The mind-body connection

Have you paid attention to how your body feels when you think certain thoughts? Science shows us that the mind affects the body and the body affects the mind and it’s almost impossible to ‘think’ without ‘feeling’. You can test this connection out for yourself, for example, the next time you find yourself worrying about something, take a moment to close your eyes and bring your attention to your body and notice where you are feeling this worry. Children are a prime example of this where worry often shows up as a tummy ache.

Medical research has shown that stress impacts the function of the body and it is estimated that up to 90% of illnesses and disease are stress related. Stress, particularly chronic stress, i.e. over long periods of time, can kick hormones out of balance, cause digestive problems, impact sleep, increase blood pressure, result in heart disease and so much more. As I found out in 2014, it was stress that was at the root of my neck and shoulder pain and I knew that the only way to shift the pain was to learn how to release the stress and manage my mind. After a friend shared the ‘Headspace’ book with me, I knew that Meditation was the first step for me.

What is Meditation?

Meditation is an ancient practice that helps to bring you into the present moment and connect the mind and body. It essentially involves focusing the mind for a period of time. There are many different types of meditation including mindfulness meditation which involves being fully present with your thoughts, Loving Kindness Meditation which involves directing love and kind thoughts toward others and Guided Meditation where you are guided by a teacher through a visualisation that evokes the senses and often results in a deep sense of calm. Meditating does not have to involve sitting or lying down, as practices such as yoga and Quigong are types of moving meditations and you may find that you are able to enter a meditative state while walking in nature or mindfully eating a meal.

The Benefits and Science of Meditation

As I found out myself, meditation can bring benefits on many levels, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. I found myself feeling a lot calmer within, less reactive, sleeping better and generally more self-aware.

Research shows that meditating regularly can literally change the structure of the brain by giving it the equivalent of a regular gym work out. The result can include benefits such as a greater ability to manage emotions, increased concentration and the ability to access positive feelings such as happiness, compassion and empathy. Some evidence also shows that meditation not only has the ability to enhance overall well-being but also reduce inflammation and other biological stressors at a molecular level.

Meditation also helps us connect within and build a greater sense of self-awareness – in other words, get to know yourself better in terms of your feelings, who you really are and what you really need.

Self-awareness is very important because it has a crucial role in the release of painful emotions. As Dr David Hamilton points out in his book ‘Why Woo-Woo Works’, self-awareness helps to link frontal regions of the brain (that are associated with higher brain functions such as concentration, decision-making, and the experience of positive emotions) with the amygdala (which processes fear and anxiety and is involved in the processing of most of our emotional pain).

What’s stopping you?

“I don’t have the time”, “My mind is too busy”, “I can’t concentrate for that long”, “I’m worried about doing it wrong”……these are all reasons I hear commonly stated when I have conversations about meditation. Do any of these ring true to you? If so, this is even more reason to give meditation a try. My advice is to view meditation as a habit to build into your life alongside daily routines like brushing your teeth or eating lunch. It does not need to take hours of your day, maybe start with 5 minutes a day where you simply sit and notice your breathe or the connection of your feet on the ground. Keep in mind that meditation is a skill and like with any skill in life, it takes practice, patience and consistency to master.

If you’re ready to give it a try, you can download a 5 minute guided meditation from my website www.neenashealing.com in the Stay Connected section at the bottom of the page.

Mindful eating is a way of improving awareness of how, why and what you eat, which brings proven health, eating behaviour and weight management benefits.

All too often food is something we grab quickly and eat without connecting with the process, the taste or how we feel about the food. We live fast lives, we have work pressures which steal our time or simply we think we need to be doing something else. We often don’t prioritise food in the same way as we give attention to other areas of our lives. The result is a growing habit of eating quickly and whilst doing something else. This means that we can make less healthy choices and we end up eating more than we need.

If you struggle with your weight, if you eat emotionally or suffer from irresistible cravings then mindful eating will certainly help you. It will encourage you to slow down, it will help you choose food which truly satisfies you and it will help you properly connect with the food you are eating. This means that food is more enjoyable and you are likely to eat less. But mindful eating goes further than that. Learning a mindful approach to your entire relationship with eating means that you start to understand the emotional and situational triggers behind what drives you to seek out food. Mindful eating is also about connecting with hunger so that you can really be clear whether you are eating because you need to or, for example, because you are feeling emotional. You slow down the thinking process, understand what’s really going on and then act accordingly. The slowness of eating also allows your body to tell you when you are full. How often do we eat quickly until the plate clear before we’ve even given it a second thought?

A study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association acknowledged the positive benefits of mindful eating:

“ Because mindful eating engenders awareness of why one eats, it may be a helpful weight loss or maintenance skill. For example, mindful eating skills could help clients to recognize and respond to satiety, or to recognize but not respond to inappropriate cues for eating such as advertising, boredom or anxiety. “

So how do you do it?   With my clients, I start with a simple set of five S’s of mindful eating.  These will also help guide you to begin the process and reap some benefits too:

Freediving is a form of underwater diving that relies on breath-holding until resurfacing rather than the use of breathing apparatus. This specialised training provides Tracey with a unique perspective when working with clients on developing healthy breathing habits.
Functional Breathwork retrains breathing muscles to reduces breathlessness and improve lung function which positively impacts how we breathe throughout the day, during sleep and while exercising.

The importance of nasal breathing versus mouth breathing:

• The nose has antibacterial properties, purifying and warming the air before it enters the lungs, thereby supporting immunity.
• Nitric oxide is produced in the sinus cavity and helps to dilate blood vessels and increase ventilation by 20%.
• Improves exercise endurance and recovery
• Improves mental well-being
• Improves sleep quality
• None of the above is possible when breathing through the mouth

Learning to breathe light, slow and deep from the nose and using the diaphragm can alleviate asthma symptoms, COVID, high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep disorders and anxiety.

Sleep

A restorative night’s sleep is essential for recovery and overall wellbeing. By slowing down our breathing rate we move the body into the parasympathetic or rest and digest state before we enter our sleep cycle.

When we think of breathing and sleep, often the first thing that comes to mind is snoring. This is about air flow through the airways. If you imagine a large volume of air passing through a very narrow space, this causes the nose and throat to vibrate.

The tongue should ideally be resting on the roof of your mouth day and night. If you’re sleeping with your mouth open the tongue is going to fall back into the throat which can cause more severe sleep apnea because it blocks the airway completely.

By re-learning to breathe correctly through the nose with the mouth closed, the tongue position will change – essential in re-establishing correct breathing habits at night. However, when you’re sleeping you’re not aware of how you’re breathing. Hypoallergenic mouth tape can be used to retrain facial muscles and encourage breathing through the nose. The combination of retraining breathing muscles and tape can eliminate snoring, insomnia and sleep apnea over time.

Stress and Anxiety

By understanding how to calm the nervous system using the breath is instrumental in managing stress and anxiety. Being able to move between the fight or flight response and rest and digest response means that you will have a much healthier nervous system. You don’t want to be in the fight or flight all the time, particularly if you’re trying to get to sleep. You also don’t want to be in the rest and digest phase all the time, because then you won’t be able to perform when you need to.

The key between these two states is the breath – by mindfully slowing your breathing rate you are able to reduce cortisol and adrenalin levels. This sends a signal to your brain that you are safe and the nervous system responds accordingly. With the mouth gently closed, take a slow breath in through the nose and extend the exhale. You could also hum your exhale which increases the production of nitric oxide in the sinus cavity, aids oxygenation of the brain and stimulates the vagus nerve to activate your body’s relaxation response.

Hormonal Changes

Hormones have a major impact on women’s breathing as we move through life particularly during pregnancy, the menstrual cycle and menopause. Progesterone, the sex hormone will reduce over time and fluctuate causing our breathing rate to increase. Pain perception and fatigue will increase, and you may feel more anxious or stressed. By knowing this, you can put breathing practices in place to counteract the effects, which deliver effective results alongside clinical support.

In Conclusion

By incorporating functional breathing into everyday life we can make significant positive changes to our health and wellbeing. The goal is to breathe through the nose during the day, when sleeping and during exercise, and breathing from the diaphragm. This can take practice if you typically breathe from the mouth and upper chest. Once simple and effective breathing techniques are learned and implemented, they become tools for life.

Journaling has many proven and powerful benefits, but if you are new to journaling (or even if you’re not!) then it can be a little overwhelming on just how vast the subject is and how many different journals there are out there. Where do you even start? Whatever your reasons for wanting to journal, there will be a journal to suit you and each one will help you in a slightly different way. We are all very different and unique, so you may find you like to have everything in one place, or maybe having a different journal for each area of your life will be more beneficial as you can keep things separate.

To help, I have selected a few of the most common journals you can find on the market and what you can use them for.

Personal Journal

These are often blank notebooks, either lined or plain paper, so you aren’t restricted to space. This is where you write freely about your day, events, thoughts and feelings and a place to really explore these deeply. A great way to relieve stress, but also to work through anything that comes up for you within the privacy of your journal.

These are also available with pre-printed prompts to get your thoughts flowing, which is great if you find you get a bit of writer’s block and struggle to get started.

Goal Focused Journal

Here you write about your long-term goals and the smaller milestones along the way. You can keep your goals all in one place, they will be easy to review and keep focus on to ensure you keep moving towards them. It’s a fabulous tool to help you highlight any obstacles that may occur and to plan out the actions you need to take to achieve your goals. Often with pre-printed prompts, sections for year, month, week and day targets to break down your goals and steps they are very good for making you commit to taking action, seeing your progression and an incredible motivational tool!

Gratitude Journal

A great starting point for getting into a regular journal habit and for boosting your positivity and mood. You simply write about things you currently feel thankful for in your life. Expressing gratitude on a daily basis has also been proven to boost self-esteem and resilience. You can write a few things in every day that you are grateful for, or even things you are grateful to receive in the future. A great tool to read back on when you need to as it’s fabulous at increasing your mood, because everything in it is so positive about your life.

Dream Journal

A place to record your dreams to help you interpret them if you wish to. Use this journal to make a note of your feelings in your dream, as much detail of the dream as possible and notice if any feelings are lingering when you wake. Dreams don’t have to be profound but trust yourself on what you believe it to be about. It may be your subconscious bringing something that you need to address to your attention, which you could uncover through your writing.

Creative Journal

This is a space for brainstorming and noting things that inspire you. It’s less about working through thoughts and feelings but more a space for a collection of ideas. It’s really useful having all your ideas in one place, so you can refer back to them when you are ready to work on something.

Productivity Journal

These journals are great for helping improve your time management, productivity and track your progress on anything you’re working on. It helps to structure your day, whether at home or work, often with space for appointments, things to do, reminders on new habits you’re cultivating, self-development and other areas you want reminders to focus on each day. You can also use them to review your day from a factual and practical point of view before planning your next day – removing any lingering things you need to remember from your mind so you can relax at the end of the day.

Bullet Journal

These are brilliant for list makers! List of lists type of list makers! You can keep a record of all the things you need to do, or everything you have done in one place. Many people write down bullet pointed sentences, then ideas that flow from there. You can get stickers, doodle ideas and fill with potential ideas on different subjects such as where you want to travel to, books you want to read, ways to make changes in your life, money saving ideas, job promotion or business strategies.

These are just a few of the types of journals available, the list goes on with topics such as affirmations, wellbeing, weight loss, family, travel, art!

If you want to journal about something, the chances are there is a book out there for it, or just grab a new notebook and create your own. Journaling is individual so try different ones to find what works for you.

Whatever type of journal you choose, remember it’s your personal and private journey so leave any bias or judgement out when you write and most importantly, enjoy your writing!

Claire Baker

Mention the word menopause and most people think of hot flushes, mood swings, and maybe fatigue, but less familiar is the onset of anxiety which around half of us will experience during this time.

Anxiety is one of the most underestimated symptoms of the menopause and it can take many women by surprise, it often creeps up during the early years of the perimenopause. The hormonal fluctuations that take place during this phase leave many women suddenly experiencing a loss of confidence or a sense of anxiety, even when this has never previously been an issue.

Anxiety is a general feeling of unease that can cause you to feel worried or fearful, and the symptoms can range from mild to severe.

What Are The Causes Of Anxiety In Menopause?

Progesterone Deficiency: Fluctuations in hormone levels can lead to periods of progesterone deficiency. Tests have shown that progesterone has a calming effect on the body, and so having too little of this hormone can make a woman more vulnerable to developing anxiety disorders.
Other Menopause Symptoms: other symptoms of menopause e.g. hot flushes, sleep problems, and vaginal dryness have an effect on overall wellbeing and can be the source of a low mood and anxiety. Symptoms like night sweats that disrupt sleep, waking up exhausted which in turn makes it much harder to keep calm and think clearly during a busy and stressful day.
Negative Outlook. Feeling negative about menopause and getting older can take its toll on a woman’s mental wellbeing. Likewise, fears for the future can induce stress and lead to anxious feelings.

How Can We Treat Anxiety?

Women seeking anxiety treatment can choose from among three approaches: (1) Lifestyle changes, (2) Alternative medicine, and (3) Medications.

Lifestyle Changes

The first level of treatment consists of making healthier lifestyle adjustments, which can bring tremendous benefits in treating anxiety.

Nutritious Diet

Eating a balanced diet not only affects our physical health, but also our emotional wellbeing. To improve energy levels, boost mood, promote hormonal balance, and treat anxiety, our daily food intake should consist of lean proteins, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates, rich in essential vitamins and minerals, including the following:

• Phytoestrogens exert weak oestrogenic effects in the body, which can help reduce anxiety, depression, and other menopause symptoms by promoting hormonal balance – e.g. soya, oats, flaxseed, sesame seeds, broccoli.
• Magnesium helps regulate the function of neurotransmitters, like serotonin, which controls mood. Its deficiency has been shown to increase the risk of developing anxiety-related behaviours and depression. Found in nuts, seeds, spinach, avocado, leafy greens.
• Zinc is a nutrient needed for proper brain function, including stress management and mood regulation. Its low levels have been linked to anxiety as well as other mental health disorders, like depression. Found in eggs, oysters, asparagus, cashew nuts and pumpkin seeds.
• Omega-3 fatty acids have shown to help regulate mood-controlling neurotransmitters, reduce inflammation, and ease anxiety symptoms. Found in salmon, walnuts, flaxseed and olive oil.

Regular Exercise

The effects of regular physical activity on mental health are bountiful. It not only helps release stress and promote relaxation, but also improves mood and overall outlook on life. In fact, exercise has been shown as effective as antidepressant medication for treating mild to moderate anxiety and depression.

Alternative Medicine

Alternative approaches to how to treat anxiety encompass a wide variety of options, of which the most popular ones are herbal supplements. They are not only the easiest regimens to follow, but some of the most effective ones since supplements address the underlying root of menopause anxiety, hormonal imbalance.

Combining lifestyle adjustments with herbal supplements is often the most holistic and lasting approach to restoring hormonal balance and treating anxiety during menopause. However, women with severe anxiety may need a more conventional treatment, including medications and therapy.

Medications & Psychotherapy For Anxiety

There are two types of conventional anxiety treatments available to help women with severe anxiety.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapeutic options for generalized anxiety disorder treatment can be highly beneficial, although they do require a significant time commitment. They are usually recommended before prescription medications and come in two main types:

• Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and Cognitive Behavioural therapy (CBT) is the most common and effective anxiety therapy. It aims to break negative thought cycles and replace them with more constructive ones.
• Applied relaxation therapy consists of learning – under the guidance of a licensed therapist – various coping techniques to relax one’s muscles during anxiety attacks and lessen the symptoms

Medications

Anxiolytics, or anti-anxiety medications, are usually prescribed when psychotherapy has not brought the desired results. They can also be used in conjunction with psychotherapy. However, we must remember that the majority of medications work by alleviating anxiety symptoms, not treating the underlying cause.

• Antidepressants, most commonly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), work by modifying brain chemicals to ease anxiety. They are generally the first option prescribed for anxiety treatment.
• Sedatives, or benzodiazepines, might be used short-term in the case of severe anxiety attacks to promote relaxation and relieve physical anxiety symptoms, like muscle tension.
• Hormone-replacement therapy – containing oestrogen, progesterone, or their combination – used to be the go-to treatment for women with anxiety and other menopausal symptoms. However, because of the side effects and health risks linked to its use, treatments with HRT are evaluated on an individual basis and generally reserved for severe symptoms.

The three levels of anxiety disorder treatment discussed above are not mutually exclusive. Women may find that some approaches might be more beneficial at various stages of the menopausal transition than others. Nevertheless, many opt to combine lifestyle changes with herbal supplements for optimal, risk-free results the natural way.

On top of a healthy diet and exercise, some lifestyle tips aimed at relaxing the mind and generating good, positive feelings. Some of the best recommendations for anxiety treatment are as follows:

• Relieving stress through meditation, visualization, aromatherapy, and taking deep slow breaths can strengthen the mind and help it manage thoughts and tasks at hand in a more controlled, productive way.
• Maintaining a healthy sleep schedule is an essential part of treating anxiety, especially since both disorders are known to co-exist. Studies have shown that most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep every night.
• Brewing herbal infusions of relaxation-inducing herbs, like valerian or chamomile, can help quiet the mind and decrease anxiety attacks during menopause.
• Engaging in a hobby, such as photography or dancing, can help distract the mind from anxious thoughts, promote relaxation, and increase overall emotional wellbeing.
• Controlling addictions to substances, like nicotine and caffeine, that are known to worsen anxiety symptoms is key for lasting results.
• Mindfulness can be highly beneficial for anyone with anxiety. Try downloading a mindfulness app and give it a go.
• Regular exercise can help to relieve mild anxiety, so make sure you schedule it into your week and especially spending time in nature can help reduce stress and anxiety.
• Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) can be effective in promoting coping mechanisms for people with anxiety.

With all the internal and external changes occurring to menopausal women, it is no surprise that anxiety and depression are common symptoms. Implementing simple lifestyle changes, however, means that the distressing psychological and physical symptoms should decrease, leading to a better sense of overall wellbeing.