Stress is the bane of today’s society and plays havoc on our physical and mental makeup. Psychological stress activates the adrenal glands to discharge stress hormones called cortisol, which help us survive the stress but are harmful to our health. When a person is exposed to prolonged periods of stress, he can develop ailments like high blood pressure, stomach ulcers, cancer and various immune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, depression etc.
Food has a profound effect on both mind and body. Health is a reflection of our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well being. A person with a disturbed mind cannot have a healthy body because the mind is the monitor of our physical health. Research at the National Institutes of Health in the USA has been looking at how stress affects the mind and body. One of the scientists, Dr. Pamela Peeke, focussed her work on the relationship between stress and weight gain. It was found that people who are stressed out often turn to food for solace, and eat more than normal. Dr. Peeke found that the stress released fat accumulation can begin in people as young as 20.
Stress is one of the largest killers of mankind, today. It is the cause of most of our illnesses, whether physical or mental. Stress has a very negative impact on our digestive system. The body can assimilate the nutrients from food only when the mind is in a relaxed condition. No matter what you eat, if the mind is disturbed, your body will not gain any benefits from the nutritive components of your food.
There are, however, a few foods that help the body cope with the demands made by stress. When the body is under stress the demand for nutrients is more as key nutrients are burned up faster. In order to derive the maximum benefits from a nourishing diet, one needs to follow three essential steps-
• Eat under a stress-free and pleasant atmosphere.
• Eat just enough to repress hunger; overeating can be hazardous. Overload the digestive system by overeating and it will make you lethargic, sleepy and inactive.
• In case you suffer from excessive stress, eat foods that counteract stress.
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Foods that Counteract Stress
During stress, the body needs more of certain nutrients because they are burned up faster than usual. Stress increases the demand for vitamin C, Vitamin A, Vitamin B-complex, proteins, magnesium, antioxidants and essential oils. To counteract the stress effects, one needs more of these nutrients.
There is a high concentration of vitamin C in our brain tissues, more than any other tissue in the body. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant, that is used up quickly during stressful periods. One needs to cater to the high demand for this vitamin during high levels of stress. An amount between 500-1,000 milligrams would be required to combat the stress after-effects. The best sources of vitamin C are citrus fruits like oranges, potatoes, tomatoes, and leafy green vegetables.
Vitamin A is another requirement during times of stress. It is needed for maintenance of skin, mucous membranes, bones, teeth and hair, eyesight, and reproduction. Vitamin A may also protect against cancer. Liver (especially fish liver), egg yolk, fortified margarine, oily fish, oranges, apricots, carrots, tomatoes, melons, and dark green leafy vegetables contain this vitamin in abundance.
Magnesium is found in dark green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grain foods, legumes, milk.
Proteins are of two types – animal protein and vegetable protein. Animal protein can be found in foods like meat, fish, egg and all dairy products, while vegetable protein is found in grains, beans, pulses, nuts, seeds and sprouted seeds.
Stress increases the generation of free radicals in the body, which are the main cause of cancer. The only elements that can fight free radicals are antioxidants, found in plenty in cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli etc. They are rich in bio-flavinoids, which are powerful antioxidants. During stressful times, the body generates a whole lot of free radicals, which cause harm to the body cells. Bio-flavinoids protect the body against cell damage caused by free radicals.
Another important source of antioxidants is green tea. It contains an abundance of polyphenols which are active agents protecting against heart disease and cancer. The polyphenols also protect against the damages caused by stress. Chamomile tea is a powerful anti-stress agent. It relaxes and soothes the mind and promotes sound sleep.
Fruits are an essential ingredient, which could provide the required amounts of antioxidants required to counteract stress.
They contain simple sugars and complex carbohydrates, which help raise the serotonin levels in the bloodstream. Serotonins are the ‘feel good’ neurotransmitters, which elevate mood and fight depression.
Vegetable and fruit juices are also a good source of antioxidants. A regular glass of any fruit juice or vegetable juice can go a long way in helping the body cope with the detrimental effects of stress.
Emotional equilibrium
Emotional equilibrium is a state of stable balance, such that any disturbance from outside tends to be corrected.
Let’s assume that everyone has an internal ‘regulating machine’ that requires ‘resetting’ after an upsetting event, but the great majority return to emotional equilibrium within days (that is, they have a ‘normal’ depressed mood state). Some people, however, are unable to reset their mechanism easily, thus losing their ‘emotional equilibrium’. They remain essentially ‘stuck’. Their personality styles and ways of dealing with events ‘sustain’ the depression, rather than enabling them to ‘get over it’.
So how can equilibrium be lost? There are two main ways:
1. The machinery can fail; for example, if the keel on a yacht breaks off, the yacht will capsize.
2. A ‘positive feedback loop’ can develop. This means that two or more factors can influence each other to such a degree that a small disturbance leads to a further disturbance. This loop is sometimes also called a ‘vicious circle’. An example of feedback occurs when a microphone is put too close to a speaker. A small noise from the speaker is amplified into the mike, and further amplified by the speaker. While the feedback loop can be of use to create musical effects, such reverberation (mulling over and rumination) is not useful for humans.
Treatment for Schizophrenia
• Schizophrenia is a disease that is managed rather than cured. Although it may be effectively treated with medication and help from many quarters, it is usually a chronic disorder and the risk of a relapse is always present. After a first about of a schizophrenic illness, many people will be unable to pursue the job they were doing at a high level and many are at risk of becoming less functionally able than they were.
• Although family and friends are the first to realize that the person has a mental problem, the sufferer is often relived to get medical assistance. If the person has sought help early, then medication may be enough, with family support, to restore a good level of normal functioning. Frequently, however, the first time the problem is faced head-on is when a crisis has occurred. The person may refuse to talk, or eat, or is constantly in fear, or is hearing voices. Under these circumstances, a doctor may feel that the person with schizophrenia requires hospitalization. The sufferer may have to be committed to hospital involuntarily under the mental health Act, after assessment by a consultant psychiatrist and approved social worker. In these circumstances, the safety of the sufferer and those around him is of paramount importance. During the early days in hospital strong sedation may be necessary to prevent dangerous situation arising and to enable the sufferer to sleep. Quite quickly people with schizophrenia view hospital as a safe place and agree to stay there voluntarily while receiving treatment.
• On discharge a sufferer will need support from friends, relatives and often community psychiatric nurses. Talking to others with the illness and with community psychiatric nurses may be of great help. Doctors and psychiatrists will be available if relatives need assistance. Rehabilitation and adjusting to life back in the community take varying lengths of time, which is true of any illness.
Exercise is a very good relaxant and a way of helping restore normality. Relaxation therapies, especially tapes and music, yoga, aromatherapy, reflexology, and Indian head massage may also be of great benefit.
How quickly do antidepressants work?
Most treatment guidelines suggest that antidepressants may take many weeks to work. It is argued that even if the current treatment seems ineffective, it should be persisted with for several weeks or even months. The Mood Disorders Unit interprets the evidence differently.
If medication is likely to be effective, evidence of at least some improvement should appear in the first ten days or so, whether it is an improvement in mood, sleep, or other features. For melancholic and psychotic depression, the rate of improvement is generally slower (but relatively constant). It may, in fact, appear painfully slow.
If no improvement is noted in the first two weeks after commencing an antidepressant, the dose of that drug may need to be increased, a change to another class of antidepressant may be required, or ‘augmenting’ strategies (the addition of quite differing drugs) may need to be introduced. Unfortunately, when changing from one drug to another, days to weeks may pass before success can be established. It might also be the case that non-drug strategies will be more effective in bringing the depression to an end.
Augmentation of antidepressant drugs
The effectiveness of some antidepressants can be increased by the use of adjunctive or augmentation drugs, for example, thyroid hormones or lithium.
There is increasing evidence to suggest that the new ‘atypical’ antipsychotic drugs may also have augmenting effects on antidepressants, often working rapidly and also being able to be ceased rapidly in many instances. While not investigated formally, the benefits of such augmenting drugs may only be relevant to melancholic and psychotic depression.
SSRI Pregnancy Concerns
SSRIs (antidepressants) have had somewhat of a panacea status with physicians prescribing the meds for all sorts of off label usage, particularly during the boom of the drugs existence over the past half decade. However, there has been a steady reporting of concerns related to the drugs as time progresses. Most people have heard about the adolescent suicide risk associated with the medication, and a new study is reporting that mothers taking the drugs put their newborns at risk for being under-weight and having respiratory problems.
â€There was a significantly greater incidence of respiratory distress (13.9% vs. 7.8%) and longer hospital stays for infants born to depressed mothers on SSRIs than those born to untreated depressed mothers, the team reports in the Archives of General Psychiatry.â€
Obviously, people should consult with their psychiatrists or health care providers for specific treatment information. I think the overall effect of some of these stories is going to be that people are more cautious about taking the drugs, and asking more pointed questions about their treatment.
The purpose of normal depression
For most people, depression (even the commonly occurring normal depression) is an unpleasant experience that often interferes with day-to-day functioning.
What then is the purpose of such a painful experience? This question can be linked to another one: what is the purpose of pain? Pain has one distinct advantage – the unpleasant side effects of pain mean that most of us will go to considerable length to avoid it. For example, if we did not find heat painful, we might get too close to a fire and suffer the consequences. It is for such reasons that many nerves in our bodies have heat receptors.
In a similar way, it could be argued that normal depression can be an automatic defence response or a response cued by certain situations. Such a proposition has been explored recently by the American psychiatrist Randolph Nesse, in particular how normal depression may have offered a selective advantage to civilization over time. To the extent that ay of Nesse’s interpretations have validity, they allow the individual to question the meaning of a depressed mood.
Is normal depression a plea or cry for help?
It is unlikely that normal depression is cry for help. If it is, then it is not a very useful or effective signal, as it is more likely to evoke negative response from others.
Learning rational thinking
Rational thinking is realistic thinking, not simply positive thinking. Sometimes ‘positive’ thoughts can be irrational and leave a person feeling just as down. For example, ‘This time I will succeed. It’ll be different to every other time’.
Such a self-instruction is irrational as it sets up unrealistic expectations that will only lead to feelings of failure and despair if things don’t work out. Of course, we should all allow for faults, mistakes, bad moods and unpleasant feelings over the course of an ordinary day. The trick is not to let such feelings overcome us.
The way we talk to ourselves influences the way we feel and behave. For example, ‘I feel upset about what just happened, but I won’t let myself dwell on it’ instead of, ‘oh no! How can I face the rest of the day after this! I’m too upset to work. Today is a disaster’. People who continually tell themselves ‘I can’t cope ‘ will end up believing it. This will prevent them from learning new ways of coping.
Here are some of the common irrational beliefs that can have a very negative effect on thought patterns.
• It is essential that people think are important to me should like/love/approve of me all the time. If they don’t, it must mean that I’m bad/worthless.
• I must be good at what I do and always try to improve myself.
• Some people are bad/wicked/evil and I should be very upset by their behavior.
• It is a total disaster if things don’t work out the way I want.
• Fate/destiny controls us. We have little to do with causing our own sorrows or unhappiness.
• If something is, or may be, dangerous or frightening, I must be concerned about it and worry about it happening to me.
• If things are too hard it’s better to avoid them than fail.
• We must have others to rely on. We all need someone stronger than ourselves in order to cope with life.
• What happened in my past will always affect me-both now and in the future.
• I should be very upset and dwell on other people’s problems and crises if I really care for them.
Changing the way we think, by being aware of our thoughts, involves three stages:
Anticipation-before the event.
Reaction-during the event.
Analysis-after the event.
How someone looks forward to an activity is very important in laying the groundwork for their emotional response. For example, if an invitation to a party brings an emotional response such as, ‘I won’t know anyone there. I’ll look so stupid’, then negative thinking has to be stopped before it starts. It is completely self-defeating. More self-encouraging statements would be: ‘I might find the party a bit of a strain but I’ll get myself a drink and stand in the kitchen. 1 might be able to offer some food around and get to talk to people that way.’
Self-talk in any situation will make a difference to the way someone copes. Negative thoughts after an event will make it harder to face that activity in future. Develop the habit of thinking logically rather than emotionally. For example: ‘I’m shy at parties, but they are an important part of meeting people. What can 1 do to cope better? Which “bits” worry me most?’
Identify what made you angry
Anger is a signal that all is not well. We should give shape to our feelings as to do so judiciously is neither bad nor childish, but mature. We should identify the situations that make us particularly angry. Are we being overlooked or taken for granted? Have we had to compromise something we believe in? Has someone taken or violated something precious to us or someone we value?
Once we have cooled off a little, we should ask, is our anger ‘reasonable’? Is it in proportion to the situation that caused it? An intense reaction probably reflects that the immediate cause of the anger has triggered off energy from older, unresolved hurts and fears – perhaps from as far as back as childhood.
Established what we can do about these feelings of anger
We can use our understanding of what gave rise to our anger to learn about ourselves. There are certain actions we can take that will ameliorate our feelings somewhat. Try and work out what these are and ask a (disinterested) friend what they think. Sometimes past hurts, injustices or indignities can be resolved with those responsible. If this is not possible, a skilled therapist can help heal the bruises. Sometimes we can forgive or at least move on. Situations or conflicts that are unresolvable should be avoided. It is difficult to change others’ attitude, but we can improve our own. Each of us has control over ourselves.
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Your Brain on the Politics
After having a heated political discussion, have you ever wondered, “What the heck was that person thinking? Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, tried to answer that question by scanning the brains of Democrats and Republicans while they looked at photos their presidential candidates. The study showed that there are differences – very robust ones, in fact – between the brains of political opposites examining the same images, according to lead researcher Marco lacoboni, MD, PhD, a director at UCLA’s Ahmanson Lovelace Brain Mapping centre.
When participants viewed a photo of their own party’s candidate, the area of the brain associated with emotional responses became more active. But when pictures of the opposition’s vote seeker appeared, the part of the brain associated with rational thoughts consistently lit up. It seems that the subjects experienced an emotional resonance to their candidate, while they used a rational approach to distance themselves from the opponent,†lacoboni says.
Indeed it appears that people really do have knee-jerk reactions to politics. Its just that they happen in the brain.