There’s only so much you can take—a global pandemic, an economic shutdown, sheltering at home, social injustice, societal unrest—it’s enough to make your anxiety go through the roof. But how can you tell if it’s just heightened stress or if your anxiety is a real problem?
Having trouble falling asleep or tossing and turning throughout the night is a common red flag of anxiety disorders. And it’s a 2-way street. Anxiety can lead to sleep issues, and a lack of adequate rest can ramp up nervousness and stress. In addition, when you sleep for 7 hours, it turns on 700 beneficial genes, but without 7 solid hours of shuteye, you lose out on this important process.
Soothing Strategy: Make sleep a priority. Create a calming nighttime routine and consider natural supplements that promote relaxation, such as magnesium, melatonin, GABA, 5-HTP, l-theanine, and vitamin B6.
If you feel like you can’t take a deep breath, you may be worried it’s a sign of COVID-19 or a garden-variety cold or flu. But feeling like you can’t catch your breath is a common indicator of anxiety. The tree branches in the lungs are wrapped with smooth muscle, and when you’re anxious, those muscles clamp down.
Soothing Strategy: Learning diaphragmatic breathing can help loosen those muscles in the lungs so you can breathe freely again. Here’s a very simple yet powerful breathing technique. Breathe in for 3 seconds, hold it for 1 second, breathe out for 6 seconds, hold it for 1 second. Do this 10 times, and you’ll start to feel more relaxed almost immediately.
ANTs are the automatic negative thoughts that infest your brain and ruin your day. If you’ve got an army of ANTs swirling in your head, they can drive anxiety.
Soothing Strategy: Be careful what you listen to. Don’t subject yourself to hours of TV news, which is constantly spewing out frightening stats and ghastly projections. And understand that you don’t have to believe every stupid thought in your head. You can challenge your thoughts. Whenever you feel sad, mad, nervous, or out of control, ask yourself if what you’re thinking is true. During these difficult times, mental hygiene is just as important as washing your hands. You need to disinfect your thoughts, so they won’t steal your mind or ramp up your anxiety.
During the pandemic, a lot of people have put on the “Quarantine 15.” If you’re stress eating with cookies, cakes, and candy or other foods that quickly turn to sugar—think pasta, bread, potatoes, and rice—it’s a sign of anxiety. Be aware that sugar may provide short-term relief, but it adds to anxious feelings in the long-term. And packing on the pounds doesn’t help either. Research on 35,000 brain scans shows that as your weight goes up, the physical size and function of your brain goes down.
Soothing Strategy: If you’re struggling with sugar cravings, try intermittent fasting, which has many brain benefits and can diminish cravings. Wait 14 to 16 hours after eating dinner before having breakfast. For example, if you finish dinner at 7 p.m., don’t have breakfast until 9 a.m. or 11 a.m.
If you’ve lost the will to work out or go for a walk even though you know you’ll feel better afterward, it can be a red flag that anxiety has taken control. You may feel so worn out by the chronic bombardment of stress that you don’t want to do anything.
Soothing Strategy: Do something! Even if you just take a 5-minute walk outside or you change up your routine in some small way, it can help get you out of a funk and reset your frame of mind. To get inspired, combine physical activity with things you love, such as listening to an audiobook or a podcast while you go for a walk.
If you’re uncharacteristically snapping at your family, your neighbors, or the grocery store checker, it could be due to relentless anxiety. In a 2017 study in The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, over 90% of people with generalized anxiety disorder said they felt very irritable during periods of especially high anxiety.
Soothing Strategy: Before you snap at someone, ask yourself this question: Does it fit? Will saying something nasty to your spouse, coworker, or friend help you get you what you want in life? To help you get irritability under control, figure out what you want out of life, and write it down. Then every time you’re about to snap, take a moment and ask, “Does it fit?” If your behavior isn’t going to help you get what you want in terms of the big picture, don’t do it.
If you’re ruminating on negative thoughts—repeatedly worrying about the future or fretting about something that happened in the past—it’s time to get serious about your anxiety. RNTs are really nasty thoughts. They’re like ANTs that link to other ANTs, then stack together and attack your mind. A 2020 study in Alzheimer’s & Dementia shows that RNTs are associated with an increased risk of dementia, so it’s critical to change your thinking patterns.
Soothing Strategy: If you’re mired in repetitive negative thinking during these uncertain times, try a little TLC. Researchers have found in extremely stressful situations, people who struggle tend to think that things are permanent (this will never change!), global (it’s everywhere!), and out of control (I’m powerless to do anything!). People who are able to thrive in challenging times think differently, telling themselves that the situation is Temporary (this will pass), Local (it isn’t happening everywhere), and Control (I have control over my own behavior). Try the TLC approach to help calm anxiety.
Anxiety, panic attacks, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, 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 888-288-9834. If all our specialists are busy helping others, you can also schedule a time to talk.
Normally, you can handle life’s everyday stressors. You keep your cool when your ADD child can’t stay focused on homework. You work through any relationship issues with your significant other. You find healthy ways to decompress from your stressful job.
But not these days.
Any little thing in your life that isn’t humming along is becoming a compounded trauma due to what you’re experiencing from the pandemic, economic shutdown, and months of physical distancing. The result?
Your nerves are frayed. You’re losing your temper with your ADD child. Your marital problems seem insurmountable. You feel like you need a Quarantini—or 2 or 3 of them—to help you cope with work stress.
What can you do about it?
During a stressful pandemic, mental hygiene is just as important as washing your hands. If your head is filled with ANTs (automatic negative thoughts), it is only adding to your stress. Learning to question your thoughts and eliminate unhelpful ANTs can help you begin to see options and come up with solutions for your everyday stressors.
Are you so focused on taking care of others—your kids, your spouse, your coworkers—that you’re neglecting your own health and well-being? When you spend all your time helping others without giving yourself the self-care you deserve, you’re left with nothing in the tank. If you’re running on empty, you don’t have the bandwidth to handle additional stress. Schedule time in your day for self-care. Make it an appointment so you’re more likely to stick with it.
When you have low blood flow in the brain, especially in the frontal lobes, it reduces your ability to problem-solve, impairs judgment and decision-making, lowers your empathy, and makes it less likely that you’ll bite your tongue before saying something hurtful to someone you care about. Simple ways to increase blood flow to this area of the brain include physical exercise, meditation, and taking fish oil supplements that are high in omega-3 fatty acids.
Feeling like you’re all alone with nowhere to turn for help can compound the stress you’re experiencing. Find an ally with whom you can share your feelings. This is different from complaining, which typically centers on blaming or judging others. Sharing feelings helps you get negative thoughts and emotions out of your head so you can move ahead with constructive solutions to the issues you’re facing.
If you had been coping fairly well with your temper, anxiety, or drinking, or if your child’s ADD or behavioral problems had been treated effectively, but now things have spiraled out of control, it may be time to seek help from a professional.
Anxiety, ADD/ADHD, addictions, behavioral problems, 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 888-288-9834. If all our specialists are busy helping others, you can also schedule a time to talk.
Just for a moment, pretend that an “Evil Ruler” was running our world with the intent of causing more mental illness. (Note: this Evil Ruler is a completely fictitious character that I conceived of long before the coronavirus pandemic ever hit and that I wrote about in my book The End of Mental Illness. This fictional character is NOT a representation of any real-life political figures, political party, government leaders, policymakers, or any other person or entity).
These days, it seems this no-good fictional character has been going wild with the pandemic, the lockdown, the economic fallout, the protests, the looting, and more—all in an effort to make us more anxious, depressed, and stressed.
With the stay-at-home orders, the Evil Ruler has been promoting quarantine baking with high-glycemic and pro-inflammatory foods, spending hours on the couch binge-watching TV shows, and endlessly scrolling through social media feeds—all of which contribute to depression. And spending more time indoors robs us of much-needed vitamin D, which we get from sunshine Low levels of this important nutrient are also linked to depression and lowered immunity, putting us at greater risk of developing COVID-19 and having poorer outcomes from the virus.
In terms of COVID-19, we need “physical” distancing to help stop the spread of the virus, but we need a “social” connection more than ever. Calling it social distancing has inadvertently caused even more people to avoid others to the detriment of their mental health, since living alone and isolating from others has been shown to increase depression and other conditions. In addition, being alone or feeling lonely can cause people with addiction problems to slip back into unhealthy habits.
Encouraging us to obsessively wash our hands with sanitizers, wipe counters, and clean packages that come into the house exposes us all to more harmful toxins. Most household cleaning products are filled with toxic chemicals that poison the brain and increase the likelihood of psychiatric issues.
With news channels spewing out terrifying projections and showing scary images in an effort to “keep us informed,” it’s enough to fire up the fear and anxiety centers of the brain. The constant updates also keep you in a state of FOMO (fear of missing out) that keeps you glued to the anxiety-inducing messages, making you feel even worse.
Being faced with too many opinions and opposing viewpoints about the best ways to stay safe—for example, wear masks, don’t wear masks, wear masks sometimes—fuels uncertainty. When you don’t have clear direction on what to do it drives stress, anxiety, and feelings of powerlessness and depression
Suggesting that there are underlying forces that are intentionally causing the spread of the virus or the collapse of the economy for nefarious reasons ramps up paranoia and delusions, especially in people who already struggle with conditions like schizophrenia.
Airing commercials from pharmaceutical companies that make it seem as if taking a pill is all you have to do to overcome conditions like anxiety, depression, or bipolar disorder does a disservice to us all. Taking medication should never be the first or only thing you do to address a mental health condition. In fact, there are many alternatives to antidepressants and natural solutions to calm anxiety that can help you feel better now and later.
The Evil Ruler continues to hammer home the traditional belief that mental illness is psychological. But brain imaging studies clearly show that conditions like ADD/ADHD, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia are not mental health issues, but rather brain health issues that steal your mind. Getting your brain right by following a brain healthy lifestyle will help heal your mind even during times of extreme stress, so you can resist the Evil Ruler’s efforts to create mental illness.
UPDATE from Daniel G. Amen, MD:
Depression, ADD/ADHD, anxiety, 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 888-288-9834. If all our specialists are busy helping others, you can also schedule a time to talk.
Pop Quiz: What do cats have in common with the following?
Answer: Toxoplasma gondii
Did you know that more than 40 million Americans may be infected by this tiny single-celled parasite that is often carried in cats and shed in their feces? The parasite infects many animals, but it can only sexually reproduce in cats. When it infects a rat—or a mouse or a bird or some other small creature—it releases an enzyme to boost the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine, which is involved in risk-taking, reward, and motivation.
Scientists believe it effectively rewires the brain, so the rat gets hooked on cat urine and basically turns into a cat-seeking missile. Instead of instinctively fearing and running away from cats, the rat runs toward their natural predator. Not surprisingly, the cat eats the rat. And then the T. gondii starts to reproduce at an alarming rate.
In an amazing TED talk, science writer Ed Young recounts this most unusual love story and calls it a classic tale of “Eat, Prey, Love.”
The story doesn’t end there.
When an unsuspecting human empties the cat litter box and comes in contact with the parasite, they can become infected. The T. gondii shed in feline feces can also seep into our water and into the ground, where it can be picked up by humans. This infection, called toxoplasmosis, has a strong association with a wide range of neuropsychiatric symptoms.
In addition, if a pregnant woman becomes infected, she can pass the infection to her developing fetus, which can lead to brain damage or blindness at birth, or mental disabilities later in life.
The parasite is controlling the host. It makes you think that maybe we don’t have as much control over our behavior as we think we do.
If you’re experiencing mental health issues—such as schizophrenia, psychosis, anxiety, depression, or memory problems—and you aren’t seeing improvement from standard treatment, it’s worth investigating if an underlying infection like toxoplasmosis is involved. Brain imaging and screening tests can help detect infectious diseases and get an accurate diagnosis so you can get the proper treatment.
At Amen Clinics, when we see evidence of infections on brain SPECT imaging scans, we do additional lab work and testing. Our integrative medicine physicians are trained to diagnose and treat any infections, such as T. gondii, Lyme disease, Epstein-Barr virus, H. pylori, and others.
If you want to join the thousands of people who have already visited Amen Clinics and enhanced their brain function with our personalized diagnosis and treatment plans, speak to a specialist today at 888-288-9834. If all our specialists are busy helping others, you can also schedule a time to talk.
Grammy-nominated “Havana” singer Camila Cabello, who first rose to fame as part of the girl group Fifth Harmony, recently revealed that she suffers from anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In a heartfelt personal essay in The Wall Street Journal, the 23-year-old entertainer shares that her carefully curated image on social media doesn’t tell the whole story of her life.
In her inspiring essay, she writes about the moments from her life that her fans haven’t seen, including: “Me crying in the car talking to my mom about how much anxiety and how many symptoms of OCD I was experiencing.” The young star says she has lived with “constant, unwavering, relentless anxiety that made day-to-day life painfully hard.”
Cabello admits that she was worried that letting people know she struggles with mental health issues would make her seem weak. “The little voice in my head was telling me that if I was honest about my mental health struggle and my internal battles (i.e. being human), people would think there was something wrong with me, or that I wasn’t strong, or that I couldn’t handle things.”
These are sentiments felt by many of the 40 million people who experience anxiety each year, the 2-3% of Americans who suffer from panic attacks (a form of anxiety disorder), and the 1 in 40 American adults affected by OCD. They are also felt by over 50% of Americans who will experience some form of mental health problem in their lifetime.
Far too many people feel stigmatized by mental health issues, so they don’t talk about it. This is changing, however, as more and more people like Cabello open up about psychiatric issues. But should you go public about your own personal struggles? There’s no rule book about sharing your diagnosis, but the good news is, you’re in control of your own story. Here are some things to consider if you’re thinking about opening up about your experience.
Before you announce to the world that you’ve been diagnosed with OCD, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or any other psychiatric condition, ask yourself why you want to share your mental health status. Are you hoping to use your experience to help others with similar issues? Are you trying to raise awareness about living with mental health problems? Do you want people in your network to understand you better? Do you need special accommodations at work or at school? Have loved ones been concerned about you? Or is there some other reason? Understanding your motivation for telling others about your mental health issues can help you decide who you will share with and when.
When we see high-profile people like Cabello go public with their diagnoses, it can make you feel empowered to share your own story. In general, the more awareness our society has about the struggles that more than half of us experience, the better. For Cabello, opening up sparked a wave of support from her fans. One of her followers on social media wrote, “…as a person who also struggles with bad anxiety, I’m so grateful that she’s speaking up about it…”
However, you should be cognizant that the stigma attached to mental health problems remains and sadly, it may impact your career opportunities, education, and social circle. Announcing your diagnosis or psychiatric symptoms may elicit support from some but may also subject you to some unkind comments. Make sure you’re prepared to cope with any negativity that may be directed at you.
If you have already been diagnosed with a mental health disorder or you have a therapist, ask them about how and when to tell others. They may be able to help you anticipate the types of questions or reactions you should expect.
The more you understand about your condition, the better you can respond to people who have questions for you. It can also help you educate others who don’t react positively to your news.
Too few people realize that anxiety, OCD, depression, and other conditions aren’t mental illnesses, but rather brain health issues that steal your mind. Brain imaging studies show they are associated with biological changes in the brain. When people see brain scans showing there is a biological basis for these issues, it makes them more understanding and supportive.
Make a list of the people you want to tell and start with those you think will be the most supportive.
There are many organizations where you can discuss your symptoms and experiences with others who are going through similar issues.
Sharing your story at churches, in schools, or to other organizations where your experience may provide some benefit to those in the audience.
Cabello closes her essay with, “We live in a culture that pursues unattainable perfection. Social media can make us feel like we should be as perfect as everybody else seems to be. Far from being a sign of weakness, owning our struggles and taking the steps to heal is powerful.”
This is so true. Letting others know we aren’t perfect and asking for help are not signs of weakness. They are signs of strength. The key is choosing the right people to share with and doing it at the right time, so it empowers you and widens your support network.
Depression, anxiety, panic attacks, 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 888-288-9834. If all our specialists are busy helping others, you can also schedule a time to talk.
With the pandemic upon us and anxiety through the roof, who can sleep? An increasing number of people are having a tough time dealing with anxious, racing thoughts that keep us from getting the quality sleep we so desperately need. It’s causing hordes of people to turn to prescription pills for relief.
According to an April 2020 report, there has been a 34% increase in the number of prescriptions filled for antianxiety medications during the pandemic. New prescriptions filled for the most popular anti-anxiety drugs—Xanax, Valium, and Ativan—jumped 38% during stay-at-home orders. At the same time, the number of prescriptions filled for sleep disorders rose by 15%.
“This is a disaster waiting to happen,” says Dr. Shane Creado, a psychiatrist and sleep medicine physician at Amen Clinics in Chicago and the author of Peak Sleep Performance for Athletes. Here’s why.
Anti-anxiety medications (such as Valium, Xanax, Ativan, and Klonopin) are benzodiazepines that are quick-acting and can be beneficial on a very short-term basis for acute anxiety. However, they have several drawbacks. Brain SPECT imaging studies show that “benzos” reduce overall blood flow and activity in the brain and are harmful to brain function. “They can cause memory problems, daytime drowsiness, confusion, addiction, and severe withdrawal syndrome if they are abruptly discontinued,” says Dr. Creado, who does sleep consults and who is the creator and host of an online course called “Overcoming Insomnia.”
Trying to go off these drugs can increase anxiety to higher levels than before you started taking the medication. Benzos are also dangerous when combined with alcohol or other sedating drugs. From 1999 to 2013, overdose deaths quadrupled, according to research in the American Journal of Public Health.
Sleep drugs, such as Ambien and Lunesta, have similar risks. To understand how they work, it’s important to know that “insomnia is not the lack of sleep, but instead, excessive wakefulness of the brain,” according to Dr. Creado. These drugs are effective because they calm an overactive mind and causing you to become unconscious, but they also have many downsides.
“They may limit REM sleep and that can lead to morning grogginess, which is also known as the ‘hangover effect,’ as well as brain fog and memory problems,” says Dr. Creado. In addition, some people experience episodes of sleepwalking, sleep-driving, sleep-eating, and other behaviors while taking these drugs and have no memory of their actions the following day. Stopping the pills can cause rebound insomnia, making it even harder to get the rest you need.
In addition, benzodiazepines and these sleep drugs carry a black box warning, the FDA’s most stringent warning given to medications with the most serious side effects. This all adds up to a growing number of people who are going to need help to stop their prescription drug habit and to learn how to overcome insomnia and anxiety without these medications.
Although many experts have been pointing to a post-pandemic mental health crisis, “there hasn’t been enough focus on the sleep disruption epidemic that is headed our way,” says Dr. Creado. This will have dire consequences on mental health, physical health (such as inflammation, heart attacks, strokes, lowered immunity), work productivity, relationships, and more. To avoid becoming a sleep-deprived victim of the second wave of the pandemic, you need to take action now.
Here are some tips to improve sleep quality.
Sleep disorders, anxiety, panic attacks, depression, and other mental health issues can’t wait. During these uncertain times, your mental well-being is more important than ever and waiting to get treatment until the pandemic is over is likely to make your symptoms worsen over time.
At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples, as well as in-clinic brain scanning and functional medicine evaluations to help our patients. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834. If all our specialists are busy helping others, you can also schedule a time to talk.
During a pandemic, you’re in an elevator, the door opens, and someone steps in wearing no mask, stands right next to you, and starts pressing the buttons with their naked fingers. What do you do?
You see your coworker in the break room grab a roll of paper towels and stuff it in their backpack. When they turn around and see you standing there, do you tell them what’s on your mind?
At the grocery store, someone cuts in line in front of an elderly person. Do you say something or just let it slide?
On a near-daily basis, we’re faced with situations that we know are wrong, but saying something might make us or others feel uncomfortable, might cause a confrontation, or in a worst-case scenario might even lead to violence. It can happen. For example, at a Waffle House in Aurora, Colorado, a man was arrested for attempted murder after opening fire on an employee who refused to serve him because he wasn’t wearing a mask.
Some people have no problem piping up when they seem someone doing something that’s wrong. But for others, especially people with anxiety who are conflict-avoidant, it’s a real challenge to work up the nerve to speak up.
Here are ways to get your point across effectively without creating a confrontation.
Weigh the pros and cons of saying anything. Is the infraction trivial? Is there little to gain from confronting the person? Or is it an important safety issue? Put your energy into things that really matter.
Rather than accosting someone by telling them what they’re doing wrong, give them the benefit of the doubt by asking them if they’re aware what they’re doing is not allowed, is unsafe, or is inappropriate. Consider something along the lines of, “Hey, did you know you’re not allowed to [use your cell phone, ride a scooter, or bring your dog] in here?” The person may genuinely be unaware that what they’re doing is wrong, and it gives them an opportunity to correct their behavior without feeling like they’ve been reprimanded.
If someone is doing something that violates a store or company policy, don’t make it personal. Simply state the policy or point to a posted sign where the policy is in writing.
Screaming, yelling, or raising your voice can quickly escalate matters.
After you’ve said your piece, listen to what they have to say. There may be an explanation for their behavior. Give them the courtesy of responding to you.
Rather than trying to prove that you’re “right,” think of the interaction as a way to find a mutually beneficial solution. When you focus on making someone feel like they are wrong, it’s more likely to escalate into an unpleasant confrontation.
Acting aggressively, wagging your finger in someone’s face, or threatening them in any way is the quickest way to invite trouble. When a person feels like they’re being attacked, they are likely to retaliate. Remaining even-tempered and maintaining a relaxed posture helps keep things civil.
Avoid put-downs and name-calling—“Hey, jerk!” “What are you, stupid?” “Hey, dummy!”—which immediately puts the other person on the defensive.
If the person responds to you with something rude or menacing, stand your ground but continue to stay calm. This shows them that you won’t be bullied but also that you aren’t interested in engaging in a heated argument or violent confrontation.
If you’ve made your point and the other person is now threatening you or getting physical, it’s time to move on.
Anxiety, panic attacks, depression, and other mental health issues can’t wait. During these uncertain times, your mental well-being is more important than ever and waiting to get treatment until the pandemic is over is likely to make your symptoms worsen over time.
At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples, as well as in-clinic brain scanning to help our patients. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834. If all our specialists are busy helping others, you can also schedule a time to talk.
Feeling more anxious due to the coronavirus pandemic? Join the club. A report published mid-April of 2020 shows that the number of prescriptions filled for anti-anxiety medications spiked by over 34% during the pandemic. And the number of new prescriptions filled for drugs like Xanax, Valium, and Ativan while people were under COVID-19 quarantine orders was even higher at nearly 38%. This is very troublesome.
What’s wrong with popping prescription drugs to feel better fast? All psychiatric medications—like all prescription drugs—come with side effects, but those associated with the anti-anxiety medications called benzodiazepines are some of the most concerning. Although they may be helpful in the short-term, anti-anxiety drugs can cause long-term problems, including:
When you’re feeling overwhelmed by anxiety—even during high-stress periods like the pandemic—asking your primary care physician for Xanax or other anti-anxiety medications is literally the last thing you should do. Here are 12 alternatives you should try before considering medication.
Note: If you’ve taken Xanax or another type of benzodiazepine for a long time, don’t stop taking it abruptly as this can heighten anxiety. Work with a physician to gradually taper off the drug as you try these other techniques.
In Dr. Daniel Amen’s book The End of Mental Illness, he details the 11 BRIGHT MINDS risk factors that steal your mind and can increase mental illness, including anxiety. BRIGHT MINDS stands for:
B is for Blood flow
R is for Retirement/Aging
I is for Inflammation
G is for Genetics
H is for Head Trauma
T is for Toxins
Mi is for Mind-Storms
I is for Immunity and Infections
N is for Neurohormones
D is for Diabesity
S is for Sleep
In The End of Mental Illness, you can learn how to prevent, treat, or minimize your risk factors to help calm anxiety and other mental health issues. You can also watch below for more information on how the BRIGHT MINDS risk factors impact anxiety and what you can do about them.
Low blood sugar, anemia, and an overactive thyroid can cause symptoms of anxiety. If you have anxiety that doesn’t respond to other solutions, it’s a good idea to have your healthcare provider perform the following 3 tests:
Aspartame can cause anxiousness, red dye #40 is associated with irritability, and monosodium glutamate (MSG) has been linked to anger and irritability. Be sure to check nutrition labels for these ingredients. Be aware that MSG is sometimes listed only as “natural flavors,” so you may not know you’re ingesting it.
Food can trigger allergies, which often impact the brain. Anything that impacts the brain can affect your mind because your brain creates your mind. To see if foods are contributing to your anxiety, eliminate sugar, gluten, dairy, corn, soy, and other categories of potentially allergenic foods from your diet for 3 weeks. Then add these back one at a time (except for sugar, which you should eliminate for good) and be alert for reactions to them, which would indicate that you should permanently avoid that food.
Research shows that these techniques can calm stress and anxiety. You can use helpful audio programs for guided meditation and self-hypnosis on BrainFitLife. If you respond to prayer, Dr. Daniel Amen’s book Stones of Remembrance offers Bible verses for anxiety, such as:
Worry weighs a person down;
an encouraging word cheers a person up.
Proverbs 12:25
I know the Lord is always with me.
I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.
Psalm 16:8
You can find many more soothing verses on anxiety, depression, fear, loneliness, and more in the book.
Research in Frontiers in Psychiatryshows that anxiety is linked to low levels of HRV, but you can hack your way to a healthier HRV with biofeedback apps, such as HeartMath.
Deep breathing can help calm anxiety, and it’s so easy. Just take a deep breath in for 3 seconds, hold it for 1 second, then exhale for 6 seconds, and hold it again for 1 second. Do this 10 times, and it will trigger a relaxation response. Watch Dr. Amen’s Facebook Live on the 2-Minute Anxiety Solution where he describes in detail how to do this exercise. As you practice diaphragmatic breathing, do a hand-warming exercise at the same time in which you imagine that you’re holding a hot cup of tea or you’re holding your hands up to a fireplace.
The automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) that invade your thinking drive anxiety. Some of the most anxiety-inducing thoughts are called Fortune-Telling ANTs, such as:
“This pandemic is never going to end.”
“I’m never going to get a job again.”
“I’m never going to have a successful business again.”
Fortunately, you do not have to believe every stupid thought you have. You need to develop an internal ANTeater to get control of your thoughts. Whenever you feel sad, mad, nervous, or out of control, write down what you’re thinking. That helps get the thought out of your head. Then, use a powerful exercise developed by Byron Katie and ask yourself, “Is it true?” Then write down the opposite of your negative thought, such as:
“This pandemic will end.”
“I will get another job.”
“I can have a successful business again.”
Ask yourself which statement is more true. You can find an ANT-killing exercise on BrainFitLife.
Yoga, qigong, and tai chi are wonderful exercises that can reduce stress and fight anxiety. They help you learn how to direct your energy in a positive way. A 2017 study using EEG in Frontiers in Psychiatry found that qigong affects brainwaves in a positive way that induces relaxation.
Several natural supplements have A-level or B-level scientific evidence for anxiousness and stress. What does that mean? A-level means there is robust research conducted with more than 2 placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trials. B-level means there are multiple studies where at least 2 are placebo-controlled, double-blind studies. Among these well-studied supplements are l-theanine, GABA, and magnesium—all found in BrainMD’s GABA Calming Support. To help you feel calm under stress—like during a pandemic—you can also try Magnesium Chewables.
Did you know that 93% of the population is low in omega-3 fatty acids? The Omega-3 Index is a blood test that measures your omega-3 level. Try to get it above 8% by using 1,400mg (or more) of omega-3 fish oil with a ratio of approximately 60/40 EPA to DHA. Make sure to choose a high-quality fish oil like Omega-3 Power.
Neurofeedback is a type of biofeedback that measures brainwave activity in real-time and gain control of your brainwaves to achieve the desired brain state, whether the goal is to experience greater relaxation or to maintain better concentration.
Anxiety, panic attacks, depression, and other mental health issues can’t wait. During these uncertain times, your mental well-being is more important than ever, and waiting to get treatment until the pandemic is over is likely to make your symptoms worsen over time.
At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples, as well as in-clinic brain scanning to help our patients. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834. If all our specialists are busy helping others, you can also schedule a time to talk.
There’s no question the coronavirus pandemic has taken a psychological toll on us. Now there’s hard data showing just how many people are suffering. A new Census Bureau poll called the 2020 Household Pulse Survey reveals that a staggering one-third of Americans are showing signs of anxiety or depression, or both.
This represents a huge spike in relation to pre-pandemic numbers. In an average year, an estimated 18% of Americans are affected by anxiety disorders whereas 30% are currently experiencing symptoms of the condition. And the number of people reporting depressive symptoms during the pandemic is twice as high compared to a 2014 national survey that included a question about depressed moods.
As the pandemic and its sweeping effects on health, unemployment, personal finances, education, and relationships rage on, it will continue to affect mental health. The Census Bureau plans to continue taking weekly surveys to track the impact.
According to the latest survey, some people are hurting more than others. Some of the hardest hit are younger Americans. Among young adults aged 18-29, 42% have symptoms of anxiety and 36% are feeling depressed. Although younger people are less likely to become seriously ill or die from COVID-19, they are experiencing the highest rate of unemployment in decades, which is likely adding to their stress. In addition, the pandemic has completely upended college life and future career prospects, throwing the younger set into an existential quandary.
The survey shows that rates of anxiousness and low moods among Americans decline with increasing age. Among people ages, 30 to 59, 31%-34% are feeling anxious and 24%-28% have depressive symptoms. Seniors over the age of 80 are the least likely to have symptoms.
Others who are more likely to be suffering include females, with as many as 41% of women experiencing symptoms of these mental health conditions compared with 31% of men, according to the Census Bureau survey. Anxiety and depression are both typically more common in women.
People across all income brackets are suffering, but the numbers are highest among the poorest. In response to one question about how many days in the previous week they had been bothered by a lack of control or an inability to stop worrying, 68% of those making less than $25,000 a year answered “at least several days” compared to 40% of those earning over $150,000 a year.
Although experts anticipate the number of Americans struggling with anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders will continue to rise, you don’t have to suffer from relentless feelings of nervousness, sadness, or hopelessness. And you don’t have to wait to start feeling better. Even in the face of a pandemic that threatens your health, your job, and your way of life, you can calm anxiousness and brighten your moods. Medication isn’t the only way to do it. There are many alternatives to antidepressants as well as natural ways to calm anxiety that you can put into practice now.
Anxiety, panic attacks, depression, and other mental health issues can’t wait. During these uncertain times, your mental well-being is more important than ever, and waiting to get treatment until the pandemic is over is likely to make your symptoms worsen over time.
At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples, as well as in-clinic brain scanning to help our patients. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834. If all our specialists are busy helping others, you can also schedule a time to talk.
One of the most powerful “feel better fast” techniques Dr. Daniel Amen—a neuropsychiatrist, brain imaging expert, and founder of Amen Clinics—uses is called “Breaking the Bonds of the Past.” It stems from the belief that negative feelings and behaviors—such as anxiety and panic attacks, addictions, and angry outbursts—are often based on past memories that are either toxic or misinterpreted.
This technique requires only 5 simple steps, but it can have a powerful and lasting effect. Here’s what you do. Whenever you have a painful or disruptive memory or feeling, write out the answers to the following questions:
Here’s an example of how Dr. Amen worked through these questions during a psychotherapy session with a young patient.
Nate, 15, desperately wanted help for panic attacks but didn’t want to take anti-anxiety medication. He had several episodes a day when he felt like he was choking or drowning. His breathing became shallow, fast, and labored. His heart raced, he broke out in a sweat, and he felt as though he was dying. Nate hated these episodes. The fear of having them was so overwhelming that he stopped going to school. On Nate’s second visit, Dr. Amen went through the Breaking the Bonds of the Past steps with him.
Tell me about the last time you had a panic attack?
Nate said it was the day before. He was eating dinner when all of a sudden, he felt like he was starting to choke. He couldn’t get air, his heart started to race, he was sweating, and felt as though he was going to die.
Tell me what you were feeling at the time. Describe the predominant feeling.
Nate said he felt as though he was going to die.
In your mind, imagine yourself on a train going backward through time. Go back to a time when you first had that feeling, the feeling that you were going to die.
Nate sat there for a minute and then started to choke. I thought he was having a panic attack in front of me. I asked him to breathe slowly and tell me what was going on. He slowed his breathing, wiped his brow, and told me about a time when he was 6 years old. He was sitting at a lunch table at school and accidentally swallowed a plastic wrapper from a candy bar. He started to choke on the wrapper. Initially, no one saw him. He said he started to turn blue. He couldn’t breathe, and no one noticed. He thought he was going to die. After what seemed an eternity a teacher saw him and did the Heimlich maneuver on him, dislodging the wrapper. Nate said he had forgotten about the event until now.
After Nate had settled down and composed himself, I asked him to go back even further in his mind to see if there was an earlier time when he had the feeling he was going to die.
He closed his eyes and said he remembered a time when he was very young. He was coming out of a very dark place into a place filled with bright lights, lights that felt hot. People were moving around. He felt fear. He couldn’t breathe, and something awful covered his face. He felt as though he was going to die.
To my amazement, Nate had just described a birth experience. When he opened his eyes, I asked him if he knew anything about his birth. He said no, no one had ever talked to him about it. I asked his mother to come into the room. I asked her about his birth experience. She told me that he was a meconium baby, where the infant’s feces get into the amniotic fluid which is very dangerous for the newborn. He was born blue and had to be resuscitated by the doctor. His mother said she had never talked about it with Nate. She didn’t want to worry him.
Break the bonds of the past through an adult or parent mindset or reframe them in light of new information.
With Nate’s mother in the room, I took him back to both of those times. First, with the birth experience, I had the grown teenage Nate go back and explain to the baby what had happened. The baby was in trouble for a short time, but the doctors helped clean him up so he could breathe normally. I then took him through the candy wrapper incident and had the teenage Nate tell 6-year-old Nate that he is grateful to the teacher who helped him and that he is alive, well, and healthy (and he needed to stop eating candy wrappers).
After that session, Nate’s panic attacks disappeared. Dr. Amen saw Nate a few more times, but essentially disconnecting his present symptoms from the past sensitizing event resolved them.
At Amen Clinics, we take a unique brain-body approach to diagnosis and treatment that includes brain SPECT imaging, as well as laboratory testing to check physical health, and other important factors that could be contributing to symptoms of anxiety and panic attacks. By getting to the root cause of your symptoms, we can create a more effective, personalized treatment plan for you.
If you want to join the tens of thousands of people who have already enhanced their brain health, overcome their symptoms, and improved their quality of life at Amen Clinics, speak to a specialist today at 888-288-9834. If all our specialists are busy helping others, you can also schedule a time to talk.