Tag: mental health

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How to calm Anxiety & Stress

There is no right or wrong way to feel at the moment, given everything that’s going on – and it’s important to acknowledge your feelings and not berate yourself if you are experiencing elevated levels of stress and anxiety.

It’s hardly surprising that you feel this way… a pandemic is something we’ve never had to deal with before and we’re muddling through the best we can and trying to find our way, adjusting to a new way of life for the time being.

What is important to remember is that this situation, as dire as it seems right now, is temporary and it cannot last forever. And there is also a lot you can do from the comfort of your own home to help you manage your feelings of stress and anxiety.

How can I manage my Anxiety?

Focusing on your breath is a brilliant way to help you slow your thoughts, however invasive they may be. There are lots of different techniques you can try but to start off, simply focus your awareness on inhaling and exhaling deep, even breaths.

Once you’ve practiced this, you can start looking at other breathing techniques, such as square breathing which is where you inhale for a count of five seconds, hold the breath for another five seconds, breathe out for five seconds and then repeat.

Really pay attention to the sensations of the breath as it flows in through your nose and out through your mouth. Thoughts may well pop into your head as you do this and you should acknowledge them when they do, but don’t dwell on them – always bring your attention back to your breath. After a few rounds of this, check in with your body and your mind to see if you’re feeling calmer and less anxious.

Where can I get help?

Once this is all over, get in touch with us here a Mill Acupuncture to make an appointment. Chinese Medicine and associated techniques are very effective at treating both stress and anxiety.

Visit the NHS website to find even more stress and anxiety-busting ideas.

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Acupuncture

Football fans risk Heart Attacks due to stress

Upset friends watching sport game on TV. Supporters worrying about favourite football team. Soccer fans watching game in disbelief while their team losing the match.

Football can be stressful

While some people would say football is just a game, for diehard fans, there is nothing more important than seeing their team or national side win. So much so that footballer supporters are putting themselves at risk of a heart attack as their stress levels can get so high.

This is according to a study from the University of Oxford, which examined the spit samples of 41 Brazil fans before and after the 2014 World Cup matches.

The findings, published in the journal Stress and Health, revealed levels of cortisol – the ‘stress hormone’ – surged in the semi-final, when Brazil lost 7-1 to Germany.

Dr Martha Newson, researcher at the Centre for the Study of Social Cohesion at Oxford, said: “Fans who are strongly fused with their team – that is, have a strong sense of being ‘one’ with their team – experience the greatest physiological stress response when watching a match.”

She added: “Fans who are more casual supporters also experience stress, but not so extremely.”

Dr Newson recommended clubs offer heart screenings to their biggest supporters, as they could have health complications from watching their team get defeated.

So what?

Indeed, when levels of the hormone cortisol are high for a prolonged period of time, this can cause blood pressure to rise, blood vessels to constrict, and put pressure on the heart if it is already weak. Therefore, it can increase the chance of developing a heart attack among the most devoted supporters.

While nothing can make your team win other than good players and a tactical manager, those who suffer from stress would benefit from having a course of treatment, including Acupuncture.  This ancient treatment has been shown to be effective at reducing stress levels, enabling fans to watch games without causing damage to their hearts.

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Acupuncture

Quarter of youth Mental Health referrals rejected

A worrying trend in mental health.

Young people are being abandoned by NHS services, after a report revealed a quarter of those who have been referred to a mental health specialist have been rejected for treatment.

This is according to the Education Policy Institute (EPI), which revealed as many as 133,000 young people have not been given the support they needed, despite some having a history of abuse or self-harm.

Author of the report Whitney Crenna-Jennings said: “There is a vast treatment gap, meaning the needs of hundreds of thousands of young people in England are not being met.”

The EPI document, which was based on Freedom of Information responses, showed 26 per cent of referrals to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) were rejected due to the fact the child did not meet eligibility criteria.

It went on to say there was “patchy” provision for young people in England, as a result of inconsistency across the services.

Mental health charity Mind told the BBC these findings are “deeply concerning”.

Spokesperson for the organisation Vicki Nash said: “We know that particularly for young people, timely and appropriate help can prevent further issues in later life. Too often the NHS is failing to provide this.”

Access to good-quality CAMHS is essential, as a previous study from Mind revealed three in five young people in the country have either been close to someone with a problem, or have had first-hand experience of one themselves.

It also found that 14 per cent of adolescents between 11 and 19 believe the state of their mental health is poor or very poor.

Acupuncture can help.

As I’ve written about before, Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine can improve your mental health. Anyone struggling with their mental health might consider, as it has been shown to be effective at relieving symptoms of depression and anxiety. If you want to book in a session, please get in touch

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Acupuncture

Top tips on relieving Stress over Christmas

Christmas is the time of the year when everyone feels as though they should be happy, smiley and jolly. However, the pressure to be cheerful or to create a perfect Christmas while being surrounded by relatives can cause a lot of people to suffer from stress over the festive period.

Here are some tips on how to take a break from the madness and relieve some of the stress associated with Christmas.

Lower expectations

There are many factors that can contribute to poor mental health over the holidays, one of which being the high expectations we place on Christmas. Those who are in charge of hosting feel the burden to create an idealised day for their loved ones, while parents are under a lot of pressure to make sure their children have the most magical time of the year for several weeks leading up to December 25th.

Even people who aren’t organising festivities might have unrealistic expectations of how the day will pan out, which could be ruined by illness, family fall outs, bad weather, or workload being too heavy.
An article in the Guardian stated: “Life is just too complex and messy to ever guarantee the mainstream portrayal of a perfect Christmas. And yet, we still expect it.”

Social media exacerbates these expectations, with users thinking that everyone else is doing more exciting things and having a better time than themselves with these sites not painting an entirely truthful picture.

Therefore, one of the best ways to reduce anxiety is to forget about all the lavish extras that you try and do over the festive period. Having a self-imposed ban on social media until the new year could also be a good idea, so you don’t end up comparing your holiday with other people’s.

Eat well

Most of us love to indulge at Christmas, with a report by Discount Supplements revealing Britons will collectively put on a huge 20 million stone by January 1st due to the amount of sweets, cakes, alcohol, cheese and biscuits we love to consume.

However, while we might like not worrying about what we eat for a week or so, eating fatty and sugar-laden foods as well as high quantities of alcohol can actually make us feel more stressed and less positive.

As well as not taking in vital nutrients that will provide us with energy, vitamins and minerals, feeling bloated, uncomfortable, unable to fit into clothes and hungover will also add to our stress levels.

Instead, Mind recommends snacking regularly, avoiding foods that make your blood sugar levels spike, drinking six to eight glasses of water a day, eating five portions of fruit and vegetables, lowering caffeine intake, adding protein to meals, and cutting out fatty foods.

Self-care

Another way to reduce your stress over Christmas is to steal some time to yourself, away from the chaos. You might enjoy a long walk in the fresh air, taking part in a Yoga class, practising some mindfulness or reading a book. Alternatively, acupuncture not only gives you some time out to recharge and relax, it is great for those suffering from anxiety, insomnia and depression.