Skip to main content
A man enjoys a detox program at one of our detox centers in new jersey.

The Best Grounding Exercises for Anxiety Relief

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Addiction, Addiction Recovery, Anxiety Disorder, Drugs & Alcohol, Recovery.

Anxiety can feel overwhelming, making it hard to stay present. Grounding exercises for anxiety are helpful tools that calm the mind. These techniques bring your focus back to the moment and help reduce stress. They are simple, effective, and can be practiced anywhere. Whether you are struggling with daily anxiety or facing high stress, grounding exercises can offer relief.

What Is Grounding or Earthing?

You may wonder, What is grounding or earthing?, and how does it help with anxiety? Grounding, also known as earthing, is a therapeutic practice that reconnects you with the present moment. It involves activities that engage your senses or body to pull your focus away from anxious thoughts.

Some forms of grounding also involve direct contact with nature. This includes walking barefoot on grass or sand to connect with the Earth’s surface. Whether physical or mental, grounding helps anchor you in reality when anxiety takes over.

Many people turn to grounding because it provides immediate comfort. It allows your body and brain to feel safe, secure, and in control. Grounding is not just a trendy practice. It is backed by science and used in therapeutic settings.

How Do Grounding Exercises for Anxiety Work?

Grounding exercises for anxiety disorders work by disrupting negative thought loops and focusing your attention elsewhere. When anxious, the mind often spirals into what-ifs and worst-case scenarios. Grounding interrupts that cycle and brings clarity.

These exercises use your five senses or mental focus to shift your awareness. Some people use touch, like holding a cold object. Others use mental grounding, such as repeating a calming phrase. The goal is always the same: to center your thoughts and calm your body.

Many therapists recommend grounding because it is a practical coping skill. It offers immediate relief without the need for special tools. Over time, regular practice can make anxiety feel more manageable.

What Are Grounding Techniques for Anxiety?

If you are wondering What are grounding techniques?, they are strategies used to regain control during anxious moments. These techniques are divided into physical, mental, and soothing categories. Each offers a unique approach to help you feel better fast.

Grounding techniques can be as simple as naming objects around you or holding onto something textured. They can also involve visualizations or breathing exercises. The method you choose depends on what feels most calming to you.

By practicing grounding regularly, you develop a toolkit for managing anxiety when it strikes. These techniques help train your brain to respond calmly in stressful situations. They also create a sense of structure and safety.

Physical Grounding Exercises for Anxiety

Physical exercises to alleviate anxiety use movement and the senses to reconnect with the present. These are excellent for people who feel disconnected from their body during anxious moments.

One effective exercise is the 5-4-3-2-1 technique. Look around and name five things you see, four things you can touch, three things you hear, two things you smell, and one thing you taste. This uses all your senses to anchor you in the present.

Another method to relieve anxiety is to hold a textured object, such as a rock or stress ball. Focus on its weight, temperature, and surface. You can also splash cold water on your face or run your hands under warm water.

Walking barefoot outside is another effective method for physical grounding. Feel the ground beneath your feet and take note of each step. These exercises help calm the nervous system quickly.

Soothing Grounding Techniques for Anxiety

Soothing methods to relieve anxiety involve comforting actions or thoughts that help you feel safe and secure. These techniques are especially helpful for high-stress moments or after a panic attack.

Listening to calming music can be very soothing. Focus on the lyrics, the beat, or how the music makes you feel. Using a weighted blanket is another method that promotes a sense of safety.

Repeating affirmations such as “I am safe right now” or “This feeling will pass” helps shift your mindset. You can also use visualization by imagining a peaceful scene, such as a beach or a forest.

Self-care activities also count as soothing techniques. Taking a warm bath, drinking herbal tea, or lighting a scented candle can help ground you. These methods give your mind something calm to focus on.

Mental Grounding Techniques for Anxiety

Mental grounding techniques for anxiety focus on your thoughts and cognitive abilities to interrupt anxious patterns. These are useful when you are stuck in your head and need help refocusing.

One effective method is counting backward from 100 in intervals of seven. This requires concentration and helps shift your focus. You can also recite a poem, song lyrics, or a list of state capitals.

Another helpful exercise to alleviate anxiety is to name different types of things. For example, list as many animals or fruits as you can in one minute. This stimulates your brain and creates a mental distraction from anxiety.

Journaling is another powerful mental grounding tool. Write down what you are thinking and how your body feels. This helps you gain insight and control over your anxiety. All these techniques promote mental clarity and emotional balance.

When to See a Mental Health Professional for Anxiety

Grounding techniques are helpful, but they may not be enough for everyone. If anxiety affects your daily life, it is time to seek professional help. Persistent anxiety can interfere with work, relationships, and sleep.

Therapists can help you understand the root cause of your anxiety. They will also teach you personalized coping tools that go beyond self-help techniques. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and mindfulness practices are common treatments.

You should also seek help if grounding no longer works or your anxiety feels constant. Medication might be recommended in some cases to help manage symptoms. Mental health support is not a weakness. It is a wise step toward healing.

Talking to a professional can prevent your anxiety from getting worse. With support, you can build a healthier and more peaceful life.

Find Grounding Exercises for Anxiety & Treatment in New Jersey

If you or a loved one struggles with anxiety, help is available. At Enlightened Recovery in New Jersey, we provide compassionate, evidence-based care for individuals with anxiety disorders. We create personalized treatment plans that include grounding exercises for anxiety and other proven strategies. You do not have to face anxiety alone. Contact us today to get started and speak with a licensed mental health professional.

Anxiety vs Nervousness: Differences and Treatment

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Anxiety Disorder, Mental Health, Nervous Breakdown. No Comments on Anxiety vs Nervousness: Differences and Treatment

In our daily lives, terms like anxiety, stress, and nervousness often get interchanged. However, understanding the distinction between these terms can be pivotal for personal well-being and appropriate treatment. The debate of anxiety vs nervousness isn’t just a matter of semantics. It’s about comprehending different emotional experiences and their impact on our health.

Anxiety vs Nervousness

We’ve all felt that flutter in our stomachs before a significant event or the rapid heartbeat during moments of tension. Often, terms like ‘anxiety’ and ‘nervousness’ are used interchangeably to describe these feelings. However, while they share some overlapping symptoms, they stem from different origins and can have distinct impacts on our well-being. 

As we delve deeper into the subject of anxiety vs nervousness, it becomes crucial to distinguish between these two emotions to ensure accurate understanding and appropriate responses. Therefore, by differentiating between them, we can better address our mental health and the challenges that come with it.

Nervousness: A Fleeting Feeling

Nervousness is a natural, temporary reaction to a particular situation or challenge. Whether it’s speaking in public, attending an interview, or meeting someone new. These instances might invoke feelings of unease or apprehension. 

Nervousness is a common emotional state characterized by feelings of apprehension, unease, and worry. Often, it is triggered by anticipation of a future event or situation. In addition, it can manifest both mentally and physically. 

  • Mentally: An individual might experience restlessness, racing thoughts, or unease. 
  • Physically: Possible symptoms include a rapid heartbeat, sweating, trembling, dry mouth, or stomach discomfort. 

Typically, nervousness is a temporary reaction to a specific trigger, such as an upcoming presentation, a job interview, or any situation that is unfamiliar or outside of one’s comfort zone. The nervous sensation fades as soon as the triggering event concludes. 

While it’s a natural human response to certain situations, excessive or chronic nervousness can be a sign of a more serious anxiety disorder. However, occasional nervousness is a normal part of life and does not necessarily indicate a larger mental health issue.

The Role of Stress

To better understand anxiety vs nervousness, we must also understand the role of stress. Stress is a natural physical and mental reaction to life experiences. It can be defined as the body’s response to any change that requires an adjustment or response. 

Naturally, everyone experiences stress from time to time. It can come from any event or thought that makes someone feel frustrated, angry, nervous, or even anxious.

Stress can be broken down into two main types:

  • Acute stress: This is short-term stress that goes away quickly. It can be felt when someone slams on the brakes, has a fight with a friend, or ski down a steep slope. It helps people manage dangerous situations. It also occurs when doing something exciting that gets the heart pumping. 
  • Chronic stress: This is stress that lasts for a longer period. For example, money problems, an unhappy marriage, or trouble at work. Any stress that goes on for weeks or months is chronic stress. Moreover, it can become harmful when people use unhealthy coping strategies like substance abuse to deal with their stress.

Stress causes physiological responses in our bodies. When we perceive a threat or challenge, the body responds by releasing stress hormones. Primarily, cortisol and adrenaline. These hormones prepare the body to either “fight or flight”. 

As a result, this leads to various physical reactions, such as a faster heartbeat, heightened senses, quickened breath, and tensing of muscles. Once the threat or challenge passes, these reactions usually fade.

However, if these stress responses are constantly triggered, they can wear down the body and lead to more serious health problems, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other illnesses, including mental health disorders like depression or anxiety.

Anxiety: More Than Just Temporary Worries

Anxiety vs nervousness: Unlike nervousness, anxiety isn’t always linked to a specific event or situation. Whereas, it’s a more chronic emotion, often without an identifiable trigger. It’s not uncommon for anxiety to last for days or longer. Consequently, making it challenging for individuals to carry out daily tasks.

Anxiety vs stress: While both are responses to challenges or threats, stress is generally linked to a specific external factor, such as a looming deadline. So, once the stressor disappears, the stress tends to fade. Anxiety, on the other hand, might persist even in the absence of a clear reason.

Types of Anxiety Disorders

  • Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): This condition is characterized by persistent, exaggerated worry about everyday life events.
  • Panic Disorder: Involves repeated episodes of sudden feelings of intense fear or terror.
  • Phobia: Extreme fear about a specific thing or situation (e.g., spiders, heights).
  • Social Anxiety Disorder: A debilitating fear of being observed or judged in social settings.
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Recurrent unwanted thoughts and/or repetitive behaviors.
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Initiated by witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event.

It’s imperative to note that anxiety disorders heighten the risk of developing a substance use disorder (SUD). Individuals might resort to drugs or alcohol as a means to cope. Therefore, this leads to a dual diagnosis—where a person suffers from both a mental health disorder and SUD.

The Debilitating Impact of Anxiety Disorders

Untreated anxiety can permeate every facet of an individual’s life. From strained relationships to underperformance at work or school, its effects can be pervasive. Physical symptoms, such as headaches, muscle tension, and sleep disturbances, might accompany the emotional and cognitive symptoms.

Treatment for Anxiety Disorders

Recognizing and treating an anxiety disorder is vital. Therapies like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can be instrumental in managing symptoms. Medications, combined with therapy, can be highly effective depending on the severity of the disorder.

In cases where SUD coexists with an anxiety disorder, dual diagnosis treatment becomes essential. This approach addresses both issues simultaneously, enhancing the chances of recovery.

Anxiety vs Nervousness: When to Seek Help

While nervousness is a universal and short-lived experience, anxiety, particularly in its chronic forms, can be debilitating and demands attention. Recognizing the distinction between anxiety vs nervousness is the first step in seeking the necessary help and reclaiming a balanced life. 

If you or someone you know is struggling with anxiety, reach out to our mental health professionals at Enlightened Recovery.

How to Sleep When You’re Feeling Anxious

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Anxiety Disorder.

Sleep is something that we all need. The amount of sleep and the quality of sleep we receive each night determines how well we function. Sleep affects things like focus, energy levels, mood, and more.

Getting enough quality sleep while you are struggling with substance abuse can be difficult. It can even be tricky during treatment and recovery. The truth is that many things impact your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep.

How Anxiety Affects Sleep

Getting adequate sleep can be very difficult for those who also struggle with anxiety. Because it can be such a challenge, the topic of sleep can be very discouraging for some. Anxiety can affect people differently, as some may be more hindered by its symptoms than others. Across the board, though, anxiety commonly interrupts sleep by either making falling asleep hard or causing frequent awakenings during the night.

Have you ever noticed that you tend to lose sleep when you are anticipating something big or are worried about something? This feeling can be frequent or even consistent for those who struggle with anxiety. Those with anxiety often have difficulty shutting their mind off to relax. They can be consumed by negative thoughts and feelings that distract from their ability to be present in the moment.

These consuming, recurring thoughts often disrupt sleep patterns for people with anxiety. When falling asleep or staying asleep becomes a challenge due to anxiety, it is time to take action. You can do things to help promote good sleep each night while working through anxious thoughts and feelings. A few tips are discussed below.

Create a Sound Environment for Sleep

Everyone sleeps better at home, right? This may not always be the case, but if your home consists of a comfortable bed, your favorite pillow, and other items that provide you comfort, you are likely to get quality sleep in this environment.

Creating an environment that is suitable for sleep involves feeling safe. Allowing your mind and body to relax is the key. Without an environment you feel safe in, you are probably unable to relax either one.

Another suggestion for a sleep-encouraging environment is to limit light. Most people sleep best with little to no light at all. Light can be stimulating, so it is best to keep lights dim as you wind down for the night.

Screentime should also be minimal or nonexistent as you create your sleeping environment. It can be common to become accustomed to falling asleep with the TV on or spending time scrolling on your phone before bed. This can lead to reduced melatonin, which makes falling asleep more difficult. If you struggle to get good quality sleep, eliminating screentime in your sleep environment may be worth considering.

Listen to Calming Music

Music can be helpful or harmful when it comes to falling asleep. It is essential to select the correct type of music to listen to as you are trying to wind down. Slower, more calming music can help relax your mind as you prepare for bed. Nature sounds, such as waves or rain, can also be quite relaxing.

If you find your mind working overtime just as you lay down and prepare for sleep, try putting on some calming music at a low volume. Sometimes, this can encourage your mind to slow down as you focus on the sounds you are hearing instead of your thoughts.

Use Essential Oils

The use of essential oils can enhance your treatment and recovery experience in many ways. They can be healing, energizing, and relaxing. Learn more about the therapeutic benefits of essential oils here.

Lavender is known for its relaxing effect and can be used in many different situations where you feel you might need to relax a bit. It is this soothing nature that makes lavender oil an excellent option for encouraging sleep.

One way to use lavender as part of your sleep routine is to diffuse it somewhere near your bed. Diffusers usually run for a reasonable amount of time with little to no sound, making them an excellent option for bedtime.

Try Reading or Journaling

When you struggle to fall asleep or wake up during the night, make every effort to stay off your phone and avoid screens of any kind. Again, screentime reduces melatonin production and will likely make falling asleep even more difficult.

Sometimes, reading a book or journaling can help you relax and settle your mind. If you find yourself battling anxious thoughts, it can help to write them down or redirect them by getting lost in a good book.

Sleeping well with anxiety can be difficult. Since it is so important to healing and progress in recovery, it is critical to make every effort to get the quality sleep you need.

Anxiety has a way of affecting all areas of life. One area affected is sleep. When you are struggling with anxiety, it can be difficult to relax your mind and body at bedtime. During treatment at Enlightened Recovery, we teach clients a variety of holistic strategies for improving sleep in recovery. Establishing an effective bedtime routine can be very helpful. By using things like essential oils, claiming music, low lighting, and more, you can improve your quality and quantity of sleep. If you or someone you care about is struggling with addiction, we would love to help. To begin your journey to recovery, call Enlightened Recovery today at (833) 801-LIVE.

Getting the Most Out of Your Recovery With Yoga

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Anxiety Disorder, Healthy Living, treatment, wellness. No Comments on Getting the Most Out of Your Recovery With Yoga

Yoga is a practice that uses physical poses to connect the mind, body and breath. The benefits of yoga include stress relief, pain management, and a general improvement in overall well-being. It also helps you gain self-awareness and explore your spirituality. 

Yoga is a powerful tool for holistic healing and recovery from addiction. Substance abuse treatment programs use yoga to help prevent relapse, ease withdrawal symptoms, and provide a healthy way to cope with stress and other negative emotions. It can be an integral part of your daily routine at a treatment center and for the rest of your recovery journey.

How Can Yoga Help You Cope With Stress and Anxiety?

Almost half of the people with a substance use disorder also suffer from an underlying mental health condition. Feelings of anxiety, stress, or depression can cause people to turn to drug abuse – drugs and alcohol may produce temporary calming effects or provide an escape from reality.

Part of the addiction recovery process is learning to reduce anxiety and stress and deal with these feelings in healthier ways. Feelings of anxiety stem from the central nervous system – it is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. Yoga can help regulate your nervous systems, making you feel calmer and more relaxed, which in turn reduces the urge to seek a substance.

Yoga can affect your nervous system by impacting GABA (Gamma-aminobutyric acid) levels in the brain. GABA is a chemical that inhibits brain activity and calms your central nervous system. Research has found that yoga increases GABA levels, improving mood and reducing anxiety.

Yoga may also affect the ‘vagus nerve’, a powerful nerve that delivers messages from the brain to the digestive, respiratory, and nervous systems. The vagus nerve causes a calming response in your nervous system, reducing feelings of anxiety and stress. Yoga involves breathing exercises and other practices that can activate this nerve, helping you manage stress and experience feelings of oneness.

How Does Yoga Help to Manage Pain?

Many people start using prescription drugs like opioids to relieve chronic physical pain and later become addicted. People in recovery may search for another way to ease their pain and yoga can help. 

Lower back pain is one of the most common forms of chronic pain and affects millions of people in the United States. Research has shown Iyengar yoga can be used to decrease the intensity of lower back pain of participants and increase their health-related quality of life – that is, improve the aspects of their well-being that their health impacts. In addition, it can help prevent someone from returning to drugs to relieve pain and the feelings of depression that often accompany it.

How Can You Use Yoga Alongside the 12-Step Program?

The 12-steps of Alcoholics Anonymous are a set of guiding principles for overcoming addiction and maintaining sobriety. They focus on self-acceptance, spiritual well-being, and the development of meaningful bonds between one another. Yoga can support addiction recovery and offer a holistic healing experience that is cognitive, spiritual, and somatic – so it works very well alongside the 12-step program.

Practicing yoga is a way to explore these principles from a body-mind approach. It is an opportunity for introspection where you can learn to accept yourself as a whole. Yoga and meditation also further the development of your spirituality. They can help fulfill the sense of longing for connection or deeper experience that many recovering addicts (people in recovery) recognize as an underlying cause of their addiction.

Enlightened Recovery is a licensed co-occurring treatment center that focuses on healing the whole person rather than merely treating the addiction. Our treatment program is rooted in the 12-step philosophy and offers each client an individualized recovery plan.

At Enlightened Recovery, we offer a range of treatment modalities to provide a holistic healing experience. Our treatment plans include cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), family constellation therapy, art and music therapy, yoga and meditation, acupuncture and chiropractic work, and equine-assisted therapy. You will find us near the southern shore of New Jersey, where we provide optimal healing and relaxation.

If you seek relief from addiction, or if someone close to you does, please call us at (833) 801-5483 to learn more about our treatment options.

Somatoform Disorder Is Scary, but What Is It?

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Anxiety Disorder, Mental Health, treatment. No Comments on Somatoform Disorder Is Scary, but What Is It?

Somatoform disorders are a group of psychiatric conditions where you experience unexplained pain and other bodily symptoms. Somatoform symptoms cause serious distress but are not entirely attributable to any known medical condition or other mental disorder, and they can have a considerable impact on your daily life and well-being.

Symptoms of somatoform disorder manifest in different ways. These include:

  • Pain
  • Neurological disorders relating to your central nervous system 
  • Problems in your stomach, gut, and digestive system
  • Sexual problems

Having a somatoform disorder can be stressful and frustrating. You may feel unsatisfied that there is not a simple medical cause that doctors can treat to end the pain. Sometimes friends, loved ones, and others around you do not appreciate the levels of distress and the challenges you face as a result of the illness. However, the distress and sensation of pain you experience are real, even if there isn’t an underlying medical explanation.

While it may not be possible to find a medical cause, you can still treat and recover from somatoform disorders. Cognitive-behavioral therapy, medication, and treatment for co-occurring disorders can all help to manage symptoms so you can enjoy your daily life.

What Are Some Types of Somatoform Disorder?

There are many types of somatoform disorder, including:

  • Somatization disorder – where you experience several different kinds of physical symptoms
  • Undifferentiated somatoform disorder – which causes a smaller range of symptoms
  • Conversion disorder – causing only voluntary motor or sensory function symptoms
  • Pain disorder – where psychological factors cause or worsen pain
  • Body dysmorphic disorder – where you become overly concerned by a real or imaginary defect on your body
  • Hypochondriasis – an illness anxiety disorder where you are extremely worried about your health

How Does Somatoform Disorder Relate to Depression and Anxiety?

Somatoform disorders often lead to general health anxiety and fears about the cause of the bodily symptoms. However, stress and other mental health issues may also be a driving force behind the disorder. A study by the American Psychiatric Journal found strong associations between somatoform disorders and other psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety and depression. 

How Does Somatoform Disorder Lead to Substance Abuse?

Somatic symptoms and other related disorders cause bodily pain that can be severe and difficult to manage. As a result, you may turn to drugs or alcohol to try to ease symptoms and escape from feelings of stress and frustration.

Marijuana, opioid painkillers, and benzodiazepines can all help to relieve pain and anxiety. However, these drugs are also addictive. Using illicit drugs or prescription drugs in ways other than your doctor prescribes may lead to substance use disorders that can devastate your health and social life.

How Does Drug Use Affect Somatoform Disorder?

Drug abuse and addiction may also affect somatic symptoms. Medications like opioid painkillers can make you hypersensitive to pain and exacerbate the symptoms of somatoform disorders. In addition, withdrawal symptoms and side effects of drug abuse may worsen gastrointestinal, sexual, and coordination problems.

How Can You Treat Somatoform Disorder?

Somatic disorder treatment often involves different kinds of therapy and treatment for co-occurring disorders like substance use disorders, anxiety, and depression which may underlie somatic symptoms. 

Treatment is more successful if doctors recognize the disorder quickly and avoid unnecessary testing and ineffective treatments. In addition, health care professionals should deliver diagnosis and treatment with empathy and a complete understanding of the pain and distress the patient is experiencing.

Treatment for co-occurring substance use and somatic form disorders should treat both illnesses simultaneously. Somatoform disorders can be a driving factor behind substance abuse, and if ignored, drug-seeking behaviors can re-emerge, even after long periods of sobriety. Holistic treatment that focuses on underlying mental and physical conditions is fundamental to recovering from both kinds of disorder.  

Enlightened Recovery is a licensed co-occurring treatment center. We offer a holistic treatment program that treats underlying mental health issues alongside addiction. Our location on the picturesque south shores of New Jersey provides an optimal setting for healing and relaxation.

Our treatment program is rooted in the 12-step philosophy, and we provide each client with an individualized recovery plan. We offer a range of treatment modalities, including cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), family constellation therapy, yoga and meditation, acupuncture and chiropractic work, and equine-assisted therapy. If you or someone close to you seeks relief from addiction, please call us at (833) 801-5483 for more information about our treatment options.

 

7 Tips for Managing Anxiety in Addiction Recovery

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Anxiety Disorder, Mental Health. No Comments on 7 Tips for Managing Anxiety in Addiction Recovery

Anxiety disorders are the most common class of mental health issues. About 30 percent of Americans will have issues with anxiety at some point in their lives. What’s more, anxiety significantly increases your risk of developing a substance use disorder. The National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions interviewed more than 43,000 people and found that among people who had struggled with anxiety in the past year, 15 percent met the criteria for having a substance use disorder—about twice the prevalence in the general population. Part of a strong recovery from addiction entails making healthy lifestyle changes to manage anxiety overall and learning to cope with individual episodes. Here are some suggestions for managing anxiety in addiction recovery.

 

See a Therapist

First, if you have issues with anxiety and you haven’t seen a therapist, see one as soon as possible. An anxiety disorder is a serious mental health issue, sometimes with a biological basis, and you should take it seriously. It’s not just a matter of telling yourself to calm down; there are other issues driving your anxiety. A therapist can help you work through it, perhaps with the help of medication.

 

Breathe deeply.

Deep breathing is one of the most effective tools there is for calming anxiety. When you’re anxious, your body’s sympathetic nervous system, the fight-or-flight system, is in control. You feel threatened—perhaps by something that’s not really threatening or perhaps by nothing at all—and your body prepares to deal with that threat. But since anxiety can feed on itself, the sympathetic nervous system never backs off. To do that, you have to intentionally activate your parasympathetic nervous system, otherwise known as your rest-and-digest system. 

 

You can activate your parasympathetic nervous system by taking a few slow, deep breaths. The exhale is especially important, since this is what stimulates the vagus nerve and helps you calm down. When you feel stressed, panicked, or overwhelmed, take a few deep breaths. A common pattern is to inhale for a count of four, hold for a count of seven, exhale for a count of eight, and repeat. Five or 10 breaths should help you calm down and think more clearly.

 

Examine Your Thinking

Most anxiety comes not from any particular situation but from your thinking about the situation. Sometimes the brain can conjure up anxiety from nothing at all. When you’re anxious, it helps to notice what thoughts are causing the anxiety. Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, has identified a number of common cognitive distortions that cause mental distress. These include black-and-white thinking, catastrophizing, discounting the positive, and others. You typically learn about these distortions and how to combat them as part of addiction treatment or individual therapy. Learning to spot these distortions takes a bit of practice and guidance but will significantly cut down on your anxiety once you get the hang of it.

 

Get Enough Sleep

Getting enough quality sleep is one of the best things you can do for your mental and physical health. Inadequate sleep has been linked to a number of mental health issues, including depression and anxiety. When you are sleep deprived, or when you run a chronic sleep deficit, you significantly impair several important cognitive functions, including attention, working memory, foresight, and prioritization. Perhaps the biggest problem for anxiety is that lack of sleep also impairs emotional regulation. There is an area of the prefrontal cortex that essentially acts as a brake on anxiety and when you don’t get enough sleep, that brake doesn’t work very well. Getting enough sleep makes everything in life easier.

 

Exercise

After getting enough sleep, regular exercise is the second biggest lifestyle change you can make to manage anxiety. Many scientific studies now support exercise’s many mental health benefits, including reducing anxiety. Exercise does a number of things, including increasing the brain’s levels of endorphins, serotonin, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which helps grow neurons in certain areas of the brain. It is also thought that exercise affects the brain’s hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal, or HPA, axis, which reduces your reactivity to stress.  

 

Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness meditation is one of the best ways to learn to manage your anxiety. Most people reflexively try to push anxiety away, ignore it, or stifle it, but these only make it worse. Mindfulness teaches you to accept anxiety and not compound it by being anxious about it. Instead, you observe your anxiety without judgment, noticing where it comes from, what thoughts arise with it, where you feel it in your body and so on. You gradually learn that anxiety is nothing to be afraid of. 

 

Reduce Your Caffeine Intake

For most people recovering from addiction, moderate caffeine intake is not a big deal. If that caffeine is in the form of tea or coffee rather than sugary energy drinks, it may even have some moderate benefits. However, if you are prone to anxiety, caffeine may raise your baseline of stress. Caffeine’s effects are similar to those of anxiety—faster heart rate, increased energy and focus, and so on. It can make you more sensitive to stress or even trigger an anxiety feedback loop. Perhaps more importantly, caffeine can interfere with sleep. Even a cup of coffee at noon may leave quite a bit of caffeine in your system at bedtime. It can either keep you up or prevent you from sleeping deeply. This is especially problematic since many people already experience insomnia early in recovery. And as noted above, a chronic sleep deficit can significantly increase your anxiety.

 

Anxiety isn’t just a matter of being on edge or tightly wound. You can’t “just relax.” It’s a real mental health issue that typically requires professional help. You normally get treatment for co-occurring conditions, such as anxiety, when you enter an addiction treatment program, but not if you only attend mutual-aid meetings like AA. However, an untreated anxiety disorder can make recovery far more difficult, since it’s often the anxiety that caused the substance use issue in the first place. 

 

At Enlightened Recovery, we know that recovering from addiction requires healing the whole person. Our holistic treatment program incorporates modern treatment methods, wellness practices, and modalities such as yoga and meditation to help our clients overcome addiction. To learn more, call us today at 833-801-LIVE.

5 Tips to Help You Stop Ruminating

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Anxiety Disorder, Healthy Living, Mental Health. No Comments on 5 Tips to Help You Stop Ruminating

Rumination is a repetitive pattern of thinking about something negative, either something from your past or something you’re worried might happen later. Rumination is a way of being mentally stuck.

All your energy goes into these repetitive thoughts. Not only does rumination distract you from more useful things but it also tends to make you depressed and anxious. 

 

According to the American Psychological Association, many studies have linked rumination to depression, including one study of more than 1,300 people, which found that ruminators were four times as likely as non-ruminators to develop major depression. Rumination is a bad habit in itself and if you are recovering from a substance use disorder, rumination can be a major liability.

An episode of anxiety or major depression is often a prelude to relapse. Therefore, if you are prone to rumination, it’s a good idea to do something about it as soon as possible. Here are some tips for stopping rumination.

 

Notice When You Ruminate

 

The first step is to notice when you’re ruminating. Part of what makes it so difficult to stop is that we get swept up in our thoughts and we don’t even notice it’s happening. When you do catch yourself ruminating, it’s important that you don’t beat yourself up.

Your first reflex might be to think something like, “Idiot! Knock that off!” What you want to do instead is pat yourself on the back for noticing that you were ruminating. “Oh, there I go again, but great job noticing!” You want to positively reinforce the act of catching rumination rather than punish yourself for ruminating. 

 

Once you do catch yourself ruminating, pay attention to the circumstances. There is typically a trigger; see if you can figure out what it is.

Our brains are highly associative so something as innocuous as a phrase in a news article might remind you of something embarrassing you did as a child and before you know it, you’ve been staring at the same article for 20 minutes, replaying that humiliating moment that no one else on the planet remembers. Just being aware of these rumination triggers can help keep you from getting stuck in a rut. 

 

Distract Yourself or Change Your Situation

 

As noted above, rumination is often triggered by specific situations. If you notice that’s the case, one thing you can do is just change your environment, at least temporarily. This gets you out of the ruminating frame of mind.

The sooner you do this, the easier it is to break the rumination cycle. Another similar strategy is to distract yourself. In other words, instead of changing your surroundings, change your focus.

Since rumination typically makes it hard to concentrate, it’s best to distract yourself with something engaging. Playing a video game, having a conversation with a friend, going for a walk, or listening to music are often effective distractions.

 

Practice Mindfulness

 

In a way, mindfulness is the opposite of distracting yourself. Instead of trying to break the cycle of rumination, you allow it to happen and you observe it nonjudgmentally. See what you can notice about your rumination.

What are you ruminating about? What part keeps repeating? Why is your mind so attached to that part? What emotions arise as you ruminate? Where do you feel those emotions in your body? 

 

You will probably notice some patterns very quickly. For example, you may notice that you feel strongly attached to your rumination and why you try to think about something else, it sort of pulls you back.

Why is that? Is there some sense in which you enjoy ruminating? Mindfully exploring your rumination can give you a lot of insight. It works best if you have a regular mindfulness meditation practice. Even 20 or 30 minutes a day will help you relax and gain insight into your thought processes.

 

Write It Down

 

One thing you may discover about rumination, if you watch it mindfully, is that you feel, deep down, like you’re solving a very important problem. So, for example, you said something embarrassing at work and your brain wants to replay the situation to figure out what happened and how you could have handled the situation better.

That’s actually pretty helpful. However, this often turns into replaying an embarrassing incident over and over, which is not helpful.

One reason a rumination tends to repeat is that you don’t want to forget the bit that you’ve worked through. Unfortunately, that means you never make much progress in solving the problem. 

 

One way to break out of the trap is to write down what you’re ruminating about. This brings your rumination into your conscious awareness—as noted above—and it gives your brain permission to stop rehearsing it.

Your very important problem is now safely down on paper and you can either continue thinking it through logically, on paper, or you can think about something else. 

 

Take Steps Toward Solving the Problem.

 

If you do continue writing about a problem, it may help you break the cycle of rumination. As noted, rumination is the desire to solve a problem run amok.

If you are able to state the problem clearly and perhaps take concrete steps toward solving it, you will immediately worry about it less. You don’t have to solve the whole problem at once; you really only need a clear idea of the first step and a workable plan for following through.

 

Rumination, like any bad habit, takes time and patience to quit, but it’s well worth the effort. Awareness and attention are the keys.

It’s also helpful to remember that your brain is trying to do something useful. Once you better understand how rumination works, in general, and for you specifically, it’s easier to get out of the trap.

 At Enlightened Recovery, we use a variety of holistic methods, including evidence-based therapeutic methods, yoga, mindfulness, and others, to help our clients cope with challenging emotions and lead more fulfilling lives. For more information, call us at 833-801-LIVE.

Wil Wheaton’s Journey of Anxiety and Depression

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Anxiety Disorder, Mental Health. No Comments on Wil Wheaton’s Journey of Anxiety and Depression

Wil Wheaton is a 45-year-old actor with a wife and two children. He has worked on hit television shows like “The Big Bang Theory” and “Star Trek- The Next Generation,” has been a New York Times Bestselling Audiobook narrator, has received numerous awards for his work, and has struggled with anxiety and depression despite it all. By learning about Wil Wheaton’s experiences of anxiety and depression, it shows us that everyone has their struggles no matter how successful you are in your career and how important it is to talk about it.

Wil Wheaton’s Childhood with Anxiety and Depression

When Wheaton was seven or eight years old, he started having panic attacks. Adults back then thought that he was just suffering from nightmares since there were no names for panic attacks. Wheaton would wake up in terror with the blanket being off the bed by the end of the night. He would sleep on the floor of his sister’s room because he was afraid of being alone. Despite having normal moments as a child, the panic attacks would keep returning always worse than before. 

At the age of 13, Wheaton’s anxiety would kick in where he would worry about everything. He was tired, irritable, lack self-confidence, and low self-esteem. Wheaton felt like he could not trust anyone because he was convinced people only wanted to be around him for his fame since he considered himself worthless without it. Wheaton was taught that his anxiety was shameful in that it would reflect poorly on his parents and should be kept a secret. Adults did not take his anxiety symptoms seriously. When he would have trouble breathing while on set, in fear of messing up or being fired, directors and producers claimed he was too difficult to work with. This was when his anxiety turned into depression.

The Stigma of Mental Illness

Wheaton has told Medium that he wished he knew what mental illness was. Because he did not know what was wrong with him, he did not know how to ask for help. He also had no idea that mental illness could be treated and that he does not have to continue feeling lousy. Wheaton’s parents did not like to talk about mental illness as they felt like it would be a reflection on them. Wheaton does not blame his parents for not addressing his mental illness because he believed they were blind to the symptoms. His parents grew up believing that mental illness was a sign of weakness and taught their son that. When Wheaton would try to reach for help, he did not know what questions to ask and adults did not know what answers to give.

Wil Wheaton in His Twenties

When Wheaton was 22, he suffered another panic attack in the middle of the night. This caused him to drive to his parent’s house, sleep on the floor of his sister’s room again, and asked his mom the next morning what was wrong with him. Even though his mother knew mental illness ran in the family, she still could not connect the dots that the same thing was happening to her son. 

In his twenties, Wheaton started having obsessive behaviors. He would worry about the world around him, holding his breath when he would drive under bridges to avoid crashing his car, tap the side of airplanes to avoid the plane crashing, and would feel like every time he said goodbye to someone would be the last. 

How Anxiety Interferred in Wil Wheaton’s Life

Whenever Wheaton wanted to have fun with his friends, he felt like his anxiety would always stop him. Traffic would be too stressful and he would have trouble finding parking. Wheaton would think of all of the “what-if” scenarios that would make him think negatively about every experience. He wished his brain would ask him what would happen if he actually had fun. Wheaton felt like his anxiety would prevent him from living and just solely existing. 

The Start of Treatment

After Wheaton had a panic attack and a meltdown at the Los Angeles International Airport, his wife suggested that he get help. He knew how important his wife was to him and that she did not want to see him suffer anymore. When Wheaton went to see a doctor, the doctor said to him, “Please let me help you.” It was not until he was 34 that he realized mental illness was not a weakness. Wheaton started on a low dose of an antidepressant and noticed a big change after taking a walk with his wife in ten years. He noticed the smell of the flowers, the breeze, and the birds without feeling any negativity. 

Wil Wheaton’s Advice

Wheaton started talking about his mental illnesses in 2012. After that, a bunch of people reached out to him online. They shared stories with him and asked him questions about how he got through a bad day or week. He would tell them that his depression feels like a lead blanket weighing him down. While that happens, depression feeds you lies. Wheaton wants people to know how important it is to take care of yourself and the awful feelings do not stick with you forever. Wil Wheaton’s wish is for the government to put more funding into mental health treatments and for more people to be comfortable talking about what they are going through. 

Located on the shore of Southern New Jersey, Enlightened Recovery is a recovery center that uses evidence-based therapies and holistic healing to treat addiction and mental illness. With the opportunity to learn about therapies that are keyed in to healing the human spirit and learning about new stress-reducing techniques centered around a 12 step network, you will ensure a lasting recovery. For more information, please call us at 833-801-LIVE as we are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

How Binaural Beats Can Make a Difference in Mental Health

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Anxiety Disorder, Mental Health. No Comments on How Binaural Beats Can Make a Difference in Mental Health

You may want to have a nice sleep but are not in the right state of mind to do so from anxiety. In order to do so, you need to quiet your mind and be in a state of peace. Binaural beats can help your brain respond to sound to move you to a deep relaxation which can help you get better sleep.

Binaural Beats

Binaural beats are when you combine two different sound frequencies to create a new frequency tone. It is said that when you experience two different sound frequencies with one in each ear, the brain perceives it as one tone. If your left ear gets a 300-hertz tone and your right ear gets a 280-hertz tone, your brain will think of this as a 10-hertz tone which is a low-frequency sound that you cannot hear. Being exposed to these binaural beats can create low-frequency sounds to slow down brain activity to help you sleep better.

Four Types of Brainwaves

There are four different types of brainwaves that determine our state of consciousness, emotion, and mental state. Beta waves are where we are the most alert. This helps us focus, concentrate, make decisions, and be analytical thinkers. These waves are fast with high frequencies between 10-15 hertz which are associated with anxiety. Alpha brainwaves are when you are alert but still relaxed. With hertz between 9-14, alpha waves are associated with meditation and to be creative. 

Theta waves are associated with deep relaxation and non-REM sleep. They are of lower frequency between 5-10 hertz in the state where we feel we are drifting in and out of sleep. Delta waves are slow frequency waves of 1.5-4 hertz that dominate deep sleep. Being exposed to binaural beats can influence brainwaves that achieve slower frequencies that put you in deep relaxation.

Improving Sleep

Being exposed to binaural beats can change three hormones that are associated with sleep. One hormone is DHEA which strengthens your immune system and fights disease. DHEA suppresses cortisol which stimulates alertness and provokes stress. Binaural beats help with cortisol production in that this hormone at high levels normally causes insomnia. Melatonin levels tend to rise dramatically in the evening by relaxing your body and mind to fall asleep. Listening to binaural beats will strengthen the hormones that make you relax and help you fall asleep more easily. 

Relieves Anxiety

One study showed how binaural beats can help beat anxiety. The study showed how binaural beats had an effect on those who felt anxiety going through surgery. For six months, patients would spend half an hour listening to binaural beats on the day of their surgery. Compared to those who listened to music without binaural beats and those who listened to no beats at all, the ones listening to binaural beats had greater decreases in anxiety levels. Another study showed how binaural beats helped reduce the anxiety and blood pressure levels of those about to undergo cataract surgery.   

Increases Meditation

In order to get into a meditative state, you have to calm the posterior cingulate cortex which is known as the non-focused state. When you listen to binaural beats, it accomplishes the job of calming that part of the brain. It enhances the other part of the brain that easily brings you to a flow state. Using binaural beats will give you the same effects of meditation but done much faster.

How to Use Binaural Beats

All you need to have with you is binaural beat audio and a pair of headphones or earplugs. You can find online audio files of binaural beats music on YouTube or Spotify. There are also CDs you can purchase that you can download to your phone or MP3 player. In order for binaural beats to work, the two tones have to have frequencies of less than 1000 hertz with the difference not being more than 30 hertz. Look for beats based on which soundwaves you are trying to influence. Find a comfortable place to listen free of distraction and listen for half an hour every day to make sure that the rhythm is synched in your brain. How much you listen to all depends on your mental health symptoms. For example, those experiencing high anxiety symptoms can try listening for an hour to binaural beats or longer. You can also try closing your eyes to avoid any distractions. 

Binaural Beats Versus Meditation

While meditation is a good practice to help yourself be calm and live in the moment, you may want to use binaural beats to achieve a faster effect. Meditation can provide a lot of obstacles like having trouble focusing or taking too long to achieve the desired effect. Binaural beats are simple in that you put on your headphones, relax, and listen.

Side Effects of Binaural Beats

There are no known side effects other than making sure that the volume in your headphones is not too high to hurt your ears. Listening to these sounds at or above 85 decibels, which can equate to heavy traffic, can cause hearing loss over time. If you have epilepsy, it is best to speak to your doctor before trying it. If you are having trouble sleeping or need to quiet your mind of anxious thoughts, binaural beats are the way to go in order to teach your brainwaves to calm down which in turn will make you calm enough to sleep.

Located on the shore of Southern New Jersey, Enlightened Recovery is a recovery center that uses evidence-based therapies and holistic healing to treat addiction and mental illness. With the opportunity to learn about therapies that are keyed in to healing the human spirit and learning about new stress-reducing techniques centered around a 12 step network, you will ensure a lasting recovery. For more information, please call us at 833-801-LIVE as we are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

How Social Media Can Be Less Toxic For Our Mental Health

Written by Enlightened Recovery on . Posted in Anxiety Disorder, Mental Health. No Comments on How Social Media Can Be Less Toxic For Our Mental Health

Social media may have good intentions in trying to provide strong connections with others on a professional and personal level, but it can also shatter the mental health and body image of others as well. We may not be able to control what others post, but social media can control the functions they have set up that can fuel the damage that inflicts social media. By social media sites taking responsibility for the functions that make an impact on a person’s mental health, more companies can follow suit and be more aware of their actions.

New Policies on Instagram

A 2017 study showed that Instagram has had the worst effect on a person’s mental health, including eating disorders and body image issues. Facebook is trying to change all of that. They announced two new policies to ensure the wellbeing of members is improved as well as creating a healthier culture around dieting. One of them is that Instagram will prevent those under 18 from being shown any ads that are related to dieting. Another is that it will ban any ads that will glorify certain diets or weight loss products. Facebook has also announced that it is trying to hide likes. While these policies are heading in the right direction, we need to ask if there is a limit to what can be done for social media to not touch the mental health of others.

Commentary From the Experts

Emily Brunner, CEO of the Recovery Clinic and psychotherapist in eating disorders and body image issues, believes there needs to be a stronger relationship between users and social media companies. She believes that these companies need to take the feedback of users more seriously. Brunner also believes that the biggest problem is that users do not have the ability to be specific when it comes to reporting harmful content. When you flag it, it does not tell you why it is reported, problematic, or offensive. This can help companies decide whether this content is personal for one person or could make a negative impact on the masses. Brunner believes that the problem does beyond diet ads.

Dr. Ysabel Gerrard, a lecturer at the University of Sheffield, believes in the opposite in that Facebook’s efforts should be appreciated. That Facebook is speaking to experts, activists, and health practitioners, showing that they care. Dr. Gerrard thinks that there is no point in calling what Facebook is doing a PR stunt as they did not have to engage in any of these efforts. Despite admiring Facebook’s efforts, Dr. Gerrard still believes that these policies are not perfect. Deciding what is considered a “glamorous diet ad” is subjective. There may not be a way to know what ads should not be seen.

Recommended Content

Dr. Gerrard worries about the content that gets recommended to people. Liking a certain post or engaging with certain people can make you see more and more content with the potential of it being harmful. For example, if you like a post on Instagram about eating disorders, all you will get is more posts about eating disorders flooding your home feed. Just when you want one day where you do not see the same familiar content, you cannot get that as it is all run by an algorithm. For example, British teenager Molly Russell killed herself after getting graphic images of suicide and self-harm that was recommended by her Instagram account months before. Pinterest was sending her automatic emails of violent images of death that said: “things you might love.”

Social Media’s Pressure to Compare

In reality, there is only so much that social media companies can do. You cannot control the dialogue that people on social media have with each other about eating disorders and mental health. But, fixing one policy will not fix the lengths of time when women were told how to look, the ads of products and creams, and what the standards are beauty are. The cosmetic and beauty industry is to blame for centuries of putting pressure on women while social media is just another addition to the pressure. We are constantly comparing ourselves to others and the lives they lead which makes us feel small. Before social media, people would compare themselves to models. Now, social media allows us to compare ourselves to average people. Our friends on social media could be making us feel like they exercise more or can afford more than others. 

Where to Go From Here

Because Facebook is the largest social media site, the company most likely feels a responsibility to ensure that no member on their sites is harmed by functions that the company places. Removing the like button and controlling the ads may not be the sole solution to solving how social media affects mental health, but it is a start. Big companies like Facebook do have a responsibility to ensure that their websites are making others happy and making any changes to ensure that. While these social media sites may be addictive now, accounts will be deleted and fewer people will join when they realize what these accounts are doing to their mental health. People will find other ways to communicate compared to continuing to go on a site that will make them feel lousy. Facebook taking the first steps to protect the mental health of its members shows just what a priority our mental state is.

Located on the shore of Southern New Jersey, Enlightened Recovery is a recovery center that uses evidence-based therapies and holistic healing to treat addiction and mental illness. With the opportunity to learn about therapies that are keyed in to healing the human spirit and learning about new stress-reducing techniques centered around a 12 step network, you will ensure a lasting recovery. For more information, please call us at 833-801-LIVE as we are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.