Welcome back to part III of this series on anxiety and food! Read up on the first few ideas here:
Sweet, now we’re all caught up together!
Today’s post outlines additional tools and daily considerations to potentially include to help support mood and affect, even beyond anxiety. Some of these can be an investment, and some are completely free and only include a good, scrubby look at our schedules and what we’re prioritizing! Let’s get to it. And… this post may be the most woo-woo of them all so far. You’ve been warned.
Six Daily Additions to Help Manage Anxiety9
Stretching and Moving Physical Anxiety Out
Notice that at least for today, this isn’t a discussion on exercise. Exercise in the more classic sense of the word is an amazing way to move physical energy up and out of our bodies, and I think it’s both a highly underutilized scheduled part of ones day, but also can get into territory that can create guilt, shame or feelings of not doing it “right” or doing “enough” exercise. Paired on top of this, if there are certain areas of the body that are still housing anxiety, in whatever capacity that they do or they trend towards, exercising for the sake of exercising or only focusing on creating more strength may not be quite the angle of creating new neurological pathways in our system, versus stretching and cuing to the body that it is OK to spend time engaging the whole body, limbs or trunk in such a way that it can relearn how it can feel at peace and parasympathetic.
The act of stretching our bodies not only can influence the supple and elastic nature of muscle tissues, but also the webbing of fascia that wraps, envelopes and separates our muscles and internal organs. Engaging in stretching can help our systems remove their somatic “hold” on anxiousness that we may be storing throughout our bodies (more on this soon). Our bodies were designed to move and our North American style of 9 to 5, desk, IT and plain ol’ repetitive movement jobs can remove us even further from the natural and ideal forms of movement we engaged in throughout history. It can seem that the only type of body movement we can “get in” during the day in our modern era, or even shamed upon many of us (external or internalized) is exercise for one designated time during the day–work out, boom, done, healthy!!! Do it again tomorrow! Fit that workout in or feel bad about it!
…say what?
On a personal note, the concept of stretching has been one that for me has been incredibly intense to approach, so I really, really get it when it’s the last thing you’d ever want to do (I know some of you are out there!) I’d much rather slog through one of those workouts I mentioned, where I’m flailing around like mad and pat myself on the back for somehow getting through it… rather than actually quietly feeling the different parts of my body, something that is rather unavoidable with stretching.
Over the years, while hearing that emotions, and anxious feelings, can be “trapped” in different areas of the body, I never quite understood it. Like, ok, I’m tight. Ok. Next. I “should” move. It will feel better to be flexible. Ok. I know, I know!! However, these days, it’s making more sense. As a person who tends to question, I think I was waiting for a more logical explanation than the whisper of “your hips store your immense dislike of auto body shops and waiting in long linesssss”.
Instead, for me what has helped with my conceptualization of our bodies holding on to anxiousness or big emotions was when I realized that it was no different than the dialogue I was already having about the parasympathetic (rest and digest) and sympathetic (fight, flight or freeze) modes. From a digestive perspective, I knew, and have experienced, that if we were to really tally how much of our day we are in that sympathetic mode–it ends up being… a lot. Because our modern world demands it of us, and guilts us for being parasympathetic and relaxed.
Ok, now I get it.
Same goes for our bodies day in and day out–if we never gently show them that they can engage in movement beyond what they’re already doing to either just “get by” or if they’re never gently shown that they can move away from the physical engagement of the sympathetic mode… why would they assume differently?
Peacefully inviting our bodies to feel themselves is like meditation–simple in concept, and can be completely overwhelming in practice because of the new or even buried neurological signals it uncovers. This is potent, and dare I say show the wonderful healing power it houses. I encourage people to take their own pace with this as a consideration if it isn’t already is currently.
Darkest of Dark Bedtimes
In our digital age, it’s so very easy to hijack our natural inclination towards circadian rhythms. Throw in jobs with widely varying schedules, caffeine giving us an artificial boost to get us “through” the days, and over time it can become apparent that we’ve opted out of a natural routine our bodies can depend on. This alone can provoke or induce additional anxiousness from a somatic standpoint. One way we can reclaim and guide our bodies towards an existence in which they can feel more regulation? Offering consistency with the quantity and quality of wake/sleep cycles.
Is the room you’re sleeping in actually dark? Is there light that peeks in during the evening? Are there electronics with a light on them, smoke detectors, humidifiers? Think about covering any sources of light in order to create a more thoroughly dark space. Black electrical tape can often do the trick on those small electronic sources of light. Opting for blackout shades or heavy curtains to fully block light from outside can be a big boon towards the signal getting to the body that it can most fully engage in winding down processes and sleep without potentially feeling like it needs to be on “alert” due to these seemingly small visual stimuli.
If blocking sources of light isn’t plausible, or you travel and sleep in varying locations, a sleep mask is a pretty inexpensive investment that travels well!
Additional considerations can include temperature (cooler temperatures can be useful), noise and working towards a wind down / sleep hygiene routine that helps show your body it’s working towards sleep (keep it simple: what do we do for kiddos to help them get ready for bed? Consistency in transitions with dependable nighttime actions like taking a bath, washing ones face, teeth, etc., reading, reflecting or spiritual practices, keeping stimulating things like phones, laptops and other screens out of the bedroom.)
What’s the connection to anxiety? Poor sleep and recovery status can mean that the body is both pushed more readily into the sympathetic stress state during the following day, and also studies show that a lack of sleep can immediately impact the body’s ability to appropriately regulate blood sugar levels during the next day. Remember how riding the blood sugar rollercoaster impacts anxiety from part I? Connections, connections.
Sleep is a HUGE subject, so while a dark room is only part of the equation, everyone has a unique relationship with their sleep. Starting to consider the sleep environment can go a long way if this is an area that hasn’t been considered yet.
Massage of the Neck, Jaw & Abdomen
Massage itself is downright relaxing, so, 100% one big YES to opting for anything that helps relax our systems! But for anxiousness, similar to the concept of stretching outlined earlier, encouraging a fuller range of movement for the body in areas it can very often hold onto anxiousness with like the neck, jaw and abdomen can be another tool to employ as needed. Looking for qualified massage practitioners who specialize in specific inner and outer jaw massage techniques, or abdominal massage techniques like Arvigo Mayan abdominal massage can be a great starting point in bringing blood flow, lymphatic movement and energy back to these areas.
Visual Eye Tracking Exercises
Studies show differences in gaze and eye movements in people who experience anxiety, from young children to adults. There is also growing dialogue around the correlation between vestibular changes and anxiety (correlation doesn’t equal causation, but there can often be more than one thing happening in a system that is feeling off! I feel like mainstream medical care doesn’t always quite support this idea) in older populations, and I’d argue throughout the lifespan on that, too.
Working with a licensed medical practitioner and not self-diagnosing is always going to be a great place for quality information and appropriate tools to use to make change, so a lot of these blog posts and their information is to simply provide terms, ideas and creativity towards connecting what our bodies may be showing us. How our eyes track and take in the stimulation of the world, if tracking is difficult for one reason or another, over time this can lead to an exhausted somatic experience. This alone, in my opinion, can lead to anxious feelings, and can tie into the vestibular system feeling like it can never quite “catch a break” throughout the day. Talk about tiring and exhausting!
Journaling – Halting Neurological Patterning
Using a process described by David Hanscom, MD, in his book Back in Control, creating a routine of journaling by hand for anywhere between 5-20 minutes per day and then immediately ripping up the pages and throwing them away can, potentially, help disrupt neurological patterning of chronic pain, and I’d argue, ruminating patterns that can align with anxiousness. I’d recommend listening to his interview on the Balanced Bites podcast, or checking out his book for additional information.
Get outside and feel nature!
Even when it’s cold outside, even when it’s overcast, even when it’s the last thing you may want to do–see what happens to anxiousness by creating a definite and even brief change in scenery. While there may be so many types of specific anxiety, the act of changing one’s space, breathing in fresh air and being able to create contact with that nature (can you be barefoot briefly? Can you walk past a neat tree and feel its bark? Are there new buds or leaves coming in that you can gently touch and notice their different textures?) can be immensely grounding and re-regulating for a system that may be, in its own way, asking for some additional regulation.
Have you noticed the biggest theme that has come up in this post today? Taking the time during our days to actively engage in reducing the looping nature of how anxiety appears in our bodies!
I’m curious what your thoughts are on experiencing anxiousness and the tools you’ve used from food, supplements to environment to encourage a peaceful state of engagement in your body? Leave a comment below and let me know!
*Please understand that this dialogue is what occurs once someone has stability within basic human needs such as access to food, shelter and clothing–and that anxiety or panic that is being informed by past or current traumas is receiving licensed and medical help. I’m a big believer in therapy. Go to a therapist! Just like any other human, some may not be great, and so many are wonderful. This post is not intended to treat, diagnose or replace work with a licensed medical provider. Please do not construe it as such. Please read the full disclaimer here.
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