Rats in the “compulsory diet” received only dark chocolate for stress, rats on the “optional diet” had an option of unlimited dark chocolate or chow, and those on the “restricted diet” received chow and only four grams of dark chocolate daily.

Based on their findings, researchers concluded that the compulsory and restricted dark chocolate dietary patterns reversed the harmful effects of chronic isolation stress on the brain nerve cells that impact learning and memory processing.

Results also show that food intake and body weight decreased significantly in all dark chocolate groups.

What It Means

This is the first study of its kind, testing the impact of dark chocolate for stress by way of affecting nerve cells in the brain. The next step is to research whether or not dark chocolate impacts humans similarly.

There is already evidence that dark chocolate benefits brain health. A 2020 study found that dark chocolate consumption improved verbal episodic memory compared to white chocolate. Researchers believe that this may be due to increased cerebral blood flow from cocoa flavonoids.

A parallel-group, randomized trial published in 2019 indicates that consuming dark chocolate enhances cognitive function performance compared to white chocolate.

There’s also research on how dark chocolate impacts perceived stress. A 2014 study showed that consuming 40 grams of dark or milk chocolate daily during a two-week period is an effective way to reduce perceived stress in females.

This latest study on dark chocolate suggests that the antioxidant-rich food may have several mechanisms for boosting brain health and reducing stress in humans, which is exactly why it’s considered a happy food.

Tips to Reduce Stress

Controlling stress is a major issue among adults. Although it’s a natural feeling that can improve motivation, dealing with it constantly can have significant effects on your overall health.

To boot, stress can impact your dietary and lifestyle choices, leading to a cycle of inflammation, low mood and trouble sleeping.

There are many natural stress relievers that can help ease anxiety, reduce inflammation, improve mental clarity and promote restful sleep. Here are some of the top tips for reducing stress:

1. Daily exercise or physical activity (including walking outdoors, jogging, yoga, swimming, biking and lifting weights)
2. A nutrient-rich diet that includes high-quality protein, healthy fats, complex carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables and herbs (avoid or cut back on processed, packaged and sugary foods, alcohol, and caffeine)
3. Spending more time outdoors, taking casual walks, hiking or relaxing outside
4. Keep a journal to track and work through emotions, helping you to identify triggers and common causes of stress
5. Breathing exercises, stretching and massage
6. Using adaptogenic herbs, such as ashwagandha, ginseng, cocoa and maca
7. Engaging in daily spiritual prayer or meditation

Conclusion

• A June 2022 study published in Nutritional Neuroscience evaluated the impact of dark chocolate dietary patterns on the hippocampal CA1 brain region, which plays a role in memory and learning.
• Researchers found that rats on dark chocolate dietary patterns showed a reversal of the harmful effects of chronic isolation stress on the brain nerve cells.
• Study results also show that food intake and body weight decreased significantly among rats fed dark chocolate.
• Although human evidence is needed, this study suggests that dark chocolate plays a role in reducing the impact of chronic stress on the brain.

The post Dark Chocolate for Stress Starts in the Brain, New Study Shows appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Carotenoids are types of antioxidants that are known to contribute to eye and brain health, as well as maintenance of normal vision. They do this by fighting effects of free radical damage, also called oxidative stress.

These antioxidants are found within some of the healthiest foods available to us, such as carrots, kale, sweet potatoes, peppers and papaya. The fat-soluble plant pigments primarily show up in plants as yellow, orange or red pigments, which explains why you can obtain them from plant flowers, leaves and fruits that come in these shades.

A new study demonstrates that adding more superfoods to your diet that provide carotenoids can protect you against age-related decline in mental health and well-being, especially if you’re a woman.

Study Findings: Macular Carotenoids for Women

A 2022 study published in Nutritional Neuroscience found that higher dietary intake of carotenoids appears to be protective against visual and cognitive loss among adult women. Women were the focus of this particular study because women represent about two-thirds of all cases of dementia, as well as 70% of cases of macular degeneration. 

Which carotenoids may help lessen the risk of macular degeneration? Lutein and zeaxanthin seem to be especially important, as these specific compounds are found within tissues of the eye and brain. These are among more than 7,000 carotenoids that have been identified.

Both of these nutrients seem to play a role in preventing neurodegenerative diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration (one of the leading causes of blindness) and some forms of dementia.

How do carotenoids prevent macular degeneration?

It’s been found that lutein, zeaxanthin and other carotenoids, such as mesozeaxanthin, have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, including because they block light that damages the retina, as well as oxidative stress that can interfere with normal brain function.

Researchers believe that carotenoids are capable of directly improving function of the eyes and preventing central nervous system degeneration.

Lutein and zeaxanthin specifically have been found to help:

• Reduce glare disability
• Decrease eye discomfort
• Reduce photostress
• Improve chromatic contrast and visual range (e.g., the ability to see through haze)
• Improve visual processing speed
• Help with cognitive functions, including problem solving, memory and executive function (which happens mostly in areas such as the hippocampus and frontal cortex)
• Inhibit the deposition of brain β-amyloids, which are linked to higher risk for cognitive decline

Are carotenoids found in the macula?

Yes, they are the primary pigments found in the eye’s macula, which is located at the center of the retina. The macula is involved in high-acuity daylight vision— plus it helps you see colors and fine details.

How does vitamin A/beta-carotene affect the macula?

Research shows that vitamin A is another nutrient with antioxidant effects that can defend the eyes against cellular damage and age-related diseases. Like carotenoids, beta-carotene has been been reported to reduce the risk of macular degeneration by lowering oxidative stress, specially when it’s consumed from food sources as opposed to supplements.

What It Means

In order to stay mentally sharp into older age and prevent loss of vision, it’s important to consume a variety of antioxidants and phytonutrients on a regular basis.

Carotenoids— as well as other nutrients like vitamin A/beta-carotene, polyphenols, flavonoids and anthocyanin— can help prevent many health conditions tied to aging and an unhealthy lifestyle. For example, eating a diet high in antioxidants is protective against:

• Certain types of cancer
• Heart disease
• Type 2 diabetes
• Neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s
• Osteoporosis/bone density loss

One meta-analysis and systematic review found that higher intake of green leafy vegetables — one of the best sources of antioxidants— was strongly linked to reduced all-cause mortality (death from all causes). Increasing your intake of leafy greens by about 100 grams per day (about one to two cups of raw greens) may reduce your risk of death by about 25%.

How to Get More Carotenoids in Diet

Studies suggest that eating antioxidant-rich foods, as opposed to taking supplements, is the best way to boost your intake of protective compounds like caronteorids. That’s because foods contain hundreds of different compounds that work synergistically, unlike supplements, which usually only provide single antioxidants.

The top dietary sources of carotenoids (which also supply you with other protective antioxidants and nutrients) are:

• Winter squash or butternut squash
• Carrots and carrot juice
• Sweet potato
• Leafy greens, like collards, spinach, kale and turnip greens
• Tomatoes
• Pumpkin
• Plantains
• Citrus fruits (grapefruit, oranges and tangerines)
• Cantaloupe
• Red peppers
• Papaya

Conclusion

• Many studies, including one published in 2022, suggest that higher dietary intake of certain antioxidants, such as carotenoids, can help decrease progression of eye-related diseases as well as cognitive decline.
• This seems especially important for adult women who are impacted by these conditions disproportionally.
• How does this work? Carotenoids defend the macula/retina from cellar damage that’s caused by light, oxidative stress and inflammation.
• To add more antioxidants to your diet, eat nutrient-rich foods, including leafy greens, squash, carrots, tomatoes, citrus fruits, tropical fruits like papaya and mango, peppers, and sweet potatoes.

The post Macular Carotenoids Support Vision, Brain Health & Longevity appeared first on Dr. Axe.

One of the most underrated aspects of health is sleep despite the fact that research shows over and over again how vital getting the proper amount of sleep is to reach optimal health. Conversely, sleep deprivation is a serious issue that is tied to many health problems, including increased risk of chronic diseases, negative effects on mood and cognition, and so much more. So what is the ideal amount of sleep to help stave off these issues and help you operate at full speed?

That’s what a team of researchers of sought to find out in a 2022 study published in Nature Aging, and it turns out they were able to determine a recommended ideal amount of sleep for middle-aged and older adults.

Study Findings: Ideal Sleep Number for Middle, Old Age

Utilizing data from the UK Biobank, a host of Chinese and U.K. researchers from Fudan University’s Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence in Shanghai sought to determine the ideal amount of sleep to help protect cognition and mental health. Analyzing the more than 500,000 participants in the UK Biobank health study ages 38 to 73, the researchers found that seven hours of sleep among this age group was the ideal amount of sleep to support cognition and mental health.

While the study authors note this is a nonlinear link, the data showed that participants who slept less than seven hours a night and those who slept more than that per night seemed to have more difficulty learning and remembering new things, solving problems and making decisions, and paying attention. In addition, they reported experiencing more symptoms of depression and anxiety, along with worse overall well-being.

The study authors noted, “We found a beneficial association with cognitive function and mental health with a sleep duration of approximately 7 h in a middle-aged to older adult population.”

They concluded:

… nonlinear associations between sleep duration and mental health, cognitive function and brain structure were found in a large cohort of middle-aged to older participants from the UK Biobank. The most significant brain structures were found to include the precentral cortex, the lateral orbitofrontal cortex and the hippocampus. Given the role of the hippocampus in memory processes and in Alzheimer’s disease, the nonlinear association between sleep duration and this brain region is of particular importance. Furthermore, baseline non-optimal sleep duration was significantly associated with decreased cognitive function and increased psychiatric symptoms on follow up. Our findings have emphasized the importance of sleep regulation for cognition, mental health and well-being of adults. In addition, we identified a possible unified pathway that includes genetics and brain mechanisms.

While these results show that seven hours of sleep appears to be the sweet spot for optimal mental and brain health, the researchers emphasized the results exhibit a nonlinear association, not necessary a direct connection.

“While we can’t say conclusively that too little or too much sleep causes cognitive problems, our analysis looking at individuals over a longer period of time appears to support this idea,”Jianfeng Feng, a professor at China’s Fudan University and an author of the study, said in a statement shared with CNN. “But the reasons why older people have poorer sleep appear to be complex, influenced by a combination of our genetic makeup and the structure of our brains.”

What It Means

This study provides evidence that the ideal amount of sleep seems to benefit cognitive and mental health, which isn’t surprising, and the recommended seven hours of sleep seems to make sense given that our ancestors slept a little under 6.5 hours per night, according to research from UCLA. Yes, that’s less than seven hours per night, but when taking into consideration the extremely different lifestyles today compared to hundreds of years ago, the slight difference makes sense.

However, seven hours may not necessarily be the ideal target for everyone. Some people function best with a little more or a little less sleep, as just like many other aspects of health, it really can depend on the individual.

Still, it’s definitely a good idea to aim for seven to nine hours of sleep per night, and it’s a good idea to track your focus and mood and compare it with the amount of sleep you got that day. This could help you determine the ideal amount of sleep for you.

Tips for Better Sleep

To support optimal sleep and boost brain health, try natural sleep aids, such as:

• sleep-promoting foods, such as those with tryptophan
• calcium
• magnesium
• essential oils for sleep, including bergamot and lavender
• passion flower
• valerian root
• St. John’s wort

You can also try sleep meditation and take melatonin, but be careful not to take melatonin every night for a long period of time. Research shows that taking too much melatonin can be risky.

Other ways to promote better sleep include:

• managing stress
• avoiding blue light at night
• increasing exposure to natural light during the daytime
• exercising
• adjusting your diet
• creating a bedtime routine

Conclusion

• Sleep deprivation and oversleeping can play a part in a host of health issues, particularly on brain health.
• A 2022 study looked to identify the ideal amount of sleep to support cognition, mental health and overall well-being. Examining U.K. data from a health study involving adults ages 38 to 73, researchers found that seven hours of sleep appeared to be the sweet spot for optimal health.
• To help reach the ideal amount of sleep and keep the brain in tip-top shape, utilize natural sleep aids, set a bedtime routine and make sure you get the ideal amount of sleep for you, with seven hours a good target based on research.

The post Researchers Try to Nail Down Ideal Amount of Sleep appeared first on Dr. Axe.

A boring life may not be something many of us strive for, but the truth is, occasional boredom may actually have a number of health benefits.

That’s right — allowing yourself to be bored more often can pay off in terms of your productivity, creativity and ability to handle stress. On the other hand, if you force yourself to be focused and productive 24/7, you might actually be self-sabotaging your ability to be calm and content long term.

Psychologists believe there’s a happy medium when it comes to boredom: We don’t want to experience too much or too little. Let’s look at what causes boredom, what types of problems and perks it can lead to, plus the best ways to handle it when it arises.

What Is Boredom?

Boredom is defined as the state of being bored, meaning lacking enthusiasm or interest.

You can think of boredom as a deficit in meaning. It happens when you aren’t engaged in anything active or you are doing something but you don’t care about it.

According to experts who have studied boredom, there are three different types:

• mundane boredom, such as waiting in line
• profound malaise, meaning a feeling of discontent with the general experience of life
• ineffable deficit, or feeling like something is missing, usually something that is familiar to us

In other words, what’s called “simple boredom” (or mundane) seems to be easier to manage and even beneficial, since it can cause us to notice more things around us and seek out interesting tasks. On the other hand, “existential boredom” describes as a sense of emptiness and alienation, which can take a toll on one’s mental health.

Symptoms/Causes

What does boredom do to a person?

Ultimately it depends on the individual, since some enjoy downtime and boring moments more than others.

Boredom can sometimes lead to behaviors and symptoms such as:

• Feelings of restlessness and anxiety
• Fatigue
• Emotional eating
• Brain fog
• Sadness or disappointment — in other words, the sensation that something is missing or that we’re missing a worthwhile opportunity (aka FOMO)
• Depression symptoms — depression can have a connection to boredom, which experts believe might be due to how some bored people perceive their lives; they may think that they lack meaningful relationships, purpose, passion, imagination or initiative
• Higher risk for substance abuse (researchers shows that teenagers who report being bored frequently may be 50% more likely to start smoking, drinking and using illegal drugs compared to non-bored peers)
• Higher risk for reckless acts, like driving dangerously, dropping out of school, becoming unemployed or gambling irresponsibly

What causes boredom?

What are the underlying reasons why we feel bored? Experts believe that the main causes of boredom include a lack of meaning (we don’t care much about something we’re doing) and a breakdown in attention (we can’t seem to focus on a task or activity).

When we’re in a situation that doesn’t feel engaging or seems pointlessness, this is when boredom strikes.

There are lots of different times in our lives when we might feel bored, such as:

• When doing monotonous chores around the house.
• When driving or commuting to work.
• When exercising, if we don’t find the activity to be fun or rewarding.
• When having conversations with people we don’t find interesting.
• When watching, listening to or reading something that we find dull.

Certain personality traits make people more susceptible to being bored, including low self-control, anxiety symptoms, impulsivity, depression, and substance use. Those with certain personality disorders, such as borderline personality disorder, may also struggle with feeling bored, which can cause anxiety.

Those who struggle with fatigue, due to health issues or poor sleep, may also find themselves in boring situations more often because they lack the energy to seek out fun experiences. Even people who have suffered certain brain disorders or head trauma that impact the orbitofrontal cortex are more prone to boredom, since this area of the frontal lobe affects feelings of reward.

Interestingly, researchers have found that people tend to experience the most boredom when they are teenagers and the least when they are in their 50s. It makes sense that there would be less boring moments midlife because this is when most people have the most responsibilities, such as work, family, school, volunteering, hobbies, etc.

Boredom tends to increase slightly among the elderly, as this is when many people are retired, socialize less, have less energy and may be more cognitively impaired.

Potential Benefits of Boredom

Here’s the good news: Although it doesn’t feel very exciting to be bored, if you lean in to the experience it can actually wind up improving your life. As one article published by Psychology Today put it: “Boredom is a catalyst for change and an opportunity for reflection.”

Potential benefits boredom can include:

• Increasing self-awareness about what you do and don’t enjoy.
• Tapping in to your imagination and creativity, in part because you’re more likely to daydream when bored. Boredom can be especially helpful for children because it encourages self-entertainment and self-reliance.
• Boosting relationship skills and conflict resolution, since it gives you the opportunity to think over past arguments or mistakes.
• Encouraging you to rethink your priorities and shift to something more fulfilling. (For example, if you’re frequently very bored at work you might choose to consider another career.)
• Making you seek out novel experiences, which can open your mind and perspective.
• Reducing procrastination. If you have free time, this can be the push you need to start a project or complete a task. That being said, some people use procrastination and boredom to avoid confronting painful thoughts.

How to Relieve/Treat Boredom

How can you relieve boredom, and also importantly, should you even try to?

The key to using boredom and downtime to your benefit is to find activities that are both meaningful and engaging. Here are some ideas for doing that:

1. Less Screen Time, More Self-Care

Instead of scrolling on your phone or other devices when you have spare time, use the opportunity to unplug and focus on self-care, such as by meditating, doing breathing exercises, taking a walk outside or straightening up your living space.

Researchers believe that lots of electronic device use during free time, including social media use, can increase anxiety and depression. If you use this time to take care of yourself in other ways, you’re much more likely to feel calm, content and clear-headed, which helps you deal with stress.

2. Get Into a Flow State

A “flow state” describes being fully engaged in a task. It happens when a task is neither too hard or too easy, but just hard enough that it requires our full effort and concentration.

It’s naturally rewarding to be in flow and basically the opposite of being bored.

What are some ways to get into flow? Pick an activity that challenges you, and do it while undistracted. Try:

• a different type of exercise or sport
• a new board game or computer game
• something creative, like making art of music
• riding your bike somewhere scenic
• concentrating on a work project 30 minutes straight
• building something with your hands

3. Combine Something Stimulating With Something Boring

When you’re doing something mundane, such as chores or commuting, try also doing something that’s enjoyable at the same time. For example, redirect your attention to a different activity, such as listening to music or a podcast or doodling when studying, cleaning or exercising.

4. Sharpen Your Mental Abilities

To keep your brain in tip-top shape as you age, do things that stimulate your mind, such as crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, learning a new language or new recipes, taking an outline course, and so on. Bonus: Many of these are great for improving your focus and memory.

No matter your age, when you’re sitting around daydreaming or relaxing, you can also try planning or preparing for the day or week to come.

Make mental lists in your mind, or try practicing visualization, in which you imagine in detail how a scenario will turn out. You can also mentally list things that you’re grateful for that happened that day, which is great for lowering stress.

5. Use Your Skills and Talents for Something Meaningful

Find activities that give you both a sense of agency and that contribute to the greater good. You can volunteer your time or resources to a local organization, or do something such as writing helpful blog posts giving other people advice.

When you use your free time to make other people’s lives better, it’s a win-win, since it also boosts your happiness and sense of meaning at the same time.

Conclusion

• When we’re bored, we lack enthusiasm or interest. We might be doing nothing at all or doing something that doesn’t hold our attention or doesn’t seem to have a real purpose.
• What are symptoms and signs of boredom? There are both pros and cons of boredom. Too much can cause anxiety, restlessness and depression, while too little doesn’t leave enough time for us to rest, reflect and be imaginative.
• Psychologists believe that a little boredom is a good thing because it has the power to motivate us to pursue new goals and novel experiences. It can help improve self-awareness, conflict resolution and planning.
• If you find yourself in boring situations more often that you’d like, seek out activities that are simulating, new and meaningful. You can volunteer, read, exercise, make art, listen to music, cook or clean.

The post The Surprising Benefits of Boredom appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Anger is a normal and healthy human emotion that is linked to physiological and biological changes. While it’s an important emotion that allows people to express their emotions, the intensity of anger varies, and anger management is critical for maintaining control.

When you aren’t able to deal with adversity or disagreements in a positive, constructive way, it can impact your relationships, work environment, family life and more. Using anger management techniques like calming your mind, taking a break and using logic to think through the situation helps you deal with these situations in a purposeful, mature and healthy manner.

What Is Anger?

Anger is an expression of displacement and frustration. We instinctively express anger with aggression, although the intensity of the response varies from mild irritation to full-on rage.

Researchers explain the expression of anger as the exploration of an environment and establishment of sense of personal control over one’s own actions, conflict negotiation and defense of personal integrity.

It can be triggered by many factors, including an argument or altercation, feeling attacked or disrespected, dealing with an unforeseen situation, and more. Controlled anger is normal and actually needed for human survival, but anger management is important, especially if you are easily triggered and often lash out at even small setbacks.

There are approaches to expressing or dealing with anger, including expressing it, suppressing it and calming your feelings. It’s beneficial to express your anger in an assertive, yet respectful and controlled manner. In fact, unexpressed or suppressed anger has been shown to cause a buildup of negative feelings, tension and resentment, and it can cause you to turn your anger inward.

Calming your anger or practicing anger management means that you’re controlling your response and taking measures to approach the issue from a clear-headed place. It does not mean that the anger is being suppressed, but instead it’s addressed in a healthy, productive way.

How Anger Can Negatively Benefit Health

Chronic anger or being angered easily can impact your mental and physical health and hinder your relationships, career and more. The “hot headed” person in the office or family may not be trusted to maintain a healthy, meaningful relationship.

Feelings of anger can increase your cortisol levels, the stress hormone that allows for your natural fight or flight response. In normal amounts, cortisol is perfectly normal and healthy, but chronic increased cortisol can cause some major health concerns.

Researchers have found that chronic anger or antagonist behavior can contribute to the following:

• headaches
• appetite changes
• weight gain or loss
• high blood pressure
• heart disease
• blood sugar fluctuations
• sleep disorders
• acne and other skin conditions
• digestion problems
• fatigue

Anger Management Techniques

When it comes to anger management, there are techniques you can use in the moment to help you better deal with the situation. Remember that you don’t want to suppress the anger, but face it from a calm, logical headspace so that you can move on in a healthy way.

1. Take a Beat

Anger or rage often occurs in the moment and can be expressed spontaneously, with little control. While this reaction is natural when faced with a trigger that causes negative feelings, it will be much better handled if you take a moment to decompress and better understand the conflict.

Taking a moment to think about the issue before reacting to it will allow you to process the cause of anger and formulate a plan on how to deal with it.

2. Find Your Calm

Use relaxation techniques like deep breathing, repetition of positive reinforcements or words (like “relax” or “be calm”), taking a walk outdoors alone, or visualizing a safe, happy place to put your mind at ease in a moment of anger. These stress relievers will help with anger management and allow you to deal with the situation from a clearheaded space.

3. Identify Triggers

Anger can be caused by internal and external triggers. Negative or traumatic memories can cause anger, and so can altercations with co-workers or loved ones, financial pressures, traffic or car trouble (road rage), and events that don’t turn out as planned.

There are many factors in a given day that can cause anger — that’s normal to some degree — but if you find yourself triggered by the same things repeatedly, then you can better prepare for these situations.

Remember that logic can defeat anger in a moment. If a trigger sets you off, focus on restructuring the way you think about the situation. This is called cognitive restructuring, and it allows you to think about things differently, in a rational way that makes you better able to deal with the problem in a healthy way.

4. Communicate Your Feelings

A major cause of anger is feeling unheard, unappreciated or disrespected. In fact, research indicates that even in challenging work settings, like staff in the emergency department, practicing communication techniques is effective in giving employees tools to address their own feelings and expressions of anger in difficult situations.

While feelings linked to anger can be hard to acknowledge and communicate, suppressing them will only turn your anger inward and can cause feelings of regret or resentment. To deal with anger in a healthy way, focus on communicating your feelings honestly and calmly.

5. Take a Walk Outdoors

Taking a walk outdoors for anger management will help lift your mood and calm your body. Research shows that exposure to natural scenes has stress-reducing effects and helps improve a negative mood.

Other Ways to Control Anger

In addition to tools that you can use for anger management when you’re faced with a difficult or anger-promoting situation, there are also long-term actions you can take to improve your overall mood and health.

1. Get Enough Rest

A 2018 study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology found that there are important consequences of everyday sleep loss on anger, and sleepiness can cause issues with anger management.

2. Exercise Daily

Exercise is a natural stress reliever, and it can certainly help with anger management, especially if you’re dealing with chronic anger or enduring a stressful situation that you can’t control. Exercising releases powerful endorphins, which are chemicals in the brain that act like mood-lifters.

A 2008 study published in Pediatric Exercise Science suggests that aerobic exercise may reduce or prevent the increase in anger expression, which researchers found to be true among overweight children who participated in an after-school exercise program.

3. Try Meditation or Quiet Time

A study published in Consciousness and Cognition examined the effects of meditation of both experienced and novice meditators who reported feelings of anger. Researchers found that both groups experienced signs of relaxation, including slowed breathing and heart rate, and decreased blood pressure after meditating.

4. Check Your Diet

Nutrient deficiencies can cause hormone imbalance, low energy and mood changes. We need a steady supply of essential nutrients, including healthy fats, amino acids, antioxidants, electrolytes, vitamins and minerals, to help our brains better manage emotions.

Focus on eating a well-balanced diet that’s low in processed foods, sugary foods and refined vegetable oils. Reduce your alcohol and caffeine intake, as consumption of these beverages can impact your mood.

The foods that you want to make sure are part of your daily diet include:

• Healthy fats and omega-3 foods, like wild salmon, avocado, nuts, seeds and olive oil
• High-quality proteins, including grass-fed beef, organic poultry, eggs, lentils and quinoa
• Leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables and fresh fruits

5. Seek Professional Support

If you’re dealing with chronic, uncontrolled anger, then seeking professional support is recommended. A licensed mental health professional can help you identity triggers and use anger management techniques to deal with them in a healthy, sustainable way.

Conclusion

• Anger is an expression of displacement and frustration. We instinctively express anger with aggression, although the intensity of the response varies from mild irritation to full-on rage.
• Anger management is when you use techniques to deal with feelings of anger and express them in a healthy, productive way.
• You don’t want to suppress anger, but confront the trigger in a calm way. When you are dealing with a situation that contributes to anger, take a break, and relax your mind. Perhaps take a walk outdoors ,or restructure the situation in your mind so it feels more approachable.
• Other ways to practice anger management for the long term are to get enough rest, exercise daily, eat a healthy diet and meditate.

The post How Anger Management Techniques Benefit Mental and Physical Health appeared first on Dr. Axe.

If you’ve reached out to a therapist for help dealing with difficult emotions, there’s a chance that dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) may be recommended.

What is DBT used to treat? DBT therapy was originally introduced in the 1980s as a form of psychotherapy suited best for people with borderline personality disorder, which is characterized by intense and difficult emotions, mood instability, and a distorted view of oneself.

People with borderline personality disorder often struggle with feelings of worthlessness, insecurity, depression, impulsivity and stressful relationships.

As DBT has gained more attention — and has been shown in many studies to improve self-esteem, emotional control and coping skills when faced with stress — it’s been adapted to treat other mental health conditions, such as bipolar disorder, substance abuse and suicidal behaviors.

What Is Dialectical Behavior Therapy?

What does DBT mean? It stands for dialectical behavior therapy, which is a type of psychotherapy in which people learn to manage negative emotions and conflicts.

“Dialectical” means “relating to the logical discussion of opposing ideas and opinions.” In other words, dialectical behavior therapy involves conversations about contradicting beliefs.

The underlying notion of DBT is that two opposing ideas can both be true at the same time, meaning there are different ways to view any situation.

During DBT sessions, patients and therapists discuss how the patient is feeling and what types of thoughts the patient is having that are contributing to behaviors and problems. Then, the discussion turns to looking at different perspectives.

The goal isn’t to completely change someone’s point of view, but to open the person up to the idea that there’s both positive and negative aspects associated with every person and every life event. This mindset is helpful for getting unstuck from extreme moods and also brings more balance into people’s lives.

DBT Focus and Techniques

DBT therapy is simultaneously about both acceptance and change. Self-acceptance is a big component, since this is the basis of positive behavioral change.

What are the four focuses of DBT?

Dialectical behavior therapy focuses on four key areas:

1. Mindfulness and Acceptance

The first step is gaining self-awareness about the present situation and then working on acceptance. This can include acceptance of oneself, others in one’s life and the current circumstances.

The idea is that a problem cannot be solved until it is first accepted. This step combined with the next one requires someone to acknowledge and feel feelings, rather than denying or escaping them.

2. Distress Tolerance

The second step is all about improving how one handles difficulties and negative feelings, including stress, anger, sadness, disappointment, hurt and so on. This is done with help from stress-relieving techniques, such as mind-body practices like deep breathing, journaling, etc., that are useful for calming down racing thoughts and physical tension.

While getting rid of all stress isn’t realistic, it’s possible to learn to cope better with stress and still be productive despite it.

3. Emotion Regulation

Next, the goal is to learn to adjust one’s emotions that are disrupting the patient’s life. A focus here is on broadening one’s perspective and also avoiding black and white thinking (also called “all-or-nothing thinking”), instead staying open to different points of view.

One way to remain open to new opinions and possibilities is to replace the word BUT with AND, such as: “This conversation is tough AND helpful.”

4. Interpersonal Effectiveness

This step involves learning communication techniques that help improve and strengthen relationships, rather than escalating conflicts.

What’s the difference between CBT and DBT?

CBT, which stands for cognitive behavioral therapy, is one of the most popular types of psychotherapy. It’s used to help treat anxiety, depression, substance abuse and many other mental health problems.

DBT is actually one form of CBT. The main difference is that with DBT there’s more emphasis on acceptance strategies and self-acceptance before trying to change behaviors.

DBT essentially adds on another layer to CBT: the need for self-validation and accepting oneself just the way he or she is. While behavioral change is one goal of DBT (just like CBT), acceptance needs to happen first in order to stabilize one’s extreme emotions/moods.

How and When It Works

Today, DBT is used to help treat those with:

• Borderline personality disorder
• Bipolar disorder
• Depression
• Anxiety disorders
• Eating disorders, including bulimia and binge eating
• Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Substance abuse disorders, which commonly occur with other mental health issues
• Suicidal thoughts and behaviors

In many cases, if someone works with a DBT therapist that person will attend both individual therapy sessions and group therapy sessions. DBT skills are practiced one-on-one between a therapist and client, as well as with a group setting that helps participants learn how to communicate effectively.

Homework and phone calls between sessions are also commonly involved.

In terms of how long it takes to see progress, most people require at least six months of regular outpatient therapy to see substantial improvements in their moods and quality of life. If someone attends an inpatient program, about five to six weeks is enough time to benefit considerably.

Consistency is very important, meaning attending regular weekly meetings and sessions, since this helps build skills most effectively.

Benefits

According to psychotherapists, DBT therapy offers patients some of the following benefits:

• Builds self-esteem and self-trust.
• Decreases emotional volatility (such as extreme mood swings).
• Improves coping skills in difficult situations, such as by lowering one’s “fight or flight” stress response and physical arousal.
• Reduces conflict in relationships by improving communication and respect, even when people need to assert themself.
• May help decrease substance abuse and suicidal thoughts.

How to Do It (Plus Other Considerations)

If you want to start using DBT to improve your mental health and outlook, it’s best to first work with a licensed and trained mental health professional, such as a psychologist, psychotherapist or social worker.

Look for a therapist who has been trained specifically in DBT, since this type of therapy requires certain skills. You also need to feel connected with the therapist and trust him or her.

A comfortable and trusting client-patient relationship is very important for DBT, so be sure to work with someone whom you feel you can open up to and who sees you in the best light possible.

Can you practice DBT on your own at home?

Yes. Much like with CBT, you can use DBT techniques on your own to change your mindset, improve your outlook on life, and gain skills that help you deal with stress and conflict.

Here are some ways to focus on both acceptance and change (the basis of DBT) and go about building your tolerance to stress:

• Guided meditation, which helps you learn to acknowledge and accept the present moment. Meditation is all about observing what’s happening both inside and outside of yourself, experiencing sensations in your body that are tied to emotions, and allowing your thoughts and feelings to come and go instead of judging or fighting them.
• Journaling about what you can and can’t change. This helps you recognize that some things are just out of your control and not worth stressing over, but you do usually have some choices (including how you react in any situation).
• Cold temperature exposure, such as cold showers, splashing your face with cold water or holding ice cubes in your hand. This gives you something physical to focus on when your mind is racing and can give you a shot of adrenaline, which lifts your mood.
• Intense exercise, which releases “feel good”chemicals, including endorphins. Yoga can also be helpful if you find gentler exercises to be a better fit for you.
• Deep breathing exercises, such as diaphragmatic breathing or box breathing. (Breathe in for four seconds and out for six to eight seconds.)
• Progressive muscle relaxation (similar to body scan meditations), in which you release tense muscles throughout your body.
• Visualization, in which you picture yourself somewhere calm doing something relaxing.
• Taking care of your body, including by sleeping enough, eating a healthy diet, taking any medications that you’ve been prescribed and avoiding mood-altering drugs (like alcohol and others) that can lead to anxiety and depression.

Risks and Side Effects

Like any other type of therapy, DBT is not guaranteed to help everyone. It’s generally not recommended for individuals with intellectual disabilities or uncontrolled schizophrenia.

For those who have experienced trauma, such as people with PTSD, it’s recommended that DBT be combined with other treatment approaches that involve trauma processing. If substance abuse is an issue, other techniques might also be used to help the patient deal with withdrawal symptoms.

The best way to know if DBT therapy can be helpful for you is to contact a therapist who is trained in DBT. The therapist can evaluate your situation.

Remember to discuss any medications you’re taking or have been prescribed with your therapist, and never stop taking prescribed medications without guidance, since this can alter your mood and potentially lead to issues, such as depression.

Conclusion

• DBT stands for dialectical behavior therapy, which is a type of psychotherapy in which people learn to manage negative emotions and conflicts.
• DBT therapy was first created for people with borderline personality disorder but is now used to help treat many issues, such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse and PTSD.
• There are four focuses in DBT: acceptance of the present moment, distress tolerance, emotional regulation and respectful communication with others.
• Benefits of this type of therapy include improving self-esteem, self-reliance, relationships, communications skills, and the ability to function even when stressed or upset.

The post How Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Works + Benefits appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Wind rustling through the leaves of a mighty white oak. The pretty, thin whistle of the white-throated sparrow. The trickle of a stream as it ripples by.

These are the woodland sounds that bring me peace, and now there’s evidence proving what many of us already suspect — nature sounds prime our bodies for better health.

(In some cases, even more so than a meditation app!)

Study Findings: Woodland Sounds Boost Well-Being

In 2019, British researchers set out to see if common noises you can hear in a forest actually improve a person’s well-being.

They exposed 600 study participants to silence, woodland sounds and a meditation app.

Here are some of the key findings:

• When people listened to nature sounds, they experienced a 30% increase in relaxation.
• Those listening to a meditation app reported no boost in relaxation.
• Woodland sounds also elicited a 24% reduction in stress and a 19% lower rate of anxiety.

Here’s how study participants ranked their preference for sounds in the woods:

1. Birdsong
2. A running stream
3. Wind rustling tree leaves
4. Silence
5. Twigs snapping underfoot
6. Animal noises
7. Wind whistling through trees
8. Rain falling on leaves
9. Tree seeds hitting the ground
10. Squelching of mud

“There is a large body of scientific evidence demonstrating that experience of nature can benefit health and wellbeing, including recovery from everyday psychological stress,” sys Eleanor Ratcliffe, Ph.D., lecturer in environmental psychology at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom.

“Much of this research has focused on visual experiences, but more recent work has shown that the sounds of the outdoors, such as birdsong, wind, and water, can also improve mood and reduce stress. These sounds offer a way to connect with nature no matter where you are.”

Maybe it’s time we all carved out more time to listen to nature.

Other Benefits of Being Outdoors in Nature

Forest bathing, the act of mindfully immersing yourself in a forest setting, has been shown to elicit a host of positive benefits, including:

• Boosted immune function
• Lower blood pressure
• A more balanced nervous system
• Stress reduction
• Improved creativity
• Reduced neural activity in an area of the brain linked to risk for mental illness

More and more conservation biologists are discovering the potent benefits of natural acoustic soundscapes, and there’s a big push underway to preserve the sounds of the national parks and beyond.

Whether you want to hear noises of a forest or other soundscapes, let the sounds of nature affect your well-being by visiting the National Park Foundation’s and Natural Park Service’s soundscapes resource, PARKTRACKS. For many of us, it’s one of the few ways to enjoy natural sounds for stress relief without the constant hum of manmade noises in the background.

If you want to do more on a collective local level, support land preservation groups, and work with city and town mangers to bring green infrastructure to your neighborhood. Who knows, maybe before you know it, you’ll be falling asleep to nighttime woodland sounds through an open window, no app required!

Conclusion

• Hearing woodland sounds boosts well-being even better than a meditation app, according to 2019 research.
• Study participants listed birdsong, a running stream and winds rustling in the wind as their top three nature sounds.
• The health benefits of green spaces often focuses on visual aspects, but emerging research suggests hearing songs from the natural environment reduces anxiety and induces relaxation, too.

The post Woodland Sounds Boost Well-Being (Even Better Than a Meditation App!) appeared first on Dr. Axe.

If you spend a decent amount of time on social media or platforms like Reddit, you may have across the unusual trend called ASMR, or “autonomous sensory meridian response.” What does ASMR seen on things like TikTok and YouTube mean?

People report experiencing ASMR — which is described as “tingling sensations” down the scalp, neck and spine, as well as feelings of relaxation and well-being — when watching calming videos or doing things that involve role playing (however they aren’t sexual in nature).

While it’s still not entirely understood how it works and how effective it might be, ASMR “triggers” (mostly videos or audio recordings) can potentially function as natural anxiety remedies for people who find it to be pleasurable. Research shows that ASMR is also potentially linked to less depression, stress, insomnia and pain.

What Is ASMR?

What exactly is ASMR? Autonomous sensory meridian response is a sensory phenomenon that is still being studied. The term is used to describe tingly sensations and other forms of pleasure that originate near the neck and extend down the body.

Autonomous sensory meridian response might sound like a complicated bodily process, but it’s actually not. It’s not even a real scientific term but instead was made up by someone on Facebook in 2010 to describe sensations that people experience when watching certain things, especially videos.

Anything that sparks ASMR sensations is known as a “trigger.” Most popular ASMR triggers/videos feature people doing ordinary things, such as:

• Whispering stories
• Repetitive movements
• Meditating and giving massages
• Making swooshing sounds
• Stirring or pouring something
• Giving people personal attention, such as by grooming or examining
• Playing with objects like paper or utensils
• Watering plants or doing other household chores
• Making crisp sounds
• Laughing
• Creating white noise, such as with a blow dryer, airline noises or vacuums
• Doing activities with slow movements

ASMR can be experienced without videos, such as by doing something creative or tactile with other people, but videos are currently the most popular trigger and way that people experiment with autonomous sensory meridian response. Popular creators of ASMR videos on YouTube even describe their work as a “form of art” and themselves as “ASMR artists.”

How Does It Work?

There hasn’t been much research specifically focused on ASMR, so it’s hard to say how it works exactly. However, we can relate the sensations that people describe, such as feeling soothed or comforted, to other types of relaxing or engaging experiences.

We can also rely on anecdotal evidence (people’s explanations of why they enjoy ASMR).

One neurologist explained to the news website Vox that ASMR most likely works via several mechanisms:

• ASMR is likely a way of activating the brain’s pleasure response. In other words, watching certain types of videos makes us feel good, so we keep doing it, which reinforces the pleasurable feelings.
• It can put people into a “flow state,” meaning they are fully engaged in the activity and focused on the present moment, which helps calm down negative thoughts. This makes ASMR similar to mindfulness practices, which have been shown in many studies to have positive effects on mental and physical health.
• It may be similar to a type of mild seizure. Believe it or not, seizures can sometime feel pleasurable and are not always damaging to the brain.
• Other research suggests ASMR triggers may promote synaesthesia, which is a neurological condition that results in a joining or merging of senses that aren’t normally connected. For example, someone experiencing synaesthesia may “hear colors” or “see sounds.”
• Additionally, it can help people feel connected to others, which is naturally comforting. The New York Times has reported: “A.S.M.R. might have something to do with socially bonding ‘affiliative behaviors,’ known to release feel-good hormones like oxytocin.”

Some evidence also points to people who experience ASMR as being highly sensitive. ASMR response has been associated with heightened external sensitivity and greater control over one’s attention toward the body and emotional state.

In other words, studies suggest that those who experience autonomous sensory meridian response may have subtle brain differences from those who don’t.

Potential Benefits

Based on what ASMR enthusiasts have shared, the greatest benefit associated with ASMR videos is that they can have mood-enhancing effects, including by being relaxing and uplifting.

A 2015 study focused on the effects of ASMR that included over 260 people found that it’s similar to a “flow-like mental state.”  Researchers found that ASMR triggers can potentially help:

• Improve people’s moods
• Reduce stress, anxiety and depression
• Potentially decrease chronic pain
• Enhance focus
• Improve sleep

Another possible benefit is that it makes people feel seen and connected to others who enjoy the same types of triggers/videos. This might decrease feelings of loneliness and serve as an outlet for stress.

As the Vox article mentioned above put it: “It’s only with the internet that people can stumble into one another and suddenly realize they’re not alone in experiencing this strange sensation.”

How to Do It

There isn’t necessarily just one way to experience ASMR, since it seems to come down to individual preferences.

In the study mentioned above, the vast majority of people who reported experiencing ASMR regularly said they preferred watching triggers/videos at night before bed in a quiet, relaxed place. This can be a part of a calming nighttime routine that can help you feel more drowsy and less alert. (Just be aware that too much screen time and blue light exposure close to bed may interfere with sleep.)

You’ll likely need to use the internet/social media to achieve autonomous sensory meridian response, such as with help from YouTube videos or recordings. You can also try using binaural headphones to improve the quality of sound. Binaural headphones play two similar tones in each ear, which seems to affect brain waves in a way that has a soothing response.

If you want to experience ASMR-like effects without using devices, try listening to audio recordings of repetitive sounds and white noise, such as wind, ocean waves, airplanes, rain, etc.

You might also choose to use ASMR triggers at other times of the day when you’re feeling stressed or distracted, such as when working out or taking a break from focusing on tasks at work.

Risks and Side Effects

Is ASMR safe? Overall, yes it is.

If someone uses autonomous sensory meridian response as a relaxation tool, it’s unlikely to cause any side effects or problems. That said, it probably won’t work for everyone.

Why is ASMR so annoying to certain people? Because everyone has different preferences, likes and dislikes (known as “neurodiversity”), not everyone responds to the same ASMR triggers or videos similarly.

This means to experience ASMR, you probably need to do some experimenting to see which types of themes you resonate with you most (if at all).

People also report that they “grow tolerant to triggers” if they listen or watch them too much. You might find ASMR videos to be somewhat appealing at first but then very annoying if you keep watching them, so try switching it up to see if this helps.

Conclusion

• Why is ASMR a thing? Autonomous sensory meridian response is a type of sensory phenomenon that researchers are still learning about. It’s gained popularity on social media and platforms like Reddit over the past decade.
• People describe ASMR as feeling like tingling, static-like sensation across the scalp and back of the neck. Many find it relaxing and capable of improving their moods.
• It is triggered by certain types of audio and visual stimuli, as well as role playing.
• Some research suggests that ASMR triggers/videos may help lower depression, stress and chronic pain.

The post ASMR: What Is Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response & Does It Work? appeared first on Dr. Axe.

What is a fear of being alone called? When a fear of being alone is intense enough, it can be called “autophobia,” which describes someone who is irrationally afraid of solitude, isolation, and being ignored or abandoned, especially during an emergency.

If you consider yourself to be an extroverted type of person, you probably prefer to be in the company of others rather than by yourself. There’s isn’t necessarily anything wrong with this mindset, unless your dislike of alone time starts to stand in the way of your mental health and happiness.

While it’s not quite the same as loneliness, autophobia and loneliness can both increase symptoms tied to chronic stress, which is why both are important to manage and treat.

What Is Autophobia? (Autophobia vs. Loneliness)

Autophobia, also sometimes called monophobia or isolophobia, is a strong fear (or phobia) of isolation and solitude.

This type of fear can kick in both when someone is actually physically alone and also when someone dreads and anticipates being left all by her or himself. (In other words, it can be an imagined fear.)

It’s not entirely known why some people develop autophobia, but experts believe it’s related to deep unconscious panic over being ignored, unloved or unsafe.

It often occurs with a history of trauma and with other anxiety symptoms and disorders. Autophobia can also overlap with other phobias, such as agoraphobia, which is extreme or irrational fear of entering open or crowded places.

What is the difference between autophobia and monophobia? Do I have monophobia?

The terms autophobia, monophobia, isolophobia and eremophobia are mostly used to describe the same type of fear: that of being abandoned and left alone.

Sometimes the term eremophobia is used to describe a deep fear of being isolated, while autophobia is an intense fear of solitude or one’s self. But overall these terms point to the same type of mental health issue and are treated in the same ways.

Autophobia vs. Loneliness:

Is autophobia basically the same thing as intense loneliness? Not exactly.

Loneliness can be uncomfortable to deal with, cause sadness or even depression, and often increases symptoms tied to stress. However, loneliness does not usually trigger extreme feelings of danger with regard to being alone. When someone is lonely, that person is not normally scared but more so sad.

Loneliness is considered a universal human emotion that is normal and common when someone is alone a lot. It’s only when the fear of being alone starts to become irrational and disrupts someone’s life that intervention is needed (although too much loneliness can be problematic for someone’s mental health, t00).

Symptoms

Autophobia has many of the same symptoms and characteristics as other related anxiety disorders — including panic attacks, hyperventilation disorders, social anxiety, PTSD, generalized anxiety, borderline personality disorder and agoraphobia.

Symptoms of autophobia can include both mental and physical symptoms. They typically include:

• Being scared of being stranded and alone. This can include intense anxiety when thinking about being alone or secluded.
• Self-hatred, low self-esteem and sometimes depression. This can be tied to fear of judgment and abandonment.
• Being afraid of not getting help in case of an emergency. This can result in fear of going out in public, crowded places where the person blends into the crowd and is ignored or overlooked.
• Fear of anything uncomfortable or unfamiliar.
• Imaging worst-case scenarios, including irrational fear of death, injury or impending disasters if someone is to become isolated (a symptom tied to generalized anxiety disorder).
• Fear of strangers, burglars, intruders or strange noises while at home.
• Going to extreme lengths to avoid being isolated.
• Fear of fainting and losing one’s mind and sense of judgment.
• Panic attacks and strong desire to flee from home.
• Physical symptoms tied to increased stress and anxiety, such as lightheadedness, sweating, shaking, nausea, loss of appetite, dry mouth, increased heart rate and trouble sleeping.
• Higher risk for substance abuse disorders (such as alcohol or marijuana to cope with stress and anxiety).
• In children, symptoms also tend to include tantrums, clinging, crying or refusing to leave a parent’s side.

Causes

Psychologists believe that phobias can stem from childhood issues such as abandonment or abuse, low self-esteem and sometimes genetic factors.

Risk factors for developing authphobia include:

• Children being abandoned by their parents when they are very young, which causes trauma and anxiety. This can result in adults being afraid that all of the important people in their lives are going to leave or abandon them.
• Being emotionally neglected or rejected by important people in one’s life.
• History of PTSD and significant life-altering experiences.
• Death of a loved one or ending of an important relationship, especially early in life (which causes fear of being without one specific and important person).
• History of poverty or financial problems.
• Unhealthy intimate relationships.
• Recent stressful event that exceeds one’s ability to cope.

Diagnosis

Is autophobia a mental illness? It’s a type of phobia, which is a form of anxiety disorder.

A psychologist or psychiatrist can diagnose someone with autophobia if the person has one or more symptoms experienced mentioned above for at least six months — such as intense fear of staying home alone, being scared to go in public, fleeing from home, etc. A diagnosis is usually made after a therapist has a lengthy conversation with the patient about symptoms, history and beliefs.

There aren’t necessarily permanent “cures” for phobias, however they can be managed with help from therapy and other interventions. This is especially important if someone’s symptoms are intense enough to disrupt general health, the ability to work and relationships.

Treatment

Autophobia is treated in much the same ways as other phobias and types of anxiety. For example, anxiety remedies like therapy, exposure, exercise and stress-relieving activities can all help.

Here’s more about treatment options for managing autophobia/fear of being alone:

1. Therapy (Usually Exposure Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)

Psychotherapy is the first line of defense for most phobias. Unfortunately, it’s not always easy for people with phobias to admit they have a problem or to seek professional help, but this step is usually key for overcoming phobias.

One tool commonly used in therapy to help people overcome phobias is exposure therapy, in which someone faces fear head on in small increments so that person can gradually gain confidence in dealing with the source of fear.

Among people with autophobia, a therapist helps the client increase the amount of time alone slowly until it becomes less scary. Exposure therapy can be done in real-life situations (in vivo exposure) or using imagined situations.

Systematic desensitization is one type of exposure therapy that happens very slowly and is effective for dealing with phobias because it doesn’t worsen anxiety.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is also used to help change the client’s thought patterns and pinpoint irrational beliefs that contribute to the phobia. With help from a CBT professional, the client can improve how she perceives to fears and react by replacing irrational thoughts with more realistic and empowering ones.

If someone with a phobia experiences intense anxiety that is interfering with his quality of life, he might also be prescribed medications (such as antidepressants or benzodiazepines) to help get symptoms under control while also attending therapy.

2. Feeling More Connected When Alone

Just about everyone feels lonely and isolated at times. When someone experiences normal amounts of loneliness and mild autophobia symptoms, it can be helpful to simply add more connection to the person’s life, even when alone.

Ways to feel more connected include:

• calling others on the phone or using video chats
• listening to music or playing “background noise” to avoid prolonged silence
• listening to podcasts or watching videos online
• watching TV
• reading

3. Reaching Out to Others More

It’s not realistic or possible for most people to be surrounded by others 24/7. However, fostering more meaningful relationships and gaining social support can help dull anxiety and loneliness.

Ways to prioritize healthy relationships include:

• joining clubs or teams
• volunteering
• asking friends or family to join you for dinner or other activities
• going to a church or religious place of worship
• enrolling in a gym or fitness center

4. Establishing a Regular Self-Care Schedule to Reduce Stress

Sticking to a predictable routine can help people with anxiety reduce their fear of the unknown.

You can create a routine that helps you stay productive and limits stress by waking up and sleeping at the same times each day, exercising consistently, eating regular meals, and filling your day with other tasks and habits that fill your time and give you purpose and a sense of accomplishment.

Ideally, someone who deals with phobias should include these types of activities in their day:

• Regular exercise, especially daily walks outside if possible
• Eating an anti-inflammatory diet
• Getting enough sleep (seven to nine hours every night)
• Avoiding stimulants, including caffeine and nicotine, plus limiting use of alcohol and other drugs

5. Meditation and Mindfulness Exercises

Meditation, mindfulness exercises, deep breathing exercises, physical exercise, aromatherapy and other relaxation practices (like progressive muscle relaxation, journaling, yoga and reading) are all highly recommended for people with phobias and anxiety.

These help form a better mind-body connection, increase your ability to cope with stress, and can help you sleep and focus better so you think more clearly and feel more confident.

Conclusion

• Autophobia (also called monophobia) is an intense fear of being alone that can interfere with someone’s ability to function, relationships and quality of life.
• It’s considered a phobia because it’s irrational and not based on realistic events. It often occurs with other anxiety symptoms or disorders, such as social anxiety, depression or panic attacks.
• Treatment for autophobia usually involves therapy/counseling, exposure to the fear, managing stress by including more relaxing activities in one’s day and connecting to others more to increase self-esteem.

The post What Is Autophobia? How to Treat the Fear of Being Alone appeared first on Dr. Axe.

As we get older, our brains get a little slower just like our muscles, right? Maybe not by our 30s, but certainly by our 40s and 50s, yes?

Surprisingly, and wonderfully, a new study declares that mental speed can remain high until age 60. If simple decision-making tasks seem to take longer, it’s not because of slower cognitive processing speed; rather, it’s more to do with caution about decisions and their consequences, for example.

Let’s take a look at this study along with tips to stay mentally sharp into our twilight years.

What Is Cognitive Processing Speed?

Cognitive processing speed is the demonstrated ability to process information rapidly. As discussed in a Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience study, it’s closely related to the ability to perform high-level cognitive tasks. It’s also “often assumed to be the core issue responsible for deficits in performance on complex cognitive measures in aging populations.”

Many theories about processing speed and its relation to age persist, most of which consider there to be a definite age-induced interaction between certain decreased sensory function (such as vision and audition) and a noticeable slowing in cognitive processing speed. Some scientists have even explained that such a supposed decline in cognition and sensory function is due to the aging brain.

Simple as that, right? Not so fast.

Study Finding: Mental Speed Doesn’t Decline Until After 60

In a recent study published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, 1.2 million participants were analyzed to examine age differences in cognitive function, including so-called mental speed. Mental speed can be defined as the speed at which we can deal with issues requiring rapid decision-making.

The study showed that response speed in simple decision-making tasks began to decrease in early as well as middle adulthood. However, authors posit that “response times are not pure measures of mental speed but instead represent the sum of multiple processes.”

After all, our response time begins to slow as early as age 20! But this slowing of processing speed is due to increased “decision caution” and “slower non-decisional processes” rather than simple cognition issues. Decision caution sounds like wisdom, frankly, such as weighing the consequences of different answers you may give.

After the age of 60, some slowing of mental speed was observed. Regardless, this study challenged the common held belief that our mental acuity is a downward slope from an early middle age.

Tips for Staying Mentally Sharp

After that bit of good news, you probably want to know how to increase your mental speed. Remember that processing speed has nothing to do with IQ or intelligence. For example, someone with ADHD may process information more slowly but can be highly intelligent. Same story with someone who may not be a fluid speaker but can still possess high processing speed.

First, let’s first do a mental speed test to see where you’re at. A mental speed test helps measure cognitive processing speed as well as attention, with a focus on “working memory capacity.” The idea is that working on some of these mental challenges can speed up your processing speed over time.

Mental speed tests:

• Psychology Today test
• Memory Health Check test
• 4 tests from the YouTube channel Bright Side

Not so easy, eh?

Besides doing such mental speed drills (and maybe some puzzles along the way), here are some other tips to help you stay mentally sharp:

1. Consume so-called “brain foods” to boost your focus and memory

Brain foods are those that are rich in antioxidants, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals. They provide your brain with energy and aid in protecting brain cells, which helps ward off development of brain diseases. Avocados, beets, berries, bone broth and broccoli make up the top five foods.

2. Keep learning new things

Challenging yourself with new tasks and “breaking out of your comfort zone” is a great way to encourage neuroplasticity, which is the ability of the brain to form and reorganize synaptic connections in response to learning and experiences.

3. Exercise more often — ideally daily

Getting regular exercise has been shown in studies to help protect both short- and long-term memory. It helps your brain stay sharp by increasing circulation and oxygen to your brain. Plus, like the above, it boosts neuroplasticity by stimulating growth factors and neuronal connections.

4. Get more sleep

Sleep affects your focus, memory, problem-solving abilities, emotion regulation and creativity. Researchers have even found that getting enough sleep plays in a role in memory consolidation, which takes place during the deepest stages of sleep.

5. Consider taking a nootropic

Nootropics are supplements that often contain caffeine or other stimulating ingredients to help with focus. They can include adaptogen herbs, like ginseng and rhodiola, medicinal mushrooms like cordyceps, amino acids like L-carnitine, DHA/fish oil, vitamin B12, gingko biloba, and coffee or green tea extract.

6. Stop trying to multitask

Multitasking just slows the brain down and often results in less productivity. As Clifford Nass, a psychology professor at Stanford University, states, “People who multitask all the time can’t filter out irrelevancy. They can’t manage a working memory. They’re chronically distracted.” Does that describe you? Stop trying to multitask.

The post Mental Speed: Zero Slowdown to Age 60? appeared first on Dr. Axe.

With the past two years posing a whole new set of stressors that an already chronically stressed society has had to adapt to, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and emotional at any given time. Unfortunately, those emotions can often turn ugly when we’re behind the wheel, and as new research shows, sadly, road rage is on the rise in the United States.

In fact, according to a survey conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, “nearly 80 percent of drivers expressed significant anger, aggression or road rage behind the wheel at least once in the previous 30 days [of the time of the survey].”

Here’s what else the survey revealed. Drivers engaged in:

• Aggressive driving by switching lanes quickly/or very close behind another car:  26 percent (57 million drivers)
• Made rude gestures or honked at other drivers: 32 percent (71 million drivers)
• Driven 15 mph over the speed limit on a freeway: 48 percent (106 million drivers)
• Driven through a red light: 31 percent (68 million drivers)
• Passed in front of a vehicle at less than a car length: 22 percent (49 million drivers)
• Sped up when another vehicle tried to overtake you: 25 percent (55 million drivers)
• Followed vehicle in front of you closely to prevent another vehicle from merging in front of you: 34 percent (75 million drivers)
• Merged into traffic even when another driver tries to close the gap between vehicles: 28 percent (62 million drivers)

Even worse, violent road rage incidents that involve a gun have risen dramatically since the calendar flipped to the year 2020, making an already dangerous situation that much more scary and potentially even lethal.

Study Findings: Road Rage on the Rise

Gun violence has continued to be a major issue in the U.S., and added stress has only escalated the situation. Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit organization dedicated to gun safety, set out to see how gun violence has infiltrated the roadways, particularly in the past two years.

With that, study authors Sarah Burd-Sharps, Everytown’s director of research, and Kathryn Bistline, the organization’s principal research scientist, analyzed the Gun Violence Archive’s database relating to road rage incidents involving a gun. What they found was alarming:

• From 2020-21, there has been an average of 42 people per month shot and killed or wounded in road rage shootings.
• A person was shot and injured or killed in a road rage incident about every 18 hours in 2021, up from about 22 deaths and injuries from such incidents the four years prior.
• From 2016-19, about a third of road rage incidents involving a gun ending in injury or death. From 2020-21, that rose to half of such incidents resulting in injury or death.

Ultimately, Burd-Sharps and Bistline concluded, “There’s still more research to be done on road rage shooting incidents, but one thing is clear: These trends don’t seem to be slowing. That’s why action from policymakers to prevent gun violence is more urgent now than ever.”

How to Stay Calm Behind the Wheel

It’s vitally important to remain composed while driving, and one of the best ways to do that is to keep stress in check before getting behind the wheel.

Here are some stress relievers and other natural ways to relieve stress:

• Practice yoga.
• Spend time in nature.
• Meditate.
• Exercise.
• Eat a healthy diet.
• Try stress-busting supplements, such as modified citrus pectin and honokiol.
• Get acupuncture.
• Keep a journal.
• Use essential oils and adaptogen herbs.
• Utilize other forms of therapy.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety also provides the following tips for avoiding aggressive driving and road rage:

1. Don’t offend. Avoid cutting people off, driving slowly in the left lane, tailgating and making gestures toward other drivers.
2. Don’t engage. When someone else is raging at you, give them room, avoid eye contact and call the authorities if someone is antagonizing you on the road.
3. Adjust your attitude. Don’t try to “out-rage” another driver on the road in order to “win” the spat. Be empathetic, putting yourself in the other person’s shoes, and if you think you have a road rage problem, ask for help and seek anger management treatment.

Conclusion

• Research from AAA and Everytown for Gun Safety shows aggressive driving and road rage are on the rise.
• Worse yet, road rage resulting in gun violence has risen since 2020, with an average of 42 people getting shot and wounded or killed per month in road rage incidents.
• It’s best not to get behind the wheel when you’re overly stress. Try to relieve stress and calm your nerves before driving.
• In order to avoid road rage incidents, AAA suggests you don’t offend, don’t engage and adjust your attitude while driving.

The post Study: Violent Road Rage Is on the Rise appeared first on Dr. Axe.

It’s indisputable. The amount of time the average human spends outdoors is greatly reduced compared to previous generations. Did you know that nearly half of the U.S. population doesn’t participate in any outdoor recreation at all? And that 90 percent of our time is spent indoors?

Why? It’s largely because, at the end of the day, electronics dominate our days (and evenings). And during the pandemic, many (particularly in dense cities) spent even more time indoors, to the detriment of their mental and physical health — this included higher depression and anxiety .

But no matter how many studies show us that time in nature can lead to a range of health benefits, including better physical health and less stress, we are stubborn creatures and find bad habits hard to break.

Maybe a “doctor’s order” will snap us out of it? That’s the hope of a group of Canadian doctors who are now issuing a prescription for a national parks pass. You heard that right.

A new partnership between Park Prescriptions (Canada’s first national nature prescription program) and Parks Canada, prescriptions are now given to Canadians to spend more time in a national park, national historic site, or national marine conservation area.

National Park Prescriptions

Canada’s Park Prescriptions (PaRx) campaign began in 2019 and was inspired by Park Rx America (PRA) in the U.S., which began with the simple belief that nature-rich areas should be accessible to all and incorporated into our daily routines.

Spending time in and around nature is the single most important first-step to improving both human and planetary health. PRA is committed to educating healthcare professionals and the public, and to providing the tools to meet each individual’s unique needs.

Rather than resorting to only pharmaceutical prescriptions, the goal of the Canadian program was to arm health-care professionals with new tools to encourage their patients to get out in nature much more often, to the benefit of their mental and physical health. The standard recommendation is around two hours of time in nature per week, with at least 20 minute bouts. It can be something rigorous such as a bike ride or hike, but also even gardening or sitting on a park bench.

Since the park pass prescription was added, the PaRx network more than doubled to over 2,500 possible prescribers.

Health Benefits of Being Outdoors

We’ve written articles about both forest bathing (aka shinrin-yoku) and ecotherapy (aka nature therapy), as both promise health benefits. A Japanese concept, forest bathing involves you immersing yourself in naturally beautiful and health-boosting forest surroundings by using your various senses of sight, hearing, smell, etc.

Ecotherapy, also called ecopsychology, is a mental health approach that utilizes the positive effects of nature to lift one’s sense of well-being. It involves spending time outdoors in various ways, such as gardening, exercising outside, or simply laying on the beach or chilling in a park.

You also breath better air, as indoor air pollution is very real and often at levels significantly higher than what you’d find outside.

Too often we don’t get outside time into our schedule because we’re “too busy” and maybe the weather isn’t conducive, but if only we knew how profound the health benefits were. Here are just a few promoted by Park Rx America that hopefully will convince you to make going outside, including visiting a national park, much more of a priority as well as more frequent.

Physical health benefits include:

• Increasing outdoor play in preschoolers decreases BMI.
• Exercising outside confers greater physical and mental health benefits than exercising indoors.
• Several studies show that forest bathing sessions decrease blood pressure.
• Individuals living in areas with more greenspace have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
• Time outdoors is directly related to improved sleep.
• Forest bathing significantly improved immune function and decreased stress.

Mental health benefits include:

• People with depression who regularly walk in nature exhibit an improved mood.
• Time in nature significantly decreases anxiety and stress in children.
• Nature can majorly reduce cortisol levels, a physiologic measure of stress — as shown by those who participated in forest bathing sessions.
• Time in nature appears to significantly reduce ADHD symptoms.

Lastly, consider these benefits from hiking or even camping:

• Not only does hiking help improve aerobic fitness and endurance, but it’s also a natural stress reliever.
• Benefits of hiking can include improved resilience against anxiety and depression, strength, bone density, balance, heart health, and weight management.
• Sleeping outside with the natural light helped study participants wake up two hours earlier and synced their sleep cycles with their natural internal clocks.
• Camping also benefits your health and happiness in other ways by reducing symptoms of depression, minimizing negative thinking and increasing levels of vitamin D in the body.

Conclusion

On top of how this park prescription movement can assist individual health, it also can boost climate health. People who spend more time in nature are much more prone to appreciate it as well as protect it.

The Wellness Coordinator for the Salt Lake County Health Department, Sadie May, reported that the PRA was a great success for the employees after they decided to participate in this national park prescription program.

[With the pandemic], employees were in desperate need of a wellness activity to help them boost their mental health, physical wellness and spiritual well-being. PRA was an extremely delightful program for our participants with 84 percent reporting they are very likely or likely to complete their Park Rx after the program’s completion.

So it’s time for you to ask your own healthcare provider for a nature prescription. Even better, write your own nature prescription!

The post “Nature Prescription”: Doctors in Canada Prescribe National Park Passes appeared first on Dr. Axe.

As we age, it’s not uncommon to experience memory challenges. You may think this is due to a decline in brain function, but recent research suggests that in many cases, it’s actually a result of data overload. Your working memory doesn’t lack information but has too much of it to sift through, which is called “brain clutter.”

Accumulating information over time can make detail retrieval more difficult, according to these findings, but mental clutter isn’t always a bad thing — it’s a sign of wisdom and enables deeper, more creative thoughts.

Study: Mental Clutter Shapes Cognition

A March 2022 review published in Trends in Cognitive Sciences indicates that among older adults, episodic memory, or the representations of events, is more cluttered than it is for younger adults. This brain clutter can also be described as a richness of memory, with layers of information that are built up over time.

According to researchers, “cluttered representations” might include target information, recently activated but no-longer-relevant information, prior knowledge and irrelevant information — all working together to address a current environment. These representations are bits of data or memory that can interfere with the retrieval of information that’s needed in the moment, thereby causing mental clutter.

These findings highlight that, for older adults, it’s not too little information being stored in their brains, but too much. Their memories are so rich that it can be hard to decipher needed vs. irrelevant information when it comes time to retrieve it.

Effects of Cluttered Memory

Cluttered memory means that a person has acquired so much information that it becomes different to retrieve a specific memory when it’s needed in the moment. The effects of brain clutter may include the following:

• trouble controlling your attention
• impaired memory
• brain fog
• trouble finding target information

On the other hand, a cluttered memory isn’t always a bad thing. The accumulation of information can be useful in many circumstances. Plus, it enhances creativity and allows for deeper thinking.

How to Clear Brain Clutter

This recent research shows that mental clutter can affect your ability to use relevant information in the moment and control your attention, but there are ways to improve your memory naturally.

1. Avoid Excess Sugar and Artificial Sweeteners

Eating foods that are high in sugar or artificial sweeteners will make it much harder to stay focused and maintain healthy energy levels. It’s also important to avoid refined carbohydrates that are often found in packaged foods and baked goods.

Instead, focus on eating fruits, vegetables and ancient grains, which are all nutrient-rich, boost energy and reduce inflammation.

2. Eat High-Quality Protein and Healthy Fats

The amino acids in protein foods and essential fatty acids in healthy sources of fat support the proper function of brain chemicals. Essential fatty acids also promote the production of happiness hormones, support cognitive function and reduce inflammation.

Add high-quality sources of protein and healthy fats to your diet, including grass-fed beef, organic poultry, eggs, wild fish, nuts, seeds, avocado and coconut oil.

3. Get Enough Sleep

Getting enough sleep is one of the most reliable ways to improve brain function. Getting adequate rest supports hormone balance and healthy energy levels.

4. Reduce Stress

Increased stress, especially when it’s chronic, can be detrimental to cognitive health. Stress increases cortisol levels, which impacts your mood, energy, appetite, sleep and more. It also reduces your ability to produce enough dopamine, which helps keep you focused and motivated.

5. Move Your Body

Daily movement or exercise helps to reduce stress, increase energy, improve sleep, balance hormones and reduce inflammation. Engaging in physical activity daily, especially as you get older, boosts cognitive function and memory, helping you clear mental clutter.

Conclusion

• Recent research suggests that older adults may experience brain clutter, which occurs when they are attempting to retrieve specific information but can’t sift through their stored memories.
• Although mental clutter makes it harder to use specific memories when you need them, it also enhances deeper thinking and creativity.
• To boost your memory, focus on eating nutrient-dense foods that boost energy and support cognitive function. It’s also important to get enough sleep, exercise daily and reduce stress.

The post Brain Clutter Impacts Working Memory Among Older Adults appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Light therapy has been shown to improve sleep quality and lift your mood, including by potentially fighting depression. One type of light therapy is the use of “sun lamps.” A sun lamp is typically a small device you can use at home daily for about 30 minutes.

Why is a sun lamp good for you?

Use of sun lamps is most popular during the winter months, when there’s fewer hours of daytime light. For some people, the darkness that accompanies winter can contribute to seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a type of depression triggered when people do not get enough natural light exposure.

SAD is thought to affect about 6% of adults in the U.S., while another 14% experience mild SAD-like symptoms. Surprisingly, symptoms can last for about 40% of the year in some people, spanning the fall and winter.

Even if you don’t have SAD, you can still probably benefit from a sun lamp if you tend to experience the “winter blues” and drops in energy, sleep quality and productivity when you’re not outdoors in the sun enough.

What Is a Sun Lamp?

A sun lamp is an intense artificial light that affects your circadian rhythm, also known as your “internal clock.” Sun lamps are also sometimes called “light therapy” or “SAD lamps.”

Most indoor light is not bright enough to cause any measurable changes in human circadian rhythms, but sun lamps are different because they emit a specific type and intensity of light that has effects on the human brain and hormone production.

Sun lamps have been used since about the 1980s to treat SAD, and today they are still the first-line treatment option for people with this condition. (Medication, therapy and exercise are also sometimes used.)

These lamps have been been shown in many clinical studies conducted over the past several decades to reduce SAD symptoms like:

• fatigue
• insomnia
• hopelessness
• anxiety
• loneliness
• loss of interest
• poor concentration
• and others

Uses and Benefits

Sun lamps can help treat some of the following symptoms:

• SAD symptoms (hopelessness, social withdrawal, etc.)
• Insomnia and other sleep issues
• Vitamin D deficiency
• Fatigue
• Brain fog
• Low motivation
• Weight and appetite changes
• Mood swings

How do sun lamps work for sleep and your mood?

Sun lamps work by mimicking the natural effects of sunlight. Bright light helps regulate our circadian rhythms by making us alert in the morning after waking up and then sleepy at night when it’s dark. This is due to the effects of hormones, including melatonin, serotonin and cortisol, of which circadian rhythm helps control production.

It’s thought that sun lamps can help counteract the effects of increased darkness in the winter.

Researchers believe that shorter days of light in the winter can cause people’s circadian rhythms to become out of sync and to “drift later,” messing with their sleep-wake cycles. This drift can make it harder to fall asleep and then cause morning/daytime drowsiness.

Being exposed to bright light early in the day can help push the circadian rhythm cycle back earlier, which can help with sleep and daytime functioning.

Sun lamps can also help people who are struggling to stay awake at night and often fall asleep too early. (This is common among the elderly.) They may find that light exposure in the afternoon can help mitigate this problem.

How well do sun lamps work for SAD?

It’s estimated by some experts that between 60% and 80% of SAD sufferers benefit from light therapy. Improvements in SAD symptoms can often start to be felt within just two to five days of using a sun lamp.

Can you get vitamin D from a sun lamp?

Some sun lamps emit UVB light that helps the body produce vitamin D — although not all sun lamps feature this type of light. This is one way to increase vitamin D levels among people with vitamin D deficiency. (Sunlight exposure outside, supplements and eating vitamin D foods can also help.)

Vitamin D is an important vitamin that also acts like a hormone in some ways, since it influences the nervous system, as well as the skeletal, cardiovascular and immune systems. People who spend most of their time indoors and who do not get enough exposure to sunlight are likely to be lacking in vitamin D, so light therapy may be a good option.

One downside is that UVB light can potentially harm the skin if you’re exposed to it too much.

The fact that some sun lamps increase vitamin D levels makes this type of light therapy different than red light therapy. Red light therapy, which features wavelengths between 630–700nm, does not provide vitamin D but does have other benefits related to tissue healing and reducing inflammation and pain.

Do sun lamps help skin?

Sun lamps won’t tan your skin like sunlight does. In fact, many lamps have filters that remove UVA light, the type of light that damages the skin and results in sunburns and tans.

Light therapy can support skin health in other ways, however, by increasing vitamin D levels and supporting your immune system. This might result in less inflammation that can cause various skin issues.

Risks and Side Effects

Light therapy using sun lamps is generally safe if you use a lamp made from a reputable manufacturer. It’s important to note, however, that SAD lamps and light boxes are not usually tested or regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, so make sure to do your research and buy a lamp that has many strong reviews and testimonials.

Can you use a SAD light too much? Yes, which is why you should always follow recommendations depending on the specific light.

It’s possible to experience mild symptoms from sun lamp use, such as eyestrain and headaches, or potentially more serious mood, skin and sleep issues (since these lights affect hormone levels). Side effects tend to be more noticeable in people with existing eye and skin issues (if UVB light is emitted) and those who have migraines or mental health disorders.

If you do have diagnosed SAD, speak to your doctor about using specific types of sun lamps as you would a medical device. It’s recommended that you treat SAD with your physician’s help and guidance, which may mean also using therapy, medications and other treatment approaches.

Do not begin light therapy if you have any of the following health conditions without working with a doctor:

• Bipolar disorder
• Macular degeneration
• Connective tissue damage
• Existing skin cancer
• Diabetes
• Lupus

How to Use

According to experts, the standard light therapy regimen is 10,000 lux of light exposure in 30-minute sessions, shortly after waking up.

Thirty minutes is considered the minimum length of time that experts recommend to experience physiological benefits from sun lamps. The time needed depends on the type of light and someone’s goals. That can range from 30 to 90 minutes (of about 10,000 lux) of light therapy per day.

Mornings are generally considered the best time for light therapy, since this helps regulate the circadian rhythm. (It’s also why experts recommend people go outdoors in the morning and expose their eyes to natural light if possible.) In some cases, light treatments can be divided during the day.

In terms of where to use your sun lamp, this depends on the adjustability of the lamp that you purchase. With most devices you’ll need to stand or sit about two to three feet away.

An adjustable lamp is best if you plan to use it while looking down, such as while doing something like reading or writing. Other lamps need to be propped up on a desk and can’t be adjusted, so these are a bit less convenient.

Where to Buy/What to Look For

No prescription is necessary to buy a sun lamp, so look for one in retail stores or online. Lamps range from about $40 to $250+ depending on the size, strength and features.

There are a few things to consider when shopping for a sun lamp:

• Size
• Power
• Color temperature
• Type of light (remember, for vitamin D you need a light that emits UVB light)
• Whether it’s adjustable (which will affect how close to the lamp you need to sit for the treatment, plus where you can use it)
• Price

When writers at the New York Times tested 50 different sun lamps and spoke to experts about their top picks, they found that the most highly recommended sun lamps are those that offer “UV-free” LED light with about 7,000 to 10,000 lux of light intensity. Ideally the lamp should also be large, adjustable and have a UV light filter.

Most sun lamps deliver between 2,500 and 10,000 lux. The more lux a light delivers, the less time you need to spend positioned in front of it to reap benefits.

When deciding if a light is intense enough for you, consider how it feels: You’re looking for light that feels comfortable and like sitting outside on a sunny day, but you shouldn’t feel hot or overstimulated.

In terms of size, the best light therapy units are usually about a foot by 1.5 feet in surface area or larger. Bigger lights emit more light and can be easier to use — plus this cuts down on the time needed to sit on from of them.

Most experts strongly recommend light boxes with the largest surface you can afford.

Most lamps use white fluorescent lights behind a plastic diffusing screen, which filters out ultraviolet rays. This is highly recommended to protect the eyes from damage.

The Skin Cancer Foundation reports that full-spectrum light and blue light are not the best options since these may be damaging, so opt for white light.

Lights vary in terms of their “color temperature,” which is measured by units of Kelvin. Color temperatures can range from 3,000 to 4,000 and 5,000 Kelvin, which will impact the color of the light and how “warm” it appears.

Conclusion

• Sun lamps are intense artificial lights that are particularly effective for people suffering from seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
• They can also benefit anyone who doesn’t get enough natural light exposure, especially during the winter.
• They help regulate your circadian rhythm and can improve your sleep, energy and mood.
• Experts recommend a lamp with about 10,000 lux brightness, a large screen and a UV-free, LED light source. Use your lamp for about 30+ minutes daily, ideally in the morning, for the best results.

The post Sun Lamp Uses and Benefits (Plus How to Buy One) appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Just when the weather is warming and things are opening, an invasion of Ukraine by Russia has prolonged stress and anxiety among adults and children alike. Many parents are left questioning how to explain war to a child.

Parents naturally want to protect their children from scary things, especially when the outcome is very much out of their control. Sometimes the unknown can be even scarier, and children of a certain age need their adults to explain things they are aware of but don’t understand.

When it comes to young children, who are unaware of the situation, it’s OK to keep quiet on it unless they ask, but refrain from watching the news in front of them or discussing the issue when they’re present. Of course, if they hear about the conflict somewhere else and come to you with questions, it’s OK to talk it out.

How to Talk to Your Children About War

1. Have a Plan

Before talking to your children about war, think it through individually or with your partner first. You need to take time to work through your own emotions before being able to work through your child’s needs.

Research shows that parental distress is associated with adverse child mental health outcomes, so take care of your mental health first and foremost.

There are some questions you should ask yourself before beginning a discussion with a child on the subject, such as:

• What are your feelings about the war, and how are you dealing with it emotionally?
• What facts about the war do you want to share with your child?
• What comforting measures or actions will you offer to your child as part of your discussion?

While it’s important to have a plan for this discussion, you don’t have to have all the answers. In fact, acknowledging your own vulnerability and uncertainties will show your child that he/she isn’t alone, and you can think through the issue together.

2. Bring It Back to Everyday Lessons

As parents, we spend every day teaching and reiterating life lessons. Kindness, respect and decency are all traits that we teach and show through our actions so our children can see them play out in day-to-day experiences.

While the thought of war may be impossible for a child to imagine in his/her young life, the reasons why it’s wrong and causes tough feelings can be connected to lessons the child has already learned. We don’t take things that aren’t ours, for example, is a lesson that a child can connect with to understand the big picture.

We protect people who are being unjustly hurt or bullied is another common lesson.

3. Share What They Need to Know

While it’s important to be truthful when talking to your child about war or tragedy, avoid going into more detail than what’s appropriate for her age. Don’t offer more information than what’s needed for your child to better understand the situation and how to cope with it.

Let her ask questions, and be an open listener. If you don’t know how to answer a question, research it together, and show your child how you work through uncertainties by getting more information and processing it. This may be more suitable for older children who are able to explore news sources with you and dive deeper into a topic for clarity.

4. Share Your Feelings and Reassurance

An article published by the American Psychological Association states that “it is OK to acknowledge your feelings with children.” Children think of parents as role models, and while it may hurt them to see you upset, you will also show that it’s completely normal and you are able to cope with these feelings in a healthy way.

A major part of talking to your children about war is providing reassurance. Make sure you end the conversation with a promise that you will always protect them and be honest with them.

You will be much better able to cope with these big, confusing feelings if they know they can come to you with questions or concerns.

5. Take Action

It may be helpful for your children to put time and effort into doing something good for the people of Ukraine or even their own local community. Studies show that acts of kindness can boost happiness, which is exactly what our children need right now.

Consider collecting donations that can be sent to Ukraine families and soldiers, or children can donate their time by cleaning up a local park, writing letters to nursing home residents or making donations to the local food pantry. These seemingly small acts can show children that they are not helpless and have the power to do their own good in the community and world.

6. Check In

Even after you’ve talked to your children about war, keep checking in on how they are feeling. You may need to reiterate that your family is safe and explain again how this conflict will affect their lives.

It’s also a good idea to set limits on exposure to the news or social media apps that share information on the war. While staying informed is important, too much exposure to the news can cause anxiety and fear.

If your children do want to watch the news, consider doing it together so you can better gauge if it’s appropriate for their age and when to turn it off.

During this difficult time, look out for signs of stress or anxiety. If your child shows behavioral changes like acting out, eating less or having trouble sleeping, talk about it, and reach out for professional help if it persists.

How to Practice Self-Care Yet Remain Engaged and Informed

While it’s important to stay engaged and informed, prioritizing self-care is critical. Set a limit on how much news and social media you consume during this conflict, and stick to news sources that you trust.

If reading or watching the news is impacting you or affecting your mood, take a break for your own mental and emotional health. During this difficult time in world history, pay special attention to these important actions on your self-care checklist:

• Eat a well-balanced diet with fresh, colorful foods
• Get enough sleep
• Move your body daily
• Engage in face-to-face interactions
• Nurture positive relationships
• Practice small acts of kindness and engage in the community
• Limit smartphone and social media use
• Avoid doomscrolling
• Spend time outdoors
• Find an emotional outlet
• Take time for prayer or meditation

The post How to Explain War to Children and Protect Mental Health appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Though there’s always the risk of another nasty variant coming along, for many of us, we consider the pandemic behind us. Many have returned to normal life, including returning to the office, dining outdoors, seeing friends and relatives in person (!), and even traveling by airplane.

But what’s not behind us? Some of those self-destructive pandemic habits, including poor eating habits, exercising less and, for some, even problem drinking.

Did you know that online sales of alcohol increased 262 percent in 2020 from 2019? And that there was a 41 percent increase in heavy drinking days among women since onset of the pandemic? Let’s take a look at the factors at work here and how to cut back on alcohol consumption.

What Is Problem Drinking?

Problem drinking doesn’t equate to alcoholism, which is characterized by uncontrolled drinking and preoccupation with alcohol. Problem drinking is used to describe people who drink heavily or experience occasional problems from drinking — but who do not have a history of severe physical dependence on alcohol.

Study Findings

In a Journal of the American Medical Association study, 1,540 adults participated in 2020, and 57 percent were women. Frequency of alcohol consumption increased by an average of 14 percent compared to 2019.

For women, it was an increase of 14 percent. And one in five adults ages 30 to 59 increased drinking frequency.

On average, 75 percent of all participants increased their drinking by at least one day per month. Among women, there was a stunning 41 percent increase in heavy drinking days.

Study authors noted these changes in alcohol use and the unfortunate health consequences during the pandemic, including leading to or worsening mental health issues, such as anxiety or depression. As a result, they recommended that adults become aware of increased alcohol consumption during the pandemic and identify factors that make people susceptible to such habitual problem drinking.

Backing up these findings is a study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health that included 832 people, 84 percent of which were female. During the pandemic, over one-third reported binge drinking, and 60 percent reported increased drinking.

Top reasons for increased alcohol consumption? More stress (46 percent), easier availability of alcohol (34 percent) and boredom (30 percent). Those who indicated that the pandemic caused them more stress were more likely to drink more frequently as well as more in volume, a significant concern from a public health perspective.

Problem Drinking Signs

How many drinks is a drinking problem? The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines the guidelines for “low-risk drinking” as follows:

• Men: Four or fewer standard drinks on any single day and fewer than 14 drinks during a given week
• Women: Three or fewer standard drinks a day and no more than seven drinks per week for women

Frankly, that’s still a lot of alcohol. The CDC recommends that in order to reduce the risk of alcohol-related harms, adults of legal drinking age can either choose not to drink or to drink in moderation. Drinking in moderation is limiting yourself to two drinks or less in a day and one drink or less for women.

How do you know if your problem drinking may have progressed to alcohol use disorder (AUD)? Consider whether or not you exhibit these symptoms:

• You occasionally drink more or longer than you intended.
• You tried to cut down or stop drinking but failed.
• You often get sick from drinking and/or it takes a while to get over aftereffects.
• You desperately want a drink, to the point you can’t think of anything else.
• You’ve discovered that drinking interferes with your ability to take care of your home and/or family. Or it’s caused job or school problems.
• You either gave up or cut back activities that you enjoyed previously in order to drink.
• While or after drinking, you got into a dangerous situation that you normally would have avoided, such as driving, swimming, using machinery, engaging in unsafe sexual behavior, engaging in a physical confrontation, etc.

How to Cut Back on Drinking

Alcohol can also affect the brain in damaging ways. The truth is the damage goes far beyond a headache and brain fog you experience the morning after drinking too much. The effects of alcohol on the brain are profound, and heavy drinking can set you up for some of the most dreaded brain diseases, including dementia.

In order to avoid such issues, consider cutting back on your drinking by employing these strategies:

1. Plan it

Don’t go over your limit, whether that’s one or two. Personally, I rarely go over one beer, even if a pal calls me a wimp for stopping there.

2. Budget it

For some, money talks more than words. Cocktails are $15? Just have one!

3. Include food

Don’t drink on an empty stomach. Even better, don’t drink until you’ve eaten some food.

4. Give your family and buddies a head’s up

Tell them you’re cutting down, so they can support you rather than buying another round.

5. Avoid trigger places and people

Are there locations (such as a favorite bar) or people where you often overconsume alcohol? Avoid those places and stay alcohol-free with those people, or avoid them altogether.

6. Downsize your drinks

Use smaller wine glasses rather than those monster-sized glasses; have a small bottle of beer rather than a pint.

7. Check out the alcohol percentage

Some beer, such as IPAs, can be very high in alcohol percentage. Go for lower amounts in beer, and also try to avoid hard alcohol.

8. Drink-free days

If you’re drinking every day, then you possibly have a drinking problem. Have a few days per week without any alcohol.

Conclusion

Remember, there are profound benefits to cutting back on your alcohol consumption. They include:

• Immediate benefits can be more energy, improved skin, easier weight management, less fatigue during the day and better mornings!
• Long-term benefits include improved mood, better sleep, improved behavior, healthier heart and liver, and improved immune system (as drinking can impede your body’s ability to fight infections).

Concerned that your problem drinking may have morphed into alcohol use disorder? Contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.

The post Pandemic Problem Drinking Still A Thing — How to Cut Back appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Psychiatric comorbidity is known to have a huge impact on someone’s overall well-being. It can even increase the risk of early death (mortality), including from suicide.

Comorbidities describes two disorders that occur together in the same person at the same time (also known as co-occurring conditions). It’s common for people to be affected by more than one illness at once, including both physical and mental heath issues.

Recently, researchers have investigated how the combination of noncommunicable diseases — meaning chronic conditions that do not result from an acute infectious— occurring along with psychiatric comorbitities can affects someone’s life span. Noncommunicable diseases include chronic respiratory diseases like COPD, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, which are extremely common in many developed countries.

Study: Psychiatric Comorbidity and Risk of Premature Mortality

A large 2022 study conducted in Sweden that included data from over 1 million people sought to determine if there’s a link between psychiatric comorbidity, noncommunicable diseases and increased risk of premature mortality. In this study, premature mortality was defined as death before the age of 65 years old.

Researchers followed participants born between 1932 and 1995 who had noncommunicable diseases either with or without psychiatric conditions to determine their risks of premature mortality and suicide. In this longitudinal study, it was observed that there’s increased risk of all-cause death and suicide in individuals with chronic diseases plus psychiatric comorbidities.

Here’s some of the key findings that the study uncovered:

• Within five years of diagnosis of a noncommunicable disease, at least 7% of people with respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases or diabetes died from any cause and 0.3% died from suicide.
• Mortality rates ranged between 15% to 21% in people with chronic health plus psychiatric disorders. Risks ranged from 6% to 9% in patients without such comorbidities. This means that risk of death was more than doubled in patients with psychiatric comorbidities compared to those without such comorbidities.
• 25% to 32% of people with these medical conditions had co-occurring lifetime diagnoses of a psychiatric disorder.
• Comorbid psychiatric disorders were associated with higher all-cause mortality when compared to those without these conditions.
• Suicide mortality was also higher among comorbid patients versus those without comorbidity. Those with multiple diseases were found to be over five times as likely to die from suicide during the study.
• Comorbid substance use disorders were associated with a higher mortality rate than depression, but risks of suicide were similar for these two psychiatric comorbidities.

Researchers compared the risk of early death among the participants with comorbidities to their siblings without noncommunicable diseases and psychiatric disorders. This was done to account for genetic and environmental risk factors that are shared between siblings.

Comparisons showed that comorbidity with any psychiatric disorder was associated with substantially increased mortality rates.

What It Means

Experts believe that if people with noncommunicable diseases and psychiatric comorbidities were assessed and treated better, it could potentially save millions of lives each year. When someone is checked in to the hospital with a chronic disease or diagnosed by a doctor, ideally that person should be screened for depression, substance abuse and other mental health problems at the same time.

It’s thought that by treating mental health issues among those with chronic diseases, people would better adhere to their treatment plans, such as medication use and lifestyle changes, and lower their risk for complications and early death.

What are types of psychiatric comorbidities? How do they contribute to death or disease?

The most frequent comorbid psychiatric disorders are depression, generalized anxiety disorder and substance abuse disorders. Depression is thought to be especially common among people with other chronic diseases or mental health problems.

Other comorbid psychiatric disorders can include personality disorders, eating disorders, PTSD and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

Experts believe there are several possible ways in which psychiatric comorbidity might increase mortality risk:

• Mental health problems increase the likelihood of someone smoking, eating a poor diet, using drugs and being sedentary (lacking enough exercise).
• Substance use disorders are linked with unhealthy lifestyles and can lead people to put off getting care for health problems. Once someone is diagnosed with a chronic disease, that person is more likely to get poor care or not follow the doctor’s recommendations if that person has a substance abuse problem.
• Depression is known to increase inflammatory biomarkers, including C-reactive protein, which could further contribute to poor physical health.
• Taking medications for mental health issues, such as of certain antidepressants and other psychotropic drugs, can cause metabolic side effects that may increase the risk for type 2 diabetes, obesity and other problems.
• The psychological effects of living with a chronic condition is also associated with low moods, which increases risks of depression, drug use and poor mental health.
• Suicide is thought to be more common among people with more than one health condition because poor health can cause feelings of hopelessness, cognitive distortions, negative thinking and impulsivity.

Ways to Prevent/Manage Noncommunicable Diseases

It’s estimated that noncommunicable diseases account for an estimated 40 million deaths each year worldwide. To help manage and prevent these disease, experts recommend these lifestyle habits:

• Maintain a healthy weight and body mass index
• Avoid tobacco and drug use
• Limit alcohol consumption
• Regularly get enough exercise
• Eat a healthy, Mediterranean-type diet that’s low in sugar, refined grains, unhealthy fats and ultra-processed foods
• Get enough sleep
• Manage stress to avoid complications such as increased inflammation
• If needed, speak with a therapist for help managing any mental health issues

Conclusion

• Comorbid psychiatric disorders have been identified as potential risk markers for premature mortality in adults with noncommunicable diseases (heart disease, respiratory diseases and diabetes).
• What are the most common comorbid psychological disorders? Depression, substance abuse and anxiety disorders commonly affect people with other health issues.
• A large 2022 study found that people with multiple physical/mental health issues had double the risk of early death and five times the risk of committing suicide.

The post What’s the Link Between Psychiatric Comorbidity and Risk of Premature Mortality? appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia have long been portrayed as being mostly “feminine problems,” considering they affect girls and women much more often than males. In fact, most research has shown that females are twice as likely as males to develop eating disorders.

That said, emerging studies suggest that a growing proportion of boys and men are struggling with body dysmorphia, low self-esteem regarding their appearance and even eating disorders.

Experts believe that due to factors like increased social media use and the rise of “fitness culture,” men are now susceptible to the same types of obsessions with food, body weight and shape that women have been for many decades, and now eating disorders in men are on the rise.

Study Findings: Eating Disorders in Men on the Rise

According to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), about one in three people struggling with an eating disorder is male.

There’s a range of eating disorders in existence, with some of the most common types being:

• orthorexia, or a preoccupation with eating only “clean” foods
• anorexia, focused on restrictive eating and severe calorie deprivation
• bulimia, which involves purging foods via vomiting, laxative use or excessive exercise
• binge eating disorder, in which people consume large quantities of food in a brief period

What do males with eating disorders tend to focus on?

A 2021 study published in Current Opinions in Pediatrics found that eating disorders usually affect boys and men a bit differently than they do girls and women, specifically by being focused more on muscularity and muscle-enhancing goals.

While women with eating disorders tend to want to make their bodies smaller, men with eating disorders typically want to appear more defined, lean, muscular and strong. Case in point: NEDA reports that “25% of normal weight males perceive themselves to be underweight and 90% of teenage boys exercise with the goal of bulking up.”

A 2019 study even found that about 22% of young men turn to dangerous means to bulk up, suggesting that almost one in four young men displays disordered eating behaviors.

Which eating disorder is most commonly found in males?

Research shows that men are most likely to suffer from binge eating disorder, in which someone eats a large amount of food almost compulsively within a short time, such as over hours or the course of one day. A full 40% of people with binge eating disorders are male.

Over-exercising, restricting food intake, purging, laxative abuse and fasting for weight loss are also thought to be relatively common among men.

Muscle dysmorphia is another subtype of body dysmorphic disorder that usually occurs in men, especially bodybuilders. Signs that a man has this condition can include:

• spending many hours in the gym
• spending lots of money on fitness equipment and supplements geared toward muscle gains
• having abnormal eating patterns
• using steroids that can potentially be dangerous

What It Means: Risks and Side Effects

Symptoms and side effects caused by eating disorders can affect all organ systems in both males and females, leading to a number of mental and physical health problems. NEDA even states that “studies suggest that risk of mortality for males with eating disorders is higher than it is for females.”

What factors put males at risk for developing eating disorders? Boys and men are more likely to develop eating disorders if they fall into one or more of these categories:

• Being an athlete, which can lead to excessive exercise and pressure to perform well
• Being a bodybuilder
• Being a racial/ethnic minority
• Being a gender minority in a given situation or homosexual
• Having another mood disorder or mental health disorder, such as OCD, anxiety or depression, or substance abuse problem
• Experiencing lots of exposure to unattainable body images in the media or from social media
• They were abused as children

Risks and Side Effects of Eating Disorders in Men:

Men who lose a lot of weight, especially if it’s lost rapidly and they wind up being underweight, can develop medical complications that can sometimes be serious. Severe calorie deprivation, binging and purging can also negatively affect a man’s health even if he appears normal or above average in weight.

Some side effects and health problems that can develop due to eating disorders in men include:

• Low appetite and lack of interest in eating or food, which results in nutritional deficiencies
• Low testosterone levels
• Low sex drive and infertility
• Low vitamin D status
• Tooth decay
• Bone density loss and higher risk for fractures
• Anxiety due to concerns about consequences of eating
• Interference with social functioning (such as inability to eat with others)
• Digestive issues, including bloating and constipation
• Higher risk for health complications, including obesity, diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases if the man binges

Tips to Overcome Eating Disorders

Sadly, less than half of people with eating disorders typically seek professional help. To make matters worse, many eating disorder treatment programs focus more on treating women and feminine issues, so treatment guidance may lack specificity to boys and men.

There’s also concern that cultural bias leads many men who are affected by eating issues to avoid seeking treatment and help.

Experts recommend that anyone with an eating disorder, whether male or female, try the steps below to help treat disordered eating patterns:

• Work with a cognitive behavioral therapist, ideally one trained in eating disorders in men. Trained psychotherapists can help people suffering from a range of eating disorders, in addition to other mental health problems, by targeting negative thought patterns. Interpersonal therapy is another type of therapy has been shown to be effective for body image issues.
• Generally speaking, seeing a therapist is a great place to start because he/she can help you decide if you also need help from a registered dietitian, nutritionist or other food specialist who can help you form a healthy eating plan to overcome deficiencies.
• In some cases, antidepressant or anti-anxiety medications may also be helpful. You can ask your doctor about his or her opinion regarding medication use.

Conclusion

• Eating disorders in men are on the rise, including binge eating disorder, purging and restriction.
• About 22% of people diagnosed with an eating disorder are male. Young men, athletes, minorities and homosexual men are at though to be at an increased risk.
• Why do so many men have eating disorders? Social media and media exposure to unattainable body images are thought to a play a role. So is the rise in gym/fitness culture, which promotes masculine, muscular body ideals.

The post Eating Disorders in Men on the Rise, Studies Show appeared first on Dr. Axe.

This is part two in Casey Hersch’s articles series about how to defeat chronic illness. Part one was Using Integrative Approaches for Living with Chronic Illness.

During my childhood, I suffered from one illness after another. My parents believed that doctors had all of the answers to our life and health problems. Their perspective, though well-intended, created a dangerous situation for me.

This complete acceptance of physician recommendations rapidly sent me into a downward health spiral. We didn’t realize there were other alternatives for healing beyond the conventional Western medical model that focuses on symptom reduction, pharmaceuticals and diagnostics.

Now, decades later, most of what we learn about our bodies still comes from the media, educational institutions, doctors, elders and the community that reinforce that our bodies are merely physical beings. Sadly, we rarely consider questioning those powerful influences.

When Symptom Management Causes More Symptoms

When I was 15 years old and underweight, physicians insisted that I drink daily servings of Carnation Instant Breakfast to help me gain weight. Based on our observations, my mom and I knew that I was sensitive to dairy since I noticeably reacted every time I ate ice cream or drank milk.

We also knew another tip about my body: My body did not tolerate high sugar loads. Unlike my teenaged peers who indulged in their candy jars at Halloween, too much sugar made me vomit. I avoided sugar as much as possible.

However, because the doctors insisted that drinking milk with the high calorie and sugar dense powder would solve my weight problem, we complied and ignored what we already knew about my sensitive body. As my symptoms worsened, we never questioned the experts. Consequently, I developed two new diagnoses: irritable bowel syndrome and candida.

Candida, a result of imbalanced gut microbes, is one negative side effect of too many antibiotics. Sugar can also cause Candida to proliferate. Irritable Bowel Syndrome consists of a smorgasbord of miserable bowel symptoms often described as a “nervous stomach” and exacerbated by stress.

Although my worsening health was triggered by the instant breakfast, doctors responded by prescribing me more antibiotics to “fix” the new symptoms. The vicious cycle of illness continued because the experts failed to explore my history. A critical missing piece of my treatment was understanding how my past excessive antibiotic usage and my body’s sensitivity to stress influenced my symptoms.

Including Your History in Treatment is Crucial

Despite the fact that one of our most important relationships is with our physicians, our physicians rarely ask us to share about ourselves.

In all of our other close relationships, we talk about our thoughts, feelings, life events and stresses. But physicians rarely, if ever, routinely inquire about our childhoods, life histories, stresses or ask for our intuitive theories about the causes of our illnesses.

This patient care model does not serve us well. Every one of us has a theory for why we have symptoms. However, we rarely acknowledge our “gut instincts” and, therefore, we miss crucial pieces to our healing puzzles. Thankfully, once we recognize the gaps in conventional medical models, we can complement our healing with the many integrative models available to us.

Integrative Healing Models: Blending Emotional and Physical

Integrative models incorporate our histories, stress cycles, adverse childhood experiences, day-to-day life choices, beliefs and opinions into an individualized healing formula. Had my doctors inquired about my history, they would have learned important details that affected my symptom presentation.

Ideally, we should always seek physicians who embrace a team approach whereby the patient is also an expert on the team. This inclusive team approach eliminates the imbalances in power when physicians are the experts and patients are the passive recipients. Integrative models also acknowledge the intimate connection between emotions and physical symptoms. After all, we are whole beings, not parts. Our lifestyles are our greatest medicine!

Despite cultural messaging that emphasizes our physical existence, I always believed that my emotional world mattered. Throughout childhood, I experienced a lot of turmoil; especially when my parents argued, and I witnessed domestic violence. Sometimes I felt my emotions turn my stomach upside down and seemingly cause my body to spasm and hurt.

Since I did not know what my feelings meant, I could not use them as a guide to my body. Instead, I stuffed my feelings aside and succumbed to other’s impressions of my health.  I intuitively knew that the conflict in my home triggered many of my symptoms such as migraines, nausea and even fatigue.

However, as a child, I did not feel as though I could tell my parents what I really believed. My doctors never asked me about my home life, which further solidified beliefs that my theories were “crazy,” and I should not talk about my stress and feelings.

Sadly, my experience is commonplace in homes with abuse and violence. In abusive environments, emotional expression is dangerous. I silenced my inner voice as a survival technique: a necessary attempt to keep myself safe.  My physicians condoned my silence when they ignored the emotional dimensions of my illness.

Looking back, it is easy to identify ways my mom and I should have challenged the “milk and sugar” recommendation. One option would have been to share our knowledge about my body with the physicians and explore alternatives to the instant breakfast. Another option would have been to trust what we already knew about my body and reactions to food, and to use this wisdom as a guide for treatment options.

An even better solution would have been to have a real discussion about my life that happened outside of the doctor’s office. If someone would have asked me to share my theories for why I had so many gut problems, this inquiry could have opened a door to my feelings. Eventually I would have felt safe enough to share about my stress and fears. If someone really listened to me, they would have seen how my stress and home life contributed to my upset stomach or irritable bowel.

My weight loss was not merely a response to diet and restricting calories. My weight loss was also a response to the conflict in my household and my inability, as a child, to cope with overwhelming feelings of powerlessness. This information should have been a foundation from which my medical team brainstormed and considered alternatives for my sensitive and unique physical AND emotional needs.

Making the Shift Is Possible: You Are Not Alone

Decades later, when I became a psychotherapist, I still struggled to confront my physicians and assert my body expertise and needs. Surprisingly, even though I was trained to understand and explore emotions, my studies never connected the strong relationship between physical and emotional health. I didn’t know how to start a conversation with my physician about my traumatic childhood past in order to make connections to my current health problems.

Even as an expert trained to inquire about people’s emotional and personal lives, I felt insecure advocating for my own needs. Despite my professional credentials, I behaved the same as in childhood, indiscriminately listening to my “superiors” and doctors. I forged ahead on the quest to rid my physical body of symptoms, and I got sicker. I did not even know that I could learn to listen to my body’s subtle cues — the keys to my healing.

Fortunately, today, I am not the same patient. I have learned invaluable skills to further my healing journey. I advocate for myself and require that my medical teams listen to my history and incorporate my lived experiences into my treatment. Each day I trust my body wisdom more, and I don’t hesitate to question a treatment that is not helping me heal or is making me sicker. Most important, I require an individualized healing plan.

When we believe anyone holds more information and expertise about our bodies than we do, we close our minds to the healing potential our bodies already possess. Even more dangerous is when we do not question experts or filter recommendations through the knowledge we already know about ourselves.

Doctors do not have all the answers; in fact, sometimes they can be wrong and even harmful. After all, they are humans just like the rest of us who are guided by a perspective colored by their training and exposure. Fortunately, the culmination of expert knowledge with our own experiences can enhance our healing; especially, when we learn how to filter tailor, and individualize recommendations for our own unique needs.

There is no easy way to assume the role as empowered patient. For many of us, years of medical mishaps, medical debts, and humiliating and painful symptoms bring us to a breaking point where we say, “NO MORE!” For others, they stumble upon a kind healer who is truly curious about the root cause of illness and wants to help their patients heal from the inside out.

Once we experience a physician or healer who truly wants to understand the intricacies of our health and lived experience with illness, it is impossible to return to the health models that stifle patient voices. Finally, some patients have “ah-ha” moments as they become more educated about how the human body works as a whole system. This knowledge exposes their incomplete treatments and reinforces intuitions that their medical team has missed the mark.

The essence of empowerment is when patients open doors for themselves through their curiosities and open-mindedness. This sense of ownership keeps hope alive and fuels the belief that healing is possible no matter how many times science or statistics insist a condition is incurable.

Regardless of how you arrive, it is time to become an empowered patient NOW. Your health depends on this shift.

Steps to Becoming An Empowered Patient (Self-Advocate)

1. Recognize that you have other options.

2. Accept there is a way out of the vicious illness cycle.

3. Identify the components of an integrative health model and include in your treatment.

4. Get educated and informed. Research and become an expert on YOU!

Healing begins with you! Not only should your physicians inquire about past events in your life that laid a foundation for disease, but you should also begin to connect the dots of your life. Understand how events in your life paved the way for your current health problems. This selfinquiry holds the answers to your recovery.

 Steps to Begin Your Self-Inquiry:

• Find out your ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) Score
• Begin thinking about how your past affects your present emotional and physical states
• Do you feel included on your medical treatment team?
• What are your theories for why you have an illness or symptoms?
• What aspects of your treatment are working? Are there recommendations you follow, even though you intuitively know the interventions are not in your best interest?

Ready to Do A Deeper Dive Into Self-Inquiry?

• Take a look at the Healing Wheel
• Do you have a balanced treatment plan that includes all aspects of the healing wheel?
• List interventions in each dimension. Are there any areas where you can fill in gaps?

Stay tuned for my next article about these integrative approaches that can help defeat chronic illness.

The post Integrative Healing & Becoming An Empowered Patient appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Did you know that anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S.? Over 40 million adults age 18 and older are affected; this equates to 18 percent of the population. In fact, one of every three teenagers reported suffering some sort of anxiety disorder in the past year.

Even if you’re fortunately to not suffer from anxiety, you probably know a loved one who does and perhaps have seen how damaging it can be. After all, it increases one’s risk for other psychiatric disorders like depression — half of those diagnosed with depression are also diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.

As a result, not only is traditional treatment such as cognitive behavioral therapy considered, certain natural ways to reduce anxiety are also under examination. One such natural way to deal with anxiety? Exercise.

If fact, some research demonstrates that just a single bout of exercise can help ease anxiety when it arises. But if it was only so simple. Let’s dive in.

The Anxiety-Exercise Conundrum

Among the damage that anxiety can inflict, it can impact how active a person is. A 2015 study showed that anxiety sufferers were, on average, more sedentary and less inclined to participate in challenging forms of physical activity. Study authors concluded that rather than focusing mostly on high-intensity exercises for alleviating anxiety, it might be more productive to simply increase light physical activity while decreasing the number of sedentary bouts.

In an article for Psychology Today, Alice Boyes, PhD, details why anxious people may avoid exercising:

• The sensations of exertion — raised heart rate, sweating, breathing heard — are similar to anxiety.
• Worry about getting injured or experiencing pain.
• Exercise can spike social anxiety, such as concern about how you look during exercise or even having to interact with people you normally wouldn’t.

New Study

In a recent Frontier In Psychiatry large-scale study of nearly 200,000 active adults, it showed that being physically active cuts the risk of developing clinical anxiety in half. The study was based in Sweden and focused on cross-country skiers, but researchers declared that nearly any kind of aerobic activity probably protects the individual from excessive anxiety.

In the 21-year study, skiers had a significantly lower risk of developing anxiety compared to non-skiers. Interestingly, among women, more demanding physical performance — such as faster finishing times, higher exercise doses, etc. — was linked with an increased risk of anxiety compared to slower skiing women. Nonetheless, the anxiety risk was still less compared to the control group. For men, there was no statistical difference in anxiety levels between fast vs. slow skiiers.

To the authors, it was clear: “Our results support the recommendations of engaging in physical activity to decrease the risk of anxiety in both men and women.”

Meanwhile, they admitted that the “physical performance level” for women and how it impacts anxiety risk requires further examination.

Benefits of Exercise for Anxiety

Regular physical activity helps to improve sleep quality, reduce inflammation, boost confidence, improve energy levels and ease stress and tension. People with anxiety can benefit from exercises like yoga and tai chi because they promote relaxation and involve deep breathing techniques that help to reduce stress and muscle tension.

A 2012 review published in Alternative Medicine Review found that of the 35 trials that addressed the effects of yoga on anxiety and stress, 25 of them noted a significant decrease in stress and anxiety symptoms as a result of practicing yoga.

Did you know that yoga changes your brain by impacting your GABA levels and suppressing neural activity? Besides yoga and tai chi, you can practice other exercises that help to calm the body. For example, running, walking or hiking outdoors, lifting weights and even dancing can help to combat stress.

In fact, exercising outside during the winter where you’re exposed to sunlight is thought to be one effective strategy for helping ward off seasonal affective disorder, a type of mood disorder/depression that tends to affect people during the dark winter months. It may be another reason why the cross-country skiers in that above study fared so well.

Sunlight and exercise both have a positive impact on your mood for several reasons, including because they help release more “feel good” chemicals, including serotonin and endorphins. Similarly, walking in nature among the trees (forest bathing) has shown to have anti-depressive effects as well as serve as a cognitive booster: a win-win.

Additionally, a 2019 study indicated that exercising helped divert the participant from whatever he or she was anxious about. Anecdotally, this may seem logical to many of us who feel great relief from whatever we were anxious about before our workout, but it necessitates further study.

In a Journal of Neuroscience animal study, it seemed to resolve the contradictory findings that running can decrease anxiety while activating the frontal regions of the brain responsible for executive function. How so? “By increasing GABAergic inhibition in the hippocampus in response to stress, running may serve to calm excitatory circuitry that might otherwise produce an overly anxious state.”

Best Types of Exercise for Anxiety

What is the best type of exercise for anxiety? The general consensus is that any type of exercise will do well to lower anxiety levels, but of course, it depends on the individual. As the studies above demonstrate, tai chi and yoga rate very well … and now, so does cross-country skiing.

Here are some helpful tips for choosing the right kind of exercise for you:

• What exercise do you enjoy and can commit to? Do that! Maybe it’s lifting weights that you enjoy, talking walks in nature or the new sport of pickleball.
• Exercising with others may increase or decrease your anxiety. Go with whatever fits you. For some, working out with a friend or group can improve commitment level and provides social support.
• When possible, exercise outdoors. Researchers have found that just being outdoors in nature can improve your overall feelings of wellbeing and reduce anxiety.
• Make exercise a good habit by often doing it a similar time of day, so both your body and brain is not only ready for it but even looks forward to it. Often, morning time can work well for anxious individuals.

The post Can Exercise Reduce Anxiety? New Study Gives Us An Answer appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Silence is defined as “the complete absence of sound,” and believe it or not, there are some major benefits of silence. However, a world in which we’re surrounded by “information overload” and high levels of “noise pollution” — due to constant news streams, phone alerts, social media and more — silence can be pretty hard to come by today.

Unfortunately, psychologists think this is to our detriment, as quiet, reflective time has been shown to be good for overall well-being in a number of ways, especially those related to stress relief.

What is the power of silence? Silence and solitude pretty much go hand in hand, and both are linked to improved mental health when experienced in a balanced, moderate amount (as too much may increase feelings of loneliness).

According to many studies, benefits of silence are similar to those of meditation and include reduced anxiety symptoms, less ruminating thoughts, plus improved focus, creativity and even patience.

What Are the Benefits of Silence?

Silence is all about cultivating an intentional time of quiet stillness. Intentional is key here, since most of us don’t experience much silence these days unless we seek it out.

Even though our culture pushes us to constantly consume information and content (and it’s available 24/7 thanks to modern technology), silence remains an important part of cultivating a calm, focused mindset.

According to experts, here are some of the potential benefits of silence:

1. Improved Mental Clarity

Many studies show that we can think and process our emotions most clearly when we aren’t distracted by noise in our environments. With improved clarity comes the ability to make better decisions.

You might find that you come out of silence better understanding what you want and don’t want, how you feel, what needs your attention and what can be put aside for another day. Some psychologists also recommend contemplating your actions while in silence by asking yourself:

• Who does this benefit?
• Is this kind?
• Do I need to say it?

2. Enhanced Self-Awareness

Sitting in quiet stillness, much like mindfulness meditation, is one of the best known ways to increase awareness of your emotions and to practice self-reflection.

Many people find that solitude and silence allow them to get in touch with their “inner voice” and stop suppressing feelings or thoughts that normally get pushed aside.

Becoming more self-aware gives you numerous advantages in life, such as:

• identifying destructive patterns of your life
• aligning your values with your actions
• strengthening communication and your relationships
• improving overall happiness

3. Help with Productivity

Being calmer and more focused in general often leads to enhanced productivity when it does come time to work and make decisions. The opposite is also true: An overwhelmed and distracted mind finds it harder to concentrate and makes it difficult to make progress.

Some research even shows that silence can stimulate growth of new brain cells in parts of the brain responsible for learning and decision making.

Additionally, there have been links found in children between quiet environments and enhanced abilities to learn and achieve as students. Noisy school environments raise the risk for poor school performance, often due to difficulty concentrating and remembering information.

Children with language or attention disorders and second-language learners are even more impaired by overly noisy classrooms.

4. A Boost in Creativity

Day dreaming and brainstorming silently to yourself can be an important part of a creative process, since these are where ideas are born. It’s no wonder then that many creative individuals throughout history, including writers, artists and inventors, were known to work alone in silence for the majority of their working days.

An article published in Inc. magazine explains, “You can benefit from interacting and brainstorming with others, but awesome creative work can be achieved by shutting out the outside world, whilst you insanely focus on your craft.”

5. Physical Health Benefits Tied to Decreased Stress

Loud, noisy and “chaotic” environments are known to increase perceptions of stress, including by raising levels of “stress hormones,” such as cortisol and adrenaline.

Silence has the opposite effect on markers of stress: It naturally helps the body relax by increasing activity of the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps us “rest and digest.”

It’s even more impactful when combined with stress relievers like deep breathing, walking, meditating, yoga or visualization.

A peaceful mind and body are in better position to heal and more resilient against developing stress-related health issues, such as high blood pressure, indigestion, headaches and insomnia. Silence is also known to increase your tolerance against burnout, anger and impatience.

6. Better Sleep

While some people claim to fall asleep more easily with noise playing in the background, such as the TV or music, most people unwind and sleep best in silence. Doing a sleep meditation, reading quietly or praying/contemplating are all recommended prior to bedtime to enhance sleep and fight insomnia.

7. Improved Relationships

It might seem counterintuitive, but sitting with someone else in silence actually “speaks volumes.” Studies show that as a caregiving practice, silence is “perceived as being relevant in spiritual and existential dimensions of care when words may fail.”

In other words, it’s a way of offering support and understanding and “holds space for someone” even without the need to say anything,

How to Practice More Silence

Experts who have studied the connection between silence and mental health recommend building “pauses” into your day in order to benefit from silence’s healing effects.

While you can certainly do something like meditate for 15 or 20 minutes daily, if you don’t find this to be very helpful or practical then try slowing down throughout the day and giving yourself quiet breaks to relax instead. These “sacred pauses” have been described by some as “mini-meditations” because that’s essentially what they are.

Here are ways you can practice more silence and experience the benefits of silence:

• Carve out a short period of time each day to be free from interruptions. You might choose to use this time to meditate or just to lay down or sit somewhere comfortable and very quiet. Early in the morning or before bed are ideal times to do this.
• Take a deliberate break from the “noise of technology.” Avoid the temptation to fill silence by turning on the TV, YouTube videos, the radio or music, etc.
• Use your commute or when you’re doing errands to slow down and relax. Drive in silence, turn off music and podcasts, and simply contemplate your day.
• If you’re on an airplane or train, use noise-canceling headphones, close your eyes and focus on your breath.
• Instead of turning on music or other noise while you’re home cleaning and cooking, do these things in silence instead. Cooking or doing chores is the perfect time to let your mind wander and to get in touch with your feelings.
• If you tend to eat alone, such as when having lunch at work, don’t distract yourself with your phone, emails, videos, etc. Instead, enjoy a quiet meal, which also helps encourage mindful eating.
• Sit on the beach or in a park, and listen to just the gentle sounds of nature around you.
• Try a floating meditation in a sensory deprivation tank, which is silent, dark and the same temperature as your body.

Risks and Side Effects

While solitude and quietness can lead to a more peaceful life, too much of either also has some downsides, most notably that they can lead to loneliness and disconnection.

Brief periods of silence, ranging from 10 to 60 minutes at a time, seem to be the sweet spot when it comes to promoting better health.

Hours and hours of silence, on the other hand, may lead to ruminating and potentially worsened depression or anxiety. As one New York Times article put it, “most people can endure about 40 minutes before they start going batty.”

Check in with yourself  if you’re regularly exposed to lots of alone time and silence (for example, if you work at home alone most of the time). If you feel the effects of loneliness or find that you’re increasingly worrying about insignificant things, find more social outlets, such as calling a friend, working among others in a public place or even talking with a therapist.

Conclusion

• Does silence have power? You bet. Research suggests that benefits of silence include improving coping skills related to stress, self-awareness, creativity, productivity, focus and relationships.
• Brief periods of silence, ranging from 10 to 60 minutes at a time, seem to be the sweet spot for promoting improved health and achieving the benefits of silence.
• Build quiet stillness into your day by taking breaks from technology, driving without music on, meditating, doing chores quietly or spending unplugged time in nature.

The post Benefits of Silence + How to Practice It appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Establishing healthy boundaries is a foundation to establishing respectful relationships with family, friends, neighbors and co-workers. Without set boundaries, relationships can lead to discomfort and even violation, which may set off a cycle of mistrust and isolation in your future.

Because we don’t actually see boundaries, they aren’t visible, so many of us are confused about what they are and how to set them. You may feel guilty or selfish setting your own limits on friends or loved ones, but remember that this is an important part of self-care and leads to stronger, healthier relationships.

What Are Boundaries?

Boundaries are limits or space between yourself and another person that are set in order to create a safe and healthy relationship. These can be physical or emotional limits that ensure a person’s mental and emotional health are respected and maintained.

Some people have rigid boundaries, and others have loose boundaries. Both can be problematic if they are hindering your ability to maintain close and meaningful relationships.

Do you have trouble keeping friends or avoid close relationships? That may be the result of very strict or rigid boundaries.

On the other hand, if you have trouble saying “no,” are always putting the well-being of others before your own and get too involved in people’s personal lives, your sense of limits may be too loose.

Establishing clear boundaries for all of your relationships will enhance your connections by setting expectations. You can show people what you expect from them and let them know what they should expect from you.

Types

1. Physical

We’ve all likely experienced someone crossing a boundary with our personal, physical space. Crossing a physical boundary can be violating your limit on touch, which can be as simple as going in for a hug when you prefer a handshake or no touch at all.

This may be easier for you to indicate over less visible boundaries because it can be seen and felt physically.

Physical boundaries also include your personal space, like your home, bedroom or office. Crossing the line, for you, may be entering your workspace uninvited or unannounced, while others may have more of an open door policy.

Everyone’s physical boundary is different, which is why it’s important to communicate your individual needs to maintain a healthy relationship.

There are also boundaries with physical activity or exercise. These can be limits that you place on yourself, like resting when you’re tired, eating when you’re hungry and not eating when you aren’t.

It’s healthy to push yourself to achieve a goal but within the limits of your comfort zone so you maintain positive feelings about your actions and where you’re headed.

2. Sexual

Sexual boundaries exist between people who are married, people dating and even between friends with a platonic relationship. Asking for and confirming consent is a major sexual boundary that’s mandatory to create a safe, respectful space.

It’s also important to discuss what you’re comfortable with, what you like and what you don’t like when engaging in a physical, intimate way.

Pressuring someone into physical contact, making unwanted sexual comments and touching someone without consent are all actions that cross sexual boundaries. Sexual boundaries can even exist among married couples or couples who live together.

3. Emotional

Each relationship requires a certain amount of emotional energy, and that’s a limit that you have to set for yourself. Passing emotional limits may be sharing too much information (sometimes called “emotionally dumping”) and expecting a meaningful, emotional response, or on the opposite side of the spectrum, being unable to listen when being confided in emotionally by a friend or loved one.

Research shows that unlike a tangible wall that keeps something in or out, emotional boundaries are a necessary space between people and allow for a sense of individuality and separateness. Establishing this type of boundary contributes to your unique identity.

Crossing the emotional limit in a relationship may look like asking inappropriate or unwanted questions, criticizing people for the way they feel or dismissing their reactions, and telling people how they should (or should not) feel about a situation.

4. Intellectual

In our recent history, discussing global and political matters has become more prevalent, which is why setting intellectual boundaries is important. You’ve heard of the phrase “agree to disagree,” and that’s a simple version of intellectual limits that help maintain respectful relationships.

Respecting individual opinions and stopping conversations that are headed in the wrong direction are ways to set healthy intellectual boundaries. It is your choice whether or not you choose in engage in intellectual conversations that may push you and call your beliefs into question.

If you’re willing to have these types of sometimes uncomfortable conversations, there can be a point where you “draw a line in the sand,” like if statements become offensive.

5. Time and Energy

Do you ever feel like people are taking advantage of your time? Maybe they are asking for favors or tasks to be completed after working hours or assume that you’ll put in more time than you agreed to on a project.

These are examples of crossing time boundaries. This has become especially difficult as more and more people are working from home and the line between personal time and work time has blended.

Setting your own time boundaries ensures that you get the personal downtime you need for optimal health and helps you avoid burnout, which is becoming more common among American adults. In fact, a scientific review found that burnout syndrome is a serious public health problem.

If you’re constantly overcommitting and giving in to requests, you may have to set your own needs and goals aside, which can lead to resentment and disappointment. The same is true when you’re asking someone else to use her time, so be conscious of requests, and ask questions like, “Do you have the time for this today?”

6. Financial/Material

Are you constantly borrowing something from a friend or family member, or is someone frequently asking you to use a material object? This can include borrowing a car, sweater, computer, money and more — they are materials that should have limited access to other people, depending on your comfort levels.

Although it may seem petty to get worked up over sharing your possessions, when done excessively, it can start to feel like you’re being taken advantage of, and that can lead to feelings like resentment and anger.

How to Set Healthy Boundaries

While some types of boundaries, like financial, material and physical limits, are easier to detect, others are less noticeable and require you to rely on your innate alert system. Sometimes the red flags don’t start waving in your head until you already feel disrespected or maybe even taken advantage of, which is why it’s so important to set healthy boundaries from the get-go.

Ready to set your own healthy boundaries? Start by following these steps:

1. Write It Down

When setting personal limits, start by doing some self-reflection by writing down what makes you feel comfortable and respected in a relationship and what makes you feel uncomfortable and disrespected in a relationship. Studies show that journaling or engaging in emotion-focused writing has positive outcomes and promotes self-awareness.

It’s very likely that you already have boundaries in place, and you haven’t been aware of it. Just identifying the impacts of certain actions helps you start formulating your own healthy boundaries.

2. Be Open

This can be difficult and may even feel awkward, but it’s best to be open and transparent about your limits. You don’t have to do this by making demands — instead you can offer up information about yourself that will establish your personal limits.

For example, say, “I’m a hugger. Are you cool with hugs?? This way the appropriate action is clear right away.

On the flip side, say, “Let’s try a fist pump. That makes me feel most comfortable.”

At the end of the day, people want to respect your boundaries, so it’s helpful when you make your comforts (and discomforts) obvious.

When it comes to professional or time boundaries, make your intentions clear without apology. Send notifications of your time off, turn on “do not disturb” features after work hours, and set a specific cut-off time for answering emails or messages.

3. Be Consistent

Ever hear of sending mixed signals? That can be when you show a boundary sometimes but not others.

Being consistent is key when you want your limits to be respected, so stick to them and reinforce the standards you already have in place.

Another really important time to be consistent is when communicating on social media. People often feel emboldened behind a screen and can overstep boundaries, so be sure to set the same standards on social media that you would in a face-to-face conversation.

If needed, take a step back, and limit your time on social media platforms.

4. Reflect

It is possible to have too many boundaries, to the point that it impacts your ability to form close relationships. If you make mindful reflection part of your wellness routine, you’ll have a chance to consider the boundaries you’ve placed and whether or not they’re benefiting your relationships and well-being. In other words, follow your gut.

Are your boundaries supporting healthy relationships, promoting better self-confidence and allowing you to be open with others? If the answer is “no,” then contemplate how you can tweak the limits you have in place to get closer to these goals.

Recognizing Others’ Boundaries

Now that you’re becoming more open and mindful of your own healthy boundaries, it will be easier for you to recognize the limits put in place by others. Make an effort to read their cues, and if you’re confused about their limits, just ask.

You can say something like, “I know for me, getting messages throughout the day feels like I’m loved, but how does that feel to you?” Sometimes, putting yourself out there first will make it easier for loved ones to be more vulnerable and forthcoming with you.

Risks and Side Effects

It can feel hard, awkward and selfish to set clear boundaries with your family, friends, romantic partners and co-workers, but it’s a critical part of self-care and self-awareness. Taking the time to establish your own limits helps you to learn more about yourself and what makes you feel loved and secure, and it allows people to get to know you deeper in a safe space.

Put the risks of discomfort aside, and do the work now — it will get easier as you establish your healthy limits and foster meaningful relationships based on trust and respect.

Conclusion

• Boundaries are limits or space between yourself and another person that are set in order to create a safe and healthy relationship. There are many types, including emotional, physical, sexual and financial boundaries.
• Setting healthy limits for your interactions with friends, family, partners and co-workers is crucial self-care and deepens your meaningful relationships.

The post How to Set Healthy Boundaries for Self-Care and Stronger Relationships appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Even the most self-assured and confident people feel jealous at times, considering that jealousy is a natural human emotion that is nearly impossible to completely avoid. Like other difficult feelings, such as guilt or anger, a bit of jealousy can actually be a good thing if you respond to it thoughtfully.

How do you overcome jealousy? Ultimately, there is no definitive “cure” for this emotion.

That said, some people are able to handle feelings of jealousy and envy much more productively than others. This is an important distinction, because unchecked envy can contribute to chronic stress and a range of mental and physical health problems.

Below we’ll look at common reasons that people feel jealous, personality traits that tend to make it worse, plus tips for actually using it to your benefit.

What Is Jealousy?

Jealousy is defined as “feeling or showing an unhappy or angry desire to have what someone else has.” It’s also described as the state of resentment, bitterness or hostility toward someone because that person has something you don’t.

What is the emotion behind jealousy? According to an article published by Psychology Today, “Jealousy is a complex emotion that encompasses feelings ranging from suspicion to rage to fear to humiliation.”

Are jealousy and envy the same thing?

These two emotions are related but also a bit different. Jealousy usually involves a third party/person that feels like a threat, while envy is more about wanting what someone else has.

Most often, people are jealous in close relationships, but they’re more likely to feel envious about things such as someone else’s status, job, income, recognition or appearance.

As the website Good Therapy puts it, “While jealousy can be described as a fear that another person may take something that is yours or something you consider to be yours, envy is the desire for something that belongs to someone else.

Even though they are technically different, people tend to use these terms interchangeably. Plus, it’s possible to experience both at the same time.

Envy and jealousy also have common root causes, including insecurity, and tend to cause similar thoughts and behaviors — such as the fear of losing something or someone and the need to be overly attention-seeking, possessive and competitive.

Signs

What are examples of jealousy in action? Someone who feels jealous often displays some of these signs and behaviors:

• Constantly seeking validation and reassurance
• Interrogating a partner about friends, co-workers, etc.
• Obsessively monitoring others’ communication and whereabouts
• Making false accusations of others
• Trying to to isolate your partner or friends from other people that feel threatening
• Putting other people down in order to boost one’s own self-image
• Finding it hard to be happy for others
• Having a hard time trusting others
• Being fiercely competitive
• Blaming and criticizing others often
• Feeling angry, resentful toward others and easily irritated
• At times feeling sad, lonely or even depressed

Types

What are the types of jealousy? Psychologists explain that feelings of jealousy can occur in all types of human relationships, including those that are romantic, platonic/friendships, career-oriented or familial (among spouses or siblings, for example).

Here are some common types of jealousy:

• In romantic relationships — Men and women can become jealous of their partners/significant others spending time with other people because they have an underlying fear of being replaced. Men and women both feel jealousy within relationships, however there’s some evidence that men seem to be more jealous about their partners having potential sexual connections with other people, while women fear their partners having emotional connections with others.
• Retrospective jealousy — This type involves someone feeling jealous about a partner’s past relationships, which can feel threatening to the current one.
• Platonic jealousy — This occurs between friends who may be competing for attention and recognition. It can affect people of all ages but is most common among adolescents and young adults, especially girls.
• Power and status — This is related to envy and often occurs in the workplace among co-workers.
• Sibling rivalry — This type describes one sibling becoming jealous of another, often due to lack of attention, recognition and so on. This might also occur when a new baby is born and demands the parents’ attention.
• Abnormal jealousy — Another name for this type is “pathological jealousy,” which involves having irrational worries about a partner’s faithfulness even though there is no evidence that the partner is being unfaithful.

Causes

What is the main cause of jealousy? At the root of jealousy and envy are often deep-down feelings of fear and insecurity.

People can become jealous for a wide range of reasons, but usually it occurs if someone’s status or relationship seems threatened, such as by a third party. (This is a common type of jealousy among boyfriends/girlfriends or sometimes spouses.)

While nearly everyone feels jealous from time to time, some people with certain personality traits are more prone to experiencing it than others.

Psychologists believe that underlying causes of jealousy can include:

• Having low self-esteem and insecurities
• Fear of abandonment and trust issues
• Being a perfectionist
• Feeling the need to be possessive of others in order to gain or maintain control
• Having anxiety, lots of fear about the unknown/future and high levels of neuroticism
• Being overly competitive and aggressive
• Having a history of certain mental health issues, such as schizophrenia, paranoia, psychosis, attachment issues with parents or borderline personality disorder

How It Negatively Affects Health

Jealousy and envy can both feel like painful experiences, which can contribute to overall feelings of stress.

Being jealous can also cause dissatisfaction within relationships, low self-esteem, and potentially loneliness if it causes someone to act unreasonably and  severs connections.

Because it can contribute to stress, relationship dysfunction, conflict and low self-esteem, being jealous may have some of the following negative health effects:

• Feelings of social isolation
• Trouble sleeping
• Daytime fatigue
• Anxiety symptoms tied to high stress levels, like high blood pressure, inflammation, headaches, stomachaches and a suppressed immune system
• Potentially issues like overeating, under-eating or weight fluctuations if food is used to cope with stress
• Higher risk for depression and substance abuse, including alcoholism

How to Overcome Jealousy

Here are some tips for dealing with these difficult feelings and even allowing them to deepen your connections to others:

1. Consider Jealousy to Be a Helpful Signal

Even though society often makes it seem that experiencing any negative emotion is a bad thing — a concept that’s referred to as “toxic positivity” — it’s not necessarily a problem to feel jealous.

Although jealousy can feel uncomfortable and cause conflict with other people if it leads to certain behaviors, it doesn’t have to have damaging effects on your life if you learn to handle it properly.

Anthropologists believe that humans actually developed the capacity to feel jealous because it helps us preserve social bonds and motivates us to improve ourselves. In this way, you can think of jealousy as an adaptive trait that might wind up leading you to become a better version of yourself.

Jealousy can also be a signal that a relationship is drifting apart and needs repairing.

Psychologists recommend that we start by viewing envious feelings as an opportunity for self-exploration and personal growth. The first step is to practice mindfulness/self-awareness and look closely at what and whom causes you to feel jealous.

The more specific you can be in identifying what is bothering you, the easier it will be to come up with solutions to solve your dilemma.

Journaling about your feelings can be very a helpful way to gain insight. You probably already know whom you’re jealous of (or maybe you don’t), but try to go deeper by asking yourself these questions:

• What exactly do I feel like I’m lacking that someone else has?
• Do I in fact want what that person has? Why?
• What does my jealousy say about what I prioritize and value?
• Have they earned what they have, and do they deserve it?
• Is there something productive I can do to earn the same things?

After exploring these questions, notice if solutions become a bit clearer. If not, it can be helpful to speak with a therapist if you find that your jealousy interferes with the overall quality of your life or if it continues to be damaging to your relationships.

2. Be Honest with Whomever Is the Root of Your Jealousy

If you’re experiencing jealousy with a partner, sibling, co-worker, etc, ask yourself if it would be helpful to talk to that person about it. This is actually an opportunity to deepen and improve your relationship and potentially help you get more of what you need (attention, affection, reassurance, compassion, etc.).

If someone else’s actions make you feel overlooked, unappreciated or upset, if possible work on negotiating boundaries that make you feel better. It might feel awkward or embarrassing to admit that you’re envious, but chances are your honesty will help.

Having productive conversations about your relationships can help you identify what is lacking and how to repair your connection.

3. Reduce Exposure to Triggers, such as by Decreasing Social Media Use

According to Paula Durlofsky, Ph.D. and licensed psychologist, “…be aware that unhealthy social media comparisons, known as upward comparisons, often cause feelings of destructive envy.”

Upward comparisons occur when we compare ourselves to people we believe are better than or superior to us. This often leads to feelings of low self-confidence, resentment, envy and shame.

Today, one way in which unhealthy comparisons are constantly made is via the use of social media. For example, a 2017 revealed that imaged-focused Instagram “is considered the social media platform most likely to cause young people to feel depressed, anxious and lonely.”

If you find yourself feeling envious and insecure when using social media often, intentionally limit your exposure to it. Rather than scrolling social media, reading magazines that make you feel insecure or watching TV shows that trigger you, spend more time doing things that lift you up.

Try connecting with people you feel comfortable with in person more often, getting outdoors, exercising, being creative and practicing other habits on a regular basis that help decrease negative feelings, such as meditation, reading and journaling. Participating in volunteer and social programs can also help boost your mood and self-image and give you a sense of purpose.

4. Practice Gratitude

Feeling grateful is basically the opposite of feeling jealous. The definition of gratitude is the quality of being thankful for something. It’s related to a readiness to show appreciation for something and the ability to return kindness to others.

When you’re happy and content in your own life, and confident with what you have to offer the world, you naturally feel less need to be jealous of others.

How can you practice more gratitude? Try journaling about things you’re thankful for, being as present as possible when doing things you love, pouring energy into healthy relationships in your life and improving your confidence by learning new things.

Other ways to feel more grateful include:

• expressing your appreciation to others in your life, such as by writing letters/emails or complimenting them
• praying and meditating to practice being more present and optimistic
• making an effort to bring things to mind each day that make you feel warm and happy, such as by reflecting on fun experiences and accomplishments

Conclusion

• Jealousy is a universal human emotion that describes an unhappy or angry desire to have what someone else has. It’s similar to envy but usually involves a third party/person that feels like a threat, while envy is more about wanting what someone else has, such as money, status or recognition.
• Although it can be painful, it isn’t necessarily bad to feel this way because it can help motivate you to improve yourself and deepen your connection to others by being more honest, present, appreciative and vulnerable.
• Gratitude is basically the opposite of jealousy. It’s defined as “the quality of being thankful,” and it’s been shown to boost happiness, positivity, self-esteem, relationships and self-care.
• Other ways to cope with this feeling include being more mindful about what you appreciate in others, being present when engaging in things you enjoy, reducing social media use, journaling, mediating to gain self-awareness and speaking with a therapist.

The post How to Overcome Jealousy to Improve Overall Health appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Employee burnout is now said to be at “frighteningly high levels,” affecting more than one-third of working adults on a regular basis and 77 percent at least occasionally, including those from various age groups, experience levels and industries.

According to 2021 article published in Time Magazine, recent surveys and reports suggest that women may be even more likely to experience burnout compared to men. The annual Women in the Workplace report found that the amount of women who say they are burned out in 2021 nearly doubled from the prior year.

In 2021, 42% of women and 35% of men reported symptoms like feelings of overwhelm and fatigue, mostly in regard to work-life balance, while 67% also say burnout has worsened due to or during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In many ways, you can help treat burnout in the same way that you’d treat adrenal fatigue — which typically involves resting more, working less,  and eating and exercising in a balanced, nourishing way. Addressing issues related to your job, such as your workload and the need to be available nearly 24/7, are other crucial steps in protecting your mental health.

What Is Burnout? (Plus Types)

Since it isn’t considered a real medical diagnosis, what does “burnout” mean? Several definitions exist, but most include aspects of prolonged stress, fatigue/exhaustion, and reduced motivation and productivity, especially related to one’s job.

Forbes defines burnout as “a state of emotional and physical exhaustion that is brought upon by long periods of constant unrelenting stress.”

The most common types of burnout, and the one studied most extensively, is “job burnout.” The Mayo Clinic considers job burnout to be “a special type of work-related stress — a state of physical or emotional exhaustion that also involves a sense of reduced accomplishment and loss of personal identity.”

The term “burnout” was first introduced in the 1970s by an author named Herbert Freudenberger, who wrote “Burnout: The High Cost of High Achievement.” He stated that burned-out workers “looked, acted and seemed depressed.”

Since this time, researchers have been studying what leads to burnout most often. One report published by Gallup identified several main components of burnout, including:

• Unreasonable time pressure/not having enough time to complete all work
• Lack of communication and support from managers
• Lack of role clarity/employees not knowing what is expected of them
• Unfair treatment/unfair compensation

Aside from job burnout, people may also experience exhaustion and lack of motivation if they feel burnout from dating, keeping up with social media, taking care of their children/families or some combination of all of these.

Signs and Symptoms

Burnout basically comes down to experiencing a combination of stress and exhaustion. This is obviously not very healthy or sustainable, and it can manifest in different ways depending on the person.

What is an example of burnout?

Someone who is burnt out might be a middle-age adult who has young children at home, has a relatively long commute to work, then works long hours at his job, only to come home to a loud house that demands his attention. He might not enjoy his job much, may feel unclear about his responsibilities and may not have a lot of down time outside of work.

He may also struggle to sleep through the night and lack opportunities to relax, exercise or hang out with friends.

Millennials also seem susceptible to burnout due to factors like rising costs of living, trouble finding reliable work, debt and social media pressure that adds to everyday anxiety.

Common signs of burnout can include:

• Always feeling tired, which can lead to low motivation to work, exercise, socialize, etc.
• Being more irritable, impatient, cynical and critical than usual
• Feeling like you can’t concentrate or be productive
• Not feeling excited or satisfied by things that usually make you happy
• Feeling anxious, like you lack control over important aspects of your life (such as your job/schedule)
• Struggling to get restful sleep
• Using food, drugs or alcohol to cope and lift your mood
• Dealing with symptoms tied to stress, such as tension headaches, stomachaches or muscle tension
• In some cases, developing more serious health concerns tied to chronic stress if it isn’t addressed, such as insomnia, alcohol or substance misuse, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and poor immune function

Risk Factors/Causes

Certain risk factors and personality traits seem to put people at greater risk of developing burnout, including:

• A history of depression and/or anxiety
• Sleep deprivation
• Working a difficult job that lacks work-life balance
• Feeling overwhelmed at work, such as due to demanding schedule, confrontational boss or co-workers, or unrealistic expectations about your workload
• Personality traits like perfectionism and pessimism
• Lack of social support and feeling isolated
• Lack of childcare (which is usually most stressful for mothers)
• Not having enough time or energy to spend time with your family and friends or on hobbies and relaxation
• Being sedentary/lack of exercise
• Having a long commute and working long hours
• Working a job that involves taking care of others, such as being a physician or health care worker, police officer, first responder, etc.
• Difficult family life that increases stress
• Dealing with illnesses
• Financial worries that make job stress even worse

How to Prevent/Treat

Does burnout go away eventually?

It’s only likely to go away if you address the causes and make changes to your lifestyle and responsibilities. If you keep working the same job that you don’t like, don’t speak up about your needs and boundaries, and don’t reach out for help and support, then you’re unlikely to feel better about your situation.

How do you fix burnout? Here are tips for preventing and treating burnout symptoms:

1. Address Concerns at Work

Experts recommend that people feeling burnt out first focus on making positive changes to their work schedules and environments. Here are some things to consider doing to help make your job more manageable and enjoyable:

• Make a list of exactly what’s bothering you, and then consider bringing up these topics to your boss or supervisor in a respectful way. You might choose to focus on your schedule, demands, work environment, days off, time traveling, etc.
• Gain clarity on any your roles and responsibilities that you’re not clear about — this way you feel more self-assured. Also discuss which times you’re expected to respond to work-related tasks and which you can unplug.
• Discuss compensation if you haven’t in a while, such as more than one to two years. Earning more may help ease some of your worries if it helps you achieve more balance, such as by hiring help for certain responsibilities at home.
• Consider if gaining more flexibility by working from home or adjusting your hours is a possibility. Research shows that this can be crucial for some parents remaining in the workforce, especially women. However, some people also struggle with balancing life when working from home, so consider which set up is best for you.

2. Prioritize Sleep and Relaxation

It can be hard to sleep well when you feel stressed or work long hours, but sleep deprivation only makes your mood and productivity worse. Try to prioritize sleep by heading to bed around the same time each night, aiming for seven to nine hours of sleep to feel your best.

As part of a nighttime routine to feel calm and help you relax in general, incorporate stress-relieving activities into your day like meditation, exercise, reading, journaling, yoga and spending time outdoors.

Getting regular exercise is both a stress buster and a way to enhance your sleep, since it naturally lifts your mood and makes you more tired close to bedtime. Try squeezing in a walk during a break at work, getting some fresh air and sunlight, or even taking your lunch break to go to the gym.

Practicing mindfulness and meditation are other suggestions for people feeling stressed. By quieting your mind, paying attention to the present moment, and sensing and feeling your body, you can learn to approach things with a healthier perspective.

3. Seek Support From Family, Friends and Co-workers

Feeling isolated and lonely is of the most stress-inducing feelings people face. Make an effort to reach out to friends, co-workers, mentors and family for advice, help and support.

At work specifically, seek out any available employee assistance programs that may be helpful or options that help with childcare if this is a concern. In your community, try finding a local parent group, book club, spiritual group, exercise or sports team, or another supportive group to bond and unwind with.

If you feel that you may be depressed or have a higher level of anxiety than is healthy, then it’s best to seek professional help from a therapist or counselor. Cognitive behavioral therapy can be very helpful for dealing with negativity, low self-esteem, anxiety symptoms and other mental health issues that are tied to burnout.

4. Unplug, Do “Digital Detoxes” and Stop Comparing

Employees who don’t get paid time off or regularly scheduled breaks from work are more likely to feel resentful and stressed. Try sticking to a schedule at work so you know when you’ll have down time and so others know what to expect of you.

When you’re not required to be working, stay offline, disconnect, and distract yourself with other things that are fun and relaxing. Avoid answering emails while at home or on vacation, since this is the time to take a break and restore your energy.

Make an effort to go outside to absorb sunlight and fresh air, whether you’re at home or working.

Another thing that may add to your stress is constantly staying on social media and comparing yourself to other people, such as those who work less and/or make more money than you. Try to stop comparing yourself, and focus on bettering your own career or work-life balance however possible.

Conclusion

• What is burnout? While it’s not a medical diagnosis, it’s a problem that mimics depression and anxiety in some ways, since it usually involves feeling exhausted, cynical, lacking motivation and overwhelmed.
• Someone who is feeling burned out may dislike her job and dread going to work, feel anxious about her busy schedule, lack motivation, and not have time for things like sleep, hobbies and exercise.
• Chronic stress tied to this condition can contribute to many different mental and physical symptoms, like insomnia, headaches, digestive issues, lack of focus, irritability and muscle pains.
• Self-care strategies for preventing and beating this problem include making any possible changes to your work routine, exercising, maintaining healthy sleep habits, taking time off from work, unplugging digitally and getting social support.

The post Signs of Burnout & How to Prevent It appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Stress and mental health came to forefront at the just concluded Summer Olympics in Tokyo when decorated U.S. gymnast Simone Biles, the favorite in nearly event for which she qualified, pulled out of the team competition and then several other events. While she faced plenty of criticism, Biles also inspired many around the globe to admit that even the best in the world can struggle with stress and mental health.

It’s extremely important to take stress and mental health seriously, as it ultimately can contribute to harm and even death if it’s not dealt with properly. That’s what happened recently when 24-year-old New Zealand cyclist Olivia Podmore suddenly died:

Podmore’s cause of death was not confirmed but a friend raised concerns about her mental health and sports officials said the cyclist had reached out to support services offered to athletes.

As a result, New Zealand is reviewing support athletes get for their mental health, and it’s bound to be a major focus for athletes worldwide moving forward.

One way to define stress is “a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances.” You probably already know that stress not only feels bad to experience, but it can be damaging to your body physically as well as mentally.

When you’re under a lot of stress it takes a significant toll on your mood, productivity and things like digestion and energy levels. For example, stress puts you at greater risk of experiencing anxiety symptoms, panic attacks, insomnia and a number of other mood-related issues.

What is the difference between stress and mental health exactly? Stress is often a major contributing factor to more serious psychological issues like depression and anxiety, which is why incorporating stress relievers into your routine is key for preserving your emotional health.

What We Can Learn About Stress and Mental Health from Simone Biles, Olympians

We know from a large body of research that competitive/elite athletes, CEOs, entrepreneurs and celebrities are often at risk of “burning out” and developing mental health issues. Experts believe this is likely due to factors including:

• intense pressure to perform
• impacts of injuries among athletes
• overtraining, which can lead to fatigue and depression
• social media scrutiny

One recent study found that among professional athletes, up to 35 percent were found to suffer from a mental health crisis — most often in the form of eating disorders, burnout, depression and anxiety that are thought to be caused in part by ongoing stress.

In July 2021, we got to see firsthand how stress and mental health are often closely tied together at the Tokyo Olympics. Case in point: Biles, who unexpectedly decided to step down from competing with the women’s gymnastics team as a result of dealing with mental health struggles.

After the Olympics were already underway, Biles publicly posted on her Instagram, “I truly do feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders at times…I know I brush it off and make it seem like pressure doesn’t affect me but damn sometimes it’s hard hahaha! The Olympics is no joke!”

Although her coaches initially blamed Biles’s withdrawal on an injury, Biles later confirmed during a press conference that there was, in fact, “no injury, thankfully,” and that her mental health was the main factor in her decision to stop competing.

Part of her issues had to do with what gymnasts call the twisties. As ESPN’s Aishwarya Kumar put it:

Biles had a disastrous vault in the women’s team final Tuesday. She seemed to get lost in the air — a phenomenon called “the twisties,” which can cause serious injuries to gymnasts who perform airborne routines. It usually takes some time before the gymnasts can get over the twisties.

Biles said her mind and body were not in sync at the Olympics, and while she missed several events, she did get back to action and took home bronze in the balance beam.

Several other Olympic athletes past and present lent their support and discussed their own struggles with stress and mental health while competing at the highest levels, including:

• gymnast Laurie Hernandez
• swimmer Michael Phelps
• and many more

The connection between stress and mental health:

What are common mental/emotional effects of stress? Stress causes a number of physiological changes in the body, affecting nearly every system, including the cardiovascular, endocrine, nervous and digestive systems.

When someone is under a lot of pressure and stress, the body starts producing more “stress hormones,” including cortisol and adrenaline.

High levels of these hormones can cause side effects, such as:

• increased heart rate
• faster breathing
• muscle tension
• sometimes irritation, agitation, fatigue and headaches

Many people also notice that their moods take a nosedive when they’re feeling overwhelmed, leading to intense worrying, ruminating, trouble concentrating, poor decision making, anger and other emotional issues. Stress is also known to negatively impact learning capacity, short-term memory and one’s ability to regulate emotions, sometimes leading to a vicious cycle of negative moods that is hard to break out of.

Additionally, while “acute” (short-term) stress can be a good thing because it helps motivate you and keeps you alert, ongoing chronic stress starts to deplete your energy and takes a toll on your immune system too, leaving you more susceptible to illnesses and “burnout.”

Dealing with a high amount of stress, especially on an ongoing basis, raises the likelihood that someone will deal with mental health issues such as:

• Depression
• Anxiety symptoms such as trouble sleeping, headaches, indigestion and high blood pressure
• Generalized anxiety disorder
• Psychosis
• Panic attacks
• PTSD symptoms (Post-traumatic stress disorder)
• Substance abuse
• Eating disorders
• Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)

How to Support Mental Health Under Pressure

Psychologists emphasize that when it comes to dealing with stress and mental health, a regular “self-care” routine, self-awareness and well-established boundaries are crucial.

As one mental health professional explained to Mind Body Green, “I work with countless people who are driven, intelligent, and often struggling with perfectionism. Through my experience, I’ve found it’s essential to identify when tolerating some discomfort can support growth versus when it’s healthier to take a break.”

Below are some science-backed ways to cope with stress and pressure in order to preserve your mental health and keep your mood up:

1. Get Clarity on Your Goals and Priorities

Many experts recommend writing down your goals, values and priorities in order to make them more attainable.

Journaling, as well as meditation and visualization practices, can help you really get in touch with what matters to you personally. This way you don’t wind up stressing yourself out over things that aren’t necessarily that important to you (such as other people’s opinions and materialistic success).

2. Know and Honor Your Limits

If you’re the type to take on too much and expect perfection from yourself, get accustomed to saying no and taking breaks when needed. While it can be advantageous to challenge yourself and face discomfort from time to time, life shouldn’t constantly feel like an uphill battle that is depleting your energy.

3. Take Self-Care Seriously

We all know the saying, “Slow and steady wins the race.” If you’re someone who pushes yourself very hard and gives your all right from the get-go, consider slowing down and conserving your energy by focusing on more self-care, relaxation and rest.

Just like you schedule important deadlines, practices and events into your calendar, carve out time for doing restorative activities that make you feel calm and connected, such as getting a massage, hanging out with friends or spending time quietly in nature.

4. Focus on What You Can Control

Life is always going to involve ups and downs, but what often causes a stressful event to develop into a bigger mental health issue is the feeling of things being out of your control.

When you’re unable to predict what’s going to happen next or control what is happening to you, you’re likely to feel helpless, anxious and even depressed.

Instead of dwelling on things that aren’t within your control, make a list of things you can control and ways you can help determine the outcome of a situation. Just as importantly, identify the actual causes of stress in your life, as well as your chronic worries, so you can better look at them realistically and tackle them head on.

Other Tips

• Don’t underestimate how important sleep is. Sleep deprivation can make a stressful event seem much more overwhelming, so do your best to get between seven and nine hours of sleep per night.
• Practice meditation/mindfulness. Use these to stay in touch with your feelings. This way you don’t ignore pain and other emotions that are telling you something is wrong.
• Eat a healthy diet to keep you fueled and focused. Focus on eating balanced meals every few hours that include complex carbs, protein and healthy fats.
• Get regular exercise, which is a natural stress reliever because it can boost moods and improve overall mental health by increasing release of endorphins. Just be careful to listen closely to your body and not overdo it, which puts you at risk for symptoms caused by overtraining.

Conclusion

• Stress is a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances.
• What are symptoms of stress? It can affect nearly the whole body and cause changes in heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, sleep, muscle tension and ability to focus.
• There’s a connection between stress and mental health because chronic stress puts people at higher risk for issues like anxiety, depression, panic attacks, eating disorders and OCD.
• Many elite athletes, celebrities and entrepreneurs experience high amounts of stress, which sometimes leads to more serious psychological issues. For example, due to intense pressure to perform, fatigue and other factors, we saw how some athletes competing at the 2021 Summer Olympics suffered mental health problems.
• To cope with stress, experts recommend mindfulness practices, self-care, setting boundaries, rest days and focusing on what you can control.

The post Connection Between Stress and Mental Health: Lessons from Simone Biles & Other Olympians appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Loneliness may be more of a hazard to our health than obesity, according to a 2017 article published by the American Psychological Association in Washington, D.C. And researchers even liken the potential health damage of social isolation and loneliness to what occurs when smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

Studies like this highlight what’s being called a “loneliness epidemic” in the U.S. Today, as we face an unprecedented pandemic and spent most of 2020 practicing “social distancing,” people have an even greater risk of chronic loneliness. This is not only a threat to our social health, but to our physical, mental and emotional well-being, too.

Feeling alone from time to time isn’t abnormal or necessarily cause for alarm, but when feelings of isolation and loneliness persist, it can really take a serious toll on all aspects of your health — and often, you won’t to see the negative health impact until years later.

People of all ages can feel lonely, but this emotion can be an especially deadly among the elderly. A 2012 report by the National Academy of Sciences found that loneliness and social isolation in older men and women is linked to increased mortality.

Now, more than ever, we need to take care of ourselves and those around us — spreading positivity and maintaining connections, even while remaining physically isolated. Thankfully, there are ways to combat loneliness and spread job to those who are feeling alone.

Related: How to Overcome Jealousy to Improve Overall Health

What Is Loneliness?

What is the actual loneliness definition? Loneliness is the state of feeling lonely. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines lonely in a number of ways, including: being without company, cut off from others, sad from being alone, or producing a feeling of bleakness or desolation.

It’s really important to note that being physically alone doesn’t just automatically equate to loneliness. It’s actually a sense of isolation and feeling as though something is missing. You can be in a room full of people and still feel lonely, which is perhaps the most difficult form of loneliness.

The solitude definition, on the other hand, is when you are alone, but not lonely. This can be a positive and constructive state of engagement with yourself. Many people benefit from daily moments of solitude.

Health Resources & Services Administration reports the following loneliness statistics:

• One in 5 Americans report sometimes or always feeling lonely or socially isolated (although it’s likely been more during the pandemic).
• 43 percent of seniors feel lonely on a regular basis.
• Along lonely seniors, there is a 45 percent increased risk of mortality.
• Poor social relationships are associated with a 20 percent increase in risk of coronary heart disease and a 32 percent rise in stroke risk.

Related: How to Cope With Cabin Fever: Symptoms, Tips & More

Symptoms

So how do you know if you’re lonely? Some of the most common signs of loneliness include:

• Overwhelming feeling of social isolation, even when you aren’t alone
• Feeling disengaged and alienated
• Inability to connect with people on a deep, intimate level
• Not having any “best” or close friends
• Feeling like no one really “gets” or understands you
• Feeling worthless and emotionally drained

In addition to these symptoms, feeling alone and isolated can also impact your physical health, leading to symptoms like fatigue, trouble sleeping, suppressed immune system, weight gain and inflammation.

Loneliness is a leading precursor to depression and alcoholism, as well as all kinds of other medical concerns. Why would this be? For starters, loneliness has been found to increase the levels of both stress hormones and blood pressure, which has a serious negative impact on one of your most vital organs: the heart. No wonder a loneliness synonym is “heartache.”

Is there a loneliness test? There actually are some tests you can take to determine if you are struggling with loneliness. For example, you can take The Loneliness Quiz, which is said to be based upon the UCLA Loneliness Scale.

What are the risk factors for loneliness? Researchers believe that feeling lonely is more likely among people:

• living alone
• being unmarried (single, divorced or widowed)
• not participating in social groups
• having few friends
• having strained relationships
• people struggling with substance use, depression and dementia are also at a greater risk of chronic loneliness

Related: What Is Autophobia? How to Treat the Fear of Being Alone

Related: Are You Addicted to Doomscrolling? (Plus How to Stop)

What to Do About It

Occasional feelings of loneliness are not problematic if you do something to relieve yourself of lonely feelings. When our social health is out of balance, it can lead to a lonely, isolated state, so we need to focus on engaging in actions that will give you life and energy again.

Now let’s look at some of the best natural ways to combat feelings of loneliness and get to a much more enjoyable state of mind and being.

1. Less Social Media and Technology

You may enjoy social media at times, but at other times you realize that you may be taking it too far. Technology and social media can be quite addicting and time-consuming.

On the positive side, you are able to keep in touch and maybe even form relationships with people all over the world.

On the negative side, you may find you’re spending a lot less time connecting with people in person, getting outdoors, exercising, being creative and practicing other habits on a regular basis that help decrease feelings of loneliness.

A study published in 2017 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that heavy use of social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat was correlated with feelings of social isolation. Specifically, this study looked at 1,787 adults in the United States between the ages of 19 and 32 and suggests that people who spent more than two hours each day on social media had double the likelihood of feeling socially isolated and lonely.

Researchers also found that the people visiting social media most often (58 visits or greater each week) were more than three times as likely to feel socially isolated compared to people who visited less than nine times each week.

It’s also really important to consider the effects of social media and technology use on children when it comes to loneliness. A U.K.-wide study conducted by the Royal Society for Public Health released in May 2017 revealed that imaged-focused Instagram “is considered the social media platform most likely to cause young people to feel depressed, anxious and lonely.” Snapchat came in second followed by Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

It’s totally up to you what social media you choose to take part in (or allow your children to take part in), but reducing your time using technology in general can have a major positive impact on your life and actually help with feelings of loneliness. An idea to remember is “disconnect to connect,” which means being intentional about being present in the moment, especially when you are spending time with loved ones or doing something you enjoy.

What can you do to find “social media balance”? Try these tips:

• Put your phone on airplane mode in the evening, a few hours before bedtime.
• Don’t check work emails after hours.
• Don’t text or use social media during family meals.
• Use social media to maintain positive connections with friends and family.

2. More Outdoor Time

When you’re looking to overcome loneliness, getting out of your house and into the stress-relieving outdoor world is an excellent idea. When appropriate, you can also choose an outdoor space where interaction with other people will be possible, such as a dog park or a hiking trail.

Getting into nature is also a helpful option if you don’t currently have the option to see a loved one in person, but are looking to relieve loneliness and depression.

Exposure to sunlight, fresh air and nature are all scientifically known to increase serotonin levels, which is a brain chemical that improves a person’s state of mind. When serotonin levels are higher, researchers have found that people tend to be happier and “that positive emotions and agreeableness foster congenial relationships with others.”

So, in other words, getting outdoors and boosting those serotonin levels on a regular basis can likely help improve the sympathetic relations you have with others, which can help decrease loneliness.

Fresh air also helps boost oxygen intake, which in turn can help to improve energy and mood. Living in mountainous areas with lower oxygen levels has even been linked to increased rates of depression and suicide. Fresh air is certainly one of the most basic yet essential lifelines of good health.

You can also try earthing to combat feeling alone, which can help reduce stress hormones and foster your connection with the earth.

3. Reach Out to a Friend or Family Member

Sometimes when you feel like you’re suffering from burnout or exhaustion, you may think that being alone is best, but it often helps to spend quality time with a loved one in these moments.

Isolating yourself is only helpful when it promotes feelings of solitude rather than loneliness. Remember that solitude is a positive state of being alone, while loneliness is a negative state. When you’re feeling really stressed out, lonely or depressed, it’s always important to talk to people you trust and get your feelings out.

It’s also a great idea to hear their voices on the other end of the phone (rather than a text message) or, even better, see them in person when possible. Let yourself be supported by those around you and you are less likely to feel so alone.

4. Share Your Living Space

When people feel lonely, they have a harder time handling stress well. Living alone has also been shown to increase the risk for suicide in both the young and the old. If you’re struggling with loneliness and live alone, you may want to consider having a roommate.

A few years back, a Dutch retirement home came up with an answer to loneliness for both the elderly and the young — it actually offered free housing to students if they agreed to spending time with the residents of the retirement home.

In exchange for a rent-free living space, the students were required to spend a minimum of 30 hours each month being “good neighbors.” This intergenerational living situation served as a way of encouraging both the old and the young to interact with each other in a way that can help foster feelings of connectedness rather than isolation and loneliness.

Even when sharing a home with someone isn’t possible, daily interactions over the phone, or by typed or written letters, can be extremely helpful.

Related: Benefits of Silence + How to Practice It

5. Don’t Work Too Hard

According to the a 2017 article published in the Harvard Business Review, there is a strong correlation between work exhaustion and feelings of loneliness. So the greater the level of burnout due to work, the more lonely people seem to feel. This affects a lot of people today since apparently double the amount of people today say they are always tired compared to two decades ago.

It makes sense that when we are exhausted we’re less likely to feel physically and mentally well, and we’re also less likely to have energy for social engagement and positive relationship maintenance.

Our jobs, and life in general, can be quite demanding, but do what you can to not overwork yourself and make natural stress relievers a part of your daily routine.

6. Avoid Binge-Watching TV

You’ve probably seen some of those quintessential loneliness pictures featured on various pharmaceutical commercials for depression. Loneliness can certainly lead to depression, and there is a habit that is linked to both.

The term “binge-watching” may be common these days, but that wasn’t always the case. Watching episode after episode of your favorite show can be fun at times, but research conducted in 2015 showed a link between binge-watching television and feelings of loneliness and depression.

So while watching more than one episode of a favorite show in one sitting can be fun from time to time, watching several episodes every night for hours on end may lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness.

7. Adopt a Pet

For some people, a furry four-legged friend helps them feel less lonely. Not only are pets unconditional with their love and affection, but research has shown that they help reduce stress and tension while improving the mood of their owners.

According to a study published in Aging & Mental Health, pet owners were 36 percent less likely than non-pet owners to report loneliness, while living alone and not owning a pet was associated with the greatest odds of reporting feelings of loneliness.

Animals won’t provide the same level of connection as humans, but they are certainly companions that can be with you at home or even on the go. Plus, a dog is a good reason to go to a local dog park and socialize with other dog owners. Pets can also be great conversation starters that lead to new friends.

8. Get Involved

Getting involved in a community group is an excellent way to combat loneliness and support those in need. Research shows that community service promotes social connectedness and reduces loneliness among older adults.

Participating in volunteer and social programs can help to boost your mood, give you a sense of purpose and meet like-minded people. We know that performing random acts of kindness can promote healthy aging, boost happiness and improve relationships. Even starting small, with picking up litter at the local park or contributing to a community garden, can have a positive impact on your mental and emotional health.

9. Find an Outlet

Do you have a hobby that brings you joy? Perhaps it’s reading, working in the yard, listening to music or painting — these activities can serve as an emotional outlet, giving you a sense of happiness and connection.

Studies indicate that enjoyable leisure activities are associated with psychosocial and physical health and well-being. So during times of isolation, we can fight pervasive loneliness by honing in on the activities that bring us joy and positivity.

Related: What Is Art Therapy? Benefits & How It’s Used to Help Heal

Final Thoughts

• This loneliness epidemic is nothing to take lightly since it appears to be more threatening than other top public health concerns like obesity, weakened immune system, depression and heart disease.
•  Our mental, physical and emotional health clearly improves from more real forms of connection and from being in nature. Being physically alone at times is a normal part of life and not automatically problematic, but when loneliness sets in and we don’t do anything about it, this is when our health can be negatively impacted.
• Since loneliness is a state of mind, it’s possible to feel lonely even when you’re not alone or you’re talking to someone online. This is why it’s so important to evaluate your life on a regular basis — what habits and choices are truly bringing joy and good health to your life, and what may be negatively affecting you and leading you to feel lonely?
• If you don’t have anyone you trust to reach out to and your feelings of loneliness are really getting you down, never hesitate to reach out to caring people at places like the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255.

The post How to Overcome Loneliness appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Are you guilty of self-sabotaging behaviors that get in the way of accomplishing goals and reduce your self-confidence? If so, you’re not alone.

It’s a common issue that’s often done without even noticing it. Self-sabotage can be rooted in feelings of worthlessness or fear and often harm our progress, relationships and overall health.

The first step is to realize that self-sabotage is a pattern of behaviors that you engage in, often without even realizing it. Then you need to pinpoint triggers that cause self-destructive actions.

What Is Self-Sabotage?

Self-sabotage is when you engage in behaviors or thoughts that interfere with your long-standing goals and create problems in your life. These behaviors, whether purposeful or done unconsciously, prevent you from living the life you hope for and lead to feelings of insecurity, resentment and self-judgment.

Why Do People Do It?

There are many reasons why a person may engage in self-destructive behaviors. It may be difficult for you to pinpoint why exactly you struggle with self-sabotaging behaviors, but a good starting point is to examine what behaviors hinder your ability to reach life goals, whether they are dietary, fitness, relationship, professional or personal goals.

1. Fear

Fear is a major factor in self-sabotaging behaviors. You may have a fear of failing or even a fear of being successful, which may seem unusual but happens when the path to success is stressful.

It’s not uncommon for people to fear what will happen when they finally achieve a goal, so they will engage in behaviors that make the achievement more difficult or unlikely.

2. Insecurities

Self-sabotaging may occur when a person doesn’t feel confident or worthy enough to find happiness or achieve a goal. Insecurities keep people from pushing forward and reduce motivation.

3. Need for Control

The uncertainty of new, perhaps positive outcomes can make people uncomfortable, leading to self-sabotaging behaviors that bring them back to more “comfortable” situations. In this case, comfort is simply a place or emotion they’ve experienced before, even if it’s negative.

4. Placing Blame

If you are quick to point fingers every time something goes wrong, then you may be self-sabotaging by placing blame instead of taking responsibility or realizing that sometimes things just don’t go as planned.

Plus, placing blame on others doesn’t allow you to learn and grow from challenging situations. It’s easy enough to blame others in the face of adversity, but how is that contributing to your relationships and personal growth?

5. Procrastination

It’s not uncommon to stall or hesitate before beginning an important task. This can be a reaction to fear or lack of motivation, but procrastinating is a type of self-sabotage.

Related: What Is an Internal Monologue? (And Does Everyone Have One?)

Signs

Wondering if you’ve been practicing self-destructive behaviors in your own life? Here are some common signs:

• chronic procrastination
• persistent self-defeating thoughts
• thinking that you’re never good enough
• putting yourself down
• emotional eating
• avoiding tasks that need to be completed
• blaming others when something goes wrong
• looking for instant gratification
• being unable to achieve even short-term goals
• never feeling satisfied, even after achieving a goal
• pushing away or picking fights with people who love you
• dating people who don’t treat you well

Causes

What causes self-defeating behavior? There are several reasons why a person may form self-sabotaging habits or hinder his or her own ability to find success.

• Anxiety and stress: If a situation provokes feelings of stress or anxiety, it’s common to push it away to prevent negative emotions. This can be anxiety about a new job or relationships or even anxiety about something that’s going well in your life.
• Fear of failure: Fear can lead to negative mindset and behaviors and can push you further away from achieving your goals. It can be driven by lack of self-confidence or past situations that didn’t go as planned.
• Childhood trauma or unhealthy patterns: People who were put down as children or experienced childhood trauma may engage in self-sabotaging behaviors. This is a way of repeating the “comfortable” pattern. Over time, these actions feel normal, and anything outside of them triggers fear or discomfort.
• Negative relationships: Past unhealthy relationships may cause you to have issues with trust and contribute to your sense of self-worth.
• Boredom: It’s true that boredom may lead to self-sabotage, as you lose the desire to focus on something, like a relationship, job or task.
• Addiction: Addiction to food, alcohol, drugs, gambling and other temptations can certainly cause dysfunctional behaviors and beliefs.

How to Stop Self-Sabotaging Yourself

1. Create a Vision Board

A vision board is a form of visualization that helps promote goal setting and makes it easier to prioritize your values. It highlights what you want from your life and how you plan to get there.

Creating a vision board and keeping it in a highly visible place in your home, like your bedroom, helps you stop self-sabotaging and keeps your short- and long-terms goals in mind.

Research indicates that goal setting has a positive effect on mental health, and it can have a positive effect on personal recovery, so it can certainly be a useful tool for people who are stuck in a cycle of self-sabotage.

2. Pinpoint Stressors

To stop self-sabotaging behaviors, you need to identify what triggers your actions. When you’re feeling stressed or engaging in self-defeating behaviors, write down the situation, how you’re feeling and how you handled the situation in a journal.

Over time, you’ll notice patterns and will be able to pinpoint what events trigger your stress and how you can react to them in a healthier way.

3. Communicate with Loved Ones

You may be pushing loved ones away because of relationship patterns you experienced as a child or in the past. To explore why you’re sabotaging important relationships, journaling can help you understand common patterns or habits.

Be sure to communicate with loved ones about your findings, and work on responding positively during conversations in order to build healthier relationships.

4. Practice Positive Self-Talk

Positive self-talk is when your internal narrative or inner voice is uplifting and fueled with understanding thoughts. Unlike negative self-talk, which can lead to low self-esteem and lack of self-worth, positive self-talk helps reduce stress, ease anxiety and encourage healthy habits.

Work on changing your self-talk by practicing, perhaps using positive phrases or mantras, and focusing on your own personal self-care throughout the day.

5. Get Professional Support

If you aren’t able to control your self-sabotaging behaviors on your own, it may be time to seek professional support. Therapy, like cognitive behavioral therapy, has proven to be an excellent option for people who engage in self-destructive actions.

It helps bring the causes of self-sabotaging to the surface so you can face them and formulate a plan to better respond to your triggers or stressors.

Conclusion

• Self-sabotaging occurs when a person engages in behaviors that reduce his or her ability to achieve goals.
• There are several reasons why someone may be stuck in a cycle of self-sabotage, including lack of confidence, fear, procrastination and a tendency to place blame on others when something goes wrong.
• There are ways to stop self-sabotaging, including pinpointing triggers of stress and negativity, making a plan of goals with a vision board, practicing positive self-talk, communicating with loved ones, and seeking help from professionals when you aren’t able to change your behaviors on your own.

The post What Causes Self-Sabotaging Behaviors? (And How Do You Stop?) appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Would it surprise you to find out that the benefits of reading include fighting stress, supporting better sleep and even increasing longevity? If you’re an avid reader, you likely already have experienced the many pros of spending time each day reading.

A study including over 3,600 participants found that reading books can extend life expectancy. Book readers experienced a 20 percent reduction in risk of mortality over the 12 years of follow-up compared to non-book readers.

Reading is so important because it promotes mental, emotional and physical health. It’s soothing and brain-boosting at the same time.

Plus, when reading with a child, it helps build a strong relationship, and those aren’t the only health benefits of reading.

Top 6 Benefits of Reading

1. Fights Stress

One of the top benefits of reading is its ability to reduce stress and promote a calming, warming environment. Like meditation, yoga and walks outdoors, reading is an impactful way to manage stress, and it’s one of the best ways to be happy.

Several studies prove this to be true, including one that shows shared reading among a parent and young child reduces parenting stress and positively impacts the parent-child relationship over time.

Another study published in the Journal of Religion and Health indicates that Bible reading moderates the relationship between stress and hope and helps people rely on benevolent coping responses.

2. Promotes Empathy and Understanding

Reading can make you more understanding and empathetic. It allows you to walk in someone else’s shoes and expands your knowledge of the world.

A survey involving 213 students in health sciences professional programs found that leisure reading helped in professional development and increased participants’ empathy. Participants also noted that leisure reading reduced stress, improved thinking and communication skills, and improved understanding of minority groups.

3. Improves Sleep

Research also suggests that reading at bedtime is associated with longer nighttime sleep.

Parents of 62 children, aged 4 years old, completed a questionnaire on bedtime reading frequency and other sleep variables. The data indicates that reading at bedtime is significantly associated with longer total nighttime sleep duration, and interventions aimed at increasing reading at bedtime may improve sleep health among preschoolers.

4. Boosts Cognitive Health

Reading helps keep your mind engaged, can boost brain function and helps prevent age-related cognitive decline. A study published in Age suggests that daily “mental training” can improve brain functions in normal adults.

Data shows that reading sentences out loud can help improve working memory.

Another study found that reading strengthens language processing regions of the brain and can also positively impact sensory and motor functions or pathways.

5. Increases Longevity

Research highlights the link between reading and longevity. According to a study published in Social Science and Medicine, book reading contributed to survival advantage and a reduction in risk mortality.

Of course, reducing stress, improving sleep and boosting brain function are all important reading benefits that can improve life span and overall health.

6. Makes You Smarter

Research published in Advances in Child Development and Behavior indicates that reading, or print exposure, is associated with larger vocabulary, general knowledge and verbal skills. It also contributes to an increase of world knowledge and abstract reasoning skills.

Perhaps the best way to dive in to a new subject, begin a new hobby or expand your knowledge of issues impacting your community is by reading.

What Should You Read?

Any type of reading is beneficial for your emotional, mental and physical health. You can read novels, magazines, newspapers and digital articles from your phone or tablet.

You can also choose the genre of literature that you like best — from historical to biographical, spiritual, self-help or fiction. Choose what brings you joy and allows you to relax.

Keep in mind that if you are reading in the evening as part of your p.m. routine, you may want to opt for books or paper over digital reading.

There are some studies analyzing the effects of book reading versus reading from an iPad before bedtime. While some data shows no difference between the two on sleep patterns, a study published in Sleep Medicine found that reading from an iPad decreased subjective sleepiness.

Researchers also concluded that evening iPad reading may have consequences in terms of alertness, circadian physiology and sleep, so it may be beneficial to stick to book or paper reading before bedtime.

How to Incorporate More Reading

Try to create a reading routine that you stick to every day. Perhaps that means 30 minutes of reading in the morning while you enjoy a cup of coffee or tea or reading during your lunch break or before bedtime as part of your p.m. routine.

If you read consistently, you’ll experience the many benefits of reading.

Reading something uplifting and inspiring is a motivating way to start the day. It helps ease stress and boost mood early on in the day.

In the evening, choosing reading time over TV time, or any type of screen time, is better for your mood, brain and sleep. That’s not to say that there’s no space for mindless TV time during your week, but doing more reading is beneficial.

Choose a genre that’s soothing to you at night and allows you to wind down before bedtime.

Any Risks/Side Effects?

To reap the benefits of reading, choose a genre or subject that brings you joy, at least before going to sleep. If you love reading newspapers or online news sources, make sure it’s not impacting your mood. News coverage can often be anxiety-inducing, so be aware of how it impacts your mood and behavior.

While digital reading has become more and more popular, be aware that the blue light may make you feel more alert and lead to eye strain after long-term use. It’s OK to do some reading digitally, but try to read from books or paper, too.

Conclusion

• There’s evidence that reading can help to reduce stress, improve sleep, boost brain function, improve your mood and even make you smarter.
• Read every day to promote better brain function, expand your knowledge of the world and build a sense of empathy.
• Reading with children is also extremely beneficial. Reading for kids helps to improve sleep and supports a sense of closeness.

The post The Many Benefits of Reading for Adults and Children appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Breathwork — which describes conscious, controlled breathing done especially for relaxation, meditation or therapeutic purposes — is a natural way to help manage stress. That’s because breathing is capable of influencing your mental, emotional and physical state. One example of a popular type of breathwork is called box breathing.

Box breathing is used by meditators, athletes and those looking to improve their concentration. It’s a simple exercise that involves inhaling and exhaling in a rhythmic way that naturally calms the mind — plus it can contribute to other benefits too, such as helping you fall asleep more easily.

What Is Box Breathing?

Box breathing, also known as square breathing or four-square breathing, is a breathing exercise that involves taking slow, controlled breaths.

It’s used for a variety of purposes, most often to help reduce symptoms associated with stress, improve alertness/focus and in some cases help with physical performance.

Why is it called box breathing? Box breathing got its name because it’s a technique that involves controlled, paced breathing with even inhales and exhales. It has a “4-4-4- ratio” in terms of the timing of inhales and exhales.

You first exhale for four seconds, then hold your breath for four seconds, then inhale for four seconds, hold and repeat. The evenness of your breaths in, holds and breaths out resembles the symmetry of a box.

How to Do It

For the best results, try repeating the box breathing technique described below three or four times in a row.

You can practice several times per day or do it any time you’re feeling anxious or overwhelmed. Before meditating, prior to a big meeting or while you’re trying to fall asleep are all great times to use this technique.

As you practice, picture a box with equal sides, where the inhale, the holding of the breath, and exhale are all four counts. As you complete the breath cycle, picture the sides of a square filling up, which serves as an anchor for your attention.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Exhale first: Sit in a relaxed position with good posture, meaning your spine is upright and you’re not hunching over. Place your hands in your lap, and keep them relaxed. Slowly exhale through your mouth while you count to four in your head. Picture emptying your lungs so you feel “empty.”
2. Hold: Hold for four seconds with your lungs empty.
3. Inhale: Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose while you count to four in your head. Picture your lungs filling up with air as you sit tall and feel “inflated,” almost like a balloon.
4. Hold: Hold your breath for another four seconds.
5. Exhale and repeat. Exhale again through your mouth for the same slow count of four, then hold and repeat the cycle.

Benefits

Deep breathing exercises can help you to cope with stress and naturally relax your body because they stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, which results in a calm feeling both physically and in your mind.

In fact, box breathing is even Navy SEAL-approved and used by doctors/emergency room personnel because it can help people cope with distress and tense situations.

The benefits of deep breathing exercises are due to how they “put the brakes” on the body’s fight-or-flight response and stimulate the vagal nerve, which results in effects such as decreased heart rate, slowed respiration and reduced cortisol levels.

Below are some of the main benefits associated with breathing techniques, including box breathing:

• Promotes calmness/relaxation. It’s a great tool for preparing your mind for meditation or for feeling more tranquil in general.
• Helps reduce anxiety symptoms, including those triggered by social anxiety, phobias or generalized anxiety disorder.
• Can help lower blood pressure and slow down a racing heart (which is associated with anxiety).
• Helps improve focus and concentration. This makes it useful before a presentation or challenging task.
• May help make it easier to fall asleep and reduce insomnia. While it won’t necessarily make you feel sleepy, it’s a good way to put your body into a restful state that can make drifting off easier.
• Can improve your mood by making you feel more refreshed and grounded. One study found that it not only improved cognitive performance, but also reduced negative subjective and physiological consequences of stress.
• May help with pain management by reducing muscle tension. It’s even used during labor to help women cope with pain.
• Supports a strong immune system and cardiovascular system by reducing the toll of chronic stress on the body. For example, chronic stress is associated with high blood pressure and higher risk for other heart problems, plus headaches, pain and digestive issues.

How does box breathing compare to other breathing techniques, such as diaphragmatic breathing or pursed lip breathing?

Different breathing techniques have various effects on the nervous system, with some more energizing/stimulating and others more calming.

Diaphragmatic breathing (or belly breathing) is mostly relaxing and involves engaging the stomach, abdominal muscles and diaphragm when breathing. It’s used to strengthen the diaphragm, decrease the work of breathing by slowing your breathing rate and decrease oxygen demand.

Square breathing is used mostly as a natural stress relief technique. It can have similar effects to diaphragmatic breathing on your mood, although it may not be as good at improving breathing capabilities, such as for people with COPD another respiratory issues.

Pursed lip breathing (breathing with your lips puckered and slightly closed) also helps open up your airways. This technique is a good option when you’re short of breath or anxious.

It’s similar to box breathing because it involves slowly inhaling and then exhaling for as long as it took you to inhale — however inhale is done though the mouth and not the nose.

Other Tips

While box breathing can be done just about anywhere and doesn’t require any equipment or training, there are some tips that can help you get the most benefit from this exercise:

• Remember to inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth.
• To establish a practice, try to do boxed breathing around the same times each day. You might choose to practice first thing in the morning, before meditating, halfway through your workday and/or before going to sleep.
• At first, practice breathwork in a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed. Dim lights and no loud distractions are ideal. Put aside about five to 10 minutes at a time to focus and learn the techniques, which you can then practice anywhere once you’re more familiar with the exercise.
• Consider using a cushion on the ground to help you get comfortable. You can also practice on a comfortable chair or couch. The goal is to keep your back straight so your lungs can fully expand, so sit however you feel most comfortable doing this.
• Try keeping your eyes closed at first and placing your hands palms up on both of your knees. You can also open your eyes if this feels better. It’s really up to preference.
• Some people feel dizzy after breathwork. If the happens, stay sitting for a minute, and resume normal breathing before getting up.

Conclusion

• What is box breathing? It’s a breathing technique that is used for stress management and to focus the mind.
• It can help to stop ruminating worries, put your body in a calmer state, assist in concentration, reduce pain and help with sleep.
• It’s called box breathing (or square breathing) because it involves even inhales and exhales that are four seconds long, with pauses between.
• To practice, you inhale through your nose, pose and exhale through your mouth. You can repeat this cycle three to four times in a row or more,and practice several times daily to mitigate effects of stress.

The post Box Breathing: The Benefits for Calming the Body & Mind (Plus How to Do It) appeared first on Dr. Axe.

According to a 2018 study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, when we lose our connection with nature, it “can result in a cost to humans resulting in slower recovery times, greater distress and reduced well-being.” The antidote to this is referred to by psychologists as “ecotherapy,” which involves interactions with nature to enhance healing and growth.

What’s the point of ecotherapy, aka nature therapy? While there are lots of reasons to spend more time outside, it’s mainly used to naturally improve people’s moods and energy levels.

Many studies have found that being outdoors in nature has a natural calming effect and can help manage issues such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, fatigue, substance abuse disorders and insomnia. This is exactly why ecotherapy was recommended during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) crisis, in order to help people cope with social isolation and the “consequent psychosocial aftermath.”

What Is Ecotherapy?

Ecotherapy, also called ecopsychology, is a mental health approach that utilizes the positive effects of nature to lift one’s sense of well-being. It involves spending time outdoors in various ways, such as by gardening, exercising outside, or simply laying on the beach or in a park.

Researchers often refer to ecotherapy interventions as “environmental therapies” and “animal-assisted therapies,” although there are other types too. For example, social and therapeutic horticulture, care farming, green exercise, environmental conservation, and wilderness therapy are some approaches used to promote mental health.

These interventions are recommended for just about everybody, including both children and the elderly, and have demonstrated promising findings in many studies, especially for people living with mental disorders.

Types/Varieties

There are lots of different ways to practice ecotherapy, depending on your location, physical abilities and preferences. Some popular nature therapy/ecotherapy activities include:

• Walking outdoors, such as in parks, on trails, etc.
• Hiking, including in the woods, up mountains or anywhere else that’s accessible
• Gardening (also called horticultural therapy)
• Laying or walking on the beach or swimming in the ocean
• “Forest bathing,” also called shinrin-yoku, in which you relax in a forest environment by taking in your surroundings
• Cycling or running outdoors
• Bird watching
• Earthing (walking barefoot on the Earth’s surface)
• Spending time outdoors with animals, such as horses or your dog
• Stargazing (laying outdoors at night and looking up at the sky)
• Having a picnic in the grass
• “Giving back” to nature by collecting trash and litter, planting trees, cleaning up beaches or parks, etc.

Benefits/Uses

1. Can Help Manage Depression

A 2020 systematic review of randomized control trials focused on exposure to ecotherapy interventions found evidence for the efficacy of some interventions among people with depression, anxiety, PTSD, substance-related and addictive disorders, and schizophrenia.

A large body of research suggests that both children and adults can experience improvements in their moods and gain more resilience to stress when they regularly spend time outdoors (which is considered about 120 minutes of outdoor time weekly). For example, one study published in the journal Mind found that 95 percent of participants who were interviewed said their mood improved after spending time outside, changing from depressed, stressed and anxious to more calm and balanced.

In addition, people who practice ecotherapy seem to benefit from higher levels of self-worth and improved motivation, which leads to greater focus and concentration.

2. Has Natural Relaxing/Calming Effects

When you’re enjoying the outdoors, it’s easy to get lost in the moment and “stay present,” which means that ecotherapy is one way to establish and maintain a mindfulness habit. This has been shown to benefit those with anxiety symptoms and PTSD symptoms, leading to reductions in “stress hormones” such as cortisol.

Doing things outside, such as walking, meditating, hiking, etc., can be naturally relaxing because it helps us become absorbed in our environment and distracts us from pain and unpleasant thoughts. This “absorption” can be due to sounds of nature plus the green/colorful scenery, which has a positive effect on your nervous system and helps reduce symptoms like racing thoughts, a fast heart beat, muscle tension and trouble focusing.

3. Can Lift Your Energy and Prevent Burnout

Many people find that taking breaks throughout the day and getting outdoors can help to lift their mood and restore their energy, partly because it keeps people from endlessly working on screens and multitasking, which can be draining. As little as 10 minutes spent in natural spaces has been shown to be effective at improving mood, focus and physiological markers like blood pressure and heart rate.

Depending on the activities you’re doing, some types of ecotherapy can also serve as moderate forms of exercise, such as gardening, cycling, walking or swimming.

Regularly exercising outdoors has many benefits for both your mind and body, including having a positive impact on your sleep, self-esteem and immune function. It’s even more beneficial if it involves exposure to sunlight, which can help you maintain normal vitamin D levels and is important for brain, immune and cognitive health.

4. Improves Social Connection and a Sense of Belonging

Nature has a way of making us feel connected to each other, the larger world and ourselves. A 2019 study found that time spent in nature, such as gardening with a community, may lead to greater emotional well-being because it can lead to greater insight into one’s own illness and contribute to increased feeling of calmness and belonging, all of which are usually not seen in people dealing with depression and anxiety.

In this particular study, participants reported improved mood and more pro-social behavior; a greater sense of community, belonging, shared purpose and reduced isolation; and a welcomed sense of distraction from unpleasant thoughts.

Aside from community gardening, other nature therapy activities that can help reduce loneliness include outdoor exercise, meditation or art classes. Camping with others, taking group hikes and walking with a workout buddy are also ways to connect socially while benefiting from the positive effects of the outdoors.

How to Do It

Whether you live close to a beach, body of water, forest, mountains or none of the above, there are various ways to practice ecotherapy. Here are some nature therapy ideas depending on your location and which types of activities you enjoy most:

• Create a garden in your backyard, or join a community garden. Gardening alone can be very tranquil and serve as a form of meditation in many ways, while gardening with others is a good way to socialize and get to know new neighbors. If the weather isn’t conducive to being outside, try indoor ecotherapy projects like growing an indoor herb garden.
• Spend some time with animals, including your pets. Visit a horse stable, bird sanctuary or local farm, or take your dog for walks somewhere scenic.
• Shop at outdoors farmers markets rather than inside big supermarkets.
• Go camping.
• Start a bonfire on a beach somewhere safe.
• Take your workout outdoors, such as by going running/walking on a trail, doing body weight exercises in a park or jogging along a beach.
• Try an outdoor painting or art class. Or simply bring your own arts, crafts or a book outside.
• Take an outdoor yoga, tai chi or meditation class. These are often offered in community parks, at certain beaches or outdoors at recreation centers.
• Try forest bathing. Find a local forest or even a park, sit or lay somewhere comfortable, and then practice all of your senses as you pay attention to your surroundings and take in the moment.
• Enroll in a wilderness or adventure therapy program. These are available for both adults and children and typically involve hiking with a group, camping, mountain climbing and other outdoors activities.
• Find ways to give back to nature. This can involve recycling, composting, and lowering your carbon footprint by cycling to work or limiting driving.

Conclusion

• What is ecotherapy? Also called ecopsychology and nature therapy, it’s a mental health approach that utilizes the positive effects of nature to lift one’s sense of well-being.
• It involves spending time outdoors in various ways in order to help reduce anxiety, depression, fatigue, low motivation, loneliness and other issues.
• Examples of ecotherapy activities include gardening, exercising outside, laying on the beach or in a park, hiking, meditating outdoors, forest bathing, swimming in the ocean, etc.
• To get the most benefits from ecotherapy, consider joining a group/community, taking a class outdoors, exercising in sunlight, and practicing being mindful and using all of your senses when in nature.

The post Ecotherapy: Benefits of Nature Therapy + How to Do It appeared first on Dr. Axe.

The use of color for healing — aka color therapy — dates back as at least 2,000 years to Ancient Greece, Egypt and China, where color and light in the form of sunlight, crystal reflections, paints and plants were utilized to improve people’s moods.

What is color therapy, and how does it work? Today, color therapy is based on the understanding that one’s surroundings and environment can influence her or his state of mind.

As a form of art therapy, it’s often used to help people express themselves, gain insight into their emotions, and help manage feelings of overwhelm, stress, depression and hopelessness.

Below we cover the research behind this approach, plus discuss how to get started using methods like color therapy glasses and apps.

What Is Color Therapy?

Color therapy, also sometimes called chromotherapy, is an alternative remedy and form of art therapy that utilizes color and light to treat physical and mental health conditions.

The main idea behind color therapy is that different colors evoke different responses in people. Some colors are considered to be more stimulating and energizing, while others are more soothing and calming.

Based on this idea, it may be possible that color exposure can impact one’s overall mood, motivation, sleep, outlook, appetite and decision-making.

While more research is warranted to prove how well color therapy works for different applications, it’s thought to possibly help:

• attention span, learning and academic performance
• aggressive behavior
• blood pressure
• breathing capabilities
• athletic performance and recovery
• muscle relaxation
• sleep quality, including by reducing insomnia and daytime lethargy
• migraines and headaches
• fibroid pain
• vision problems
• other impacts of stress

How It Works (Research)

Is color therapy effective? Research overall suggests that use of certain colors and light (which is an “illuminated form of color”) can be useful for helping improve emotional well-being, which translates to positive effects on physical health.

It’s also generally accepted that color plays a role in a number of mental processes, evidenced by the fact that color psychology is used in marketing and advertising all the time. For example, as the Art Therapy Blog explains, “Color is consistently used in an attempt to make people hungry, associate a positive or negative tone, encourage trust, feelings of calmness or energy, and countless other ways.”

Color is visible to the human eye because of how it reflects, bends and refracts through particles and objects. Color and light enter our bodies through both our eyes and our skin, and once they do so they lead to electronic impulses that can activate the release of various chemicals and enzymes that affect how we feel.

As a 2005 review on chromotherapy explains the science of color: “Light is electromagnetic radiation, which is the fluctuation of electric and magnetic fields in nature. More simply, light is energy, and the phenomenon of color is a product of the interaction of energy and matter.”

Each color has its own wavelength, frequency and quantity of energy. All colors that we can see fall on the visible spectrum of light, and they have their own electromagnetic frequencies.

Each unique frequency relates to a color of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. Each color has a different effect, so different colors are used for different purposes.

What colors are healing, and which are stimulating?

Warm colors typically spark a variety of stimulating emotions, while cool colors tend to be calming. Neutral colors, such as white and beiges, also usually have relaxing effects.

Not all effects of colors are positive. For example, red can sometimes promote anger, while blue and black may promote sadness.

Color healing, which focuses on energy centers and other aspects of spirituality, is an important part of many practices of Eastern medicine. According to the AmeriDisability website, “healing colors can help to balance the body’s energy centers, also known chakras.”

Here are how different colors are thought to affect your mood and energy levels, according to theories on “chakra balancing” and color therapy:

• Red = stimulating. Associated with the root chakra and spin. Considered grounding, instinctual, life-giving. Thought to promote stamina, passion and circulation.
• Orange = enthusiasm. Associated with the pelvis chair and tied to optimism, pleasure, sexuality, excitement, happiness, energy.
• Yellow =  happiness. Associated with the naval chakra and tied to hope, willpower, laughter, warmth, optimism, hunger.
• Green = acceptance. Associated with the heart and tied to healing, balance, love, grounding, nature, growth, health, envy, calmness.
• Blue = calmness. Associated with the throat chakra and tied to communication, knowledge, serenity, wisdom, loyalty, truth.
• Indigo =  balance. Associated with the third eye chakra and clairvoyance, pain relief, prosperity, wisdom, royalty, mystery and respect.
• Violet = knowledge. Associated with the crown chakra and imagination, spiritual awakening, calmness, serenity and creativity. Purple utilizes both red and blue to provide a nice balance between stimulation and serenity that is supposed to encourage creativity
• White = pureness. Associated with innocence, cleanliness, neutrality.
• Black = authority. Mostly associated with strength, power, evil mourning, intelligence.
• Brown = reliability. Mostly associated with stability, friendship, sadness, comfort and security.

Benefits

1. Can Help Manage Seasonal Depressive Disorder

One of the main reasons people deal with seasonal affective disorder is because of a lack of sunlight exposure. Too little time spent outdoors in nature and in natural light can increase the risk for depression, especially during the darker winter months when most people are indoors all day long.

That’s because sunlight tends to have a mood-boosting and energizing effect — plus it can help regulate your circadian rhythm, which helps with sleep.

2. Can Have Calming Effects

Certain colors, such as blue, green and light purple, can have a calming effect on the mind and body, leading to physiological changes, such as reduced anxiety symptoms, decreased blood pressure, slowed breathing, and help with relaxation and sleep.

Green, especially when found in nature such as among forests and gardens, is another color that may be used to help people feel more grounded, serene and balanced. Green is also considered the primary color of healing, since it’s associated with nature and growth.

Sometimes art therapists instruct their clients to paint with a certain range of colors that help bring out buried issues or allow them to deal with them more effectively, and often these include colors that can help fight stress, such as lavenders, greens and blues.

Sometimes therapists, especially Eastern medicine practitioners, use colors in conjunction with other methods, like vibrational healing or acupuncture, to help restore someone’s “energy fields” and assist healing and mood stabilization.

3. May Boost Your Energy and Motivation

The color red is one of the warmest and has the opposite effect as cooling colors, such as blue. It tends to be energy-boosting and can lead to  increased heart rate, greater stamina due to adrenaline release, and sometimes anger or increased appetite.

Yellow is another warm color that is invigorating. It’s often recommended for people suffering from depression or lack of motivation.

It may also help boost creativity and logic. Therefore along with orange, which promotes productivity, it is often used in school settings.

A 2013 study found that art therapy utilizing colors also helped improve “purpose of life” among patients with post-stroke disabilities.

4. Can Affect Your Appetite

Stimulating colors, such as red, yellow and orange, are associated with motivation, which can increase desire for food and other forms of excitement and reward.

Red may also boost someone’s sense of smell, while blue can have appetite-reducing effects in some cases. This is why places like restaurants, theaters and casinos often use these warm colors to appeal to customers’ senses.

How to Do It

Wondering, “how can I do color therapy at home?” Here are some ideas for implementing the effects of different colors:

• Choose colors purposefully when painting rooms in your home/office — Consider how different colors affect your mood while in a room. For example, light blue, light green and lavender tend to be calming, while warmer colors like yellow and orange are awakening. In classrooms, natural colors such as beige, light green and white may be best, since some intense colors, such as yellow, may be too distracting for some students.
• Get more sunlight exposure — Try to take advantage of sunlight’s uplifting effects by spending at least 20 minutes outdoors each day, which also offers additional mental health benefits by boosting vitamin D levels. Even if the sun isn’t bright and shining, and there aren’t blue skies to be seen, being outside can still be invigorating and relaxing.
• Try color therapy glasses — Colored glasses allow you to choose how you want to feel based on the influences of different colors. They come in many shades and often block out UV light. It’s recommended that you wear your glasses daily for about 30 minutes to help impact your mood, such as by wearing blue glasses for help with lengthened attention span or yellow glasses for an uplifting effect.
• Take advantage of colors found in nature — Being outdoors in nature is one of the easiest ways to expose yourself to various colors, such as blue from skies, green from grass, blues from bodies of water, purples and reds from flowers and plants, etc.
• Try creative activities like drawing and painting — Depending on your mood, try using colors for creative purposes that help bring about the mental state you hope for. For example, purple can help with self-knowledge and wisdom, indigo can promote creativity intuition and visualization, and greens can promote harmony and love. In general, colors used in art therapy practices have been shown to help people feel more energetic and less depressed and anxious, to support memory and communication skills, and to lead to feelings of affection and connection.
• Consider red light therapy — One form of color therapy uses light delivered into the skin. Red light therapy is an example of this approach. It uses red light within a certain wavelength range to promote mental or physical invigoration. Red light therapy uses include treating inflammation, pain, mood issues, skin issues and more.
• Experiment with visualization and crystals — Some people choose to utilize crystals to break up sunlight shining through and to emit different colors. Others might use visualization and/or crystals while meditating or practicing breathing exercises in order to put them into a certain state of mind. For example, you can practice visualizing yourself surrounded by your color of choice for help relaxing or being more creative.

If you’re interested in learning more about color therapy, there are a number of online courses, books and apps available. Here are some resources for helping you get started:

• Start by taking an online test to identify which chakras are overactive or under-active, and then choose optimal colors that can help you reach “balance.”
• Try a color therapy app on your phone, which can be used for visualization practices.
• Kaplan Learning Co. is a good resource for learning about how to integrate color into learning.
• Refer to this guide for help choosing colors for your home or office depending on their effects.
• Dive deeper into the effects of colors by exploring books such as “Color Therapy Plain and Simple,” “Color Healing Manual” and “Color Medicine.”

DIY Color Therapy Ideas

Risks and Side Effects

While color therapy is used by art therapists around the world, overall studies have uncovered a good deal of reliable evidence about if and how colors affect the body physically. As far as Western medicine is concerned, there’s more to learn about the use of color use in health care settings and potentially some problems with the concepts behind color therapy.

One issue regarding color therapy is that colors are individualized experiences and affect people differently. One specific color won’t necessarily be directly associated with one specific mood.

For instance, some people might find blue to be calming while others find it to be saddening. Red and orange may also cause too much excitement and agitation in some settings — however these colors can also help some people process anger.

If you’re interested in using the effects of colors to manage mental health problems, it’s best to work with a trained practitioner at first. Then you can continue to explore the impact of colors using things like color therapy glasses, apps, books and art.

Conclusion

• Color therapy, also sometimes called chromotherapy, is an alternative remedy and form of art therapy that utilizes color and light to treat physical and mental health conditions.
• Different colors have different affects on your mood, energy, motivation, appetite, sleep and more. For example, warm colors are usually more stimulating while cooler warms are more calming.
• The application of color and light can help treat issues such as depression, lethargy, insomnia, anxiety, lack of focus and stifled creativity.
• How can you do color therapy at home? Try wearing color therapy glasses for about 30 minutes daily, using color as part of art therapy, exposing yourself to more sunlight, adding plants and colors to your home/office, or utilizing a color therapy app for help with visualization exercises.

The post Color Therapy Benefits for Mood & More (Plus How to Do It) appeared first on Dr. Axe.

About 70 percent of adults in the U.S. will experience some type of traumatic event at some point in their lives, and among these people about 20 percent will go on to develop the condition called post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and experience PTSD symptoms.

The U.S Department of Veteran Affairs states that PTSD is a mental health problem that commonly occurs in veterans following combat. However, someone certainly doesn’t have to serve in the military to deal with symptoms of post-traumatic stress.

PTSD symptoms can affect both children and adults who have dealt with completely different types of traumatizing events. Risk factors for suffering from PTSD include:

• surviving a natural disaster
• getting into a car accident
• dealing with a sudden illness or injury
• suffering from abuse, neglect, domestic violence, violence, poverty or sexual assault

Mental health professionals who treat patients with PTSD typically use a combination of approaches to help their patients manage PTSD symptoms like anxiety, insomnia, depression and social isolation. These can include medications (when needed), “talk therapy” or counseling, group support, and other natural outlets for negative emotions, like exercise or meditation.

Related: What Is Autophobia? How to Treat the Fear of Being Alone

What Is PTSD?

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental health problem that is defined as “psychiatric disorder that may occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, a serious accident, a terrorist act, war/combat, or rape or who have been threatened with death, sexual violence or serious injury.”

According to a 2019 report in World Psychiatry, it’s the most common psychiatric disorder experienced by people exposed to trauma. It affects about 3 percent to 4 percent of the U.S population.

What does PTSD do to a person? Trauma can haunt a person after experiencing one or more difficult and painful events, affecting that person’s ability to live a normal, daily life by increasing PTSD symptoms like anxiety.

To officially be diagnosed with PTSD, a person must meet the following criteria for at least one month:

• Have at least one reoccurring negative symptom
• At least one “avoidance” symptom (refusal to express emotions, refusal to visit a certain location, having a phobia of certain events or activities that bring us painful memories, etc.)
• At least two “arousal” and “reactivity” symptoms (such as anger, aggression, rage, trouble sleeping, being easily startled or “on edge,” etc.)
• At least two cognition and mood symptoms (such as anxiety, depression, strong feelings of guilt, brain fog, trouble concentrating, loss of memory, etc.)

Related: Classical Conditioning: How It Works + Potential Benefits

Link to Nutrition

News published in 2020 by the University of Toronto found that there’s often a link between poor nutrition and experiences of PTSD. Among Canadians between the ages of 45 and 85, adults were less likely to exhibit PTSD if they consumed an average of two to three fiber sources daily.

Dietary fiber is believed by researchers to have some mental health-related protective effects due to the communication network that connects the gut and brain.

Eating a fiber-rich diet has beneficial effects on metabolic byproducts of bacterial fermentation made by microbes in the human gut. These byproducts affect how cells in the brain may work.

Daily consumption of pastries, sugary pulses, nuts, including peanut butter, and chocolate was associated with increased risk for PTSD.

Other risk factors that may be related to nutrition that increase the odds of someone developing PTSD symptoms include:

• being a racialized immigrant
• being a woman living in poverty (women had almost double the prevalence of PTSD in comparison to men)
• having chronic pain
• having a history of smoking

Related: How Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Works + Benefits

PTSD Symptoms

The majority of people who have “normal” coping mechanisms usually recover from initial symptoms of shock or sadness within a short time period. What makes PTSD symptoms different from negative emotions that are considered normal aspects of grief or healing?

In those who don’t have PTSD, an upsetting or dangerous event can cause serious symptoms, but the symptoms usually go away after a few weeks. (This is called acute stress disorder.) On the contrary, long after the dangerous or upsetting event is over, people with post-traumatic stress still feel very anxious, unable to express themselves and in general “not themselves.”

What are the four types of PTSD symptoms? They are generally grouped into four types:

• intrusive memories
• avoidance
• negative changes in thinking and mood
• changes in physical and emotional reactions

In order to be diagnosed with PTSD, a patient’s symptoms must:

• Meet the criteria described above
• Last more than one month
• Be severe enough to interfere with relationships or work
• According to experts, PTSD is often (but not always) accompanied by changes in mood. These changes may include depression, anxiety, social isolation and substance abuse.

What are the symptoms of PTSD?

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, some of the most common PTSD symptoms include:

• Having flashbacks (reliving the trauma via memories and bodily sensations over and over again)
• Physical symptoms of anxiety, including a racing heart, sweating, inability to think clearly, etc.
• Nightmares or strange dreams, insomnia, and difficulty getting enough rest
• Having frightening thoughts that appear to come out of nowhere and last for several hours
• Feeling very anxious when encountering images, words, objects or situations that are reminders of the traumatic event
• Guilt and shame, which leads to avoiding talking to anybody else about thoughts or feelings
• Refusal to do certain things or making changes in one’s personal routine in order to avoid scary triggers or memories (this can include driving, going on vacation, being in an intimate relationship, etc.)
• Being tense, on edge and easily startled
• Having angry outbursts and sometimes being violent or aggressive with family and strangers
• Sometimes difficulty having a normal job, completing tasks due to lack of concentration, learning, and remembering new or old information (these are common “complex PTSD symptoms”)
• Other symptoms tied to high stress levels, such as changes in appetite or weight, headaches, digestive issues, and skin irritation
• Higher risk for substance abuse (including medications, drugs or alcohol)
• Depression (ongoing negative thoughts about oneself or the world), distorted feelings of guilt or blame, social isolation due to feeling alienated or misunderstood, loss of interest in enjoyable activities or hobbies due to low motivation, and in severe cases suicidal thoughts
• Children suffering from PTSD can also deal with symptoms like inability to open up to others or connect, trouble sleeping, difficulty learning, bed-wetting, or acting very “clingy” with caregivers.
• Teens can sometimes cause problems in school, be disrespectful to teachers or authority figures, be aggressive and violent, or develop eating disorders. In fact, PTSD is often a co-occurrence among those who suffer from eating disorders or other issues, commonly that have roots in sexual abuse or other types of childhood trauma.

What are the stages of PTSD?

PTSD symptoms usually begin shortly after the event takes place. Typically symptoms start within three months and last for up to a year.

However, sometimes abnormal symptoms might not appear for up to several years after the event has ended. This delay can sometimes make seeking help and getting a proper diagnosis a complicated issue.

Some experts consider PTSD to be divided into four phases:

1. the impact phase (initial reactions of shock)
2. the rescue phase (coming to terms with what happened)
3. the intermediate recovery phase (adjusting to life following trauma)
4. the long-term reconstruction phase (rebuilding and continuing to deal with the aftermath)

How long do PTSD symptoms last?

Every person has a different experience. Some overcome their symptoms and reach a stage considered to be “recovery” within about six months.

Others with “complex PTSD symptoms” deal with symptoms such as anxiety, guilt, shame, isolation and suicidal thoughts for years. Complex PTSD symptoms usually result from trauma that happened early in life (such as by a parent), happened for a long time and happened when the victim was alone.

Getting help from a mental health professional, seeking support from a group of peers or family and friends, and sometimes considering medication can all decrease the odds that PTSD will remain chronic and debilitating for many years.

Related: What Is Psychodynamic Therapy? Types, Techniques & Benefits

Related: Somatic Experiencing Therapy: How It Works & How to Do It

Causes and Risk Factors

Risk factors for post-traumatic stress disorder:

This disorder typically occurs after someone has experienced or witnessed a life-threatening event. These events may include war combat, a natural disaster, abuse or assault, an accident, illness, or sudden death of a loved one.

As mentioned earlier, those who are more likely to struggle with PTSD include:

• War veterans
• Children and adults who have been through physical or sexual assault
• Those who have dealt with any type of abuse, accidents, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, political violence, death of a loved one, a serious illness or injury, or many other types of traumatizing events that seem “out of their control”
• A history of substance abuse or using drugs
• Women are more likely to develop PTSD than men, although it’s not exactly clear why. A high risk factor for women is having a history of sexual assault and rape.
• Genetics also seem to play a role in mental illnesses, including anxiety, depression and PTSD. A family history of mental illness can make some people more likely to develop PTSD than others, especially when combined with other risk factors.
• Being middle-aged
• Living in poverty
• Being an immigrant
• Experiencing racism
• Not being able to work
• Having chronic pain

Changes in the brain due to trauma:

Researchers, including neuroscientists (who study the brain) and psychotherapists (who study maladaptive behaviors), have found that people with PTSD display abnormal levels of certain stress hormones, in addition to experiencing changes in brain activity.

• Adrenaline, the hormone that helps kickstart the “fight or flight response” in response to danger, has been shown to remain elevated in people with PTSD long after the event has ended. This reaction is different than what occurs in people without PTSD.
• The perception of danger or fear triggers many split-second changes in the body and brain, evoking the fight-or-flight response. This can cause the person’s heart rate to speed up, breathing to get faster, the pupils in the eyes to dilate, perspiration to increase and digestion to slow down.
• These physiological symptoms tied to stress will continue for many months, even years, in people experiencing PTSD. Stress hormones will also spike very quickly and disproportionately in response to even mildly stressful stimuli.
• Constantly elevated stress hormones negatively impact the entire body, including memory, emotion regulation and attention. The result is high levels of irritability, muscle tension, trouble sleeping, heart problems and many other long-term health issues.

Other neurological and biochemical changes have also been shown to take place in the brains and bodies of those with PTSD, including in the limbic system (the primal, emotional center of the brain). Studies suggest that three of the primary areas impacted by trauma include:

1. Amygdala
2. Hippocampus
3. Pre-frontal cortex

Changes in the brain following traumatic events can even be similar to the types of neurological changes seen in patients with brain injuries due to impact, accidents, etc.

Essentially, PTSD occurs due to loss of normal “executive functioning.” In other words, it occurs due to a loss of the ability to identify cause and effect, grasp the long-term effects of behaviors or actions, and create plans for the future.

Past trauma may make someone less intuitive, emotional, visual, spatial and tactual but more sequential and analytical.

Changes in brain activity, including deactivation of the left hemisphere, directly impact the capacity to organize past experiences, put them into logical sequences, and translate shifting feelings and perceptions into words that can be expressed to others.

Treatment

Conventional Treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder:

• The most studied type of treatment for PTSD is use of prescription medications, especially antidepressants. Most experts believe that medications work best when combined with psychotherapy in order to help patients feel more in control of their recovery.
• Drugs intended for PTSD are used to help patients deal with feelings of anxiety, sadness, anger, lack of motivation, feeling numb inside, social isolation, etc.
• Antidepressants for PTSD include several types of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). These are used to treat depression in general, including in patients who do not have PTSD but suffer from similar symptoms. One medication called Prazosin is commonly prescribed for PTSD symptoms tied to anxiety and depression, including physical reactions, nightmares and helplessness.
• While side effects are always possible when using medications, they can also be life-saving for some patients. They can also be an important catalyst toward recovery while beginning other natural treatments. Medications will not work for every patient. There are no guarantees, and there is a wide array of reactions depending on the specific drug.

Natural Treatments for PTSD:

1. Therapy and Counseling

If you suspect that you or someone you know is suffering from PTSD, it’s best to reach out for help right away. When feelings become unbearable and interfere with normal life, ask a family member, teacher or your doctor for help.

You can refer to the National Institute of Mental Health’s Help for Mental Illnesses page to find a qualified mental health provider or social services worker in your area. In the case of an emergency (such as during a period of panic or major depression), an emergency room doctor can also provide temporary help.

Various types of psychotherapy (talk therapy) are used to help people overcome PTSD. The type of therapy depends on the situation and access to professional care.

Although many patients report experiencing increased distress during initial therapy sessions, as they get accustomed to discussing traumatic memories, one study found that talking about trauma in therapy sessions resulted in 86 percent of participants showing improvement in their PTSD and psychotic symptoms by the end of treatment.

One type that has been shown to be very effective is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in which thoughts are examined in order to determine how they affect behaviors and self-perception.

Some of the primary goals of therapy for PTSD include:

• Training a patient to better access the “emotional brain” that has been cut off. Many with PTSD feel “numb” and cannot tie events to emotions. A therapist can help patients open up about how they’re really feeling and form connections.
• Increasing self-awareness. A therapist can teach patients skills to understand how trauma changed their thoughts and feelings, in addition to how it impacts their bodies and health.
• Regaining a feeling of having control over one’s own life.
• Helping develop coping strategies for dealing with difficult emotions.

Therapists often work with patients with PTSD to help them learn to become more aware of their inner experience and to begin to befriend what is going on inside themselves. This includes physical sensations, emotions and thoughts.

Learning from past experiences and better vocalizing of feelings are other important areas to address. This is because helplessness and social withdrawal are both very common with PTSD.

2. Desensitization and Exposure to Fears

In addition to common types of talk therapy, several forms of exposure therapy are also used to desensitize patients to perceived threats, relieve stress and help them to face fears directly. A professional therapist usually conducts exposure therapy. The therapist can be a guide as the patient gradually faces situations, objects or locations that bring up strong feelings of the traumatic event.

• Prolonged Exposure — This is a type of therapy that involves discussing, facing and recalling the traumatic event in detail in order to gain control over upsetting thoughts, physical reactions and feelings about the trauma. The idea is that the more someone discusses the upsetting event, the more familiar it becomes and therefore the less feared. There are different ways to expose the patient to their fears. These include using imagining, writing, drawing or painting, or visiting the place where the event happened.
• Cognitive restructuring — This approach is similar to CBT and other forms of exposure therapy. It helps people make sense of the bad memories by discussing them. Feelings of regret, guilt and shame are often a central component to talk about since they can contribute to the patient feeling “stuck.”
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) — EMDR therapy involves having the patient focus attention on physical movement or sensations (like breath, sounds or hand movements) while he or she recalls the trauma and talks about it openly. By doing this, the patient has something to ground her/his attention in order to help the brain work through the traumatic memories.

3. Yoga and Meditation

In research supported by the National Institutes of Health, patients who took part in a 10-week program including yoga and mind-body practices on average experienced markedly reduced PTSD symptoms, even patients who had failed to respond to any previously used medications.

Yoga has been shown to change the brain by helping increase “happy” neurotransmitters, reducing the effects of stress, helping improve coping mechanisms for negative feelings and more. Participants in the study learned ways to help increase five specific types of positive, comforting feelings.

These feelings are GRACE:

• gratitude and compassion
• relatedness
• acceptance
• centeredness
• empowerment

Research suggests that another reason yoga and other forms of mind-body practices work so well for reducing PTSD symptoms is because they positively impact the nervous system. This is because they can change chemical signals sent via the vagus nerve back to the brain, helping promote relaxation.

Some of the ways that PTSD patients can directly tap in to their bodies’ “relaxation response” include:

• controlled breathing
• stretching or moving in purposeful ways (i.e., yoga asanas)
• chanting songs or mantras with a group
• practicing dozens of styles of meditation

There is also a lot of emerging data supporting mindfulness and meditation as an effective treatment approach for patients with PTSD due to how “neuroplasticity” (the brain’s ability to change itself based on repetition and focused attention) can improve neurological processes.

4. Social and Family Support

One of the strongest predictors of being able to overcome symptoms of PTSD is “building resilience” through social support and close relationships. Certain factors can help increase resilience, including:

• Joining a support group, which helps decrease feelings of isolation and alienation by opening up to others and forming compassionate relationships
• Visiting a family therapist in order to increase support from family, spouses, children or close friends
• Finding a spiritual or faith-based support group that can offer encouragement, an outlet, hope and positive feedback
• Social support also helps reduce aggression. It teaches those with PTSD how to respond to fear or other negative feelings without shutting others out. It also can give life a sense of purpose or meaning.

5. Self-Care and Stress Management

In addition to getting support from others, self-care is crucial for managing stress and triggers. Experts recommend some of these strategies:

• Eating a healthy diet that is low in sugar and processed foods but high in fiber (such as from vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, legumes, nuts and seeds)
• Engaging in regular, but usually mild, physical activity or exercise
• Getting enough sleep and downtime
• Being patient, including having realistic goals for how long it can take to feel better
• Reducing work-related stress and not taking on too much at once
• Spending more time in nature and with other people who help you feel comforted
• Becoming more knowledgeable about the condition through reading, journaling, speaking with a professional, videos, podcasts, etc.

Related: Systematic Desensitization Benefits + How to Do It

Conclusion

• PTSD is a mental health disorder that affects 7 percent to 8 percent of the population, including children and teens.
• It typically occurs after someone has experienced or witnessed a life-threatening event. These events may include war combat, a natural disaster, abuse or assault, an accident, illness, or sudden death of a loved one.
• PTSD symptoms include anxiety, depression, social isolation, sleep trouble and nightmares, guilt and shame, aggression, and avoiding talking to anybody else about thoughts or feelings.
• Treatments for PTSD include use of medications, therapy or counseling; group and family support; yoga; exercise; meditation; and other forms of managing stress through self-care.

The post Get Your Life Back: 5 Natural Treatments for PTSD Symptoms appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Today there are many different forms of psychotherapy offered by mental health practitioners, sometimes making it difficult to find the type that may be the best fit for you. Humanistic therapy is one type that adopts a “holistic approach” to improving mental well-being. It pays special attention to each individual’s unique experiences, plus the importance of free will, self-actualization and showing empathy.

If you’re interested in working with a nonjudgmental therapist who holds space for you to speak your mind freely, while also encouraging self-exploration so you can reach your full potential, humanistic psychology can be a great option.

What Is Humanistic Therapy?

What does the humanistic approach focus on? Humanistic therapy, also called humanism or humanistic psychology, is a branch of therapy that focuses on a person’s individual nature as a whole, dynamic and “innately good” person.

According to Psychology Today, while some forms of psychotherapy (such as psychoanalytic and behavioral therapies) categorize groups of people with similar characteristics as having the same problems, humanistic therapy is different in that it looks at each person’s personal strengths in order to help someone use his or her wisdom for growth and healing.

Humanism is considered a form of positive psychology because it emphasizes the positive side of human nature. In other words, humanism is grounded in the belief that people are innately good.

Positive psychology assumes that “people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play.”

Humanistic therapy first emerged in the 1950s as a “holistic” approach to addressing clients’ problems. It was based on theories developed by acclaimed psychologists, including Abraham Maslow, who developed a human hierarchy of needs and motivations, and Carl Rogers, who developed a person-centered approach to therapy.

How It Works

In order to help people reach their potential, humanistic psychology focuses on people’s positive traits and providing support.

GoodTherapy.org states that the core tenets of humanistic psychology are:

• self-actualization
• creativity
• health
• individuality
• intrinsic nature
• self
• being
• becoming
• meaning

Humanism stresses the importance of these principles:

• Each individual is unique and different, and subjective reality is a guide to behavior.
• Free will exists, so each individual has the capability of changing and growing.
• People are inherently good and want to heal and live satisfying lives.
• People can experience growth if provided with suitable conditions.
• Reality is less important than a person’s subjective perception and understanding of the world.

Therapists use humanistic therapy techniques that are aimed at creating a supportive, nonjudgmental and empathetic environment. “Unconditional positive regard” is how the client is treated, which assumes that the client is doing her best to live a happy life.

If you meet with a humanist therapist, you can expect to mostly speak about how you’re feeling in the present moment, rather than harping too much on past events or your childhood. Because it emphasizes a person’s feelings in the “here and now,” humanism is said to use a gestalt approach, which is defined as “a present-centered, awareness building, high impact form of intervention.”

It’s important for the patient/client to feel that he can trust his therapist and be fully open and honest about his struggles. The goal is to form a relationship between client and therapist that feels equal and balanced, rather than having the therapist talk at the client.

How long does humanistic therapy last? It depends on the individual case.

Client-centered therapy is less structured and non-directive than other forms of psychotherapy, so he duration of treatment can really vary. Most often, clients meet with therapists for anywhere between four and 16 weeks (or sometimes longer) depending on their goals.

Types/Examples

Therapists can incorporate humanism techniques and principles into a variety of different types of therapies.

What is an example of humanistic psychology? Therapeutic techniques that are utilized as part of this type of psychotherapy include:

• Rogerian (person-centered) therapy — focuses on  targeting productive, adaptive and beneficial traits and behaviors of an individual. Also emphasizes that each person is created with a distinct priority of needs and drives and that each person must rely on a personal sense of inner wisdom and healing.
• Client-centered therapy — the client leads sessions regarding what she wants to discuss.
• Existential therapy —  based on tenants of free will, self-determination and a search for meaning in life.
• Unstructured interviews — allows the therapist to gain access to an individual’s thoughts and experiences.
• Participant observations— facilitates the formation of personal relationships and allows the therapist the opportunity to get direct feedback from the person in therapy.
• Analysis of the client’s biographies, diaries and letters — helps the therapist gain insight into the client’s thoughts.

Many times, humanistic techniques are combined with other types of therapies for even broader results, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (which targets thought patterns) or somatic experiencing therapy (which focuses on the mind-body connection). Some practitioners may also use humanistic principles when working with clients on emotional freedom technique, reiki and other complementary therapeutic practices.

Benefits/Uses

1. Can Improve Self-Esteem

Humanistic psychology emphasizes a goal of self-actualization, which describes the need for a person to reach her maximum potential.

This type of psychology also holds that morality, ethical values and good intentions are the driving forces of behavior. When a client’s problems are approached from this viewpoint, it can help him have more compassion for himself so he can grow.

Humanistic therapists believe people are inherently motivated to fulfill their internal needs, so a client will be encouraged to improve her self-esteem through a variety of endeavors — such as creative projects, spiritual enlightenment, building relationships, a pursuit of wisdom or altruism.

2. Boosts Self-Awareness, Coping Skills and Growth

A humanist therapist helps her/his client understand and analyze what that person is feeling in the present, which can help the client make sense of thoughts and behaviors.

Boundless Psychology explains this concept well:

By listening to and echoing back the clients’ own concerns, the therapist helps the client see themselves as another might see them. This can help them perceive inconsistencies or biases in their perceptions of the world and other people.

Having a nonjudgmental space to process emotions and experiences is an important aspect of growth according to humanistic therapy. In an open environment that promotes positive regard, an individual is expected to learn problem-solving and self-soothing skills, which can help when struggling with stress, depression and other issues.

3. Can Help Improve Relationships

The humanistic approach holds true that every person has free will, meaning each individual can learn to take responsibility for his own actions, including those affecting his relationships.

Who Is a Good Candidate for It?

What is humanistic therapy used to treat? Not only can it help manage mental health issues such as depression, but humanistic therapy is also helpful for those who want to grow as a person.

This type of psychotherapy is most often used to help those dealing with issues such as:

• Struggling to find their purpose, feel fulfilled or accept themselves as they are
• Depression and low self-esteem
• Anxiety
• Panic disorders
• Personality disorders
• Schizophrenia
• Addictions
• Relationship issues

How to Find a Therapist

If you’re interested in working with a humanist therapist, look for a licensed, experienced mental health professional with humanistic values and a positive psychology-based approach.

Keep in mind that a comfortable relationship between client and therapist is key according to humanism, so you may need to work with more than one therapist before you find a good fit.

Risks and Side Effects

All types of psychotherapies have certain limitations, including humanistic.

One argument is that there’s isn’t enough empirical evidence to support the key theories of this approach compared to the amount available for behavioral therapies and cognitive behavioral therapy. This is because it tends to be difficult to objectively measure, record and study humanistic variables (such as self-actualization and free will).

Other types of therapy may be better options for people dealing with complex mental health issues, since the client is expected to play a big role in her own treatment. Some psychologists believe that a therapist taking a stronger lead in the process and facilitating more progress is better when the client is under a lot of distress or out of touch with reality.

Conclusion

• Humanistic therapy, also called humanism or humanistic psychology, is a branch of therapy that focuses on a person’s individual nature as a whole, dynamic and “innately good” person.
• Because it’s a form of positive psychology, humanism emphasizes the positive side of human nature and assumes all people want to live fulfilling lives.
• Humanistic therapists believe people have free will, that their unique perspectives are important, and that all are inherently motivated to fulfill their internal needs and their individual potential.
• A humanistic therapist is usually trained to be a warm, empathetic, understanding and nonjudgmental person. An open client-therapist relationship can provide benefits for those dealing with depression, anxiety, addictions, personality disorders, low self-esteem and relationship issues.

The post Benefits of Humanistic Therapy + How It Works appeared first on Dr. Axe.

The following is an adapted excerpt from my new book Ancient Remedies: Secrets to Healing with Herbs, Essential Oils, CBD, and the Most Powerful Natural Medicine in History (Little, Brown Spark).

Adopting habits to help you deal with emotions doesn’t mean you should never feel bad or ignore sadness, pain, or fear. Quite the opposite.

It’s natural to feel out of sorts or overwhelmed at times; we all experience an array of negative emotions every day. The key is to recognize the ones that are most likely to trip you up and face them, because the longer they linger, the more likely they are to become toxic. There are a number of time-tested mind-body practices that can help you stay on top of your feelings.

And here’s the best news of all: You don’t need a prescription in order to add these life-changing practices to your daily routine. They don’t cost a dime. They’re risk-free. And you have the power to adopt them right now.

The following ancient techniques are specifically designed to help you consciously recognize when you’ve become stuck in negativity, and they give you the tools you need to restore your emotional equilibrium so your feelings don’t derail your health.

1. Meditation

This practice is truly ancient. Its roots in Judaism and India extend back six thousand years. It has lasted through the ages and is astoundingly popular in the United States today for one reason: It actually changes the structure of your brain, training it to become not only more aware of your moment‑by‑moment feelings, but also to be more resilient and calm.

At its core, meditation involves letting your thoughts rest on a single point of focus — your breath, for instance, or a word like love. When your focus drifts, acknowledge it, then return your mind, without judgment, to your breath. Practicing this basic type of meditation can make you more adept at recognizing emotions as they come up.

It also helps you understand a vital concept: Your emotions aren’t you — they’re passing feelings that come and go like clouds in the sky. That simple but profound notion helps loosen the grip of toxic emotions. A slightly different version of the practice, known as loving-kindness meditation, which was described in the Bible and has roots in Buddhism and Judaism, goes even further by actively shifting the mind from fear, anxiety, irritation, or anger to love, empathy, and compassion.

By doing so, loving-kindness meditation not only protects you from toxic emotions, it also helps you be a better spouse, parent, partner, friend, and colleague. Research has shown that meditating on compassion and kindness is linked to an increase in positive social behaviors, like generosity.

Sound appealing? Here’s how to do it:

• Sit comfortably in a quiet place, close your eyes, and bring your awareness to your breath for a few inhales and exhales.
• Once you feel settled, think of someone who loves — or loved — you unconditionally.
• Feel the sensation of their love in your heart and breathe it in. Visualize that love flowing throughout your whole body, circulating just like blood and qi. Allow yourself to marinate in that feeling for at least ten breaths.
• Then, imagine sending that feeling to someone else. Hold on to an image of that person, and repeat in your mind, “May you be safe, may you be happy, may you be healthy, may you be at peace.”

When I do this practice, I meditate on how I can be more loving, often with the help of a verse from the Bible. I ask God to fill my heart with his love, and I think about how I can be a more loving spouse, parent, business partner, and friend. Even five minutes a day fills me with a sense of calm and helps me feel more connected to the people I love.

Not only can loving-kindness meditation increase your equanimity, over time it will also decrease the intensity of chronic, harmful emotions and amplify the healing feelings of compassion, kindness, and love.

2. Spiritual Triathlon

I do this trio of ancient practices every day. It centers me, grounds me, gives me hope, and helps me consciously think about — and appreciate — the good things in my life. The spiritual triathlon was a cornerstone of my mom’s anti-cancer plan, and I routinely recommend it to patients, friends, and family.

My spiritual triathlon begins with ten minutes of gratitude: writing down or just thinking about things I’m grateful for. Spending time in gratefulness helps me savor the good things in my life and focus less on negative emotions. What’s more, studies show it can enhance your physical and psychological health, boost your happiness and life satisfaction, and protect you from materialism and burnout.

Next, I do ten minutes of Bible reading. I like to read scripture because the Bible’s ancient wisdom guides me and helps me live in accordance with my values and beliefs. But you can choose your own form of spiritual reading — any text that makes you think about living a life of purpose and depth will do the trick.

Having purpose in life is more than just a new age concept, by the way. It integrates who you are as a human being with what you do in your everyday life — and it gives you a reason to get out of bed in the morning. What’s more, a feeling of purpose is fundamental to happiness, fulfillment, passion, productivity, and overall health.

The final leg of my spiritual triathlon is ten minutes of prayer, a practice that helps me find peace no matter what is happening in my life. Research shows it can reduce stress, and people who pray are less likely to experience worry, fear, self-consciousness, and social anxiety.

Meditation works, too, as does a walk in the woods. Choose the practice that most consistently grounds you, helps you feel connected to something greater than yourself, and counterbalances the daily onslaught of stress.

3. Affirmations

The practice of daly affirmations has been lampooned over the years, but it continues to be widely used because it is an effective way to shore up your private image of yourself, which has a number of positive effects.

Research shows that self-affirmation helps you structure information and focus on the big picture. And other research has shown that self-affirmations restore your sense of competence when it has been rocked in some way (whether you’ve lost your job, been diagnosed with cancer or another scary disease, or are in the midst of a divorce).

What’s more, research also indicates that sedentary people who practice self-affirmations are more likely to begin exercising. To use affirmations to reverse negative thought patterns, first write down the negative messages you’re sending yourself — “I am going to die of this disease” or “I’m not going to be able to afford my mortgage.”

Then write a powerful statement that counteracts it, like “I’m going to live a long, vibrant life” or “I’m going to find a lucrative job that’s better suited to me than my last one.” Repeat the affirmation aloud for three minutes in the morning and at night.

4. Random Acts of Kindness

As Lao Tzu, an ancient Chinese philosopher, said, “Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.”

What we now know is that kindness boosts happiness and optimism, bolsters your self-esteem, supports your immune system, improves the health of your heart, and promotes healthy aging. A study found that performing small kindnesses for seven days increased study participants’ happiness — and the more kind acts they performed, the greater the boost.

Kindness doesn’t have to be expensive, time-consuming, or involved. It can include holding the door for someone, complimenting a stranger, picking up litter in your neighborhood, paying for someone’s coffee, mowing your elderly neighbor’s lawn, or writing a letter to a mentor or friend expressing your gratitude for how they’ve positively influenced your life.

Research shows that being kind feels good because it affects a range of mood-related hormones, bolstering oxytocin, the love hormone, and serotonin, a happiness-related chemical, while decreasing cortisol, the stress hormone.

Even better: Kindness is contagious. Merely witnessing an act of kindness can make you happy — and more likely to do something kind yourself.

The post How Age-Old Emotional Techniques Can Help You Get — and Stay — Well appeared first on Dr. Axe.