Thoughts on Anxiety ….

Ok this post is a a bit different , it’s just me thinking about stuff , pulling together some of the things I have learnt over the past six months of looking into Trauma and Anxiety . One thing I have been surprised about is that a diagnosis of Trauma or Anxiety is not the end , it does not have to be the way it will always be , we can change.

Don’t get me wrong , its difficult to do , I have found the last six months difficult , I find if I think about my anxiety , sort of have anxiety about my anxiety then it becomes worse . Ive found out that just knowing what is going on doesn’t mean it will magically go away , I also have found our that trying to control it with my mind ( just relax ) doesn’t work either .

Look …at its most simple , Im not talking about GAD ( generalised anxiety disorder), although that affects me, that as we have seen, may involve the Default Mode Network( DMN) amongst other things . Im talking simply anxiety that flares up out of nowhere , that you just don’t see coming and have no reason for , it’s just not logical. This type of anxiety I now believe we have no control over , it’s happening before we know about it.

The body ( no I’m not going to talk about long tooth tigers or wild bears …Yawn ) , is designed to bypass controls to react quickly to what it perceives as danger . Of course we are talking about our Amygdala and associated bits. This is not a reflex , it’s a quick reaction by the Amygdala that bypasses the frontal cortex and goes straight into those awful reactions that we all hate. The brain as we have seen in previous posts is always trying to protect us , it sits in a dark cave and has problems sometimes in realising what is a thought , a danger, past or present and a perfectly safe situation .It can be led by your thoughts , your self talk and if those thoughts ( DMN ) are negative , it will be on the lookout for proof that you are right.

The body is designed to handle short term stress , but not long term or chronic stress , it ends up killing neurones ( unfortunately ,especially memory neurones) . We have seen in past posts just how destructive to the body that long term chronic stress is .

However , there is hope and you do not have to spend lots of money to follow some online programme that will give you the answers. There are things that we can do for ourselves , it goes without saying that our preferred first step is to seek professional medical help , if just to rule out other conditions .

For me , medical help just didn’t materialise and I was offered medication after a brief visit to primary care.

So far , Ive read hundreds of research papers and Ive come up with a few things that might set us at least on the right road.

Firstly there is increasing evidence that the brain is more plastic ( neuroplasticity ) that we thought , just a few years ago , so we can perhaps change the way our brain communicates with itself. The Canadian scientist , I think it was Hebb , not long after the Second World War said ” Neurons that fire together wire together”. If we can change the way we think we might just change the way our brain works. Easier said than done , but we need to try and change our self talk into a more positive dialog.

Mirror Neurons …

You know the old saying that if you surround yourself with happy , you will become a happy person yourself ? No?… well trust me it’s a thing … Anyway we have mirror neurons , they seem to mirror the actions and emotions of people around us . Your probably ahead of me , I was going to suggest you try to surround yourself with positive people where possible.

Try to create new pathways in your brain , try something different

I keep coming across evidence about meditation, mindfulness , there is some emerging evidence that meditation has a positive effect on our default mode network , possibly favouring a switch to our CEN (central executive network ) . have just finished a keyboard lesson ( Im not great at it ) . I have noticed that if I just go with the flow , not think , not let my mind wander I do so much better . If I think or let my thoughts wander to other things I just miss all the notes and believe me when I tell you I don’t get many right n a good day. So I do think there is something in meditation , I think it helps to keep you present , stops the worrying and leaves less space for the anxiety.

Talking about worrying , the biggest thing Ive uncovered in the last six months is that worrying closes down the creative side of your brain , so when we worry we are unlikely to find the solution , its counter productive ! That of course doesn’t stop my brain from trying to worry….

Whilst Im at it …let’s talk Yoga ….Id rather not …..but despite my many painful experiences with it , all evidence seems to point to it being rather good for our brains and ultimately , Trauma and Anxiety . Its seems it something to do with feeling your body , getting used to being uncomfortable and learning that it can be experienced and there is an end to it . It also relaxes us , helps with breathing in a slow controlled way and is just great for our body .

One of the hardest , at least for me , and I suspect for many anxiety sufferers is to do something new , learn something new , see new people …in short tax your brain with new experiences. Now this is just the sort of thing we anxiety sufferers hate to do ….you know leave our comfort zone . It does help to build those new pathways in the brain , confidence , takes our mind off ruminating and teaches our amygdala not to be so hyperactive .

Lastly , I think diet is important , a good balanced diet, less sugar , less ultra processed food , plenty of water and I think we should at least consider a vitamin D supplement in the darker months . If like me you are a vegetarian or vegan perhaps a cod liver oil alternative . There is also some emerging evidence surrounding Magnesium supplements , there are a lot of different types so do some research if your considering it.

As I mentioned above , if you are considering changes to your diet or exercise , check with your primary healthcare provider . If you’re having a particularly bad time , reach out , you may be surprised how many people like us are suffering in silence . Thank you for spending some time here on my blog , I know there is a lot of stuff out there after your precious time . Im not a medical expert , just a trauma survivor looking for answers and passing on what I find.

Hope I have found you in a good place ….