As much as everyone wishes discussions about the COVID-19 pandemic could be a thing of the past, the reality is that the consequences—not only of the virus but also from what we endured—will continue to be a part of the conversation for years to come.
Even though many places have returned to at least some semblance of “normal” as things reopen and everyone tries to get back on track, many people still struggle with the stress of the past year and a half. And there isn’t a more vulnerable population doing just that than the children and adolescents around the globe whose lives were greatly disrupted by the pandemic.
A study recently published in JAMA Pediatrics tells us just how profound the toll on the mental health of children has been. Through what is called a meta-analysis, meaning a review of multiple studies on a particular topic, the researchers analyzed 29 studies on anxiety and depression in children and adolescents from January 2020 to February 2021. Altogether, this encompassed 80,879 youth participants from North America, Europe, and other parts of the world.
The outcome of this study found that rates of anxiety and depression in children between the ages of 4 and 17 had nearly doubled during the above-referenced time period, compared to pre-pandemic levels. This means:
Cases of depression rose from 12.9% to 25.2%
Anxiety cases increased from 11.6% to 20.5%
According to the researcher’s data, 1 out of every 5 kids has experienced an increase in anxiety symptoms, while 1 in 4 teens are suffering from depression. The prevalence of both conditions was higher in females—although that is consistent with statistics from previous years.
Pandemic Stressors Contributing to Mental Health Problems
For instance, children need consistency in their lives in order for them to feel safe. However, the ongoing uncertainty prevented many from having the schedules and predictability they had been used to. In addition, changes to their lifestyles and home environments likely compounded the emotional strain that kids had to endure, including challenges such as these:
Social isolation and inability to interact with peers
Absence of extra-curricular activities
Missed milestones, like graduations and birthday parties
Household stress and financial problems
Also, many children get specific needs met at school, including support from teachers and coaches, as well as receiving services for mental health. The absence of having these buffering relationships was an added challenge to their resilience.
Signs of Anxiety and Depression to Watch For
When children or teens have anxiety, it often manifests as having uncontrollable worries and feeling fearful, as well as hyperarousal which can present itself as:
Isolating (intentionally) and not spending time or communicating with their friends as often
While there is more freedom to move about now, the ongoing unpredictability of the pandemic and the related stressors are destabilizing for many kids. This can lead to feelings of hopelessness, which is one of the primary indicators of suicidal thoughts.
To that point, in May of 2021, Jena Hausmann, the CEO of Children’s Hospital Colorado declared that they were in a youth mental health “State of Emergency.” The demand for the hospital’s in-patient and out-patient services exceeded its capacity. Very sadly, by that point in time, suicide had become the #1 cause of death for children in Colorado.
Supporting Children in the New Normal
Talking to your children about their concerns and fears, while validating their feelings can provide an element of safety and comfort for them. Getting them back into a daily routine for school, meals, homework, screen time, and sleep will help give them a sense of control and the much-needed structure that was lost for the past 18 months.
Most of all, if you notice new behavior problems or any of the symptoms listed above, be open and honest with your child and take the necessary steps to get them the help and professional support they need.
Depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, clinical evaluations, and therapy for adults, teens, children, and couples.Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here. It comes as no surprise that depression and anxiety make you feel sad, bad, and stressed. But many people are unaware that these mental health issues are also associated with forgetfulness, poor concentration, trouble making decisions, and confusion. It all adds up to memory problems, and that’s bad news. How do anxiety and depression interfere with memory? Before diving into the details, let’s take a look at how memories are made and the different types of memories.
3 STAGES OF MEMORY FORMATION
The biology of memory is complex, but it basically involves 3 main steps: encoding, storage, and recall.
Step 1: Encoding
Encoding occurs when the brain attaches meaning to input from our 5 senses—sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. Research shows that we recall things more easily and have better retention when we associate a purpose to them.
Step 2: Storage
Research on the brain suggests that memories are stashed away in small chunks throughout different regions of the brain rather than being stored in a complete whole in one place. The hippocampus, located within the temporal lobes, plays a vital role in processing memories for long-term storage elsewhere in the brain.
Step 3: Recall
In this step, your brain retrieves a memory. To recall a memory, your brain pulls together those small chunks that have been stored all over the brain and reassembles it. Rather than an exact “replay” of the experience, it’s more like a creative reconstruction. During memory retrieval, your brain also activates nerve pathways that were created when the memory was initially formed.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF MEMORY
On a daily basis, we rely on a variety of types of memory. Here are brief descriptions of the different types of memory, how long they last, and the brain regions involved.
Sensory memory: This lasts less than 1 second and is usually lost since it is not encoded. It is associated with the visual-sensory cortex in the parietal/occipital lobes of the brain.
Short-term memory: This lasts less than 60 seconds, such as remembering a phone number, and involves the prefrontal cortex.
Working memory: This lasts seconds to hours, such as cramming for an exam and is associated with the prefrontal cortex.
Long-term memory: This lasts hours to months and involves the hippocampus. Long-term memories pass through the hippocampus then are stored in various regions throughout the brain. For example, visual cues are stored in the occipital lobes, sensory cues are stored in the parietal lobes, sounds are stored in the temporal lobes, and so on.
Long-lasting memory: These memories last months to a lifetime and are processed in the hippocampus before being stored all over the brain.
HOW DEPRESSION IMPACTS THE RISK OF MEMORY LOSS
People with depression often struggle with short-term memory loss, but they are also at risk of long-term memory problems. A wealth of research, including a study in the British Journal of Psychiatry, has shown that untreated depression significantly increases the risk of dementia. Depressive disorder doubles the risk of developing cognitive impairment in women and quadruples it in men.
In a fascinating study in the Archives of General Psychiatry, a team of researchers evaluated mood and memory in 5,781 women ages 65 and older. At the study’s outset, 3.6% of the women had 6 or more symptoms of depression. Of these depressed women, however, nearly 93% of them were untreated. At a follow-up 4 years later, the more depressive symptoms had increased, the worse the women performed on cognitive tests. Women with 3-5 symptoms of depression had a 60% higher chance of cognitive impairment, while those with 6 or more depressive symptoms were 230% more likely to have cognitive decline. According to other researchers, having depression later in life may be a possible precursor to Alzheimer’s disease.
In a fascinating study, women with 3-5 symptoms of depression had a 60% higher chance of cognitive impairment, while those with 6 or more depressive symptoms were 230% more likely to have cognitive decline.
Depression’s effect on memory can also impact younger people. A 2013 study on young adults found that those with higher levels of depression scored worse on a cognitive test called pattern separation, which is a mechanism involved in encoding memories. This may be one of the ways major depressive disorder interferes with the memory-making process.
In order to preserve your memory, it is imperative that you seek treatment for depression. Be aware, however, that some treatments for depression have been associated with memory loss. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a type of antidepressant that has been linked to cognitive decline, according to a 2016 study in Psychiatry Journal. There are many alternatives to antidepressants that can be effective in the treatment of depression.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is another depression treatment associated with memory problems. ECT involves pulsing electric currents into the brain to trigger small, controlled seizures. Research in JAMA Psychiatry shows that ECT has been associated with retrograde amnesia, which means patients experience gaps in memory related to the time close to the procedure. In some people, memory gaps can extend weeks, months, or even years prior to the ECT procedure. In addition, ECT is typically performed under general anesthesia, which has also been linked to memory problems.
THE TOLL OF ANXIETY AND STRESS ON MEMORY
Similarly, anxiety and chronic stress have been associated with memory problems, according to research in Neurology and BMJ Open. Brain circuits involved in chronic anxiety and fear overlap those seen in Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, chronic stress shrinks volume in the hippocampus. One study in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry found that “anxiety is inter-related and inseparable with loss of memory.” The researchers suggested that anxiety is an early predictor of cognitive decline. What’s behind this strong link?
In general, anxiety requires a lot of mental horsepower and steals mental energy from the memory formation process. Spending so much time stressing about things means you may not have the brainpower to effectively process incoming information for storage as memories. For example, a 2008 study found that short-term, acute stress interferes with cell communication in the brain’s memory centers.
Because of this, it is critical that you learn to control anxiety and stress. Take note that brain SPECT imaging studies show that some anti-anxiety medications, such as benzodiazepines, are actually harmful to the brain. In fact, a 2019 review in the Journal of Clinical Neurology found that long-term use of these prescription drugs increases the risk of dementia by more than 50%. For better brain health, look for natural alternatives to anti-anxiety pills to calm anxiety and stress.
To understand if your memory problems are related to depression, anxiety, or stress, or if they are an indication of Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, consider brain imaging. SPECT is a functional brain imaging technology that can differentiate underlying brain patterns associated with these conditions. SPECT has recently been unanimously endorsed by the Canadian Association of Nuclear Medicine for the evaluation of neuropsychiatric conditions, such as depression, suspected dementia, and other issues.
Memory problems, depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, clinical evaluations, and therapy for adults, teens, children, and couples.Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834or visit our contact page here. It’s very common—and normal—to get a case of the jitters before taking a test, giving a presentation, or going on a first date with someone. In most cases, your brain will calm down once you get distracted by the task at hand.
Unfortunately for some people, it is very difficult to settle their minds. They can get keyed up for hours or even days in advance, with mounting tension that eventually starts to feel overwhelming. They may describe their experience as having an anxiety attack or a panic attack—terms that are often used interchangeably. However, in a clinical sense, these two types of “attacks” differ in numerous ways.
What Happens in an Anxiety Attack?
Anxiety is one of the most common mental health conditions. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately 31% of adults in the U.S. will have an anxiety disorder at some point in their life. To some degree, anxiety is a normal response to a threat—whether real or imagined—and is part of our human condition. However, people who have persistent anxiety go beyond the norm. They tend to be chronic worriers, and consequently carry bigger burdens of stress.
Unfortunately, there are times when that stress and worry can lead to what feels like an “attack” because of symptoms like these:
Increased heart rate and muscle tension
Hypervigilance, such as being easily startled or feeling jumpy
Panic attacks are also disruptive to daily functioning, but because they are less predictable and the symptoms are more intense, they can cause significant amounts of distress for those who suffer from them.
How Panic Attacks Differ from Anxiety Attacks
Aside from being more acute, a panic attack is different from an anxiety attack in a few ways. Whereas anxiety symptoms gradually build up, panic attacks can come on suddenly. They may seem to come out of the blue, or the onset of one may be in response to a known trigger, such as:
Having a phobia, like to snakes, and seeing one nearby in the grass
Fear of traveling through tunnels or over long bridges
Getting into an airplane or an elevator
Whether they are expected or not, the symptoms can come on rapidly and with an intensity that can be momentarily impairing. These include:
Chest pain and a pounding or racing heart, causing someone to think they are having a heart attack
Hyperventilation and shortness of breath can lead to feeling lightheaded and dizzy
Shaking, sweating, hot flashes, or chills
Nausea or stomach pain
A sense of being choked or smothered
Feeling detached from their body or surroundings
Because these symptoms often strike unexpectedly, a person suffering through them may feel like they’re losing control, going crazy, or even that they’re about to die.
Fortunately, panic attacks usually only last about 10 minutes, although it is possible for a person to have multiple ones in a row making symptoms endure for longer. Nonetheless, because of the distress they cause, a person who has had one or multiple panic attacks in public may begin to feel unsafe leaving their home for fear of having another and subsequently feeling embarrassed or helpless if it happens.
5 Steps to Break a Panic Attack
One of the challenges with a panic attack is that because people tend to have shallow breathing, the brain can sense of decrease in oxygen making the out-of-control symptoms even worse. However, the good news is that there are things you can do to help offset them.
Dr. Daniel Amen, neuropsychiatrist and founder of Amen Clinics, teaches his patients these 5 steps to break a panic attack:
1. Stop and take 3 slow, deep breaths.
When you breathe quickly from your upper chest it triggers an adrenaline response which makes you feel more panicked. Instead, use your diaphragm/belly to inhale for a count of 3, hold 2 seconds, and exhale to the count of 3, and repeat this pattern a few times.
2. Do not leave the area unless you are in real danger.
To break your panic attack, you should stay and overcome your initial adrenaline reaction, showing yourself there is no reason to “fight or flight.”
3. Break your tunnel vision.
When your fear sets in, you will quickly have tunnel vision, and this will cause you to feel trapped. By looking slowly from side to side, you become aware of your surroundings and can begin reasoning that there is no danger.
4. Focus on something outside of yourself or warm your hands.
Once your brain knows you’re safe, it’s helpful to focus on any object in front of you, noticing its color, texture, and size. This can distract you from your symptoms and help you feel calmer. Also, running your hands under warm water offers an immediate relaxation response.
5. Speak out loud in complete sentences.
This will prevent you from hyperventilating, and initially, you will speak with short, blunt words, but as you gain control, you will also be able to express your emotions accurately.
Manage your Anxious Thoughts with This Easy Technique
If you struggle with anxiety or a panic disorder, it’s easy to get caught up in fearful and stressful thoughts that can trigger you. Dr. Amen knows this is a pervasive problem for many people. He refers to these automatic negative thoughts as ANTs and he teaches his patients how to recognize and challenge them, so their thoughts can become more realistic.
Using a technique borrowed from Byron Katie, when you recognize a negative and anxiety-provoking thought running through your mind, ask yourself these 4 questions:
Is this thought true?
Do I absolutely (100%) know it’s true?
How would I feel if I didn’t have this thought?
Who would I be without the thought?
Then turn your original thought around to its opposite and see if that is actually truer. Chances are, it is. By practicing this regularly, you’ll begin to have more accurate thinking, rather than believing the thoughts that make you feel anxious.
By incorporating these simple strategies when panic or anxiety starts to set in, you can help to minimize the distress caused by the symptoms and develop a greater sense of control over what can otherwise feel very overwhelming.
Anxiety disorders, panic disorders, and other mental health problems can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here. Are you interested in self-awareness, personal growth, and self-improvement? Don’t we all want greater insights into what makes us tick, so we can become the best version of ourselves? Trent Shelton does. The former pro football player who now inspires millions with his books, motivational speaking, and podcast—has been on a journey of self-exploration and personal development ever since his football career ended prematurely after suffering a concussion. In the decade since then, he has looked inward to better his life and encouraged others to look inside themselves to enhance their lives. But after all that reflection, there was one thing Shelton still hadn’t seen—his brain.
“How can you know yourself if you don’t know your brain?”
That’s the rhetorical question Shelton asked Dr. Daniel Amen when he visited Amen Clinics to get a brain SPECT scan as part of the Scan My Brain video series. Shelton was curious about a few issues he was experiencing—short-term memory problems, social anxiety, and focus. “I’m a last-minute person,” he admitted with a laugh. He also wanted to take the opportunity to share his brain scan experience with his followers as a way to educate and encourage them.
“How can you know yourself if you don’t know your brain?” — Trent Shelton, former pro football player and founder of Rehab Time, upon seeing his brain SPECT scan at Amen Clinics
The former football player’s brain scans provided clues to his concerns. The scans showed signs of previous brain trauma, likely due to the multiple big hits and blows to the head he took as a wide receiver in college and the NFL.
Another finding on his brain scans? Decreased blood flow in the prefrontal cortex, which may also be related to those concussions. This pattern is commonly seen in people who tend to procrastinate, miss deadlines, or be late. Individuals with this brain pattern often need a little bit of stress to get motivated to get ready, such as a spouse telling you in no uncertain terms that you’re going to be late. This helped Shelton understand why he’s a last-minute kind of person and how he could benefit from simple ways to boost focus.
Shelton had been prepared to see brain trauma due to all those football-related head injuries he’d suffered. What he didn’t expect to see was low activity in the cerebellum, an area involved in processing speed and coordination. As a professional athlete who continues to be active with hiking and HIIT training, he’s highly coordinated. Dr. Amen recommended taking up a racquet sport—such as tennis, table tennis, or pickleball—to help activate the cerebellum and the frontal lobes. These sports require the brain to coordinate hands and feet while calculating spins and choosing shots. Think of it as aerobic chess for the brain. Another bonus of picking up a racquet? A 2018 study in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings shows that people who play racquet sports live longer.
Perhaps most surprising to Shelton was the overactivity in his emotional brain. Most people intuitively understand how a concussion can harm the brain, but few of us realize that emotional trauma can inflame the emotional centers of the brain, which is associated with an increased risk of anxiety and depression. In the past, Shelton lost a friend to suicide, and he recently grieved the death of his mother. As Dr. Amen explained, something called ancestral trauma can also be passed down from your parents or grandparents. For example, Shelton’s dad was robbed at gunpoint and shot at. Experiences such as this can alter the genes in a person’s offspring, pre-loading them with generational trauma.
Just because a person inherits ancestral trauma, it’s still possible to offset that genetic coding. For example, Dr. Amen suggested that whenever Shelton is feeling anxious that he writes down what he’s thinking and challenges the thought. Practicing this kind of mental hygiene can help turn off—or at least tone down—those genes.
How Seeing the Brain Changes Your Mindset
For Shelton, seeing his brain ushered him into a whole new level of personal growth that increased his understanding. “I’m connecting the dots,” he said. “I don’t feel like there’s something wrong with me, with the thoughts that I think, or how I felt in the past. I’m seeing my brain and understanding, okay, this is why. So, it just helps me put 2 and 2 together.”
Shelton is one among tens of thousands of people who have visited Amen Clinics for a SPECT scan to better understand their emotional, cognitive, and behavioral issues. In general, with that understanding comes greater self-awareness as well as a stronger commitment to enhancing brain function. And with a better brain comes a better life.
As Shelton learned, no self-exploration journey is complete without a view inside the brain.
No self-exploration journey is complete without a view inside the brain.
Anxiety, focus problems, emotional trauma, and other mental health issues can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, clinical evaluations, and therapy for adults, teens, children, and couples.Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834or visit our contact page here. Even for someone who doesn’t consider themself to be a dog person, looking at a cute puppy’s face can still feel a bit irresistible—and there is a scientific reason behind this. It evokes in us an innate mechanism for caretaking, just as it would if we looked at a human infant’s face. But, beyond this, there are numerous reasons why so many people are naturally drawn to having the companionship of dogs. In a nutshell, it comes down to the many benefits our furry four-legged friends have for our mental health and physical well-being.
Here are 7 ways having a dog—or spending time with one—can help you feel better:
1. Dogs help you exercise.
Because they tend to have a lot of energy—especially when they are younger—dogs need to be physically active, and they rely on you for this. Going out for walks together helps to benefit your physical fitness, plus exercise causes the release of hormones called endorphins, which can reduce feelings of depression. Getting regular exercise can also help you sleep.
2. They can lower your blood pressure.
One of the earlier studies on the positive effects of interacting with dogs was published in 1988 in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine. The researchers found that talking to a dog lowered blood pressure, but petting a dog lowered it even more. Over the decades, clinical research has continued to support the link between having a dog and better heart health. In fact, a research study published in 2019 found that having a dog was associated with overall lower mortality—even for people who’d had a prior coronary event. In general, anything that’s good for your heart is also good for the brain.
3. Dogs help with stress management.
Because of their natural ability to provide comfort—especially when your anxiety gets triggered or you are feeling stressed out, being with a dog can help your muscles relax, slow down your breathing, and lower your heart rate. It also decreases levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. Overall, they make you feel calmer. This ability to help reduce stress is also evident in the way that trained service dogs can help reduce symptoms in people who suffer from PTSD.
4. You feel less lonely.
Having a dog provides near-constant companionship, which is especially helpful for anyone who lives alone or tends to feel isolated from others. A dog’s need to be petted, brushed, or just sit close to you can help alleviate feelings of loneliness by letting you know you aren’t alone.
Dogs also make it more comfortable for you to connect with other people, which is very helpful for someone who has social anxiety. Whether you’re taking a walk or at a dog park, they can make it easier to strike up a conversation because you have something in common to chat about with others. Loneliness and depression tend to go hand-in-hand, so being out and about with your pup can help alleviate some of the blues.
Whether by virtue of their silly and mischievous antics, natural joyfulness, and the fact that they love to have fun, dogs have a way of making even the crankiest person crack a smile. When you play with your dog, your brain releases the chemicals dopamine and serotonin, which can make you feel better. And, when you laugh or smile at something funny your dog does, you get another boost of these happy chemicals.
7. Dogs love unconditionally.
Many years ago, a comedienne said, “I’m going to marry the first man who looks at me the way my dog does when I walk in the door at night.” Everyone wants to believe they matter to others, and dogs can provide us with things that sometimes our human companions cannot. For example:
Regardless of your circumstances, your dog will never judge you.
You will always be your dog’s best friend.
Your dog will forgive you quickly.
You are everything to your dog.
And, even on days when you are feeling bad about yourself, your dog will still think you hung the moon.
Dogs have a natural way of helping to reduce stress and anxiety, lift our spirits, provide a sense of meaning, purpose, and connection, and improve our physical health. Even if you aren’t able to have one of your own, you can still reap the benefits by spending time with friendly dogs in your neighborhood or even volunteering at the local animal shelter. It’s a win-win for both you and the canine who gets to savor your undivided and adoring attention.
Anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here. “I almost don’t feel comfortable being relaxed.” That’s what “Pretty Little Liars” actress Tammin Sursok recently told Dr. Daniel Amen in an episode of Scan My Brain, a video series featuring high-profile individuals who share their brain SPECT scans and open up about their mental health. In the past, a previous doctor suggested that Sursok try Xanax. “I tried a half of one and it felt so foreign to me, that feeling of being relaxed, that I did not feel comfortable,” the actress said. “If I feel too relaxed, I get more anxiety.”
Sursok’s reaction is more common than you might imagine. Perhaps you can relate. When you have a free hour in your day, are you able to kick your feet up and read a great book for pleasure, listen to music that makes you happy, or just let your mind wander? Or do you feel antsy about “wasting time” and throw some clothes in the washing machine, grab a book that you should read for work, or feel guilty about not being productive?
Why is it so hard for some people to relax? A host of common issues inside the brain might be to blame for keeping your mind spinning.
Why is it so hard for some people to relax? A host of common issues inside the brain might be to blame for keeping your mind spinning.
Some people with low levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which is commonly seen in people with ADD/ADHD, tend to be excitement-seeking and conflict-driven. For these people, relaxing is just another word for boring. Big thrills—whether they come from bungee jumping, taking a spontaneous road trip, or even having an argument—boost dopamine in the brain. Sursok, whose brain SPECT scans showed activity patterns typically seen in those with ADD/ADHD, says she sometimes finds herself searching for that dopamine rush by creating conflict in her close relationships. “Things will be going really well, and I’ll be having a great day with my husband and then something will trigger me, and I will go straight to getting that feeling up, getting my heart to palpitate.”
Relaxation Rx: Boost dopamine in healthier ways to reduce the need to seek excitement or conflict. You can increase the neurotransmitter naturally by eating a higher-protein, lower-carbohydrate diet and taking nutritional supplements like green tea, rhodiola, and ginseng.
2. Your emotional brain is overactive.
When the brain’s emotional centers and fear centers are overactive, it can be associated with depression and anxiety. If you have this common brain pattern, you may stay busy as a way to distract yourself from your anxious thoughts and feelings of hopelessness. When the world calms down around you, it’s like those worries and depressed moods come into sharper focus.
Relaxation Rx: Practice mental hygiene by challenging the automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) that creep into your mind and prevent relaxation. Supplements that calm the emotional and fear centers of the brain include saffron, omega-3 fatty acids, and GABA. Bright light therapy and the scent of lavender may also help.
3. Your sympathetic nervous system is stuck in overdrive.
Our sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is the fight-or-flight response that makes us feel anxious and afraid. Our parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) is the relaxation response that counterbalances the SNS and helps us calm down after a heart-pounding incident. When the nervous system is healthy, they work in concert to help us manage stress. Chronic stress or prolonged trauma, however, can interfere with the body’s relaxation mechanism. When trauma is severe or prolonged or it leads to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the SNS can get stuck on, making you feel restless, anxious, panicky, hyperaroused, hypervigilant, or sleepless. If this is the case, even when you try to relax, you aren’t able to shake off those feelings.
Relaxation Rx: If the SNS is stuck on, calm it with meditation, prayer, hypnosis, guided imagery, diaphragmatic breathing, and calming supplements, such as GABA, magnesium, or theanine. For PTSD, therapeutic interventions such as EMDR may be helpful.
4. You stress about relaxation.
When relaxation is just another task on your to-do list, it can be counterproductive. And if you approach it with a perfectionist attitude, it could backfire. For example, checking your heart rate monitor every few seconds as you engage in deep breathing or meditation to see if your level is going down may actually increase feelings of anxiousness.
Relaxation Rx: If this sounds like you, don’t make relaxation a chore. Rid yourself of expectations and just breathe, take a walk, or meditate without any goals. And remember, self-care isn’t one size fits all. Try a variety of activities and hobbies to see what works for you.
5. You fuel your brain with distressing news.
If you’re hooked on watching or reading the news, you’re basically feeding your brain a steady diet of disturbing deaths, disasters, and divisive politics. You’re flooding your mind with toxic thoughts that activate the brain’s fear circuits, making you feel chronically anxious and afraid. It’s hard to relax when you’re constantly on edge and your brain is seeking out the next impending disaster around the corner.
Relaxation Rx: Limit your media consumption and subscribe to news outlets, such as the Good News Network, which specializes in highlighting the positive things that are happening in our world. Anxiety, depression, PTSD, and other mental health issues can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, clinical evaluations, and therapy for adults, teens, children, and couples.Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834or visit our contact page here. Simone Biles, considered to be the greatest gymnast of all time, withdrew from the gymnastics team final at the Tokyo Olympics saying she wasn’t in a good mental space to compete. The 24-year-old gymnast, who told reporters that she was “super frustrated,” added that she began “fighting all of those demons” and couldn’t overcome them.
Those demons can from inside one’s own mind, but in today’s society, they can also come in the form of internet trolls. The young gymnast’s daring feats that have earned her a vaulted place in athletic history haven’t shielded her from online hate from Internet trolls who have blasted the superstar’s muscular physique, hair, and worthiness as a role model.
Earlier this year, Biles fought back against the faceless internet trolls. In an animated video featuring Biles called “VS Trolls” released in May 2021, the gymnast journeys through a world filled with bullies and haters who shame her and rob her of her self-assuredness. The gold-medal winner eventually defeats the trolls to reclaim her confidence.
Unfortunately, in real life, many trolling victims don’t fare so well. As people spend more and more time on social media, the malevolent act of trolling has mushroomed as well. Sadly, more than 1 in 3 people have been the target of internet trolls with abusive language, threats, unsolicited images, and more, according to a 2019 survey.
What’s behind this antisocial behavior and what makes some people so mean on social media?
WHAT IS INTERNET TROLLING?
Internet trolling, a form of cyberbullying or online harassment, is defined as posting disruptive content for the purpose of causing emotional distress. Sometimes, this is for the troll’s own amusement as they take pleasure in hurting others. Trolling can occur on any social media platform or in the comments sections on any form of online content.
These hateful, insulting, divisive, offensive comments may target someone for their physical appearance, personality, political beliefs, or any aspect of their individual being. Trolls may also reveal personal information about someone—known as “doxxing”—without their consent. The anonymity provided by the Internet emboldens trolls to type things they’d likely never dare to say to someone face-to-face.
WHAT’S THE HARM OF TROLLING?
Internet trolling can take a serious toll on people. Reading negative comments about yourself can make you feel awful, hopeless, powerless, vulnerable, overwhelmed, humiliated, and worthless. This mean-spirited behavior can have devastating consequences on mental health. Being the target of trolls has been associated with increases in depression, low self-esteem, trouble sleeping, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts and behavior.
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF INTERNET TROLLS
What makes some people unleash such disruptive and distressing comments? Psychologists have been stepping up research efforts to gain insight into the psychology of internet trolls. A 2017 study in Personality and Individual Differences found that cyber-trolls tend to have high levels of psychopathy and sadism in combination with low levels of empathy. They also are more likely to be male, and researchers call the perpetrators master manipulators who enjoy causing emotional pain and distress in others. A 2019 study further explored the minds of internet trolls and found that narcissism is a common trait. And a 2021 study focused on Facebook points to what’s known as the Dark Tetrad personality factors (narcissism, Machiavellianism, and sadism) as indicators of greater trolling behavior.
WHAT BRAIN IMAGING REVEALS ABOUT INTERNET TROLLING
Many of these psychological traits are associated with abnormal brain activity. Here’s a deeper look at these traits and what brain imaging shows us.
Psychopathy
Considered a neuropsychiatric condition, psychopathy is associated with callousness, lack of empathy, impaired behavioral control, and in some cases, criminal behavior. A person with psychopathic tendencies may be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder, a condition that is characterized by routinely exploiting, manipulating, and taking advantage of others. Neuroimaging studies have shown that personality disorders are associated with structural and functional abnormalities in the brain.
Sadism
A sadist, by definition, is someone who derives pleasure from inflicting pain on others or from humiliating people. Neuroscience shows that sadists enjoy feeling other people’s pain and watching them suffer. A functional brain imaging study in Archives of General Psychiatry on sexual sadism shows heightened activation in the frontotemporal region of the brain while sadists observe pain.
Low empathy
Empathy is the ability to feel other people’s feelings. It’s what helps guide us in our words and actions to avoid hurting other people. According to the lessons learned from over 300,000 brain SPECT imaging scans at Amen Clinics, low activity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is associated with low levels of empathy. Logan Paul, a YouTube superstar, admitted he lacked empathy and came to Amen Clinics for a brain scan that showed decreased activity in the PFC, likely due to a head injury.
Narcissism
People with narcissistic personality disorder consider themselves special and typically don’t consider other people’s feelings. Narcissists may be charming and highly intelligent, but insecurity is often at the root of their bravado. According to neuroimaging research from 2013, narcissists have lower volumes of gray matter in brain areas involved in empathy.
Machiavellianism
A personality trait characterized by cunningness, emotional detachment, negative emotions, instability, and a willingness to take advantage of others, has been linked to abnormal brain activity. Neuroimaging studies have shown that when specific areas of the brain are damaged—from a concussion or traumatic brain injury, for example—the odds of Machiavellian behavior increase.
The good news is that the brain can heal—even in internet trolls. When you put the brain in a healing environment, it can change in positive ways that leads to more appropriate behavior and healthier interactions with others.
6 WAYS TO COPE WITH INTERNET TROLLS
If you’re the target of internet trolls, it can be devastating. But there are things you can do to minimize the impact of those hurtful comments and posts.
Limit your exposure. If you’re a public figure and routinely receive hateful comments, have someone on your staff monitor the comments and posts on your social media pages.
Ignore them. Trolls like to poke the bear and hoping to elicit a response. Don’t give them the satisfaction. Refrain from engaging in a “Twitter war” with them.
Reply with the facts, just the facts. If trolls are spreading falsehoods about you, simply correct the inaccuracies without engaging in any sort of a personal attack.
Block them. When things go too far and trolls threaten you or your loved ones, don’t hesitate to block them from your site.
Lean on your positive support network. Focus your attention on creating a community of family, friends, and followers who support you. When trolls try to drag you down, your supporters can buoy your mood.
Practice mental hygiene. The concept of mental hygiene is just as important as washing your hands. When nasty comments or negative thoughts start rolling around in your mind, challenge those thoughts. With practice, you can learn to develop healthy, rational thinking that helps you cope with those online trolls.
If you’re experiencing depression, anxiety, or thoughts about self-harm or suicide due to internet trolls, these feelings can’t wait. During these uncertain times, your mental well-being is more important than ever and waiting until life gets back to “normal” is likely to make your symptoms worsen over time. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834or visit our contact page here. Peer pressure is nothing new, especially among teens and adolescents. The influence peers wield on their social circle has long been associated with driving behavior—both good habits and bad habits. For example, seeing a friend drink, smoke, use drugs, bully others, or binge eat increases the likelihood of engaging in that behavior oneself. Experts call this “social contagion.” Sadly, it also applies to self-harm.
This is especially alarming in light of the dramatic increase in self-injury among teens since the pandemic began. According to an analysis of healthcare claims by FAIR Health, claims for intentional self-harm as a percentage of all medical claims for adolescents aged 13-18 skyrocketed by 99.8% in April 2020 compared to April 2019. Experts suggest the number of teens engaging in nonsuicidal self-injury could continue to increase.
Seeing a friend drink, smoke, use drugs, bully others or binge eat increases the likelihood of engaging in that behavior oneself. Experts call this “social contagion.” Sadly, it also applies to self-harm.
Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is the act of purposely harming oneself without the intention of taking one’s own life. People who hurt themselves often have a history of adverse childhood experiences, such as abuse, being bullied, childhood neglect, or sexual assault. They may turn to cutting, skin-picking, burning, or other forms of self-mutilation as a way to numb their emotional pain.
NSSI is most frequently seen in adolescents and young adults. Research in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health indicates that 17% of adolescents report at least one incident of self-harm. That’s higher than the 15% of college students who say they have engaged in self-injury at least once, according to a 2011 study in the Journal of College Health. And it’s more than 3 times higher than 5% of adults reporting self-harm. Approximately 65% of those who engage in NSSI are female, but experts suggest the behavior is likely underreported in males.
STUDY FINDS SELF-HARM IS SOCIALLY CONTAGIOUS
Long-standing research shows that among adolescents, exposure to a peer’s suicidal behaviors raises the chances of dangerous copycat actions. Newer findings in a 2020 Canadian study in Acta Psychiatrica Scandanavica indicate that having knowledge of a friend’s nonsuicidal self-injury is significantly associated with an adolescent’s own involvement with self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts.
In this study, researchers administered the following 3 questions about NSSI and suicidal behavior to 1,483 Canadian adolescents ages 14-17.
In the past 12 months, did any of your friends deliberately harm themselves but not mean to take their life?
Sometimes people deliberately harm themselves but they do not mean to take their life. In the past 12 months, did you ever deliberately harm yourself but not mean to take your life?
In the past 12 months, did you ever seriously consider taking your own life or killing yourself?
Based on the responses, females indicated awareness of a friend’s self-harm at a rate of nearly 3-to-1 compared to males. Compared to boys, girls also reported higher rates of their own engagement in NSSI (girls 11.4%, boys 3.4%), suicidal thoughts (girls 8.5%, boys 4.3%), and suicide attempts (girls 4.8%, boys 2.3%).
SELF-HARM AND MENTAL HEALTH
A wealth of scientific evidence shows that NSSI is associated with other mental health conditions. Among people who engage in self-harm may also struggle with issues such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), borderline personality disorder, substance abuse, eating disorders, dissociative disorders, or obsessive compulsive disorder.
The team of Canadian researchers also analyzed mental health status and its effect on NSSI, assessing any diagnoses for major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, ADHD, oppositional disorder, or conduct disorder. They found that adolescents who met the criteria for an anxiety disorder or depression were more likely to say they knew a friend who had been involved in self-harming behaviors. Those with some form of anxiety—including certain phobias—ranked highest with 28.6% reporting knowing a friend who engaged in self-injury. Among teens with depression, 20.4% said they knew peers who tried to hurt themselves.
Engaging in NSSI as an adolescent also has detrimental effects on mental health in adulthood, according to findings in a 2020 study in European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. In this study, researchers followed students in grades 7-8 for 10 years. Compared to youngsters who did not engage in NSSI, those who repeatedly injured themselves as adolescents exhibited significantly higher rates of anxiety, stress, NSSI, and problems with emotional regulation a decade later.
HELPING TEENS PREVENT OR HEAL FROM SELF-INJURY
Preventing and healing from self-harm is possible. Recognizing that NSSI is socially contagious is an important step in identifying an adolescent’s risk for self-injurious behaviors. Providing teens with strategies to handle peer pressure—for example, saying no like they mean it, disagreeing respectfully, or asking questions—can be beneficial in the prevention of this increasingly common problem. It is equally critical for parents to know the warning signs of self-harm, including scars, frequent cuts or bruises, far-fetched tales about how an injury occurred, wearing long sleeves even in summer, carrying sharp objects, declining academic performance, and social withdrawal.
In addition, addressing any co-occurring mental health issues should be part of an NSSI treatment plan. Investigating brain health with functional brain imaging may also be beneficial as it can reveal underlying abnormal activity. A 2019 brain imaging study found decreased brain function in regions of the brain that play a role in emotional regulation. Finding solutions that enhance overall brain health and emotional well-being is key to overcoming nonsuicidal self-harm.
Self-harm, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and other mental health issues can’t wait. During these uncertain times, your mental well-being is more important than ever, and waiting until life gets back to “normal” is likely to make your symptoms worsen over time. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834or visit our contact page here. When you have lived through a traumatic situation, your brain has a natural way of preserving the experience in an effort to protect you from future occurrences that could be dangerous. All of us have this built-in survival system. It stems back to our cave-dwelling ancestors in prehistoric times who always needed to be on the alert to avoid becoming the dinner for a large creature, such as a saber-toothed cat.
When we are faced with a threat, this fight-or-flight system automatically kicks in and releases cortisol and other stress hormones into our brain and body. This causes our heart rate to go up and our muscles become primed to run away from whatever could hurt us. All of this is designed to increase our chances of surviving. Once the event passes, the fight-or-flight mechanisms naturally turn off.
What Happens in the Brain During a Traumatic Experience?
While this protective mechanism in our brain is largely a blessing, it can be troublesome for anyone who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), because it doesn’t know when to turn itself off. It’s as though your brain stays attuned to any sense of danger—whether real or imagined. During trauma, parts of your brain go offline in order for you to focus on escape and survival, and because of this, some of the memories about the traumatic experience can get stored in the non-cognitive areas of the brain, like the sensory system (i.e., certain smells, textures, and sights) or in your body.
Do you struggle with any of these unwanted symptoms of PTSD?
1. You panic during thunderstorms or when winds are high.
People who have survived natural disasters, sometimes by the skin of their teeth, have endured very traumatic and life-threatening situations. For example, imagine a family who stayed at home when a big hurricane hit and had to huddle together in the hallway of the house as all the windows blew out while the wind howled for several hours. After surviving a very threatening situation like that, the sounds of uncontrollable weather can understandably be a big trigger, even when there is no actual hurricane (or tornado or other threat) looming.
2. You need to sit near an exit or facing an entrance.
Because of the traumatic experience you had, such as being abused, assaulted, or stalked, you may feel too vulnerable when you cannot see everyone who is in the room. Therefore, you prefer sitting at a table where you can have your back to the wall, or right next to the entrance or exit to accommodate any urge you may get to leave immediately if you feel threatened.
3. You feel a sudden need to use the restroom when a traumatic memory gets triggered.
One of the reasons this could happen is because some of the stress hormones that are secreted by your fight-or-flight system affect your G.I. tract. Going back to prehistoric times again, it’s believed that this function caused our ancestors to expel their bowels to be lighter and increase their chances of escaping from a predator. Unfortunately, this automatic function now can make you feel like you don’t have control over your physical body.
4. You mentally check out in the middle of a conversation.
You’re physically present but feel removed from your mind and/or body and may not have any sense of what the other person is saying. This is known as dissociation and occurs when you get triggered by something that evokes a painful traumatic memory. It’s a coping mechanism that allows you to escape from something that is too difficult to think about. Dissociation is often momentary, but sometimes these episodes can last for a while.
5. You startle easily.
This kind of hypervigilance is common for people who have PTSD. It’s as though an alarm goes off in your head from unanticipated loud noises or movements—even when there’s no actual threat to your safety. Again, this is the result of a fight-or-flight system that has difficulty shutting down.
These symptoms and reactions can be very stressful. When cortisol and other stress hormones are constantly being released into your brain and body, they can lead people to rely on unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as overeating or using alcohol and recreational drugs to feel calmer. Unfortunately, that relief is only short-lived and makes your problems worse.
PTSD Treatment Can Make a Positive Difference
A much more enduring way to get PTSD symptoms under control is by reaching out for professional help. The idea of working through your trauma may feel uncomfortable because it is something you don’t like to talk about. However, there are certain therapies that have been found to be quite successful for trauma survivors and typically involve less talking. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing—also known as EMDR—is one such modality.
By using eye movements or small hand-held devices that alternately stimulate the two hemispheres of your brain, EMDR helps to get the memories “unstuck,” so you can process them from the present, rather than being pulled back into the overwhelming traumatic moments of the past.
With the right treatment, it’s possible to heal from the symptoms of PTSD and work through your trauma so the distressing memories of your past don’t continue to limit and control your future.
PTSD and other mental health issues can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, clinical evaluations, and therapy for adults, teens,children, and couplesFind out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here. Ever feel like you can’t keep things straight anymore? Like your mind is in a haze and you can’t concentrate, think quickly, or remember to complete important tasks? These are some of the signs of brain fog. You might be worried that it’s the onset of dementia, or you may be aware that certain everyday things are associated with brain fog—like poor sleep, some medications, or hormonal imbalances (hello, pregnancy brain or menopause!). But what you may not realize is that anxiety can also be at the root of brain fog.
You may be aware that certain everyday things—like poor sleep, some medications, or hormonal imbalances—are associated with brain fog. But what you may not realize is that anxiety can also be at the root of brain fog.
Anxiety takes up a lot of your brain’s precious resources. When anxiousness fills the corners of your mind with worrisome thoughts and fears, it’s akin to something researchers call cognitive overload. That’s when your brain is bombarded with too much information to be able to process it all effectively.
When stress and anxiety hit, your brain is so busy processing those nervous thoughts that it drops the ball on the other cognitive tasks you need to handle. It makes it hard to concentrate, difficult to pay attention, and gets in the way of memory formation. This leads to feeling spacey, being easily distracted, and being forgetful. And that’s a recipe for brain fog.
Brain SPECT Imaging, Anxiety, and Brain Fog
Brain SPECT imaging shows that people with anxiety tend to have a very busy brain with too much activity in areas such as the basal ganglia (the anxiety centers of the brain). Overactivity floods the emotional circuits in the brain diverting resources away from important mental processes.
In addition, being plagued by chronic stress causes the hippocampus—a brain region that is critically involved in memory formation—to shrink. In the healthy brain, about 700 new neurons, or nerve cells, are formed each day in the hippocampus. However, when your brain is under attack by a constant flood of stressful thoughts, this process can be disrupted, resulting in fewer new neurons. This is bad news for your memory and can be a major contributor to an inability to recall information.
Imaging the brain can be helpful in determining if worrisome symptoms of brain fog are a sign of dementia or related to anxiety, exposure to toxins, or other factors.
4 TECHNIQUES TO CALM ANXIETY TO CLEAR THE BRAIN FOG
1. Use hypnosis, guided imagery, or progressive muscle relaxation.
When stress and anxiety get out of control, hypnosis, guided imagery, or progressive muscle relaxation can quickly decrease the stress response. Here are the basic steps of you can do this on your own:
Sit in a comfortable chair and stare at a spot on the wall that is slightly above eye level. Let your eyelids close slowly.
Breathe deeply. With each inhale, imagine taking in peace and calmness, and with each exhale, blow out all the tension. Notice a calm come over you.
Squeeze the muscles in your eyelids, closing your eyes as tightly as you can. The let them relax and feel that relaxation travel down your face and body.
After the tension has left your body, imagine yourself at the top of an escalator and ride down while counting backward from 10. By the time you reach the bottom, you should be experiencing a sensation of relaxation.
Enjoy the tranquility for several moments, then ride the escalator back up counting from 1 to 10. When you reach the number 10, open your eyes, and enjoy feeling refreshed and alert.
2. Practice diaphragmatic breathing.
When people get anxious, their breathing typically becomes shallow fast, causing a decrease in oxygen to the brain and body and an increase in toxic carbon dioxide. This can lead to feelings of confusion and disorientation, which are associated with brain fog. Deep breathing—inhaling for about 4 seconds and slowly exhaling for about 8 seconds—reverses that, increasing oxygen to the brain and helping eliminate carbon dioxide to calm panic and restore clarity in the mind.
3. Say a prayer or meditate.
Prayer and meditation have been found to calm stress and quell anxious thoughts. But that’s not all. They also improve focus and memory, and brain imaging shows they enhance activity in the prefrontal cortex. There are many effective techniques, including reading, memorizing, or meditating on Scripture; writing out a personal prayer; reading classic spiritual writings; focusing on gratitude, or meditating.
4. Listen to soothing music.
Music can help you relax, calm anxiousness, and improve focus. In a fascinating study in the journal Brain and Cognition, research subjects rated Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos (K. 448) and Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata as happy and sad, respectively. Listening to happy music (Mozart’s piece) increased activity in the brain’s left hemisphere, associated with happiness and motivation, and decreased activity in the right hemisphere, often associated with anxiety and negativity. Beethoven’s piece did the opposite. Create your own playlist to counteract times of stress and anxiety and to increase focus and energy.
Anxiety, chronic stress, brain fog, and other issues can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834or visit our contact page here.
