I unabashedly admit that I have an anxiety disorder, two actually: generalized anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. While I’m not always a good student of self-care for anxiety, I do try my best each day to find little things to slow my mind’s engine from revving too high. If you’re among the anxiety disordered, you probably get it – the overthinking; the fretting over this and that; the what if, what if, what if; and the hyper-vigilance, if you have PTSD. The upside to all this is: You’re among good company.

Anxiety disorders affect 40 million adults in the United States each year. These disorders are the number one mental health issue among women, and the second among men. No worries if it so happens that you haven’t had the fortune of being DSM coded with one of these disorders; if you’re among the countless numbers of us who are unsure about the future of our nation, that’s enough to make you go bonkers. And with the holiday season fast approaching, ugh! Talk about an anxiety disordered person’s nightmare – crowed stores, traffic, “Jingle Bells” following you everywhere, pressure to spend just the right amount on a yankee swamp gift. Having an anxiety disorder is sometimes all consuming, mentally exhausting, predatory-like. There are days when I think of my anxiety disorders as the worst roommates I’ve ever had. If you get what I’m saying here, are you wondering how to kick your roommates (or roommate) out of your head and body for good? I wish I could say I had the one-size-fits all answer, but, alas, I do not. However, I do have a self-care for anxiety practice that might help during those most difficult, wonky-crazy moments when you can’t seem to get out of your own way.

After treating myself to a massage/reiki treatment a last month, the therapist asked if I had ever had any surgeries to my pelvic and abdominal area. I almost choked on my tongue. Yes, I had had surgeries: three abdominal and two pelvic. “I felt an outpouring, like hemorrhaging from those areas,” she said.  This could not be good, I thought,  but I had to ask anyway, because that’s what anxious people do, ask and ask again, just to be sure. “No,” she affirmed. “It is not good. You need that energy coming out of you for balance, to ground you.” Yikes, I thought. How much had I bled? What blood type matches imbalance negative? How many pints of blood do I need to bring my balance count back within the normal range?

Of course, she didn’t leave me bleeding all over the place. She looked at me with kind eyes and said I needed to give myself  some love and attention, a bit of self-care for anxiety. Because physical touch alone helps to reduce stress and anxiety, she encouraged me to place a hand over my pelvic/belly area each night while lying in bed. Then, with my eyes closed, tell myself that I am good. I am good enough. I am okay.

And so that’s what I’ve been doing. Sometimes I do forget, but I make up for it during my ten or fifteen minute periods of meditation. During those self-care for anxiety moments, I fill my head with not only good enough, I open myself up to all kinds of friendly  words: smile, joy, yellow, puppy, sunshine, laughter, starlight, full moon, beach, ocean, green, breath, bare feet, grass, warm bath, love, hugs, candle, art, cozy, blue, hope. Certain words often circle around again, which is just fine with me – there’s no such thing as too many smiles, full moons, hugs, or puppies, especially puppies.

I now leave you to fill your head with a lavender bath, soak for as long as you need to with your hand over the part of your body that is bleeding the most, and give yourself the transfusion you deserve: maybe it’s a  field of purple Calla Lilies or a walk in the woods, a warm cup of chamomile tea, or a love note to yourself.

Be well my dear friends.

Oh, one more thing: Don’t fret over the lumps in the gravy this Thanksgiving, because, as my mother likes to say, “It will only get worse.”

Just when you think you might know all there is to know about how to heal your brain after a traumatic head injury (or how to prevent your brain from a dementia downslide), there’s more. Last week, during Vermont’s 30^th Brain Injury Association Conference, I sat in awe of how much I didn’t know when Chiropractor, Wellness Expert, and Clinical Director of  Vizuri Health Center Dr. Bill Schenck  spoke about the relationship between the gut and the brain. In his presentation, “Fix Your Gut, Fix Your Brain,” he could not have underscored more the three fundamental things that can been done to fix your brain. Exercise. Sleep. Healthy foods. While the first two do not directly relate to the gut, they do impact the functioning of the brain.

So, where to start?

Move. Exercise helps the body heal itself. It increases nerve growth in the brain, makes new connections between neurons, and forms new arteries. The more we move, “burn, pant, and sweat,” as Dr. Schenck says, the more human growth hormone we produce, which promotes cell replication stabilizes blood sugar, and maintains testosterone (good for male and females). Moving the spine alone is responsible for 90% of stimulation to the spine, he says. If you’re like me, and are inclined at times to choose the computer over the elliptical, remember, sitting is the new smoking.

Sleep: Damage to neurons do not recover from loss of sleep, meaning less than seven hours a night. Most of us need between 7-9 hours. And the last two hours are the most crucial: that’s when toxins  are cleared from the brain, namely tau proteins, proteins associated with Alzheimer’s. So, as much as you you say you’re all good with five, six, hours of sleep, your brain is not as happy as you might think.

Healthy Foods:

Because there’s no harm in repetition (right?), I’ll start with what Dr. Schneck told us, which we’ve all heard a million times over: Eat a rainbow of veggies and fruits. Everyday. If the name of the fruit ends in berry, it’s good for you (thank you Dr. Schenck for that one!) I know, this makes me sound like an advertisement, but, hey, so what: “Eat More Kale.” And don’t forget avocado. (Is avocado a fruit or a vegetable? I can never remember.)

If possible, eat foods that are fresh, organic, local, and non-GMO. Again, what we’ve heard a million times over: Avoid foods with a high glycemic index (a ranking of carbohydrates in foods and how they affect glucose levels), like all things white (white bread, white rice, white potatoes, white pasta, you get the idea). But certain white foods are okay. Cauliflower, coconut, and one I never would have thought of: Daikon radish – Dr. Schenck says it’s alkalizing, and from what I learned in nursing school light-years ago, our bodies are happiest when in the middle, not too acidic, not too alkaline. An acidic environment is a recipe for illness and chronic disease. If you can’t bear to give up potatoes, the good news is this: sweet potatoes are on the good list, so too are Yukon gold.

Of course, we also need protein. The best source comes from wild caught salmon. Not the farm-raised stuff that’s injected with dye and makes the salmon look like a pink Crayola crayon. East coast salmon is most likely farm-raised, so its’ best to go with Alaskan. It just so happens to be the season for Alaskan salmon, so now’s the time to stock up. Make sure you avoid fish high up on the food chain: the higher up, the more mercury – not at all good for the brain. If you’re an uncompromising carnivore, make sure what you put in your gut is local and grass fed. The same goes for eggs. Grain fed meats, eggs, grain fed anything, cause chronic inflammation in the body.

When Dr. Schenck talked about oils, I sat up a bit straighter in my chair (I thought I was doing such a good job using only good oils.) I’ve been smearing Earth Balance on my toast for years, and when he mentioned safflower and canola oils as being toxic, I thought, yikes, both are among the first ingredients in the  yummy, buttery spread I’ve come to love. Soy, which is 95% GMO, is a no-no too (also in some Earth Balance products). And corn, as in Mazola. These toxic oils, which have too much omega 6, also cause inflammation in the body. Corn alone can lead to “leaky gut.” So what oils are on the yes list?  Fish oil ranks at the top. For a healthy brain, we need DHA, so the more DHA from fish oils the better. The best source comes from squid. (Sorry, fried calamari doesn’t count. All fried food is on the no-no list; yes, even french fries, unless they’re baked, and made from sweet potatoes, or Yukon Gold.) Added sugar too is a no-no, so is alcohol (Though, I’m thinking one glass of red wine in the evening has to be okay. Doesn’t it count as a fruit? It’s made from grapes. Yes, that’s a fruit.)

Probiotics:

Try Kombucha, the fermented drink that’s gluten-free, vegan, helps with digestion, boosts your immune system, and wards off high blood pressure and heart disease.  (Who knows, it might even heal your stubbed toe or mosquito bite or lazy eye – I’m a hard-core Kombucha drinker, and I’ve seen no results for the latter.)

Kimchee (my palate is still struggling with this), sauerkraut, tempeh, too are all good sources of probiotics.

Oh, one more thing on the no-no list I almost forgot to share from Dr. Schenck:  Avoid toxic people.

* Remember: I am not a nutritionist, dietician, medical doctor, exercise physiologist, sleep specialist, or wellness expert. I am a nurse turned writer who is living as whole a life as possible with a brain injury, and is interested in helping others struggling with a TBI.

(For information about how certain vitamins, such as vitamin D and omega 3, help heal a TBI, please see earlier postings on my website.)

Happy Healing!

Are you in search of herbal support for a traumatic brain injury? While I am not an herbalist or naturopath, I’ve taken an interest in herbal remedies that might enhance my brain function. After attending this past year’s annual brain injury conference in Vermont, then seeing a naturopath to discuss herbal support for my  chronic fatigue, anxiety, and brain fog related to a TBI, here’s what I learned (*Many of the following have been part of my daily brain-building routine for a long time; others I have recently added, or increased the dosages of, under the supervision of my naturopath):

To reduce short and long term impacts of inflamation on brain tissue, herbalist Guido Mase recommends taking flavonoids like blueberries. One cup a day provides protection for all neurodegenerative disorders. The good new is this: heat does not damage the berries, and freezing them increases the bioavailability of flavonoids. (Thank goodness, because I have countless quart bags full of blueberries in my freezer.)

Curcumin, which comes from turmeric, is another flavonoid that has long been used as an anti-inflammatory; it is specifically used to treat TBIs. My naturopath recommended one TBS three times a day of turmeric, with pepper and some kind of fat to aid in absorption. FYI: it tastes terrible, so I often mix it with yogurt.

Essential fatty acids, like omega 3, help regulate what is called “pro-inflammatory signals” in the brain. Mase recommends 2,000 -4,000 mg of omega 3 oil daily, or three to five TBS of ground seeds. I currently take 4,000 mg a day (soft gels).

Among the more than 300 enzymatic processes in which Magnesium is involved, this powerhouse mineral supports cognitive function, strengthens memory, improves learning abilities, regulates mood, and reduces anxiety and depression (which often accompanies a TBI). I’ve been taking 400 mg a day for several months.

Vitamin D, a fat-soluble vitamin, has been linked to fatigue after a TBI. It also plays a role in immune health. Since I live in Vermont, where sunshine is much like a rare commodity, I’ve been taking 1,000 IU a day, but recently increased to 5,000 IU at the recommendation of my naturopath. While I’m told it’s difficult to overdose on Vitamin D, especially if you live in the Northeast, I encourage you to speak with your doctor/medical provider before rushing out to the pharmacy to purchase a 240-day supply.

For anxiety and insomnia: Lavela is a clinically studied lavender oil shown to promote relaxation and reduce anxiety. I’ve been taking one before bedtime for a little more than two weeks; my naturopath says it takes about three weeks to notice any change.

GABA supplements: GABA (Gamma-aminobutyric acid) is a transmitter that regulates communication between brain cells. It plays a large role in behavior, cognition, and the body’s response to stress. Studies have shown that when neurons become overexcited, GABA helps to alleviate the attendant anxiety. Decreased levels of GABA are linked to depression, sleep disorders, anxiety, and more. While I wait for the Lavela to take full effect, I take two GABA chewable tablets before bed each night.

Lion’s Mane: this mushroom is considered a “superfood” for the brain, nerves, and immune system, and has been found to induce what is called “nerve growth factor.” Taking Lion’s mane, consistently and in concentrated doses, helps improve memory, and has been used to treat mild cognitive impairment. My husband is a mushroom forager, so we (or I should say he) made our own tincture. Based on the recommendation of Guido Mase, I started taking 1 tsp three times a day back in October. The recipe my husband and I followed to make the tincture included taking a two week break after three months.

For more information on herbal supplements and TBI, go to Guido Mase’s twitter page and scroll down to his tweet from October 10, 2017: “Herbal Support for a Traumatic Brain Injury.”

* Please consult with your physician/medical provider before taking any of the above supplements. Again, this post is for informational purposes only.

It’s June –  Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month. Did you know that? If not, no worries. I’m here to tell you all about it. Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month is a time to help raise awareness about a disease that affects millions of people world-wide. Though researchers know a lot about Alzheimer’s, they still don’t have a cure, which makes the disease still a mystery. That’s why purple is the color designated to Alzheimer’s, because it symbolizes mystery. But purple also represents magic, and it is that magical day millions of us are waiting for, the day when we can say with confidence that Alzheimer’s no longer exists, that it is no longer a threat to us or our loved ones. During the month of June, the Alzheimer’s Association encourages us to wear purple, to spread a purple light in honor of all affected by this life-robbing disease.

To learn more about Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month,  I encourage you to read this past Sunday’s special section of the Burlington Free Press. Here you will find my article, “Agitation in Alzheimer’s, about the latest research involving an investigational medication to help reduce agitation in those living with the disease. In the 31-page section, you’ll also find personal narratives about individuals with Alzheimer’s, stories about the role of caregivers, support services available, and the community’s efforts to raise awareness.

Happy June!

Wear purple; wear hope.

“The sky is already purple; the first few stars have appeared, suddenly, as if someone had thrown a handful of silver across the edge of the world.”

― Alice Hoffman, Here on Earth

A few weeks ago, I stood on a stage in front of hundreds of people, shaking like a mother@#$%!&, and shared my story of “Surviving and Thriving” at the annual brain injury conference held by the Brain Injury of Association of Vermont. I also listened to others, including mental health providers and rehab specialists – share their experiences with TBIs. As the theme of the conference, “Surviving and “Thriving, came up over and over again, I began to think about what that phrase really means for TBI survivors, and others. I wasn’t looking for the “pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps” kind of answer (I’d like to see someone take on that impossible task, literally.) Of course, precisely how each one of us survives and thrives differs, but I came away from the conference realizing that a common denominator does exist: Human emotion. Because we’re human, we’re vulnerable and experience grief, anger, jealousy, anxiety, and so on. That being the case, I’d like to share some takeaways from the conference, tidbits offered by Psychologist Laura Basili, which define, at least for me and hopefully for you too, the nitty-gritty of “Surviving and Thriving”:

 1) A willingness to remain vulnerable. Being vulnerable is part of “Surviving and Thriving,” though we tend to equate vulnerability with weakness, and who wants to be perceived as weak? But, alas, like I said, we’re all vulnerable, like it or not, and it doesn’t mean we’re weak at all. If you don’t believe me, maybe the poet David Whyte will be more convincing: Vulnerability is not a weakness, a passing indisposition, or something we can arrange to do without, vulnerability is not a choice, vulnerability is the underlying, ever present and abiding under-current of our natural state. To run from vulnerability is to run from the essence of our nature, the attempt to be invulnerable is the vain attempt to be something we are not and most especially, to close off our understanding of the grief of others. More seriously, refusing our vulnerability we refuse the help needed at every turn of our existence and immobilize the essential, tidal and conversational foundations of our identity.

The operative phrases, which are worthy of repeating, are in the last two sentences: To be invulnerable is … to close off our understanding of the grief of others. More seriously, refusing our vulnerability we refuse the help needed at every turn of our existence and immobilize the essential, tidal and conversational foundations of our identity.

So why not wrap your arms around vulnerability, walk alongside it, or invite it into your home?

2) We first need to understand grief before we can grieve what we’ve lost – maybe it’s the loss of independence after a brain injury or the death of a loved one from a TBI, or any other kind of loss. But grief doesn’t only come in the form of sadness; it also presents itself as anger, denial, guilt, fatigue, desperation, hyper-vigilance, resentment, and anxiety. So when you’re socked-in by one of those emotions in the aftermath of a loss, know that you’re doing what humans do: grieving. To grieve is to grow, meaning you’re “Surviving and Thriving.” As Laura does with some of her patients, if you’re struggling with grief, you might want to try drawing a picture of suffering, then drawing one that resembles hope. I’d love to see what you come up with.

Oh, I almost forgot one more tidbit, something that brain injury survivor Hannah Wood shared during her keynote address: Do one thing every day that scares you. That doesn’t mean you have to free climb up the face of Half Dome in Yosemite or go skydiving. Maybe it’s applying for that dream job you’ve been telling yourself you’re not qualified for because you’re afraid of being rejected. Maybe it’s making that phone call to a certain individual who has experienced a similar traumatic experience as you, but you’ve held off, afraid she’ll tell you she doesn’t want to talk about it. Whatever the scary thing might be, go for it! After all, as Laura shared with the audience from one of her clients, “The suffering is in the waiting.”

As you read this blog post, is your smartphone on speaker, playing bad “hold music” while you wait for a “live” voice to answer? Or maybe you’re glancing back and forth from the computer screen to your phone, responding to text messages in between reading a few sentences of this post. Multi-tasking is in vogue; it’s hip, cool. And how many times do you see “ability to multi-task a must” in help-wanted advertisements? But while we believe we’re multi-tasking, the truth is we’re not at all. A neuroscientist at MIT says that what we’re actually doing is “switching from one task to another very rapidly.” And, though we believe multi-tasking means greater productivity, each time we do this, he adds, there are “cognitive costs.”

Multi-tasking increases levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and the flight-or-fight hormone adrenaline, both over-stimulating the brain and creating what I call “brain fog,” causing loss of focus. To make matters more complicated, multi-tasking creates an addictive-like feedback loop in the pre-fontal cortex, ironically, the area of the brain responsible for helping us stay on task. In other words, our brains are rewarded for losing focus. Multi-tasking is like using cocaine; the more one uses it, the more one wants it, needs it. So when you talk on the phone, check your email, send a text message, boil water for tea, your brain is stimulated by a rush of endogenous opioids. (“More, please!”) Think of potato chips, ice cream, candy – they taste good going down, but the empty-calorie effect brings your brain, and you, to a crashing halt. And making the brain shift from one task to another causes it to burn extra oxygen and glucose, the very ingredients needed to stay on task. When this happens, you might feel wrung-out, ready for a long nap. What happens when you lose steam? You get frustrated, and anxiety ensues, triggering another blast of cortisol to your brain. You can’t think straight. You become more frustrated, and angry. Maybe you get so angry you take it out on others.

And the more you multi-task, the more decisions you need to make: should I answer that phone call, text, or email? Should I go to the grocery store now or later? Which apple should I buy: a Fuji or a Delicious? When making these decisions, you consume so much energy that you end up making poor decisions when it comes to more important issues, like loaning money you don’t have to an unreliable family member, or going out for drinks and getting so drunk that you can’t get out of bed the next morning to make it to that job interview your father-in-law hooked up for you. (Now you’re in trouble.)

Also, researchers have found that multi-tasking can reduce one’s IQ by as much as fifteen points. This decrease is similar to what researchers would expect from smoking pot or staying up all night. If you’ve ever pulled an all-nighter studying, or smoked pot, you know what it feels like: your brain might as well be stuffed with gauze.

Enough of the harsh truth. Instead, here are some tips to help you resist the temptation to multi-task. Shut off your cell phone when working, and place it far out of reach. If you can’t bring yourself to shut off your phone, envision a stop sign each time it rings or buzzes, and say to yourself, “No, I’m not responding.” Make a list of priorities each day and check them off when complete. Dedicate time each day to complete mindless tasks, like folding the laundry or emptying the dishwasher.  Keep your office door closed so others know you don’t want to be disturbed. Put a do not disturb sign on your door. Plaster your office door with yellow caution tape, set up a trap, eat a lot of garlic. Tie yourself to a ship’s mast – it worked for Odysseus, even though he did put up quite the fight.

Of course, I’m thinking big here with these tips, and you might be laughing at this post, saying, “She’s got to be out of her mind to think I can give up multi-tasking. Tell my boss this, and I’ll be fired in a New York minute.” The key is to guard against multi-tasking whenever possible; start small. Maybe it’s shutting off your cell phone for an hour each day for a week, then two hours the next week. Believe me, I too am victim to multi-tasking. In fact, while writing this post my cell phone rang. (I forgot to shut it off.) Guess whose name lit up on the screen? “Mom.” Yep, I answered it.