Understanding Anxiety / Finding Relief

---

fear | fir | noun

• an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat

​fearful | ˈfirf(ə)l | adjective

• feeling afraid; showing fear or anxiety

​​anxiety | aNGˈzīədē | noun  

• a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome

Let's start with this.....

• Anxiety is a natural emotional state all people experience at times.
• It is not a medical condition.
• Suffering anxiety does NOT make you defective or mentally ill.

---

Like any other physical health issue, anxiety has symptoms and those symptoms have an effect on the physical body as well. Fear is a basic biological process of an alarm that tells you something isn't right. It's a deep concern, a sense in your gut, or a full 5 alarm fire in the case of a physical threat, an emergency in which quick action is required to avoid harm to yourself or others.  It overrides the rational mind. The amygdala fires up, sending chemical messages to your frontal lobe, rational thinking becomes impaired by this arousal to take action. Adrenal pumps to empower you to take action. After it's over, your body unwinds with the help of the reptilian brain/limbic system and the whole thing passes, your body returns to normal and it's over.

Arousal of fear is a natural function of the sensory body whose purpose is to alert you of danger or potential for danger. In this way your brain can get out of the way so that you are able to move and take action without thinking about it. In the same way a Ninja or martial arts master is able to respond to threats with a defensive action that removes themselves or others from danger or subdues an attacker. This alert / alarm allows us to be empowered to avoid or overcome a situation that is dangerous, emotionally harmful or overly challenging to us.

However, the driver of the "anxiety mobile" in the case of generalized anxiety that does not appear to be in response to any immediate physical threat, is fearfulness. This form of fear is immobilizing leading to the "freeze response" or  adrenal driven "fight or flight". Protracted freeze response numbs one out making your feelings, your guidance system, unavailable to you. This is depression. Fight or flight unchecked is anxiety. The feeling is, you need to run, but there is nowhere to go...so you run in your mind instead!

Beyond the normal function of arousal we can become victimized by our own thoughts and worries, falling into a acute or chronic state of fearfulness. The energy of thoughts and worries is powerful and can make us believe things that are not real...irrational thinking. It also charges up our body with stress hormones and neurotransmitters that flood the system and literally make you feel ill. This cascade of stress leads to insomnia, fatigue, malaise, depression, digestive disorders, panic state, fluctuations in blood sugar. Anxiety can become debilitating to the extreme.

The medical profession's preferred way of treating anxiety is with medications for which they are substantially rewarded financially by drug companies. Treatment usually involves a combination of antidepressants and tranquilizers... Serotonin uptake inhibitors and benzodiazepines. In some cases of serious depression and debilitating anxiety a short term use of the medications may be helpful. But, the down side of these medications is a slippery slope that ultimately leads to more compounded health issues. The failure of medications points toward the need to work with the symptom rather than suppress it. As in the case of most healing, working with a symptom may mean taking time off to rest, to reflect, making space for recovery. This does not work well in our modern society that wants everybody to be productive all the time. Unfortunately, we pay a bigger price in the end for not taking care when symptoms arise.
More about the dangers of antidepressants.
More about the dangers of benzodiazepines.​

---

In the framework of Taoist medicine, we are equipped to look at the manifestation of symptoms based on the energetic expression. Often depression and anxiety go hand-in-hand.
​
​We begin by understanding that we feel the way we do for a good reason. This point is missed by modern medicine which seeks to fix the symptom rather than arrive at the root cause of the of the symptom as an energetic expression.

---

Depression and anxiety can be considered the mental equivalent of irritable bowel syndrome/chronic constipation. Cycling between running and freezing and going nowhere! 

Let's look at both of these from an energetic point of view. Depression from an energetics perspective is often brought on by feelings of frustration and anger housed in the liver/gallbladder. Depression is a variation of hopelessness. Hopelessness is a dangerous place to be. It creates thought patterns that lead us down into a pit of depression, which naturally arises when we do not believe there is anything that we can do to change our situation. Depression can develop suddenly or gradually over a period of time. Anxiety ensues as the depressed person feels life is slipping away from them. Medical professionals often hook into this fear and recommend medications as though this is not a natural state one may find themselves in. Anxiety and depression can mask other emotions. Those prone to anxiety and depression often have trouble discerning other feelings besides anxiety. Emotions like hurt, anger, sadness, etc. are inaccessible. It is the inability to digest these difficult emotions that results in the internalized tension that fuels anxiety and depression.

Anxiety is a complex experience relating to fear whose home is in the heart. It can be fleeting, easy to recognize and relatively easy to deal with. But, it can become chronic, and in much the same way a chronic disease like cancer. Anxiety can spread anxiety over your life like a sticky layer of cotton candy that seems impossible to escape. Chronic anxiety also tends to sneak up on us. Modern medicine tells us that chronic anxiety is irrational thinking and that all we need to do is change the way we think, cognitive behavioural therapy or take the magic pill, benzodiazepines and/or antidepressants. Working holistically it is important to minister to the spiritual self, the physical body, as well as the mind when dealing with anxiety and depression.

Changing the thought patterns of irrational thinking means that we need to take a deeper dive into the source of the irrational thinking, fear. Paying attention to what the fear voice in your head is saying, is helpful in reversing anxiety. Understanding how we fall into irrational thinking can help us to learn to recognize it, which is the key to overcoming the incessant messages.

Here are some general tendencies that relate to forms of anxiety 

• Emotional anxiety: Painful emotional experiences, especial those that focus on being misunderstood, not accepted within your family or social groups contribute to anxiety. Being ostracized even subtly is painful. We are herd animals and being a part of a group is comforting to us...this is a natural and normal need of humans. That's particularly true of teenagers. Teenage angst……that's anxiety. It's relatively normal, but our social media driven society jacks up the teenage angst, leading to anxiety disorders in which the person who suffers feels like they have no control. Other age groups that are prone to anxiety disorders are those between the ages of  35 to 50. Many adults at this stage of life are questioning, “How the hell did I get here!”. This produces a certain level of anxiety which connects to anxiety about the future or regrets about the past.
• Functional anxiety: You are not gonna hear much about this in the psychological journals, or in the psychiatric world. Functional anxiety serves us to perform at our best. It is stage fright, interview stress, performance, anxiety. It is the natural function of our nervous system to reeve us up in order to overcome a dangerous situation, or to prompt us to excel at our best. We recover quite easily from functional anxiety. Our body resets, and we show no further symptoms apart from the temporary state of functional anxiety.
• Rational anxiety: Is about situations we may frame as "real problems". Range of these "real problems" is endless. We can find a problem in every situation. The art of not seeing life as a problem without a solution is key to overcoming this form of anxiety. The "real problem" may be considered rational, but in the scale of things to worry about many of these things are really not as important as we might make them in our mind. A perfect example of “rational” anxiety might be, worrying about how perfect your house is before someone comes to visit you. Your friends might sympathize with you that this is a reason to become anxious, but in reality it's entirely abstract. If the people who are visiting you are going to judge you by the condition of your home (given that it's reasonably clean and functional) then, perhaps they're not the people you want to hang out with! If you sit down and think about it, you can come up with all kinds of these types of things that you've been anxious about in the past or recently. Breaking it down you'll see it's really not that rational, although it may be accepted in society as such....but society by and large is driven by constant fear!
• Irrational anxiety Is… irrational. I like to think of this, as K-#@%! Radio. It's the voice in your mind that convinces you that, XYZ are true. This voice has nothing good to say about you, or anybody else. Every situation, according to this voice, will lead to disaster. It will tell you, you’ll do lousy on a job interview and...that you'll never get a good job, and likely never get any job, and will inevitably wind up living in a cardboard box on the street in six months.....!!!. Put in any topic you want, and it will lead to this kind of thinking. Getting stuck in this irrational form of thinking and anxiety develops into a habit. I know that sounds harsh. But, as a person thinks in their heart, so are they! Energetically our thoughts affect our physical body. They also have the power to become ingrained in our thought processes. In the same way, a record needle on an LP that gets stuck will dig a deeper and deeper groove as it continues to cycle around. The mind gets in a pattern of this kind of thinking. The good news is there is a way to change that!
• Induced anxiety: Another form of anxiety is anxiety brought on as a rebound effect of medications. Antidepressants and benzodiazepines, even pain meds over time begin to produce even worse symptoms than what you were originally taking the medication for. Withdrawal from these medications is extremely difficult, and must be overseen by an experienced withdrawal person who knows that they should be tapered off of in small increments over a period of time. Often after complete withdrawal, it can take a number of years for the nervous system to heal. One of the primary side effects of withdrawal from these medications is an overwhelming sense of anxiety, that far exceeds all other forms of anxiety. This form of anxiety is akin to a “bad trip” on a mind altering substance…it can feel like hell. It is important to note that if you are considering stopping antidepressants or benzodiazepines, do not consider a rapid taper. Ignorance of the medical profession is an unfortunate side effect of the marketing of drug manufacturers to medical providers. Many physicians have no idea of the difficulties of withdrawing from these medications. At the first sign of anxiety they will tell a patient, “this is the reason you're on medication! “ They may then prescribe a stronger dose, change to or add something new. I urge you not to fall into this merry-go-round from hell trap!

---

Anxiety often goes hand-in-hand with exhaustion, as does depression. When we are exhausted, everything seems too big. Anxiety makes everything important. Anxiety makes it difficult to see and set priorities. What to make for dinner can feel just as important as preparing for that job interview. This is why it is easy to feel overwhelmed—so much to do, so little time. It's almost like having a choir of voices in your head, emphasizing that every single topic is equally important. The upshot of this mental activity is a feeling of deficiency. When you're exhausted, that's the last thing you need to hear is that you should be doing more. Those who lean towards perfectionism are particularly susceptible to anxiety. The driver of perfectionism is a foil for self doubt, it adds fuel to the fire making everything seems bigger and more problematic. Perfectionism is a liar.

Here are some techniques to help you recognize and deal with anxiety.

• Prevention: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It's notable that most anxiety comes out of some level of exhaustion. Take good care of yourself. Go to bed earlier in order to get the best nights sleep. If you're having difficulty with sleep, check out our “Sleep like a Baby” blog for tips on improving sleep. Or start working with meditation, yoga, or Qigong as a way to move, anxious energy out of the body. If you're running on empty, everything seems bigger. It is important to eat regularly. Three meals, a day of nourishing, whole foods, plenty of protein, little or no caffeine, and stay away from sugar. All of these stimulants will set you up for anxiety.
• Listening to your inner self: Your spirit, which you will find in your heart. What is your heart saying?  Fear lives in the heart. What are the fears that are coming up. For example: If you are anxious about going to a party because you don’t know anyone, the urge of the mind may be to stay home instead. So, if your anxiety is a product of exhaustion then staying home might be better for you. If the anxiety is a byproduct of social insecurity, it might be helpful to write down what in particular you are afraid of in social situations. Finding solutions to social anxiety may be pairing up with someone else who also feels a little socially anxious. You can support each other by going to events together. In other words apply creative thinking to come up with ways to encourage engagement, but not challenge yourself too far beyond your comfort level of the moment.
• Over achieving/self criticism: Those who are prone to anxiety are often self-critical and driven by lots of "shoulds and musts". Setting a high bar is ordinarily thought to be a good thing...challenging one's self. But, the self critical over achiever often uses this "high bar" as a form of punishment. If anything blocks this achievement anxiety builds, blinding you to what you have accomplished. If your anxiety is from exhaustion this PUSHING is likely at the heart of this vicious cycle. Step back, slow down and take one thing at a time.
• Don't stuff emotions: Anxious people are often "nice" people. This is often a childhood survival mechanism that can be  difficult to turn off. These folks tend to internalize emotions and avoid conflict, putting a lid on normal emotional responses  creates emotional indigestion! Depression shares this trait. Big strong emotions are naturally uncomfortable for everyone. If the default strategy is to avoid conflict you will live your life as though you are always "walking-on-eggshells" or the "make-others-happy" coping style. This will hurt you in the long run by creating somatic symptoms fueled by the "stuff it down" strategy. The "TIP" is bring awareness to this tendency without judgement. Allow yourself to experience these emotions in a safe way. This insight will lead you to creative solutions as well as an understanding of folks you may just decide are best to avoid!

Anxiety Rx's - What to do to alleviate anxiety episodes.

• When anxiety gets high. It becomes difficult to get on top of. If you think of your anxiety running on a 10-point scale with 1 being calm, and 10 being panicked and overwhelmed it's a good time to reach out to someone. This is the time to take any herbal or nutrients supports that help you get through. A good strong dose of cayenne pepper in a capsule or just added to warm water can help shake of the anxiety rush in a pinch.  More about an anxiety support buddy below these tips.
• Water help with anxiety. A cold cloth to the head and or back of the neck. Using ice packs to the chest and back. A hot foot bath with ice on the chest. A warm shower or bath. A dip in a cool pool in the summer or a warm hot tub in the winter. Just sitting by a body of water, watching waves, or listening to water sounds. 

• Anxiety that pops up in a moment. Is an indication of something that makes you fearful. If you're unable to identify what you are afraid of take some meditative space to connect with the fear itself. Often times the fear will begin to dissolve as we identify it and begin to breathe into it.
• ​Anxiety is generally worse at night. It is especially worse when you lie down. This is due to the fact that physically you are in a state of fight or flight. When you lie down your brain sends messages to your limbic system that knows if you're in danger you shouldn't be lying down!!! It signals adrenal glands to pump more adrenaline, YIKES!! When you're in an acute state of anxiety a night or any other time, sit up in bed, go for a walk, do some yoga or stretching. Moving helps.
• Supporting anxiety with herbs.* There are many useful herbs for anxiety. Chamomile, passion flower, catnip, bee balm, lavender, lobelia, valerian and many more. These are good in the moment as a remedy, but also work well as a tonic taken regularly through the day. Additionally adaptogenic herbs such as ashwagandha, holy basil, rhodiola, shizandra berry and ginseng are good choices. It is very helpful to work with an herbalist or wellness practitioner to find the best blend of herbs to support you. 
• Supporting anxiety with homeopathy: * Aconitum napellus. A panic attack that comes on suddenly with very strong fear (even fear of death) may indicate this remedy. Argentum nitricum, Arsenicum album, Calcarea carbonica, Kali phosphoricum, Lycopodium, Phosphorus, Pulsatilla are all very helpful. Pekana, a renowned German Homeopathy company, offers three standard anxiety remedies in the form of the "Stress Buster" set... a trio of 3 combination homeopathic remedies used to address Seleyes Syndrome of maladaptation of the fight or flight response.  In this state we waste magnesium...pee it out and store calcium in the body in order to maintain protracted fight or flight. The end result is calcium and magnesium are not able to be in solution in the blood enabling us to feel calm. Reversing this condition is key to recovering from anxiety. The Psy-stabil remedy in this set amazingly reduces anxiety with repeated small doses over a period of 15 minutes to 1 hour. As well as this, Rescue Remedy which is also excellent at calming the energetic body and mind. It is also recommended that you find a well trained professional to help guide these choices, especially if your anxiety is chronic.
• Supporting anxiety with food:* As mentioned previously exhaustion is a component of anxiety. When we are chronically stressed our digestion and absorption of nutrients is off. Supplementing with super foods and amino acids will do much to begin to reverse this state. Low blood sugar most often precipitates anxiety/panic. Eating regular meals is important. Getting good protein from a variety of sources is essential. Research shows that vegans are suffering more from anxiety and depression than their meat eating counterparts. Sorry vegans but this extreme diet makes anxiety worse. Moderate flesh proteins, along with beans, peas, lentils, nuts and seeds, fermented dairy such as kefir or yogurt, eggs and nutritional yeast are excellent. Grains...in our "grain 'a phobic" world we are missing out on the best source of fiber that builds neurotransmitter production within the flora of the small and large intestines. Oats, buckwheat, rice, corn are best choices. Supplementing with tryptophan, taurine, l-theanine and eating foods rich in these amino acids can help much. Spirulina, high in protein and chromium helps stabilize blood sugar crucial in anxiety. Whole food source calcium and magnesium are essential.  Avoid caffeine, sugar, chocolate and alcohol. 
• Supporting anxiety with lifestyle changes: Slow down, take it easy...if anxiety is teaching us anything it is this! If you cannot take a break from work or your life...cut out what is absolutely not necessary. Avoid extreme workouts, these just jack up adrenaline and conscious health researchers have determined they are not beneficial in the long run. Do exercise! Walking, yoga, gardening, hiking and gentle workouts are best. Find time for self and get outdoors. Trees and plants emit cytokines that literally minister to us, body and soul! Sort out job difficulties, communicate with employers or workplace advocates. If you are in school speak with professors and counselors to assist you in modifying your load. Allow for sleep and napping in the day. Nothing heals like sleep.  Avoid excessive screen time, especially social media. Too much screen time disrupts sleep and dysregulates the brain. Laughing does more to restore a troubled heart than nearly anything else. Find funny stuff and watch it! AVOID BEING OVERSTIMULATED as a general rule. 
• Supporting anxiety with essential oils: Nearly all essential oils can reduce a sense of stress and fatigue. Some favorites are clary sage, lavender, rose, jasmine, pine, cedar, fir, sandalwood, sweet orange, patchouli. Eden's Garden offer this info on calming essential oils. 
• Supporting anxiety with manual therapies: Acupuncture, acupressure, massage modalities such as craniosacral, visceral manipulation, reflexology, chi nei tsang help clear constricted energy and blood flow improve well being and just feel good. Touch is an essential human need...these traditional therapies offer much in terms of relaxation and energetic support.
• Esoteric Supports: Sound healing, ancient and now rediscovered is excellent to calm the mind and body. Attending a sound healing events  or using the Taoist Sound Healing Meditation provides energetic shifting of biological tendencies...going to heart of the root of anxiety. As are guided meditations such as yoga Nidra and hypnotherapy. Glenn Harrold offers a unique sound healing experience with his Solfeggio Scales Mediations.​​

* Crucial information for benzodiazepine and antidepressant users. You are advised not to take these types of supports and certain foods as they can alter the function of medication, create a withdrawal state or kindle withdrawal symptoms. For more information visit the Benzodiazepine Coalition Information website. Antidepressant nutritional interactions report. 

---

Emergency Rx's for high level/panic attacks

• #1 Breathe...lack of oxygen makes it worse. Slow breaths focus on the movement of the diaphragm engage the whole body in the breath. 
• #2 Water...is soothing. Drink water at the onset of panic or anxiety. A hot foot bath will draw the heat of anxiety to the feet and out of the head. Apply ice to your chest and mid thoracic back side..alleviates tension in the vagus nerve complex. Take a bath, a dip in the pool or hot tub. Using oatmeal in a bath is very calming, add essential oils to boost this calm pool!
• #3 Food...eat something, low blood sugar often precipitates a panic attack. Keeping a protein drink on hand is very helpful. Adding whey protein to juice can provide a quick blood sugar support. Even a small piece of hard candy or strong mint like an Altoid can help boost blood sugar in a pinch. Scramble and egg, or have a bowl of soup. You won't feel like eating but in a few minutes you will begin to feel calmer. 
• # 4 Reach out for help.... call on your anxiety buddy for help. An anxiety buddy is a friend or 12 step sponsor, family member you have asked to help you through a rough patch of anxiety. This person can soothe you by talking with you, rubbing your feet, making food, taking you for a walk, a drive...anything to distract from the anxiety. Ask for what you need!
• #5 Distraction...can be very helpful. Reading anything, playing a mindless game on your device (in an emergency). An active form of meditation such as drawing, modeling clay, doodling will distract the brain to give you a much needed break from the grind of high anxiety. Comedy and laughing helps promote better brain function...YouTube is chock full of funny people and animal videos!
• #6 Move your body....Dancing, swaying, tapping, qigong, bouncing anything that gets your body moving will burn off adrenaline. Go gently, no pushing on this! Massage is a very useful tool for anxiety. A foot neck or shoulder rub with essential oils, always a good thing. 

Moving forward toward healing....
​As you move forward supporting the physical body and are becoming more aware of what your anxiety centers on you can gradually start to take risks. Move towards what you fear. In the process you will come to realize anxiety is just a state of being...it's not who you are. You can experience it without becoming it. In this way you eventually won't be derailed by it! You want to desensitize yourself to the feeling of anxiety by deliberately doing things that go against your grain, by approaching rather than avoiding what makes you anxious.

Taking risks and stepping outside your comfort zone will expand your world rather than making it smaller. Improving your self-confidence and self-esteem will moving you forward and out of anxiety. These positive experiences open you up to self empowerment and everything will begin to shift with this improved sense of self. You will be less frightened and fearful expanding into a feeling of safety builds trust and trust opens us to inner strength. We trust what we feel, we can use our feelings for their intended purpose, to guide us. We can mature out of feelings that don't serve us at any age!

Bridge to Health offers Wellness Support to assist recovery from chronic or acute stress and anxiety. Call or text Vanessa Goldeen CWC at 805-235-8071 for a Free Fifteen Minute phone consult. 
​