Anxiety Counseling

The Gut-Anxiety Connection: Unraveling the Link Between Digestive Issues and Mental Health

The Gut-Anxiety Connection: Unraveling the Link Between Digestive Issues and Mental Health

Discover the fascinating connection between gut health and anxiety in our latest blog post. We delve into the complex gut-brain axis, the role of the gut microbiome, and how an imbalance in gut bacteria can contribute to anxiety and stress. Learn how stress can impact gut health and explore actionable strategies to improve both your digestive well-being and mental health. Join us as we unravel the link between gut problems and anxiety, and empower yourself with the knowledge to make informed decisions for your overall well-being.

The Intricate Web of Depression, Anxiety, and Anger: Unraveling the Connection

The Intricate Web of Depression, Anxiety, and Anger: Unraveling the Connection

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The connection between depression, anxiety, and anger is a profound and intricate one. These emotions not only coexist but also reinforce and intensify each other, creating a tangled web. It is crucial to understand the bidirectional relationship between these emotions, as it can help us navigate the path to recovery and healing. By unraveling this connection and exploring coping strategies, we can provide a sense of hope and support for those grappling with these challenging emotions.

Finding Inner Peace: Effective Strategies to Stop Racing Thoughts and Calm Your Mind

In today's fast-paced world, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by racing thoughts that hinder our ability to find inner peace. These racing thoughts can come quickly, one after the other. They may relate to one subject or different subjects. The mind involuntarily digs up random thoughts and memories and moves rapidly from one to another.

The topics don’t have to make sense. These random thoughts can affect sleep and focus. If you happen to have racing thoughts that move in a sequence, the thoughts always come to a worst-case scenario. It’s a voice that can’t be ignored and can serve as background noise in the brain.

Racing thoughts can come from stress, drug use (This can include recreation and prescription drugs.), medical conditions, or a traumatic brain injury. Additional conditions that can affect racing thoughts can include obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD), or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD.)

Those who have challenges with depression can also experience racing thoughts. These racing thoughts can cause a higher risk of thinking about suicide.

Racing thoughts can also be a signal of the start of psychosis.

Uncontrolled and incessant mental chatter can lead to increased stress, anxiety, and a lack of focus. If you're tired of feeling trapped in a cycle of racing thoughts, this blog post is here to help. We will explore practical strategies and techniques to help you regain control over your mind, halt racing thoughts, and create a sense of calmness within yourself.

  1. Recognize and Challenge Your Racing Thoughts The first step in finding peace within is to become aware of your racing thoughts. Take a moment to acknowledge their presence and understand that not all thoughts are valid or helpful.. By fostering a sense of skepticism towards your thoughts, you can start to break free from their grip.

  2. Practice Mindfulness to Cultivate Present-Moment Awareness Many people who experience racing thoughts focus on the future or the past. Very rarely does that person focus on the present. The body’s response to racing thoughts is panic. Once you are in a state of panic, there can be an increase in the heart and breathing rate. This further activates those racing thoughts. Taking deep breaths can lower the body’s response a promote calmness. Mindfulness is a powerful practice that helps us cultivate present-moment awareness and reduce racing thoughts. By grounding yourself in the present moment, you can detach from the chaotic stream of racing thoughts and experience a sense of calmness.

  3. Engage in Relaxation Exercises and Techniques Relaxation exercises can significantly help calm racing thoughts and create a sense of inner peace These exercises can be practiced anywhere and anytime, providing a valuable tool to regain control over your mind and find tranquility within yourself.

  4. Create a Supportive Environment Your external environment plays a crucial role in calming your racing thoughts. By creating a serene environment, you can create a peaceful sanctuary that encourages a calm state of mind.

  5. Establish Healthy Habits and Self-Care Practices Taking care of your physical and emotional well-being is vital for calming racing thoughts. Additionally, integrating self-care practices like journaling, spending time in nature, and engaging in hobbies can provide a much-needed respite from racing thoughts and promote relaxation.

    Achieving a state of calmness and stopping racing thoughts is an ongoing practice that requires patience and dedication. By implementing the strategies outlined in this blog post, you can gain control over your mind and create a more peaceful and tranquil inner landscape. Remember, finding inner peace is a personal journey, and it's essential to be gentle with yourself. Embrace the process, stay committed to your practice, and soon you will experience the serenity you deserve.

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Steps to Free Yourself From Anxiety And Embrace Joy

Steps to Free Yourself From Anxiety And Embrace Joy

In this blog post, we will explore some effective strategies to help you overcome anxiety and embrace joy. Understand your anxiety triggers, practice mindfulness, challenge negative thoughts, take care of your physical health, seek support, and practice gratitude. By implementing these steps into your life, you can gradually free yourself from anxiety and create a life filled with joy and happiness.

4 Ways to Cope With Relationship Anxiety

4 Ways to Cope With Relationship Anxiety

Relationship anxiety is when you have anxiety or worry within your relationships. It is normal to have uneasiness within the relationship as it develops and grows. However, this becomes concerning once it hinders growth within the healthy development of the relationship.  Feeling insecure within the relationship can impact your perception of what is happening within the relationship as well as impact stress for both parties.               

7 Ways Older Populations Can Manage Anxiety

Everyone has feelings of anxiousness or nervousness. However, when these feelings become overwhelming and affect your everyday life, it could be classified as an anxiety disorder. People of all ages may experience signs of anxiety, however, older adults may experience symptoms that look different from the general population. Studies show that anxiety disorders affect 10-20% of older adults. As you age, more anxiety increases. With that said, many of these anxiety disorders go undiagnosed.

With older adults, anxiety is found more often than cognitive disorders and depression. When diagnosed, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is more commonly associated with this population. Following this diagnosis are phobias, panic disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Anxiety for older adults can look like

·         Racing thoughts

·         Constant worrying

·         Feelings of hopelessness

·         Sleep apnea

·         Difficulty concentrating

·         Nausea

·         Hot flashes

·         Shortness of breath

·         Greater frequency in using the restroom

·         Eye and vision problems

·         Dizziness

·         Chest pain

·         Heart palpitations

·         Forgetfulness

·         Withdrawal

·         Change in weight, appetite, or eating habits

How Can Older Adults Manage Their Anxiety?

1. Recognize triggers. Anxiety can come regardless of triggers. It can come because of environmental and situational factors. Since older adults typically deal with frequent change, it can cause more anxiety in their everyday life. Some triggers can include:

·         Financial insecurity

·         Health problems

·         Dementia

·         Loss of independence

·         Feelings of isolation

·         End of life planning

·         Grief and loss 

Recognition of triggers can help in processing how to move forward when helping your loved ones.

2. Educate yourself.  Having an understanding of not only what the triggers are as well as how to cope with them helps to recognize when you feel out of control. Therapy is an avenue you can take to learn how to cope with your anxiety. Through therapy, you can also learn relaxation methods that you can utilize when handling other stressors. You can also learn to recognize how to respond to anxiety when you recognize that the symptoms are beginning.

3. Build your tribe. Family, friends, and connections geographically near you that you trust are helpful resources to turn to when you feel like you are losing control. These connections can also help identify stressful situations and note when you are going in the wrong direction. Your tribe can bring you from a place of feeling helpless to feeling hopeful.

4. Integrate including a healthy balanced lifestyle. Paying attention to how well you sleep as well as the length of time you are rested, eating a balanced meal, and exercising help manage stress levels. In addition, taking active steps to have social interactions and doing activities that you love can also reduce stress in your life. Finding ways to volunteer and giving back can also bring balance and help to lower the stress and anxiety that you may be experiencing. A walk in the neighborhood or in the park should suffice when integrating exercise into your life.

5. Rule out that the problem isn’t biological. If the anxiety issue becomes diagnosed, it can be effectively managed with the combination of counseling, medication, and relaxation techniques.

6. Develop a plan. Developing a plan and sticking to it can alter the feeling of being out of control to being in control. These skills are learned through therapy.

7. Spend time in prayer and other spiritual practices. Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Studying Scripture and having a consistent prayer life can help to alleviate stress and anxiety.

Get Help Today

Getting the proper help and counseling support needed can help you have a better quality of life. Call 443-860-6870 today to make an appointment.

How Is Social Anxiety and Depression Related?

How Is Social Anxiety and Depression Related?

Social anxiety and depression are two of the most diagnosed mental health conditions in the United States. This disorder affects approximately 15 million American adults and is the second most diagnosed anxiety disorder following a specific phobia. The average age this disorder is diagnosed is during the teen years. Many confuse shyness with social anxiety disorder. However, this is not always the case for those diagnosed.

Habits and Anxiety

Can the simple act of thinking about a new project coming up or preparing for a holiday dinner lead to shortness of breath, heart palpitations, or panic attacks? Habits, whether good or bad play a huge role in our mental and physical health, success, and quality of our relationships. Our habits affect every area of our lives. Acts of anxiety can be embedded in your habits. Avoiding or pretending that you aren’t having these experiences doesn’t help. In fact, it only makes things worse. Physical signs of anxiety in everyday life can look like you are sweating, shaking, experiencing nausea, having to use the restroom more frequently, exhaustion, muscle weakness, dizziness, or irregular body temperature. Is this you?

In our society, we have learned how to cope with adversity and uncertainty. We take on risks in an overly apprehensive manner instead of processing what is happening and dealing with the anxiety of what has come before us. After a while, these apprehensive feelings begin to feel natural and normal. Therefore, unhealthy coping mechanisms become a habit resulting in unconscious behaviors. These behaviors can be embedded in our personalities. These habits can look like nail-biting, skin picking, hair pulling, cleaning too much or too little, hand washing, or substance addiction. This shows insecurity within the anxiety you are experiencing. Is this you?

This can be overcome by learning to cope with risk, uncertainty, and adversity in healthy ways. Recovering involves identifying and exchanging coping behaviors with healthy coping behaviors. Anxiety exists inside your habits that make up your everyday life. Habits are sticky. They don’t just go away. Depression and anxiety can show in our habits within our interactions. Anxiety habits can be prevalent in smoking, eating disorders, financial mismanagement, and much more. Many find as they overcome these bad habits and replace them with good habits, their lives change. How can you make healthy changes?

Become Self Aware

Pay attention to how you are responding to different scenarios and recognize potential triggers. While also paying attention to different scenarios, also pay attention to how your body is responding to the situations where you are feeling anxiety. The following are some potential examples:

·         Perhaps you are unmotivated to do a task, you review your social media, you feel more anxious

·         Perhaps you have an upcoming assignment or deadline coming up at work, you grab a snack to eat to distract the anxiety you feel.

·         When you experience anxiety, you become more worried about it, then you feel more anxious

Proverbs 14:8 says, “The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving. Keeping an account of triggers helps to recognize potential triggers and will help to enable you to live a more peaceful life.

Plan

Learn about and create new coping mechanisms so that you have a catalog of additional coping behaviors to replace the unhealthy ones. Exercising mindfulness can be a healthy way to overcome the worry and anxiety you are feeling. Have patience with yourself and repeat the healthy behaviors until it becomes normal. Healthy habits can look like cooking, learning to cook healthy meals, spending time outside, reading, prayer, devotions, meditating, cleaning, and journaling. It may feel different but it will feel more normal over time.

Remove Negative Self-Talk

Proverbs 23:7 says, “So as a man thinketh, so is He.”  Life and death are in the power of the tongue. Therefore, while being organic about your situation, it is also important to speak life into what you desire to change. Affirmations are a powerful tool in assisting with changing the narrative.

Reward Milestones

Don’t look at the end goal but reward the milestones that you make along the way. Reward yourself as you become more self-aware

Counseling Support Can Help

If you or someone you know needs a safe place to develop healthy habits and form strategies to remove bad anxiety-filled habits in your life and live a healthier lifestyle, counseling support is available. Call 443-860-6870 to schedule an appointment or review the calendar to schedule an appointment today.