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How to Beat Stress and Anxiety

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Re: How to Beat Stress and Anxiety

#71

Post by evancox100 »

kenmorechalfant wrote: post #54
pokler wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To point 1, this almost feels like catch-22. While sleep may be a way to recover from stress, stress is probably the single thing that impacts my sleep the most (aside from alcohol consumption, which is much easier to control). Does anyone have any help or tips here?

What has helped me a lot: get plenty of sunlight; especially in the morning (very important to our biological clock), started taking probiotics once a day before a meal, I try to eat complex carbohydrates in the morning (fruits, vegetables, beans, seeds); which promotes good gut bacteria and more stable blood glucose levels, exercise every day, no caffeine 8 hours before bed, nothing but water 2-3 hours before bed an…

That is likely way too much melatonin than is needed or helpful. Try taking 1 mg or even 0.5 mg a few hours before you want to fall asleep. Lots of easy to find evidence that common dosages are way too high. Typical person produces anywhere between 0.1 mg and 0.9 mg per day (varies strongly with age). Remember, absolutely none of the supplements in stores are regulated for safety, efficacy, or appropriate dosage levels.

Example: https://news.mit.edu/2001/melatonin-1017

Re: How to Beat Stress and Anxiety

#72

Post by dangwhy »

pokler wrote: post #10
robg wrote: post #4

1. Establish good sleep habits. Sleep is how the body recovers from stress. 2. Exercise daily. Movement is how the body puts the stress hormones to work. 3. Eat well. The gut-brain connection drives how we feel as we digest.

To point 1, this almost feels like catch-22. While sleep may be a way to recover from stress, stress is probably the single thing that impacts my sleep the most (aside from alcohol consumption, which is much easier to control). Does anyone have any help or tips here?

> Does anyone have any help or tips here?

Yes. when you go to sleep don't put any pressure on yourself that you need to sleep X number of hrs or whatever. Just go to bed on regular schedule and be thankful for the amount of sleep you get, actual amount is irrelevant.

Re: How to Beat Stress and Anxiety

#73

Post by loeg »

tmountain wrote: post #46
loeg wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find melatonin really useful, if that's something available where you live (its regulation varies radically between the US and Europe). I find it's best about 30 minutes before bed.

Almost everyone takes too much of it when they do. The actual recommended dose is very low. Efficacy rapidly declines with habitual usage, and effective utilization requires that you go to bed very soon after taking it (lights out, no screens, etc). This said, it can be a good short term solution for sleep issues.

Yes, I've heard that, but in my personal experience I find high doses (relative to the 0.3mg or whatever prescription quantity) effective, with no negative side effects, and I have suffered no loss of efficacy with habitual usage (years). YMMV, but it's certainly worth trying vs continuing to only sleep for four hours every night.

Re: How to Beat Stress and Anxiety

#74

Post by loeg »

wruza wrote: post #42
loeg wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find melatonin really useful, if that's something available where you live (its regulation varies radically between the US and Europe). I find it's best about 30 minutes before bed.

Doesn’t work on everyone. Tried it a couple of times, felt like stoned for six hours laying in darkness rethinking life choices. Probably circadic issue, idk, body scan works much better.

Yep. If you haven't tried it yet and confirmed it doesn't work for you, though, it's worth trying.

Re: How to Beat Stress and Anxiety

#75

Post by johnsimer »

RyanShook wrote: post #6

The most important thing I’ve learned about anxiety in the past year is that the conscious/cognitive part of your brain is not effective at calming down the stress response. I recommend this book to anyone who struggles with anxiety: https://amzn.to/3B3muZ9

It is if you meditate

Mindfulness meditation can increase the connection between your prefrontal cortex and your amyglada

Re: How to Beat Stress and Anxiety

#76

Post by sirsinsalot »

I've found the single best measure of my stress and anxiety levels (as at their worst, my subjective perception can't be trusted) is HRV during sleep.

My Garmin watch tracks it, and when I actively try to manage stress and anxiety during the day, it goes from red (for weeks) to immediately recovering into the green that night.

I like a good dataset and the correlation with my stress (backed up by papers on causation) is at least a really strong thing for me.

If I try something new, I can measure the impact on my HRV very clearly.

When I feel I'm burning out, my HRV over the previous few weeks tells the tale.

Re: How to Beat Stress and Anxiety

#77

Post by 12345hn6789 »

lofaszvanitt wrote: post #28
pokler wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To point 1, this almost feels like catch-22. While sleep may be a way to recover from stress, stress is probably the single thing that impacts my sleep the most (aside from alcohol consumption, which is much easier to control). Does anyone have any help or tips here?

If you do hard physical exercise (weight lifting, forget running), until you are dead tired, and stop drinking stimulants (coffee et al) then you will have good sleep. So simple.

Running properly is just as tiring as a good weight session.

Re: How to Beat Stress and Anxiety

#79

Post by green_on_black »

denvaar wrote: post #24
ricardobayes wrote: post #22

There is something we don't yet understand about eye movement and stress/anxiety. Moving your eyes between two points or just sideways back and forth seems to work for many people. Based on what I hear this seems to be even incorporated in a clinical setting for treating PTSD etc.

Yes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_movement_desensitization_a...

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Eye_movement_desensitization_and...

Re: How to Beat Stress and Anxiety

#80

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

themodelplumber wrote: post #67
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #37

> Action mode focuses on surviving a danger right now. This is the fight or flight mechanism that our brain when it is in an adverse situation. The response is driven by the sympathetic nervous system. It drives up your heart rate, raises blood pressure, dilates your pupil among other things. It also affects the way we think, and make decisions. When we are in "action mode," our thinking becomes fairly "binary," and…

> When we are in "action mode," our thinking becomes fairly "binary," and extreme (eg. "Good|Bad", "Fight|Flight", "Hate|Love"). > It also focuses on short-term results, and is biased towards assured results, as opposed to "possible" ones. What's interesting to me is that this type of thinking also overlaps with, or is found in, a variety of circumstances/ways of being, like: - Unskilled (despite experience level) -…

I’d say that almost all of those scenarios (maybe all -not sure about the hero) lend themselves to the person being in “panic mode.”

eg., “stressed.”

Sort of like the classic “Lucy and the Chocolate Factory” routine[0].

I’d also suggest a management deficit, if those cases are too severe.

[0] https://youtu.be/NkQ58I53mjk

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