Mental Health

Calming Down from a Panic/Anxious State

by

Grunge image of a stressed overworked man studyingPanic and anxiety can be challenging to live with and cope with, especially during acute episodes. Because of the nature of these different states, different individuals respond to different techniques to cope or manage these situations. This blog will provide some different techniques that may help some individuals to calm down from an acute panic/anxiety episode. That being said, this blog is not meant to replace any medical advice you may have been given by your health care provider, so please make sure to consult your health care provider before attempting these at home. In fact, some of these techniques could actually make someone feel worse, so please once again do not attempt any of these without seeking medical advice. Also, if you have a pre-existing condition that makes you susceptible to these types of acute states, please consult professional medical advice, whether it is a naturopathic doctor, counsellor, family doctor, psychologist, etc., to better prepare an emergency plan to best fit your needs.

Ways to Calm Down

  1. Get out of the situation – This suggestion is not always possible, but if it is and can be done safely, attempt to get out of the situation you are in. This may not be best for everyone though, especially for individuals who are in the process of working through their anxiety. Being in an uncomfortable situation may be necessary for healing in their particular case.
  2. Pray – Prayer can divert one’s focus from the problem to a solution, which can be helpful in these types of episodes.
  3. Deep Breathing – For some, focusing on their breath during an acute attack can make the situation worse. However, for some individuals, it helps them to re-center and re-gather themselves.
  4. Exercise – Even a short walk can help get your focus off of the situation at hand. In addition, exercise changes the activity in our brains and can actually help some to enter a relaxed state.
  5. Literally get up and change seats, attempting to look at the situation from a different angle – When we get up and change our position, it changes the activity in our brains and allows us to literally see things from another perspective. In some situations, this may be enough to help us to re-gather and re-focus.
  6. Drink a Calming Tea – Making a calming tea like chamomile can help us to physically reset to a calmer state.
  7. Laugh – This last suggestion is easier said than done. However, laughing can help change the atmosphere that we have created or entered from tension to joy. This might involve reading some jokes online or watching a funny movie. Whatever it is, attempt to surround yourself with joy and laughter.

Have you benefitted from reading this blog? Know someone that would benefit as well? Share, Like, Comment, or Tweet this article, and let me know what you think.

Some of the information provided above may not be appropriate for everyone, please consult with your doctor before trying any of the above. If you are interested in Naturopathic Medicine and wanting a different approach to your health care needs, contact Elisha Cook via the contact portion of this website.

Gratitude Practices

by

GratitudeAs Thanksgiving approaches this weekend, it is important to consider what one is thankful for. However, as some may have heard before, an “attitude of gratitude” is a type of attitude that should be adopted year round. This type of grateful thinking on a regular basis can have many health benefits including, but not limited to:

  • Increased ability to achieve life goals.
  • Increased happiness
  • Strengthened and built relationships
  • Increase alertness and energy
  • Longer and better quality of sleep
  • Increased immunity
  • Increase overall physical health

For more detail on the mechanism and precise estimates on how much gratefulness can benefit your health, see my previous blog on the health benefits of being thankful. Now that we know what being thankful can do for our health, one needs to know how one can adopt this gratitude mindset. Different individuals may choose to do this differently. For some it will be more of an outward expression, for others it may be more internal. The bottom line is choose what suits you best, and go from there. The list below provides some examples of what has been researched and shown to have positive health benefits, but you do not need to limit thankfulness practices to these suggestions. Get creative and get thankful in the way you deem best! I challenge you to try and conduct a thankful exercise of your choice every day and see how it benefits you.

  1. Record happy events – improve well – being and positive emotions
  2. Express gratitude – improve well-being and positive emotions
  3. Give thanks to God for all you have both tangible and non-tangible – In some studies when expressed toward God caused decreased stress and improved health in stressful situations
  4. Record things grateful for – improve emotional well-being and interpersonal benefits
  5. Look in the mirror and say I appreciate you and am thankful for you – For the health benefits of positive self-talk and for some other self-affirmations you can speak over yourself, refer to my past blog on positive self-talk.

Have you benefitted from reading this blog? Know someone that would benefit as well? Share, Like, Comment, or Tweet this article, and let me know what you think.

Some of the information provided above may not be appropriate for everyone, please consult with your doctor before trying any of the above. If you are interested in Naturopathic Medicine and wanting a different approach to your health care needs, contact Elisha Cook via the contact portion of this website.

Sources:

http://ccn.aacnjournals.org/content/29/6/12.full

http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-XLKX200903022.htm

http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/84/2/377/

http://roa.sagepub.com/content/28/2/163.short

 

Health Benefits of Prayer

by

Beautiful Summer GirlAcross cultural and religious backgrounds, prayer has been used to provide comfort, support, and healing for those in need. Prayer, can be defined as “a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God or an object of worship.” Many do not realize that prayer has been widely researched over the years due to its mysterious nature, as well as its beneficial impact. From the definition alone, one can see that prayer could be beneficial through the simple act of giving thanks (for the health benefits of thankfulness please see my blog on the health benefits of gratitude). Prayer can also provide a means for social support, which in itself, is quite beneficial for overall health.

Provided below are 7 health benefits of prayer. In addition to providing these 7 health benefits, I want to add a personal touch. I pray daily, and in the list of people I pray for are my patients. Know that if you have been or are a patient of mine I have and will continue to pray for you. I have seen firsthand the health benefits of prayer: I have seen healing from trauma, pain, anxiety, depression, and concerns in pregnancy. As a result, I consider prayer a type of complementary and alternative therapy (CAM therapy). I hope that this list of health benefits motivates you to consider prayer as a type of complementary therapy to your health regime.

Prayer can:

  1. Prolong survival of cancer survivors and chronic illness sufferers.
  2. Decrease pain scores.
  3. Decrease blood pressure.
  4. Improve immune functioning.
  5. Improve mental health parameters including more optimistic life orientation and lower levels of anxiety.
  6. Increase perceived social support and higher resilience to stress.
  7. Increase healing speed.

Have you benefitted from reading this blog? Know someone that would benefit as well? Share, Like, Comment, or Tweet this article, and let me know what you think.

Some of the information provided above may not be appropriate for everyone, please consult with your doctor before trying any of the above. If you are interested in Naturopathic Medicine and wanting a different approach to your health care needs, contact Elisha Cook via the contact portion of this website.

Sources

 

Helping your child to perform optimally at school

by

The school year is well under way, and many parents can become concerned about their child’s performance in school. Some children may benefit significantly from small changes to their lifestyle and diet. The following tips may help your child to perform optimally in school:

Sleep Recommendations

  1. Sleep – this tip may seem very straight forward, but many children do not get enough sleep. Sleep is so important for children because this is when we process information, grow, and re-energize for the day ahead. If a child does not get enough sleep, they may become quite agitated in the classroom and potentially cause disruption. They may also be unable to concentrate because of the fatigue. Provided to the right is a chart that gives you an idea of how much sleep your child needs according to their age group, as recommended by the sleep foundation (Source: http://sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need) . To further drive home the point, research has been done in regards to sleep and school performance. The research has shown that shortened sleep, disrupted sleep schedules, late bed and rise times, and poor sleep quality all negatively impact academic performance.
  2. Exercise – Exercise is very important for your child. Exercise provides a way to boost mood, boost energy, re-focus, and give a sense of accomplishment depending on the form. By encouraging regular exercise, it allows your child to get the energy release they need and gives them an opportunity to “collect” themselves before re-focusing on school tasks. Research has shown that exercise and physical activity in school aged children can actually increase Grade Point Averages (GPA).
  3. Fruits and Vegetables – no discussion would be complete without discussing the benefits of fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables can provide significant amounts of B vitamins, which are beneficial for brain functioning, mood, energy, stress, and concentration.
  4. Reduce Screen Time – screen time (i.e. televisions, cell phones, I pads, computers, etc.) could have a negative impact on your child’s future educational achievement. Some research has suggested that the more a child spends in front of a television, the less that they will achieve in the future in regards to degrees and educational achievement. I want to point out that some individuals do benefit from the use of different software to help engage with learning, and so, this recommendation needs to be adapted to your child’s specific needs.
  5. Parenting Style – interestingly enough, the way a child is parented can impact their achievement in school. Research has identified five “processes” that contribute to school achievement. They are: “verbal interactions between mother and children, expectation of parents for achievement, positive affective relationships between parents and children, parental beliefs and attributions about the child, and discipline and control strategies.” Of these processes, discipline and control strategies were the most strongly associated with school achievement.

If your child still experiences difficulty with concentration and focus in school, it is important for you to seek the help of a naturopathic doctor, pediatrician, or other health care provider. Some of the causes can be as simple as a nutritional deficiency, and some may require further evaluation.

Have you benefitted from reading this blog? Know someone that would benefit as well? Share, Like, Comment, or Tweet this article, and let me know what you think.

Some of the information provided above may not be appropriate for everyone, please consult with your doctor before trying any of the above. If you are interested in Naturopathic Medicine and wanting a different approach to your health care needs, contact Elisha Cook via the contact portion of this website.

Source: http://sleepfoundation.org/sites/default/files/STREPchanges_1.png

http://www.smrv-journal.com/article/S1087-0792(03)90003-7/abstract

http://www.ijbnpa.org/content/5/1/10/