Anxiety: Causes and Coping Mechansism
Plus: How to Channel Your Inner Olympian
Wise & Well just launched a series of explorations into common sources of anxiety and how to cope. Our first three stories are below. But first, as we enjoy the incredible displays of human agility, strength and fortitude on display in Paris, there’s a lesson we can all learn during the Summer Games:
What Olympic Athletes Can Teach Us All About Resilience
You don't have to be an athlete to learn from Olympians how to improve your own mindset and willingness to reach your goals. You don’t have to even like sports. This psychologist’s advice, all taking a cue from Olympians: Find your inspiration, the thing you’re passionate about; learn to practice smarter, not harder; and lean on others for support — nobody achieves greatness alone.
As a clinical psychologist, I often witness how self-doubt and a reluctance to excel rob people of their potential. Sometimes, harsh self-expectations or perfectionism get in the way. Clients’ doubts about their capabilities and a reluctance to try and potentially fail are some of their biggest roadblocks to achieving success. They have forgotten or put aside the passion they once felt; their worries and fears overshadow their ambition and stall them in their tracks.
—Gail Post, PhD
ALL ABOUT ANXIETY
The first three in a new series only on Wise & Well…
Anxiety is an Attention Problem
Anxiety isn’t something that’s forced upon us. Rather, it’s our emotional reaction to what we think might happen. Instead of focusing on some potential harm, we should turn our attention to the reasons for the anxiety and what we can do about it. As this psychiatrist explains: Strategies that help an individual shift focus away from anxiety, and toward how they want to act and be in the world right now, empower people and alleviate anxiety. TK «< remove this last sentence after Social
In 30 years of helping patients with anxiety, I’ve seen that reframing anxiety as a problem of attention often provides pathways for escape. Strategies that help an individual shift focus away from anxiety, and toward how they want to act and be in the world right now, empower people and alleviate anxiety.
—John Kruse MD, PhD
3 Proven Ways to Curb Election Anxiety
Rarely has the American political landscape been so fraught with rancor and rapid change. How can any of us escape the stress and anxiety it inflicts on us? Therein lies the key: Stress and anxiety don’t happen to us. They result from our reactions, how we handle what we see and hear and experience. This psychologist offers a plan, with strategies and tactics, to protect our mental health in these crazy times. Here’s a glimpse of just one piece of the protection puzzle:
People who feel compelled to constantly check the news — agreeing with statements like “I find it difficult to stop reading or watching the news” — report higher levels of stress and anxiety, meaning persistent and excessive worries that don’t go away.
—Catherine Sanderson, Author & Psychology Professor
How to Battle Eco-Anxiety
Anxiety over the future of Earth is no longer about far-off worries. More than half of Americans say they are anxious about the impact of climate change on their mental health now. And the angst is global, surveys find. It’s also more acute among younger people and among those who’ve directly experienced the extreme effects of climate change. Among the survival strategies this writer explores in detail:
Acknowledge your feelings; calm your nervous system; resist the tendency to catastrophize; and do something proactive.
—Kathleen Murphy
If you’re mental health challenges feel too much, then here’s some more helpful advice:
How to Get Mental Health Treatment in the Complex, Messy, Costly US System
The majority of Americans with a mental health condition are not getting adequate treatment or any treatment, even as the need has doubled over the past two decades. This expert explains the problem, why a diagnosis is often the first step in seeking treatment, what to do if your insurance won’t cover treatment, what to expect from a session, and the sorts of remedies that might be suggested. Just knowing which sort of healthcare professional to start with is a learning process:
Mental health practitioners include, but are not limited to, psychologists, social workers, counselors, psychiatric nurse practitioners and psychiatrists. Many people start with a referral to one of these providers through their primary care provider. There are clear differences between these professions in terms of training and scope of practice, but all require licensure.
—Bryan Cochran
And now, let’s take care of your physical self…
Maintaining Muscle While on Ozempic and other GLP-1 Medications
New drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, designed to treat type 2 diabetes, can be life savers, and they’ve become doubly popular for their potential to promote weight loss. But these drugs are not to be take lightly, given their side effects—including muscle loss. This physical therapist explains the benefits and risks of the medications and offers a strategic plan to counter the muscle atrophy you can expect.
GLP-1 drugs target both diabetes and obesity by mimicking the effects of the GLP-1 hormone, stimulating the release of insulin to control blood sugar. They also suppress appetite and delay stomach emptying, prolonging the feeling of fullness. This is a potent combination that leads to people eating fewer calories, resulting in weight loss. Unfortunately, rapid weight loss is not just fat loss.
—Zachary Walston, PT, DPT, OCS
Should I Drink Tea, or Take L-Theanine?
Some people enjoy traditional tea—from tea leaves—for its relaxing qualities. Others crave the caffeine. But tea contains numerous other chemicals that activate the nervous system, often in ways we don’t fully understand. This psychiatrist and neuroscientist guides us to a deep understanding of all this, and in particular whether tea is a good source of L-theanine, an amino acid marketed for improving attention and decreasing anxiety.
In healthy adults, L-theanine appears to help improve attention. Unlike many chemicals that enhance attention and act as stimulants, L-theanine also has calming and sleep-promoting effects. But the studies demonstrating these properties have been few, with small numbers of subjects, and often don’t distinguish whether the subjects were frequent tea drinkers or not.
—John Kruse MD, PhD
Also, from our sister site, Aha! Science:
Flying Can Take a Toll on Your Skin
You might have many reasons to fear flying, whether pure safety concerns or the angst of flight delays. But what about your skin? This dermatologist fleshes out some of the lesser known risks of flying, from a heightened risk of skin cancer to the annoyance of dry skin, acne outbreaks, dullness and puffiness.
—Annie Foley