WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:05.750 --> 00:00:10.309 Julia: Hello everyone and welcome to our webinar Taming the Anxious Mind. 00:00:10.610 --> 00:00:14.330 Today we'll be talking about how to effectively manage anxiety through 00:00:14.330 --> 00:00:16.460 skills like mindfulness and relaxation. 00:00:17.299 --> 00:00:20.900 Before we begin a little bit about Jefferson Center, we've been serving 00:00:20.900 --> 00:00:25.070 Jefferson County, Clear Creek County and Gilpin County for over 60 years, 00:00:25.340 --> 00:00:28.430 and we're a nonprofit, community focused mental health care and 00:00:28.430 --> 00:00:30.200 substance use services provider. 00:00:30.560 --> 00:00:33.980 We offer hope and support to individuals and families who are 00:00:33.980 --> 00:00:37.360 struggling with mental health issues and substance use disorders. 00:00:38.165 --> 00:00:40.895 I'm pleased to introduce today's speaker, Amy Miller. 00:00:41.195 --> 00:00:44.825 Amy is the Senior Services Manager and a licensed clinical social 00:00:44.825 --> 00:00:46.565 worker here at Jefferson Center. 00:00:47.165 --> 00:00:51.755 Before I hand the mic over to Amy, I have a few housekeeping items 00:00:51.755 --> 00:00:53.375 to cover about this presentation. 00:00:53.795 --> 00:00:58.055 First, this webinar will be available on demand after the live session, and 00:00:58.055 --> 00:01:02.645 we'll email it out to you along with some additional resources about anxiety, and 00:01:02.645 --> 00:01:04.685 we'll also have the slide deck available. 00:01:05.180 --> 00:01:10.100 I would also encourage you to visit our website at jcmh.org, where you'll 00:01:10.100 --> 00:01:13.729 find out more information about how to get started if you're interested 00:01:13.729 --> 00:01:15.380 in talking with one of our therapists. 00:01:15.920 --> 00:01:19.160 As well as blog posts and information about upcoming webinars 00:01:19.399 --> 00:01:21.440 on other mental health topics. 00:01:22.160 --> 00:01:25.400 Please keep your microphones muted and turn off your video during the 00:01:25.400 --> 00:01:29.390 presentation, you'll also want to change your zoom view to speaker 00:01:29.390 --> 00:01:31.759 mode for the best viewing experience. 00:01:32.720 --> 00:01:35.690 Next, we'd love to hear from you during today's presentation. 00:01:35.690 --> 00:01:38.960 So if you have a question for Amy, please feel free to send it through 00:01:38.960 --> 00:01:40.700 the chat at the bottom of your player. 00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:43.760 We'll be answering questions at the end of the session, but if we 00:01:43.760 --> 00:01:46.820 don't get to your question, we'll be sure to follow up afterwards. 00:01:47.270 --> 00:01:50.570 And last, we'd like to encourage you to follow us on our social networks and 00:01:50.570 --> 00:01:55.220 share this recording of this webinar and other information about Jefferson Center. 00:01:55.850 --> 00:01:59.120 So without further ado, Amy, I'll turn it over to you. 00:02:00.395 --> 00:02:01.505 Amy Miller: Thanks so much, Julia. 00:02:01.505 --> 00:02:04.475 Thank you everyone for being here on the call today. 00:02:04.895 --> 00:02:09.755 I'm very excited to cover this very timely topic and so yes, 00:02:09.755 --> 00:02:11.644 please do send in those questions. 00:02:11.695 --> 00:02:13.795 Happy to have that conversation with you all here today. 00:02:15.225 --> 00:02:18.375 I do want to start by talking a little bit about Jefferson Center. 00:02:18.375 --> 00:02:21.375 We are the community mental health center, and we are really 00:02:21.375 --> 00:02:22.905 here to serve that community. 00:02:22.905 --> 00:02:27.225 We are here for you, and we've got a lot of great programs available to 00:02:27.225 --> 00:02:30.855 the community here, as well as our individual services that we'll talk 00:02:30.855 --> 00:02:32.415 a little bit more about at the end. 00:02:32.465 --> 00:02:33.935 We've been here for 60 years. 00:02:34.114 --> 00:02:37.144 We're a well established part of the community and I thank you all for 00:02:37.144 --> 00:02:38.734 being part of our work here today. 00:02:39.879 --> 00:02:43.369 I do want to speak a little bit about Speakers Bureau, which 00:02:43.369 --> 00:02:46.159 is the program that's bringing you this presentation today. 00:02:46.429 --> 00:02:50.749 We have a great group of clinicians who are able to provide free community 00:02:50.749 --> 00:02:53.429 presentations to different groups. 00:02:53.429 --> 00:02:56.429 So if you are part of a group that would like a presentation 00:02:56.769 --> 00:02:58.509 we have a wide variety of topics. 00:02:58.514 --> 00:03:02.614 Everything from something more specific like Taming the Anxious Mind today, 00:03:03.014 --> 00:03:07.514 but also just general wellness classes as well, so it's not just about mental 00:03:07.514 --> 00:03:12.234 health diagnoses and mental illnesses, but certainly anything related to wellness. 00:03:12.234 --> 00:03:15.984 So please keep that in mind and feel free to get in touch with us if that's 00:03:15.984 --> 00:03:17.454 something that you'd be interested in. 00:03:19.524 --> 00:03:23.544 So diving into the topic about Taming the Anxious Mind, we're gonna talk a 00:03:23.544 --> 00:03:28.764 little bit about what anxiety is and some different self-help strategies that 00:03:28.764 --> 00:03:30.834 you can use to help manage your anxiety. 00:03:31.174 --> 00:03:35.144 Also when it does reach that level of a clinical diagnosis, what are the different 00:03:35.234 --> 00:03:37.034 treatment options that are available. 00:03:37.374 --> 00:03:40.784 We'll be discussing how you can get connected to those types of treatments. 00:03:40.784 --> 00:03:44.739 So that's a little bit of our agenda today, but I am happy to field 00:03:44.739 --> 00:03:48.659 questions and cover a different topic if there's something about this that 00:03:48.659 --> 00:03:50.429 you're specifically interested in. 00:03:52.174 --> 00:03:53.704 So what is anxiety? 00:03:53.874 --> 00:03:59.174 We all have, especially lately, our typical level of stress and anxiety. 00:03:59.174 --> 00:04:04.904 Especially with things like COVID and the changes in our routine that have happened. 00:04:04.914 --> 00:04:09.054 The lack of resources we have access to compared to pre COVID. 00:04:09.454 --> 00:04:12.959 There's certainly stress and anxiety that comes along with that, and 00:04:12.959 --> 00:04:16.499 stress and anxiety that comes just from our every day-to-day life. 00:04:17.049 --> 00:04:21.334 When we're talking about an anxiety disorder we're really talking about 00:04:21.334 --> 00:04:26.224 anxiety and worry that starts to have a negative impact on your daily life. 00:04:26.224 --> 00:04:30.184 It starts to interfere with your relationships, with your ability to 00:04:30.184 --> 00:04:34.664 do your job, with your quality of life where it's just so pervasive 00:04:34.664 --> 00:04:38.754 and so impactful that it's starting to have a harmful effect. 00:04:39.404 --> 00:04:42.704 Any level of anxiety and stress is troublesome and we definitely have 00:04:42.704 --> 00:04:47.224 strategies regardless of how much anxiety you experience, but it can 00:04:47.224 --> 00:04:50.384 be one of those terms that we throw around casually without really 00:04:50.384 --> 00:04:53.744 understanding the full impact of something like an anxiety disorder. 00:04:54.739 --> 00:04:58.749 So this is a slide from the Mental Health First Aid Program, and it lists 00:04:58.749 --> 00:05:03.249 the prevalence of different anxiety disorders in the United States. 00:05:03.519 --> 00:05:07.569 So this is not necessarily how many people have been diagnosed with a type 00:05:07.569 --> 00:05:12.339 of anxiety disorder because we know many people go without diagnosis, go without 00:05:12.344 --> 00:05:15.189 treatment, and we'll talk a little bit more about that on the next slide. 00:05:15.589 --> 00:05:19.249 But is the estimate of how many people are actually experiencing it, whether 00:05:19.249 --> 00:05:21.019 or not they've actually sought help. 00:05:21.754 --> 00:05:24.574 So when you look at the different types of anxiety disorders. 00:05:24.964 --> 00:05:28.864 Things like a specific phobia, so a fear of spiders, a fear 00:05:28.864 --> 00:05:30.844 of heights, a fear of flying. 00:05:31.144 --> 00:05:36.259 Those tend to be the most common type of anxiety disorder, 8.7% 00:05:36.259 --> 00:05:37.639 of adults experiencing it. 00:05:38.299 --> 00:05:42.749 Those also tend to be the most manageable because, you can avoid flying, you can 00:05:42.749 --> 00:05:46.589 go to places with a high elevation, less so in Colorado, in the mountains 00:05:46.589 --> 00:05:49.714 maybe, but maybe you've gone to where I grew up, the South Dakota 00:05:49.714 --> 00:05:51.789 flat prairie to get away from that. 00:05:51.789 --> 00:05:52.479 Things like that. 00:05:52.789 --> 00:05:55.429 They tend to be more manageable, although they still have that 00:05:55.429 --> 00:05:56.719 impact on your daily life. 00:05:56.719 --> 00:05:59.959 Maybe you'd like to take that vacation, but you're too scared to because 00:06:00.009 --> 00:06:01.959 of the anxiety that flying causes. 00:06:01.959 --> 00:06:03.639 So you can see there's still that impact. 00:06:03.999 --> 00:06:07.119 The impact is just sometimes more manageable with those phobias. 00:06:08.139 --> 00:06:12.069 With social anxiety disorder, this is a fear of public speaking, a 00:06:12.069 --> 00:06:14.169 fear of being in social situations. 00:06:14.449 --> 00:06:17.389 Which is the next most common, about 6.8%. 00:06:18.049 --> 00:06:21.829 Post-traumatic stress disorder, is that anxiety and those lingering 00:06:21.829 --> 00:06:25.999 effects that happen after someone has experienced a traumatic event. 00:06:27.164 --> 00:06:30.794 With generalized anxiety disorder, that's where the anxiety is more 00:06:30.914 --> 00:06:35.314 pervasive and you might be worrying about anything and everything or even 00:06:35.314 --> 00:06:39.114 nothing specific, but there's just always that level of worry and anxiety, 00:06:39.114 --> 00:06:40.854 like something awful might happen. 00:06:40.914 --> 00:06:43.584 That's what we would call generalized anxiety disorder. 00:06:44.364 --> 00:06:49.014 With panic disorder, this is where a person may experience panic attacks 00:06:49.494 --> 00:06:53.844 and they may actually avoid specific situations because there's that fear 00:06:53.844 --> 00:06:55.884 that they may have another panic attack. 00:06:55.884 --> 00:06:59.779 So if you were at the grocery store and you had a panic attack, you may 00:06:59.779 --> 00:07:04.309 avoid going to the grocery store out of fear that you would have another one. 00:07:04.309 --> 00:07:07.509 That again is where we see that interference with your ability 00:07:07.509 --> 00:07:09.279 to do your day-to-day activities. 00:07:10.099 --> 00:07:13.669 Obsessive compulsive disorder is technically its own category, but 00:07:13.759 --> 00:07:18.379 it's included here, and this is where those intrusive thoughts and 00:07:18.379 --> 00:07:22.389 then the ritualistic behaviors to manage those thoughts come about. 00:07:22.389 --> 00:07:24.489 It could be things like checking the stove. 00:07:24.579 --> 00:07:27.249 That intrusive thought that I think I left the burner on. 00:07:27.249 --> 00:07:28.719 I think I left the burner on. 00:07:29.079 --> 00:07:32.949 And then the checking over and over, checking locks, things like that. 00:07:34.389 --> 00:07:35.349 Then agoraphobia. 00:07:35.349 --> 00:07:38.929 This is common in the population I serve, the senior services 00:07:38.929 --> 00:07:43.869 population, but with agoraphobia, that's the fear of being somewhere 00:07:43.869 --> 00:07:45.639 where you won't have access to help. 00:07:45.639 --> 00:07:49.269 Basically it ends up being fear of leaving the house many times. 00:07:49.269 --> 00:07:51.934 There's that anxiety that you may be in a situation where you 00:07:51.934 --> 00:07:54.419 would have a panic attack or you wouldn't be able to get help. 00:07:54.729 --> 00:07:56.949 So people tend to stay home a lot. 00:07:58.009 --> 00:08:02.719 You can see at the bottom, in any given year, about 18% of the population 00:08:02.899 --> 00:08:05.629 meets criteria for an anxiety disorder. 00:08:05.999 --> 00:08:10.839 But you see those numbers don't total up to 18%, and that's because often anxiety 00:08:10.839 --> 00:08:14.889 disorders co-occur with one another and people experience more than one. 00:08:14.889 --> 00:08:19.149 You may have social anxiety disorder and panic disorder, for example. 00:08:21.394 --> 00:08:24.334 Some different information about anxiety disorders. 00:08:24.334 --> 00:08:29.084 It is one of the most common mental health concerns for adults in the United States. 00:08:29.084 --> 00:08:31.814 It is the most common mental health concern. 00:08:32.124 --> 00:08:35.604 In older adults it's depression, but for the majority of adults, 00:08:35.604 --> 00:08:37.164 anxiety is the most prevalent. 00:08:38.530 --> 00:08:41.770 And it does often go hand in hand with depression. 00:08:41.770 --> 00:08:45.400 I often compare anxiety and depression to peanut butter and jelly. 00:08:45.509 --> 00:08:48.389 You sometimes see them on their own, but a lot of times you see 00:08:48.389 --> 00:08:51.689 them together and about half the time, people with depression 00:08:51.689 --> 00:08:53.879 also have anxiety and vice versa. 00:08:53.879 --> 00:08:55.739 People with anxiety also have depression. 00:08:57.744 --> 00:09:00.714 The good news is they're very treatable anxiety disorders. 00:09:00.714 --> 00:09:03.925 There are a lot of great treatments that we'll dive into and a lot of 00:09:03.925 --> 00:09:07.325 different options for treatment, but people don't often seek out 00:09:07.325 --> 00:09:08.975 that help seek out that treatment. 00:09:08.975 --> 00:09:13.370 In fact, only about a third of people experiencing anxiety, get 00:09:13.370 --> 00:09:14.720 any sort of treatment for that. 00:09:14.720 --> 00:09:18.060 That's where I would encourage you if some of this information today 00:09:18.060 --> 00:09:22.560 is ringing true and the self-help strategies aren't enough to manage 00:09:22.560 --> 00:09:26.390 it, please do seek out that support because you don't have to live with it. 00:09:26.390 --> 00:09:29.720 There's a lot of really good options for treating anxiety. 00:09:31.910 --> 00:09:35.600 So with anxiety disorders, they often begin very early in life. 00:09:35.720 --> 00:09:37.100 We're talking childhood. 00:09:37.470 --> 00:09:42.150 The average age of onset for things like specific phobias or separation anxiety. 00:09:42.520 --> 00:09:43.900 The average age is seven. 00:09:43.950 --> 00:09:47.070 Many children experience it even earlier than seven. 00:09:47.910 --> 00:09:50.040 And again, it's treatable in children as well. 00:09:50.280 --> 00:09:54.270 So if you have a child who's experiencing some anxiety, we can 00:09:54.270 --> 00:09:58.289 treat that as well, please come our way because it's manageable and 00:09:58.559 --> 00:10:02.439 it's one of those things that if left untreated can worsen over time. 00:10:02.469 --> 00:10:06.279 'Cause we see for example, with generalized anxiety disorder, often 00:10:06.639 --> 00:10:11.435 people don't meet criteria until their thirties, but they've reported 00:10:11.435 --> 00:10:15.574 having symptoms and uncontrollable worry for years before that. 00:10:16.305 --> 00:10:19.275 So even if you're not sure they're meaningful criteria, it's always 00:10:19.275 --> 00:10:20.985 worth seeking out some help. 00:10:20.985 --> 00:10:26.335 We can do some good work, give you some good strategies and help make that more 00:10:26.335 --> 00:10:31.060 manageable so that it's not going on and continuing to impact your life. 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:34.810 'Cause we see things with trouble in school or trouble with peer relationships 00:10:35.120 --> 00:10:37.020 that can put a person behind. 00:10:37.020 --> 00:10:41.025 So reaching out and finding that help where it's available is really important. 00:10:42.985 --> 00:10:44.755 Some different self-help strategies. 00:10:45.125 --> 00:10:48.395 These are things you can do on your own to help manage your anxiety, 00:10:48.395 --> 00:10:52.805 whether or not it quote unquote meets criteria for a mental health diagnosis. 00:10:53.145 --> 00:10:55.545 One of the first things we encourage people to look at 00:10:55.545 --> 00:10:56.895 is what are you consuming? 00:10:57.115 --> 00:10:58.315 Things like coffee. 00:10:58.985 --> 00:11:03.500 If you drink a lot of caffeine and you have anxiety, that caffeine 00:11:03.500 --> 00:11:06.660 or nicotine, if you use nicotine products, those are stimulants. 00:11:06.885 --> 00:11:11.265 So if you already have a certain level of anxious energy and you're 00:11:11.325 --> 00:11:15.855 consuming a stimulant, that amps up that level of anxious energy. 00:11:15.985 --> 00:11:19.180 Being mindful of how much you're consuming is really important. 00:11:20.355 --> 00:11:24.075 Then also being mindful of things like alcohol or marijuana. 00:11:24.385 --> 00:11:28.375 Things that people might use to self-medicate their anxiety, right? 00:11:28.375 --> 00:11:32.225 Having a glass of wine at a social event, if you have social anxiety. 00:11:32.535 --> 00:11:37.495 It may seem relatively harmless, but what can happen is you get a 00:11:37.495 --> 00:11:41.755 tolerance for the substance, and you need more and more to get the 00:11:41.755 --> 00:11:43.795 same effect to manage your anxiety. 00:11:43.795 --> 00:11:48.055 That's where we see that tolerance growing where it can potentially 00:11:48.055 --> 00:11:50.585 lead to dependency or abuse. 00:11:50.585 --> 00:11:54.725 It's important to think about how you're using those substances and 00:11:54.775 --> 00:11:57.985 potentially look at other coping strategies that don't have that 00:11:57.985 --> 00:11:59.985 potential for that negative outcome. 00:12:01.270 --> 00:12:02.170 Physical activity. 00:12:02.170 --> 00:12:05.860 We'll dive into this more in the next slide, but that's a really 00:12:05.860 --> 00:12:07.450 great way to manage anxiety. 00:12:07.850 --> 00:12:10.610 We'll talk more about why next. 00:12:11.040 --> 00:12:12.750 But time and nature, right? 00:12:12.750 --> 00:12:16.020 Especially now with social distancing, we're maybe not naturally getting 00:12:16.020 --> 00:12:17.555 out and about as much as we used to. 00:12:18.205 --> 00:12:22.760 So definitely making a point to go outside or even just open a 00:12:22.760 --> 00:12:24.350 window if you can't get outside. 00:12:24.400 --> 00:12:27.880 Opening a window, getting some fresh air, having the sunshine on 00:12:27.880 --> 00:12:29.650 your face, listening to the birds. 00:12:29.650 --> 00:12:33.580 Nature is wonderful for anxiety, we're animals after all. 00:12:33.860 --> 00:12:37.610 Being in nature really helps soothe our brain and can release 00:12:37.630 --> 00:12:39.130 some of that anxiety as well. 00:12:40.725 --> 00:12:42.465 Eating well balanced meals, right? 00:12:42.515 --> 00:12:47.435 I read a lot about the sale of comfort foods really processed junk foods 00:12:47.435 --> 00:12:49.685 spiking at the beginning of the pandemic. 00:12:49.755 --> 00:12:53.145 While there's something to that idea of comfort foods, again similar to 00:12:53.145 --> 00:12:56.985 things like alcohol or caffeine, if use too much and too often 00:12:57.295 --> 00:12:58.885 can actually make anxiety worse. 00:12:58.885 --> 00:13:01.465 So making sure you're getting those vegetables and limiting 00:13:01.465 --> 00:13:04.565 the processed foods can help manage your anxiety as well. 00:13:06.215 --> 00:13:07.385 Meditation and journaling. 00:13:07.385 --> 00:13:10.415 We'll talk a little bit more, but these are fantastic coping 00:13:10.415 --> 00:13:13.275 strategies to use for anxiety. 00:13:13.465 --> 00:13:16.615 I'm gonna talk more about meditation in a little bit, but especially with 00:13:16.615 --> 00:13:21.175 journaling, it can be really helpful just to get it all out on paper 00:13:21.925 --> 00:13:24.085 and just have it outside your mind. 00:13:24.085 --> 00:13:28.105 Often with anxiety, those thoughts are very intrusive and they're clouding 00:13:28.105 --> 00:13:31.555 our mind, clouding our judgment and it's hard to know what's real 00:13:31.615 --> 00:13:33.115 and what's the anxiety talking. 00:13:33.395 --> 00:13:37.385 With journaling, you're forced to slow down because as you write the 00:13:37.385 --> 00:13:39.395 words, it's slows down your brain. 00:13:39.485 --> 00:13:41.675 'Cause you can't write as quickly as you think. 00:13:42.015 --> 00:13:46.545 It's a great way to process some of that emotion process, some of those thoughts, 00:13:46.545 --> 00:13:50.745 do some reality checking around some of the things that are causing you anxiety. 00:13:51.145 --> 00:13:54.995 Often when it's out of our head and on paper it looks much more 00:13:54.995 --> 00:13:58.265 manageable or we start coming up with solutions as we're writing. 00:13:58.265 --> 00:13:59.825 I would definitely recommend journaling. 00:14:01.390 --> 00:14:03.790 Getting enough sleep is also very important. 00:14:03.820 --> 00:14:08.570 It's hard because it can be a chicken and the egg situation with anxiety and sleep. 00:14:08.570 --> 00:14:10.910 Maybe you're so anxious at night that you have trouble falling 00:14:10.910 --> 00:14:14.750 asleep, and then the lack of sleep actually makes anxiety worse. 00:14:14.940 --> 00:14:17.260 So practicing good sleep hygiene. 00:14:17.310 --> 00:14:22.170 Sleeping in a cool dark room, going to bed and waking up at the same time every day. 00:14:22.510 --> 00:14:25.930 Limiting your caffeine, especially in the afternoon and evening. 00:14:26.300 --> 00:14:28.940 Turning off screens, especially our cell phones, right? 00:14:28.940 --> 00:14:29.720 Doom scrolling. 00:14:30.020 --> 00:14:33.710 I'm hearing that term a lot lately of just scrolling through Facebook 00:14:33.710 --> 00:14:36.650 or scrolling through social media and seeing all the terrible things 00:14:36.650 --> 00:14:40.035 that are happening does not prime our brain for a good night's sleep. 00:14:40.035 --> 00:14:43.275 So keeping your phone outta the bedroom if you need an alarm 00:14:43.275 --> 00:14:45.555 clock, using an actual alarm clock. 00:14:45.985 --> 00:14:49.245 Keeping the blue light and keeping the bad news outta your 00:14:49.245 --> 00:14:50.445 brain before you go to sleep. 00:14:51.680 --> 00:14:56.720 With that, just throughout the day, really limiting exposure to negative stories on 00:14:56.720 --> 00:14:59.420 social media or the news with the news. 00:14:59.420 --> 00:15:02.930 They want to keep their ratings high, they want to keep people hooked in, so they 00:15:02.930 --> 00:15:07.950 tend to play up the really emotional and high energy and dramatic parts of things. 00:15:08.290 --> 00:15:11.930 It's not always congruent with what the reality of the situation is. 00:15:11.930 --> 00:15:13.280 That's just what they're highlighting. 00:15:13.680 --> 00:15:16.290 Being mindful about how much you're consuming. 00:15:16.340 --> 00:15:20.645 Limiting the amount of time you spend on social media or only watching 00:15:20.645 --> 00:15:22.765 news for 20 minutes, twice a day. 00:15:23.165 --> 00:15:25.415 Also looking at where you're getting your news from. 00:15:25.415 --> 00:15:28.445 Is it reputable sources that are doing their fact checking? 00:15:28.445 --> 00:15:33.605 Or is it stories that people are sharing on Facebook that may or may not have 00:15:33.605 --> 00:15:36.435 been fact checked or based in reality. 00:15:36.495 --> 00:15:39.955 So thinking about what you're consuming in that way too is important. 00:15:41.620 --> 00:15:45.550 Spending time with people that are important to you, your friends, family, 00:15:45.550 --> 00:15:47.470 a spiritual community, if you have one. 00:15:47.740 --> 00:15:52.490 Of course that can be harder today, but where you can with phone calls, 00:15:52.490 --> 00:15:54.950 with FaceTime or Zoom meetings. 00:15:55.000 --> 00:15:58.125 I'm seeing a lot of really wonderful creative ways that 00:15:58.150 --> 00:15:59.560 people are staying connected. 00:15:59.920 --> 00:16:02.830 Even writing letters, something like writing a letter, it combines that 00:16:02.830 --> 00:16:06.560 journaling and that social connection, which could be really therapeutic. 00:16:06.665 --> 00:16:09.715 Finding ways to connect with them is gonna be helpful too. 00:16:11.095 --> 00:16:14.095 And we'll talk a little bit more about deep breathing, but definitely with 00:16:14.095 --> 00:16:19.915 anxiety, we tend to take very short, shallow breaths when we're anxious, right? 00:16:19.915 --> 00:16:23.985 Because anxiety is essentially our body being in fight or flight mode. 00:16:24.925 --> 00:16:27.760 With fight or flight mode, you take short shallow breaths because your 00:16:27.760 --> 00:16:31.300 body wants the oxygen so that you can run faster, run away from the 00:16:31.300 --> 00:16:33.340 predator, or fight off the attacker. 00:16:33.790 --> 00:16:34.690 With deep breathing. 00:16:35.545 --> 00:16:41.345 By purposely taking deep breaths and long exhales, making the exhale longer than 00:16:41.345 --> 00:16:45.065 the inhales really helpful 'cause that's what gets you out of flight or fight. 00:16:45.705 --> 00:16:49.815 We can use our breathing to actually signal to our body that we are safe. 00:16:49.875 --> 00:16:50.685 We are okay. 00:16:50.905 --> 00:16:53.575 We'll talk about some specific strategies to do that in a bit. 00:16:54.215 --> 00:16:58.090 Before we talk more about these, are there any questions from the chat room? 00:16:58.510 --> 00:16:59.830 I just want to pause for a moment. 00:17:01.490 --> 00:17:03.080 Julia: I'm not seeing any yet so far. 00:17:03.635 --> 00:17:04.445 Amy Miller: Okay, great. 00:17:04.655 --> 00:17:06.455 Feel free to send those questions in. 00:17:07.105 --> 00:17:08.215 Oh, I forgot yoga. 00:17:08.755 --> 00:17:09.655 How can I forget yoga? 00:17:09.955 --> 00:17:11.425 That is a great tool as well. 00:17:11.425 --> 00:17:13.105 It combines deep breathing. 00:17:13.105 --> 00:17:14.845 It combines physical movement. 00:17:14.845 --> 00:17:19.235 Often there's a social component if you're doing it even virtually online 00:17:19.235 --> 00:17:20.555 there's, there's someone there. 00:17:20.965 --> 00:17:22.675 Mindfulness as well. 00:17:22.705 --> 00:17:25.285 So finding some yoga resources. 00:17:25.595 --> 00:17:27.455 There's some great online resources. 00:17:27.455 --> 00:17:28.805 Yoga with Adrian. 00:17:29.450 --> 00:17:31.430 Is one our clinicians like a lot. 00:17:31.430 --> 00:17:35.080 She's very accessible, very accommodating of all different 00:17:35.080 --> 00:17:38.860 abilities, but you can find lots of different resources for yoga classes. 00:17:40.025 --> 00:17:42.845 With physical movement part of the benefit too is really when 00:17:42.845 --> 00:17:44.555 your body is physically stronger. 00:17:44.885 --> 00:17:48.925 It's just more physically able to withstand the stress of anxiety. 00:17:49.325 --> 00:17:51.305 It also burns up those stress hormones. 00:17:51.305 --> 00:17:55.925 So again, with anxiety, we're being put into fight or flight, and our brain 00:17:55.925 --> 00:18:01.430 is releasing things like cortisol and adrenaline because it wants us to have the 00:18:01.430 --> 00:18:03.980 energy to run or fight off an attacker. 00:18:04.430 --> 00:18:09.240 But if we don't use those things, if our stress is a challenging email from our 00:18:09.240 --> 00:18:14.870 supervisor and we're not running, it's not a threat that we can physically fight 00:18:14.870 --> 00:18:18.665 off, we don't use up those hormones. 00:18:18.765 --> 00:18:23.505 If we don't burn up that cortisol and adrenaline, they stay in our bloodstream 00:18:23.505 --> 00:18:26.265 and they continue to ramp up our anxiety. 00:18:26.655 --> 00:18:29.745 So that physical movement is a great way to just burn those up, 00:18:29.925 --> 00:18:31.935 use them the way they were intended. 00:18:31.935 --> 00:18:32.205 Right. 00:18:32.730 --> 00:18:35.400 That's our body working as it was designed. 00:18:35.680 --> 00:18:39.430 But if we don't burn them up, they stay with us and that anxiety tends to build. 00:18:39.430 --> 00:18:41.440 That's a real benefit of physical movement. 00:18:41.660 --> 00:18:46.370 Then we also release those feelgood endorphins instead of the stress hormones. 00:18:46.980 --> 00:18:48.090 It reduces fatigue. 00:18:48.090 --> 00:18:52.870 It can help us sleep at night, improves that alertness and concentration which 00:18:52.870 --> 00:18:55.750 is helpful when you're feeling anxious. 00:18:55.780 --> 00:18:59.775 It's helpful to have that extra brain boost to problem solve some of the 00:18:59.775 --> 00:19:01.785 things that are making us anxious. 00:19:02.295 --> 00:19:05.505 Over time it's shown to lower rates of anxiety and depression. 00:19:05.835 --> 00:19:09.205 Do what you can, do what works for your schedule and physical ability. 00:19:09.205 --> 00:19:12.805 A good goal to work toward is 30 minutes, three to five days a 00:19:12.805 --> 00:19:16.455 week, but even doing 10 minutes at a time can be really helpful. 00:19:17.180 --> 00:19:20.390 Trying to work that in throughout the day is a good way to burn up 00:19:20.390 --> 00:19:23.720 some of that stress and anxiety and let that lower throughout the day. 00:19:25.710 --> 00:19:29.640 With sleep hygiene, the recommendation, of course, is getting anywhere between 00:19:29.640 --> 00:19:32.760 seven and nine hours, depending on what your personal need is. 00:19:33.160 --> 00:19:36.960 We've talked about some of these, the screens in the bedroom, our cell 00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:41.380 phones, it's that double whammy of the potential to see something stressful 00:19:41.380 --> 00:19:45.670 right before you go to bed, but also the blue light that comes off our devices, 00:19:45.700 --> 00:19:48.130 TVs, laptops, cell phones, tablets. 00:19:48.855 --> 00:19:51.765 Blue light signals to our brain that it's daytime. 00:19:52.035 --> 00:19:52.995 The sky is blue. 00:19:53.295 --> 00:19:55.125 Blue light means we should be awake. 00:19:55.585 --> 00:19:59.005 When you have that blue light coming at you, and if you're holding your cell 00:19:59.005 --> 00:20:01.885 phone very close to your face, you're getting a lot of that blue light. 00:20:02.375 --> 00:20:03.635 That signals to your brain. 00:20:04.785 --> 00:20:05.835 To stay awake. 00:20:05.835 --> 00:20:08.625 And so that's where the screens can be problematic when we're 00:20:08.625 --> 00:20:10.135 trying to get a good night's sleep. 00:20:10.385 --> 00:20:14.415 You can use a blue light filter often electronic devices will have 00:20:14.415 --> 00:20:17.985 that setting, or you can actually get glasses that filter out the 00:20:17.985 --> 00:20:21.835 blue light if you're watching TV or something like that, for example. 00:20:22.215 --> 00:20:25.995 The best thing of all would be just not to use them at all before bedtime, 00:20:25.995 --> 00:20:27.375 but that's not always possible. 00:20:27.425 --> 00:20:29.735 Thinking about how you can manage the effect of that blue 00:20:29.735 --> 00:20:31.325 light can be really helpful. 00:20:32.120 --> 00:20:34.850 Again, this is hard, especially for a lot of us. 00:20:35.270 --> 00:20:38.720 Our day to day routines have been disrupted and the things that made us 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:42.890 get up at the same time, like our work schedule or getting our kids off to school 00:20:43.220 --> 00:20:46.000 or, different activities we liked to do. 00:20:46.100 --> 00:20:50.040 Those aren't there anymore and a lot of people are sleeping in, staying up later. 00:20:50.450 --> 00:20:54.195 That can make getting a good night's sleep challenging because 00:20:54.195 --> 00:20:56.775 our brain does learn over time. 00:20:56.805 --> 00:20:57.015 Okay? 00:20:57.015 --> 00:20:58.365 This is the time I go to bed. 00:20:58.395 --> 00:21:01.845 If you go to bed at 10 o'clock every night, once you get close 00:21:01.845 --> 00:21:06.205 to 10 o'clock, your brain is trained to be able to go to sleep. 00:21:06.275 --> 00:21:10.805 So if it's 10 o'clock one night, one o'clock another night, 3:00 AM the next 00:21:10.805 --> 00:21:14.525 night, and you're all over the place your brain never learns, like when 00:21:14.525 --> 00:21:16.055 it's supposed to start shutting down. 00:21:16.395 --> 00:21:20.475 So waking up and going to bed at the same time every day is really 00:21:20.475 --> 00:21:22.395 critical If you're having sleep issues. 00:21:23.685 --> 00:21:25.425 Keeping the room cool, dark and quiet. 00:21:25.765 --> 00:21:29.845 Getting that physical activity in during the day, that good synergy 00:21:29.845 --> 00:21:32.305 effect of exercise helps you sleep. 00:21:32.305 --> 00:21:34.705 When you sleep better, you have more energy to exercise. 00:21:35.635 --> 00:21:38.335 Also avoiding large meals before bedtime, especially two 00:21:38.335 --> 00:21:39.865 to three hours before bedtime. 00:21:40.165 --> 00:21:41.185 Similar to blue light. 00:21:41.195 --> 00:21:44.315 If our bodies are digesting food, that takes a lot of energy. 00:21:44.535 --> 00:21:48.165 So our bodies want to stay awake if we have a lot of food in our system. 00:21:48.895 --> 00:21:54.625 So making dinner a smaller meal or stopping eating two to three hours before 00:21:54.625 --> 00:21:56.515 bedtime can also be really helpful. 00:21:58.750 --> 00:22:01.150 So different deep breathing exercises. 00:22:01.150 --> 00:22:03.640 There's lots of great deep breathing exercises out there. 00:22:03.640 --> 00:22:05.720 You can search for them on YouTube. 00:22:05.800 --> 00:22:10.450 Nathan Piles, a artist, he has a lot of great visual kind of cartoons that 00:22:10.450 --> 00:22:12.070 can guide you through deep breathing. 00:22:12.530 --> 00:22:14.980 Again, it overrides that fight or flight response. 00:22:14.980 --> 00:22:18.950 When we're anxious we take those short, shallow breaths and deep 00:22:18.950 --> 00:22:21.890 breathing is like hitting the reset button on our stress level. 00:22:22.575 --> 00:22:28.395 It's overrides that signal and signals to the brain that we're actually okay. 00:22:28.455 --> 00:22:29.145 We're safe. 00:22:29.335 --> 00:22:30.805 The great thing is you can do this anywhere. 00:22:30.805 --> 00:22:32.905 You can do it anytime you're stressed out. 00:22:33.325 --> 00:22:36.775 Sometimes we'll make it more obvious with a really loud exhale, things like 00:22:36.775 --> 00:22:38.545 that, that maybe can't be done anywhere. 00:22:38.545 --> 00:22:42.595 But certainly you can be mindful of taking deep breaths, breathing 00:22:42.595 --> 00:22:44.765 into your belly, doing that anytime. 00:22:46.035 --> 00:22:49.715 One technique I like a lot is called square breathing. 00:22:50.525 --> 00:22:52.475 And I like the visual that goes with it. 00:22:52.475 --> 00:22:53.975 You can see it here on the screen. 00:22:54.375 --> 00:22:57.825 I think of starting down in that bottom left hand corner and the 00:22:57.825 --> 00:22:59.745 inhale is like the up arrow. 00:22:59.775 --> 00:23:05.265 I'm breathing in for four counts, and then I'm holding for four counts, and 00:23:05.265 --> 00:23:08.055 then I'm exhaling for eight counts. 00:23:08.935 --> 00:23:13.175 I can follow along with the visual schedule that that square offers. 00:23:13.175 --> 00:23:16.475 It's great because the exhale's longer than the inhale, right? 00:23:16.475 --> 00:23:20.465 It's the inhale activates the fight or flight response and gives us energy. 00:23:20.885 --> 00:23:25.085 The exhale activates the rest and digest system and calms us down. 00:23:25.415 --> 00:23:28.925 So making that exhale longer than the inhale is really helpful. 00:23:29.705 --> 00:23:30.935 We can try this together. 00:23:31.335 --> 00:23:32.985 You breathe in with me for four. 00:23:32.985 --> 00:23:42.060 So breathe in  2, 3, 4, hold,  2, 3, 4, and out 00:23:45.630 --> 00:23:48.840 5, 6, 7, 8. 00:23:49.350 --> 00:23:50.010 Breathe in. 00:23:50.520 --> 00:23:58.050 2, 3, 4. Hold, 2, 3, 4, and out 00:24:02.130 --> 00:24:04.350 6, 7, 8. 00:24:05.070 --> 00:24:08.400 In 2, 3, 4. 00:24:08.910 --> 00:24:13.335 Hold  2, 3, 4, out, 00:24:16.245 --> 00:24:19.485 5, 6, 7, 8. 00:24:21.315 --> 00:24:26.085 And having you hold your breath is great 'cause it creates that tension similar 00:24:26.085 --> 00:24:30.105 to progressive muscle relaxation, which we'll talk about later, but it creates a 00:24:30.105 --> 00:24:32.085 little bit of tension and then release. 00:24:32.475 --> 00:24:36.405 So that also helps your body relax sometimes if you're just feeling stress. 00:24:36.645 --> 00:24:42.540 Actually creating some tension in your muscles and then purposely relaxing them 00:24:42.870 --> 00:24:45.060 also helps release some of that anxiety. 00:24:45.340 --> 00:24:49.090 With the exhale, we want to exhale slowly in a controlled way. 00:24:49.120 --> 00:24:52.870 You can actually take a straw and cut it off at a different point. 00:24:52.870 --> 00:24:54.100 You don't want it super long. 00:24:54.610 --> 00:24:57.430 If you're having a hard time getting to that eight counts because you're 00:24:57.430 --> 00:25:01.510 just kinda letting your breath go all at once, breathing out through 00:25:01.510 --> 00:25:05.920 a straw can help you control that exhale and get you that longer exhale. 00:25:08.005 --> 00:25:11.155 I don't know how loud it is when I exhale into my microphone like that. 00:25:11.155 --> 00:25:12.715 Hopefully I'm not blasting people away. 00:25:13.795 --> 00:25:18.115 Alright, so another strategy we talk a lot about with our clients is mindfulness. 00:25:18.185 --> 00:25:21.415 With mindfulness there's a lot of different ways to practice mindfulness. 00:25:21.415 --> 00:25:26.015 It's not really attached to any specific techniques, specific religious practice, 00:25:26.020 --> 00:25:29.720 although a lot of different faiths incorporate some form of mindfulness, 00:25:29.720 --> 00:25:31.850 prayer or meditation or things like that. 00:25:32.160 --> 00:25:35.820 But in and of itself, it's not necessarily religious or spiritual. 00:25:36.060 --> 00:25:40.260 It's really just paying attention and using your senses to connect 00:25:40.320 --> 00:25:42.180 to the present world around you. 00:25:42.990 --> 00:25:44.550 Like breathing, it can be done anywhere, anytime. 00:25:44.600 --> 00:25:47.090 If you start to feel yourself getting anxious. 00:25:48.020 --> 00:25:51.140 Different grounding techniques, we'll talk about one specifically are 00:25:51.140 --> 00:25:54.820 wonderful to just ground yourself, bring that anxiety level back down. 00:25:55.790 --> 00:25:58.130 What we're talking about is really using your senses. 00:25:58.500 --> 00:26:02.340 Thinking about the five senses, like this hand here and thinking 00:26:02.340 --> 00:26:03.780 about this hand specifically. 00:26:04.090 --> 00:26:07.240 Using your senses to think, oh, what's going on with this hand? 00:26:07.240 --> 00:26:08.110 What do I see? 00:26:08.560 --> 00:26:10.180 Well, I see the different colors. 00:26:10.490 --> 00:26:12.790 I wonder what that paint feels like. 00:26:12.880 --> 00:26:13.210 Right? 00:26:13.260 --> 00:26:14.640 They obviously got their hand in there. 00:26:14.640 --> 00:26:18.360 I wonder what it felt like to have the paintbrush on their hand. 00:26:18.420 --> 00:26:21.930 I'm gonna imagine what that might feel like to have a paintbrush on my 00:26:21.930 --> 00:26:23.760 hand and what that paint feels like. 00:26:24.250 --> 00:26:27.040 You can really take this deep, think about, okay, the 00:26:27.040 --> 00:26:28.360 paint goes on and it's wet. 00:26:28.540 --> 00:26:29.650 What does that feel like? 00:26:30.190 --> 00:26:33.140 Then what does it feel like as the paint starts to dry, and 00:26:33.140 --> 00:26:37.680 really bring that sensation to the present moment, to your awareness. 00:26:38.470 --> 00:26:39.790 What does the paint smell like? 00:26:40.060 --> 00:26:42.340 Go back to maybe our elementary school days. 00:26:42.680 --> 00:26:43.490 Probably don't eat it. 00:26:44.510 --> 00:26:45.680 Don't think about taste. 00:26:46.110 --> 00:26:48.480 But taste is one of the other senses you can connect to, 00:26:48.480 --> 00:26:50.130 to do a mindfulness practice. 00:26:50.640 --> 00:26:52.060 And then what does it sound like? 00:26:52.270 --> 00:26:52.990 What do you hear? 00:26:52.990 --> 00:26:57.490 What would it sound like to have that paint across the skin. 00:26:57.490 --> 00:26:57.700 Right? 00:26:57.700 --> 00:26:58.270 It's quiet. 00:26:58.270 --> 00:27:00.850 You'd have to really pay attention to it, but that's what 00:27:00.850 --> 00:27:02.230 mindfulness is really all about. 00:27:03.380 --> 00:27:06.860 There's a technique that we often teach clients, especially those who 00:27:06.860 --> 00:27:10.700 maybe do experience panic disorders if they feel that coming on. 00:27:11.120 --> 00:27:14.760 This is a great grounding strategy called 5-4-3-2-1. 00:27:15.650 --> 00:27:19.310 Where you look at and notice five things you can see. 00:27:20.330 --> 00:27:22.160 So what do you see around you? 00:27:22.220 --> 00:27:23.840 I see a box of tissues. 00:27:23.840 --> 00:27:28.460 I see a container of thumbtacks, I see a lamp, a coaster, 00:27:28.510 --> 00:27:30.550 whatever's in your room with you. 00:27:31.190 --> 00:27:36.230 Then think about four things you can feel and not feel as in like emotions, but like 00:27:36.290 --> 00:27:38.600 physically feel like what's touching you. 00:27:38.700 --> 00:27:40.290 I feel my hair on my neck. 00:27:40.290 --> 00:27:42.900 I feel the headset on my ears. 00:27:42.900 --> 00:27:44.430 I feel my feet on the floor. 00:27:44.430 --> 00:27:46.140 I feel my butt and my chair. 00:27:46.500 --> 00:27:48.660 Those actual physical sensations. 00:27:49.540 --> 00:27:53.770 Then three things you can hear, so you can hear the sound of my voice. 00:27:53.830 --> 00:27:57.550 I've been hearing my dog barking off and on, so she's barking. 00:27:57.550 --> 00:27:59.530 I can pay attention to what that sounds like. 00:27:59.960 --> 00:28:02.960 Maybe you hear the wind in the trees, a car driving by. 00:28:03.630 --> 00:28:05.460 Then two things you can smell. 00:28:06.550 --> 00:28:10.450 So this is where if you have something like scented lotion you 00:28:10.450 --> 00:28:15.150 really like, or essential oils, or a container of coffee beans. 00:28:15.390 --> 00:28:19.440 Whatever is available and if you don't have anything available, think 00:28:19.440 --> 00:28:21.150 about two things you like to smell. 00:28:21.390 --> 00:28:24.420 The smell of coffee, the smell of lotion, the smell of flowers, 00:28:25.080 --> 00:28:26.700 and then one thing you can taste. 00:28:27.090 --> 00:28:31.920 And so maybe you have a cup of tea or a cup of water nearby 00:28:31.920 --> 00:28:33.360 or a piece of hard candy. 00:28:33.790 --> 00:28:36.970 But if not, again, just think about something you like to taste and really 00:28:37.270 --> 00:28:39.075 engage your full senses around it. 00:28:40.280 --> 00:28:44.915 You can actually create like a mindfulness kit where maybe you have 00:28:45.185 --> 00:28:49.335 pictures, like pleasant pictures, you like to look at things of nature 00:28:49.335 --> 00:28:54.615 or animals or family members or just pictures that you find really beautiful. 00:28:54.675 --> 00:28:59.305 You can have things that are pleasant to touch, like maybe a fuzzy set of socks 00:28:59.305 --> 00:29:01.885 or lotion that you can rub on your hands. 00:29:02.015 --> 00:29:03.215 Things you can hear. 00:29:03.395 --> 00:29:06.575 Even creating a playlist on your phone of music I like to 00:29:06.575 --> 00:29:08.525 listen to or calming music. 00:29:08.745 --> 00:29:12.585 Then things you can smell, like a little container of coffee beans or essential 00:29:12.585 --> 00:29:18.175 oil, and then maybe little hard candies or a chocolate chip or a Hershey's 00:29:18.175 --> 00:29:19.915 kiss, something that you can taste. 00:29:20.285 --> 00:29:21.095 You can create that kit. 00:29:21.095 --> 00:29:22.595 That's a great thing to do with kids. 00:29:22.895 --> 00:29:26.555 If everyone's really amped up, everyone can go get their kit and just take 00:29:26.555 --> 00:29:29.915 that time to really engage with their senses, do some mindfulness 00:29:29.915 --> 00:29:32.165 and bring that anxiety level down. 00:29:34.565 --> 00:29:39.325 Guided meditation is another fantastic resource for anxiety. 00:29:39.715 --> 00:29:42.055 You can find them all over the place. 00:29:42.125 --> 00:29:43.565 YouTube has a ton of them. 00:29:43.565 --> 00:29:48.275 There's different apps you can download, the Calm app, which Kaiser's 00:29:48.275 --> 00:29:51.570 actually making available to their members, so that's kind of cool. 00:29:52.125 --> 00:29:54.255 There's also Headspace, 10% happier. 00:29:54.255 --> 00:29:57.825 There's a bunch of different mindfulness or meditation apps out there. 00:29:58.530 --> 00:30:01.230 You can buy CDs or you can go onto YouTube. 00:30:01.510 --> 00:30:05.050 We have a partnership with Jefferson County Public Libraries where 00:30:05.050 --> 00:30:09.370 we do a call in meditation every Thursday morning from 10:00 to 00:30:09.370 --> 00:30:11.380 10:30, so you can catch it next week. 00:30:11.780 --> 00:30:13.880 It's great, you don't have to register, you don't have to even 00:30:13.880 --> 00:30:15.440 be a resident of Jefferson County. 00:30:15.440 --> 00:30:18.670 There was someone calling in from Seattle the last time I did one. 00:30:19.070 --> 00:30:19.400 It's great. 00:30:19.400 --> 00:30:22.790 You just call that number at 10 o'clock and one of our clinicians will take 00:30:22.790 --> 00:30:24.770 you through a guided meditation. 00:30:25.170 --> 00:30:28.500 For me personally, I find it hard to just sit in silence and meditate. 00:30:28.500 --> 00:30:32.880 My brain goes all over the place, but if I have a guided meditation to keep 00:30:32.880 --> 00:30:35.280 me on track, I find it much more doable. 00:30:36.010 --> 00:30:40.270 Then you can find the recordings on our website as well as the Jefferson 00:30:40.300 --> 00:30:42.190 County Public Library's YouTube channel. 00:30:42.190 --> 00:30:46.070 There's some on demand if you can't make Thursdays at 10 o'clock, you can go 00:30:46.070 --> 00:30:47.960 and listen to those recordings as well. 00:30:50.780 --> 00:30:55.760 Progressive muscle relaxation is a form of meditation and mindfulness. 00:30:56.130 --> 00:31:00.840 One type of mindfulness is a body scan where we just notice the sensation. 00:31:00.890 --> 00:31:02.360 We take a moment and check in. 00:31:02.360 --> 00:31:04.640 Do I feel any tension in my face? 00:31:05.495 --> 00:31:07.315 And then we might pay attention to our neck. 00:31:07.735 --> 00:31:12.020 Is there any tension, any sensations in my neck, in my upper shoulders? 00:31:12.380 --> 00:31:14.030 And we don't really do anything with it. 00:31:14.030 --> 00:31:15.140 We just notice. 00:31:15.230 --> 00:31:17.300 We just notice where the tension is. 00:31:17.760 --> 00:31:19.500 But with progressive muscle relaxation. 00:31:20.760 --> 00:31:24.720 What we're doing is actually creating some tension in different muscle groups 00:31:24.720 --> 00:31:26.910 in our body and then releasing them. 00:31:26.970 --> 00:31:27.270 Right? 00:31:27.600 --> 00:31:29.460 Kind of similar to how we did the deep breathing. 00:31:29.460 --> 00:31:33.420 We're creating that tension and then purposely releasing it to let 00:31:33.690 --> 00:31:36.420 that go, to induce that relaxation. 00:31:37.060 --> 00:31:40.060 So this is great if you tend to carry stress like in your 00:31:40.060 --> 00:31:42.400 upper back or your neck. 00:31:42.740 --> 00:31:45.730 It's also great if you're trying to fall asleep and you're having a 00:31:45.730 --> 00:31:49.550 hard time relaxing . You can start at your toes and work your way up. 00:31:49.550 --> 00:31:52.040 You can start at the top of your head and work your way down. 00:31:52.380 --> 00:31:56.370 Just tensing different parts of your body, tensing the muscles in your face for a 00:31:56.370 --> 00:31:58.105 few seconds, and then letting that go. 00:31:58.770 --> 00:32:01.410 Tensing your hands and then letting it go. 00:32:01.540 --> 00:32:04.540 There's some great guided ones as well on YouTube. 00:32:04.540 --> 00:32:07.240 Different ones you can find to follow online. 00:32:07.970 --> 00:32:12.320 This is a great form of mindfulness and meditation to just relax your body and 00:32:12.320 --> 00:32:14.660 get you into a deeper state of relaxation. 00:32:18.245 --> 00:32:20.705 Other forms of mindfulness and relaxation. 00:32:20.705 --> 00:32:22.535 Massage is great, right? 00:32:22.535 --> 00:32:26.475 If you have that sensation of someone else massaging you or 00:32:26.475 --> 00:32:27.915 you massaging yourself, right? 00:32:27.915 --> 00:32:31.335 We can't always go out and get a massage, especially lately, but there's different 00:32:31.335 --> 00:32:35.395 techniques you can find online to massage different parts of your body. 00:32:35.395 --> 00:32:36.505 Facial massage. 00:32:36.505 --> 00:32:38.425 You can do a self neck massage. 00:32:38.735 --> 00:32:39.845 That's a great way too. 00:32:40.415 --> 00:32:44.405 Reduce that tension and anxiety that you might be carrying in your muscles. 00:32:44.715 --> 00:32:50.295 Similar to yoga, as we talked about before, gratitude is also a really 00:32:50.745 --> 00:32:53.205 powerful form of mindfulness. 00:32:53.575 --> 00:32:58.940 Often with anxiety we're thinking about the what if, and we're thinking 00:32:58.940 --> 00:33:00.290 about things that could go wrong. 00:33:00.830 --> 00:33:03.530 Gratitude's a really powerful antidote to that. 00:33:04.070 --> 00:33:08.390 With gratitude, we're focusing on what we have and expressing gratitude for it. 00:33:08.910 --> 00:33:12.320 Brene Brown has a great story where she talks about looking down at her 00:33:12.320 --> 00:33:18.275 child who was sleeping and instantly she was flooded with all of the 00:33:18.275 --> 00:33:19.745 terrible things that could happen. 00:33:19.745 --> 00:33:19.985 Right? 00:33:19.985 --> 00:33:22.355 That often happens with parents and with mothers. 00:33:22.695 --> 00:33:26.685 This fear that something terrible could happen and she's found for 00:33:26.685 --> 00:33:29.205 her the antidote is gratitude. 00:33:29.565 --> 00:33:31.345 'Cause that fear is love. 00:33:31.345 --> 00:33:31.615 Right? 00:33:31.615 --> 00:33:35.245 It's this deep, powerful love we feel for that person and the fear 00:33:35.245 --> 00:33:36.715 that something could happen to them. 00:33:37.205 --> 00:33:42.785 Practicing that gratitude of I'm so grateful for my child, I'm so grateful 00:33:42.785 --> 00:33:46.905 for their sense of humor for this, for that, has for her been a really 00:33:46.905 --> 00:33:52.095 powerful way to, to combat that anxiety that creeps up sometimes. 00:33:52.095 --> 00:33:55.195 I've used that myself, but it could apply to anything. 00:33:55.945 --> 00:34:00.595 And the wonderful thing with gratitude is whatever we focus on gets bigger. 00:34:00.645 --> 00:34:04.215 If we focus on all the things that could go wrong, those things take 00:34:04.215 --> 00:34:05.985 up more and more space in our mind. 00:34:06.315 --> 00:34:11.175 But if we deliberately make the concerted effort to focus on what's 00:34:11.175 --> 00:34:15.915 good and what's right and what we're thankful for, that also gets bigger. 00:34:16.365 --> 00:34:20.895 Take a moment right now to think of three things that you're grateful for. 00:34:22.275 --> 00:34:26.895 The sunny day, the fact that we're starting to be able, I'm grateful. 00:34:26.895 --> 00:34:28.635 I can take my son to the playground, 00:34:30.885 --> 00:34:32.085 whatever it might be. 00:34:32.115 --> 00:34:33.825 Think of three things you're grateful for. 00:34:37.045 --> 00:34:41.185 Often you'll notice once you identify those three things, you start thinking 00:34:41.185 --> 00:34:45.385 of other things you're grateful for, and all of a sudden the good starts 00:34:45.385 --> 00:34:47.815 taking up more space in your mind. 00:34:47.995 --> 00:34:50.505 This is a great way when you notice yourself feeling 00:34:50.505 --> 00:34:52.065 anxious or starting to spiral. 00:34:53.190 --> 00:34:56.580 Taking some deep breaths and then doing a gratitude practice. 00:34:56.980 --> 00:35:00.940 Even setting aside a specific time during the day to do a gratitude practice. 00:35:00.940 --> 00:35:03.820 Maybe you have a post-it note on your bathroom mirror, and while 00:35:03.820 --> 00:35:06.220 you're brushing your teeth, you think of the things you're grateful 00:35:06.220 --> 00:35:08.050 for or while your coffee's brewing. 00:35:08.320 --> 00:35:08.620 Right? 00:35:09.010 --> 00:35:12.580 If maybe decaf, if you're feeling anxious, but while your coffee's 00:35:12.580 --> 00:35:15.880 brewing, thinking of things you're grateful for, I've heard of someone 00:35:16.030 --> 00:35:18.080 doing it every time they hit a red light. 00:35:18.410 --> 00:35:20.450 They take that as a sign to stop and be grateful. 00:35:20.690 --> 00:35:22.640 Maybe you're not driving as much or maybe you drive so 00:35:22.640 --> 00:35:24.140 much that that's not practical. 00:35:24.140 --> 00:35:28.370 Finding something where it's that trigger to remind yourself to practice 00:35:28.370 --> 00:35:30.070 gratitude can be really helpful. 00:35:32.480 --> 00:35:34.790 Then in terms of other self-help strategies, there's some 00:35:34.790 --> 00:35:36.200 great workbooks out there. 00:35:36.250 --> 00:35:40.580 The Anxiety and Phobia workbook by Dr. Bourne, the Cognitive Behavioral 00:35:40.580 --> 00:35:43.190 Workbook for anxiety, Dr. Naus. 00:35:43.530 --> 00:35:44.460 These are wonderful. 00:35:44.460 --> 00:35:48.360 If you're just not quite ready to go to that therapist's office or you 00:35:48.360 --> 00:35:52.020 know someone who's struggling and they've been resistant to going in. 00:35:52.360 --> 00:35:55.990 These have some wonderful therapeutic techniques built in that people 00:35:55.990 --> 00:35:59.555 can do through worksheets or through different exercises and 00:35:59.555 --> 00:36:01.055 activities that are in the book. 00:36:01.365 --> 00:36:04.515 This can be a really great self-help strategy as well in 00:36:04.515 --> 00:36:07.695 complement to therapy or on its own. 00:36:10.380 --> 00:36:13.920 If you're finding that you've tried the self-help strategies and it's 00:36:13.920 --> 00:36:18.070 still just getting in the way of your life, the anxieties continues 00:36:18.070 --> 00:36:19.780 to have that negative impact. 00:36:20.190 --> 00:36:25.140 That really is the time to seek out some professional help because there's really 00:36:25.140 --> 00:36:29.050 good treatment strategies and you don't have to just continue living with it. 00:36:29.840 --> 00:36:33.230 I do want to note that there are medications that can be helpful. 00:36:33.540 --> 00:36:37.260 Often prescribers will start with an antidepressant, 'cause those 00:36:37.380 --> 00:36:39.510 work pretty well on anxiety as well. 00:36:39.870 --> 00:36:41.840 There are benzodiazepines. 00:36:41.840 --> 00:36:47.540 Things like Ativan and Xanax and Klonopin and those may be appropriate, but they're 00:36:47.540 --> 00:36:52.680 also potentially really habit forming and people can develop a dependency on them. 00:36:52.830 --> 00:36:56.700 It can lead to an increased risk of dementia if you are on 00:36:56.700 --> 00:36:58.440 them for long periods of time. 00:36:58.720 --> 00:37:02.210 Typically that isn't always the first treatment strategy. 00:37:02.230 --> 00:37:07.420 It's helpful to have a clear expectation of what treatment options might look like. 00:37:07.880 --> 00:37:12.830 That's often the medication route, but medication will only get you so far. 00:37:12.830 --> 00:37:18.260 It's really the combination of medication and therapy that tends to work the best. 00:37:18.630 --> 00:37:21.570 I've heard it described by Melissa Urban. 00:37:21.570 --> 00:37:25.960 She's someone who's been through substance addiction and mental health treatment, 00:37:25.960 --> 00:37:30.520 and she talks about it as, imagine you had to write a term paper and you sit down at 00:37:30.520 --> 00:37:32.860 your desk and there's papers everywhere. 00:37:33.160 --> 00:37:34.300 There's no room to write. 00:37:34.300 --> 00:37:37.315 Everything's messy and disorganized and you're supposed to sit down 00:37:37.315 --> 00:37:38.575 and write this big term paper. 00:37:39.145 --> 00:37:42.430 She describes the antidepressant as clearing the desk. 00:37:42.670 --> 00:37:42.940 Right? 00:37:42.940 --> 00:37:44.650 It helps you focus. 00:37:45.130 --> 00:37:49.240 It helps you concentrate, and it helps you to be able to do the work. 00:37:49.540 --> 00:37:53.260 But you still have to write the term paper, and it's similar 00:37:53.260 --> 00:37:54.220 with mental health treatment. 00:37:54.220 --> 00:37:57.850 The medications can help clear the fog and clear some of the 00:37:57.850 --> 00:38:01.810 clutter in your mind, but you're still gonna have to do the work. 00:38:02.275 --> 00:38:03.295 Challenge your thoughts. 00:38:03.295 --> 00:38:06.215 Whatever treatment strategy you end up using, practicing your 00:38:06.215 --> 00:38:09.245 mindful techniques, you're still gonna have to do those things. 00:38:09.525 --> 00:38:13.305 The medication makes it easier to focus and makes it easier 00:38:13.635 --> 00:38:15.225 to actually do those things. 00:38:17.065 --> 00:38:18.685 Different therapeutic approaches. 00:38:18.765 --> 00:38:22.335 The gold Star treatment for a lot of different things is cognitive behavioral 00:38:22.335 --> 00:38:25.815 therapy, where we're looking at what thoughts are coming up for you. 00:38:26.275 --> 00:38:31.135 Maybe the thought is, oh, my kids haven't been in school and they're just gonna fall 00:38:31.135 --> 00:38:33.055 so far behind and they'll never catch up. 00:38:33.605 --> 00:38:33.805 Right? 00:38:33.805 --> 00:38:34.125 Mm-hmm. 00:38:34.270 --> 00:38:36.430 A thought maybe a lot of people are having right now. 00:38:36.710 --> 00:38:38.990 With CBT, we would really look at that thought. 00:38:39.020 --> 00:38:40.310 What's the evidence for it? 00:38:40.310 --> 00:38:42.350 Do your kids seem to be falling behind? 00:38:43.130 --> 00:38:44.180 Or are they doing okay? 00:38:44.180 --> 00:38:45.740 Are they learning in other ways? 00:38:46.110 --> 00:38:48.840 Really challenging some of those automatic thoughts. 00:38:48.890 --> 00:38:52.395 There's a bumper sticker I've seen that I think is a great summary of CBT. 00:38:52.395 --> 00:38:57.225 It says, don't believe everything you think, and that's the essence of CBT. 00:38:57.225 --> 00:39:00.735 Just 'cause a thought pops into our mind doesn't mean we have to buy into it. 00:39:01.165 --> 00:39:04.735 We can challenge that thought and really look at the evidence for it 00:39:05.005 --> 00:39:08.365 and then replace it with something that's more accurate, more helpful. 00:39:10.024 --> 00:39:14.165 Exposure therapy for things like obsessive compulsive disorder or a 00:39:14.165 --> 00:39:19.875 specific phobia exposure therapy would be exposing the person to different 00:39:19.875 --> 00:39:22.395 levels of what they're afraid of. 00:39:22.494 --> 00:39:26.274 For example, if you had a fear of spiders, maybe you would start by just imagining 00:39:26.589 --> 00:39:30.759 a spider in the room with you, and then noticing what sensations are coming 00:39:30.759 --> 00:39:34.509 up and practicing with your therapist, ways to manage those sensations. 00:39:34.810 --> 00:39:36.790 Then maybe you look at a picture of a spider. 00:39:37.870 --> 00:39:41.950 Then maybe you have a toy spider in the room, and then maybe you see a 00:39:41.950 --> 00:39:45.879 video of a live spider, and then maybe you actually get to the point where 00:39:45.879 --> 00:39:47.680 you are in the room with a spider. 00:39:48.229 --> 00:39:51.229 So you build up that tolerance and you learn how to manage that 00:39:51.229 --> 00:39:55.920 distress and gradually stronger and stronger levels of exposure. 00:39:58.149 --> 00:39:59.739 Different relaxation techniques. 00:39:59.739 --> 00:40:02.960 So this would be used in conjunction with the exposure therapies, 00:40:03.259 --> 00:40:05.390 different ways to manage that stress. 00:40:05.440 --> 00:40:09.820 Breathing from your diaphragm, things like progressive muscle relaxation, 00:40:10.990 --> 00:40:13.450 using the different mindfulness strategies we've talked about. 00:40:15.275 --> 00:40:18.695 There's another form of therapy called acceptance and Commitment therapy. 00:40:19.005 --> 00:40:23.335 It's related to CBT in that you're noticing your thoughts, but with 00:40:23.335 --> 00:40:25.045 acceptance and commitment therapy. 00:40:25.960 --> 00:40:29.820 You're really tapping into do those thoughts, support the values you have. 00:40:30.820 --> 00:40:34.870 It also incorporates mindfulness and with CBT we challenge our thoughts 00:40:35.230 --> 00:40:37.330 with acceptance and commitment therapy. 00:40:37.690 --> 00:40:41.410 We're really noticing the thoughts and then not getting attached to 00:40:41.410 --> 00:40:43.210 them, really not engaging with them. 00:40:43.640 --> 00:40:46.490 There's a metaphor that's used a lot in ACT and the example would 00:40:46.490 --> 00:40:51.100 be like seeing that thought on the leaf of a tree and the leaf kind 00:40:51.100 --> 00:40:52.870 of floats gently down to the water. 00:40:53.440 --> 00:40:57.190 There's a stream below and the leaf floats away on that stream. 00:40:57.190 --> 00:40:58.240 So you see the thought. 00:40:58.360 --> 00:41:02.110 You notice I'm having the thought that my kids are gonna fall behind, and you 00:41:02.110 --> 00:41:06.850 just let that fall into the river and you let the river take it away, and 00:41:06.850 --> 00:41:08.350 you don't get attached to that thought. 00:41:08.620 --> 00:41:09.670 You just notice it. 00:41:10.575 --> 00:41:14.325 You'll often use techniques like, I'm having the thought that my 00:41:14.325 --> 00:41:18.735 kids are gonna fall behind and that just lets you take a step back. 00:41:18.735 --> 00:41:22.605 Again, we're not buying into the thought, we're not accepting it as the truth, but 00:41:22.605 --> 00:41:24.495 we're noticing we're having that thought. 00:41:24.495 --> 00:41:27.435 And when you're detached from it, it's easier to manage it. 00:41:27.485 --> 00:41:29.795 That's a very simplified version of ACT. 00:41:30.225 --> 00:41:31.484 That's the general idea. 00:41:32.480 --> 00:41:36.930 And then DBT Dialectical Behavioral Therapy is a wonderful treatment 00:41:36.930 --> 00:41:38.639 approach for lots of different things. 00:41:38.919 --> 00:41:42.459 It's really a lot about emotional regulation and distress 00:41:42.459 --> 00:41:44.829 tolerance and radical acceptance. 00:41:45.169 --> 00:41:48.499 A lot of different techniques that are helpful for anxiety as well. 00:41:50.784 --> 00:41:54.174 We have these treatment offer options at Jefferson Center. 00:41:54.174 --> 00:42:00.364 We serve the entire lifespan, from kids to my program seniors with some specialized 00:42:00.364 --> 00:42:04.774 programs for people who've experienced trauma, veterans and military families. 00:42:05.084 --> 00:42:07.914 A lot of great programs that are available to help. 00:42:08.754 --> 00:42:12.504 And we do offer the individual and group therapy medication management. 00:42:12.784 --> 00:42:17.464 We also have a lot of really wonderful supplemental services, peer support. 00:42:17.464 --> 00:42:21.824 So you can connect with someone who has experience managing their 00:42:21.824 --> 00:42:22.994 own mental health condition. 00:42:22.994 --> 00:42:24.734 They're a wonderful team of people. 00:42:25.074 --> 00:42:26.094 We use them a lot. 00:42:26.584 --> 00:42:28.684 Different wellness classes and coaching. 00:42:29.204 --> 00:42:32.474 To learn more specific strategies around things like 00:42:32.474 --> 00:42:34.864 nutrition or doing a yoga class. 00:42:35.224 --> 00:42:37.644 Lots of good parenting resources out there. 00:42:37.744 --> 00:42:42.274 Where in the school, so kids at school have an option to see someone 00:42:42.304 --> 00:42:45.334 right there during their school day, and then different options for 00:42:45.334 --> 00:42:46.954 substance use treatment as well. 00:42:46.954 --> 00:42:50.964 Especially with anxiety, a lot of times that substance use does come into play 00:42:50.964 --> 00:42:52.794 as people are trying to self-medicate. 00:42:52.794 --> 00:42:56.394 So we can certainly address both sides of that concern as well. 00:42:58.534 --> 00:43:01.204 Then if you want to just support the work and stay involved there's 00:43:01.204 --> 00:43:03.214 a lot of great ways to get involved. 00:43:03.214 --> 00:43:05.224 I'm certainly donating, we are a nonprofit. 00:43:05.584 --> 00:43:08.704 Any revenue we bring in goes right back to serving the community. 00:43:08.734 --> 00:43:12.464 We always appreciate that financial support so we can continue to 00:43:12.464 --> 00:43:14.264 provide these great services. 00:43:14.934 --> 00:43:17.604 Taking a mental health First Aid class if you haven't already. 00:43:17.604 --> 00:43:19.794 I teach that and that's a fabulous curriculum. 00:43:19.794 --> 00:43:22.404 We're working on getting it offered online. 00:43:22.404 --> 00:43:24.684 I think there's more information coming next month on that. 00:43:25.324 --> 00:43:28.564 So stay tuned, but then also attending the webinars and sharing 00:43:28.564 --> 00:43:30.304 our good work and our information. 00:43:30.354 --> 00:43:33.704 There's the website there if you'd like to have more information. 00:43:35.199 --> 00:43:38.019 Otherwise that is my presentation. 00:43:38.019 --> 00:43:38.979 Thank you so much. 00:43:38.979 --> 00:43:43.239 This is my email address as well as the website and the main phone number for 00:43:43.239 --> 00:43:47.139 Jefferson Center if you would like to get connected and get involved and learn more. 00:43:47.659 --> 00:43:49.309 I see we have about 10 minutes left. 00:43:49.309 --> 00:43:51.919 I did want to leave some time for questions and answers. 00:43:51.919 --> 00:43:55.039 If anyone has a question or would like to hear more, please 00:43:55.039 --> 00:43:56.629 feel free to use that chat box. 00:43:56.629 --> 00:43:59.139 I would love to field any questions that you have right now. 00:44:01.014 --> 00:44:03.654 Julia: Amy, we've gotten a couple of questions. 00:44:03.754 --> 00:44:07.704 And so the first one is, what is the best way to treat 00:44:07.704 --> 00:44:09.834 children who are having anxiety? 00:44:10.794 --> 00:44:11.424 Amy Miller: Yeah. 00:44:11.814 --> 00:44:16.754 And that's not something I can completely speak to working with seniors, but 00:44:17.094 --> 00:44:19.639 play therapy is often what's used. 00:44:19.639 --> 00:44:24.859 In terms of just sitting down with child or even the adolescent sometimes. 00:44:24.859 --> 00:44:28.249 Often kids will act out in play and play is how they learn. 00:44:28.249 --> 00:44:32.449 So incorporating different forms of play therapy where they can act out 00:44:32.449 --> 00:44:35.779 what's happening with the dolls or with the toys and things like that. 00:44:36.149 --> 00:44:39.809 Those are great ways that we can work with the child directly. 00:44:39.809 --> 00:44:43.559 Then a lot of it is family and parent coaching as well because 00:44:43.559 --> 00:44:47.499 often what will happen at any age, but especially with children, is 00:44:47.499 --> 00:44:49.389 sometimes that anxiety creeps in. 00:44:49.789 --> 00:44:52.849 So we accommodate it and we say, okay you don't have to go to school or you 00:44:52.849 --> 00:44:57.949 don't have to do this thing and that's not always helpful because when we aren't 00:44:57.949 --> 00:45:03.259 exposed to that, we don't learn how to regulate our emotions in that situation. 00:45:03.329 --> 00:45:08.199 Sometimes we do need to be exposed to that anxiety inducing event, but we 00:45:08.199 --> 00:45:12.339 need to do it in a supported way where we have tools to manage those emotions. 00:45:12.529 --> 00:45:15.689 Some of it is also coaching the parents so that they're not 00:45:15.689 --> 00:45:19.259 inadvertently feeding into that anxiety or potentially making it worse. 00:45:19.259 --> 00:45:20.969 That's my very basic understanding. 00:45:21.069 --> 00:45:23.849 I'm sure there's more information and I see some of our clinicians 00:45:23.849 --> 00:45:26.639 have joined the call too, so I'd invite any of them to jump in. 00:45:26.689 --> 00:45:27.049 Julia: Great. 00:45:27.049 --> 00:45:27.649 Thank you. 00:45:27.719 --> 00:45:33.449 Our next question is, I've been spending so much time at home, but now that 00:45:33.449 --> 00:45:37.499 things are opening up again, I get really anxious at the thought of going out. 00:45:37.899 --> 00:45:39.549 How can I get over this fear? 00:45:40.659 --> 00:45:41.859 Amy Miller: Yeah, absolutely. 00:45:41.859 --> 00:45:44.559 I think that's gonna be one we see a lot more of. 00:45:44.559 --> 00:45:46.749 I know I experienced that personally. 00:45:46.749 --> 00:45:50.079 I had to get on an airplane a couple weeks ago. 00:45:50.079 --> 00:45:55.179 I didn't really want to, but I had to and it was anxiety inducing for sure. 00:45:55.179 --> 00:45:59.049 So again, being aware that avoiding the situation isn't going to be 00:45:59.049 --> 00:46:02.409 helpful in the long term, that it is something we'll all have to do. 00:46:03.189 --> 00:46:05.609 But using some of those techniques to manage it. 00:46:06.039 --> 00:46:08.169 For example, like exposure therapy. 00:46:08.169 --> 00:46:12.879 imagining what it will look like to leave your house, to go to whatever 00:46:12.879 --> 00:46:16.809 specific event you might be going to, and walking yourself through it 00:46:16.809 --> 00:46:23.139 while doing your deep breathing, while being present, being mindful, and 00:46:23.139 --> 00:46:25.209 rehearsing the event and making a plan. 00:46:25.259 --> 00:46:28.169 What if there's a bunch of people around who aren't wearing their masks? 00:46:28.169 --> 00:46:32.009 That might be something that causes anxiety, having a plan for what you'll do. 00:46:32.009 --> 00:46:33.509 Then I'll go somewhere else. 00:46:33.509 --> 00:46:34.319 I'll leave. 00:46:34.439 --> 00:46:37.919 I'll tell my friends please put on your mask, whatever the case might be. 00:46:38.209 --> 00:46:41.259 Having a plan, rehearsing it in your mind and then using those 00:46:41.259 --> 00:46:45.069 mindfulness strategies around deep breathing and staying present. 00:46:45.389 --> 00:46:48.929 Tapping can also be a good tool for managing anxiety. 00:46:48.989 --> 00:46:53.039 We didn't talk a lot about this, but bilateral movement can be really 00:46:53.039 --> 00:46:55.049 helpful for managing anxiety as well. 00:46:55.049 --> 00:46:58.289 So anything where you're doing that left, right, left, right motion. 00:46:58.499 --> 00:47:02.499 That's why walking is a great thing for anxiety 'cause you're burning 00:47:02.499 --> 00:47:07.214 off those stress hormones, but you're also stepping left, right, left right. 00:47:07.664 --> 00:47:11.054 There's something about that bilateral movement that works in our brains 00:47:11.054 --> 00:47:15.174 to really process our emotions and help regulate our anxiety. 00:47:15.634 --> 00:47:19.939 If you can't walk something like tapping your hands on your knees, left, right, 00:47:19.939 --> 00:47:22.159 left right, that can be pretty subtle. 00:47:22.259 --> 00:47:25.349 This is a tip I've learned from one of our trauma clinicians, Carol Pru, but. 00:47:26.509 --> 00:47:28.309 Curling your toes in your shoes, right? 00:47:28.309 --> 00:47:31.759 If you want to be really subtle, just curling your toes in your shoes left, 00:47:31.759 --> 00:47:36.079 right, left right can help regulate any anxiety as you're experiencing it. 00:47:36.289 --> 00:47:38.819 With kids there's something called the butterfly hug 00:47:39.209 --> 00:47:40.659 where we give ourselves a hug. 00:47:40.659 --> 00:47:44.079 We put our hands on our shoulders, and you can either tap both hands at the 00:47:44.079 --> 00:47:48.154 same time or similarly go left, right, left, right, left right, and that 00:47:48.829 --> 00:47:53.299 bilateral movement can help regulate our emotions and our anxiety as well. 00:47:53.299 --> 00:47:56.549 Some different things to try there, but that's one thing too where if it's 00:47:56.549 --> 00:48:00.819 having that impact to where you can't leave your house or you don't want to 00:48:00.839 --> 00:48:05.019 leave your house, or you're purposely avoiding events because your anxiety's 00:48:05.019 --> 00:48:08.379 too intense, definitely get in touch with the clinician and they can provide 00:48:08.379 --> 00:48:10.399 you some tools to help you through it. 00:48:10.399 --> 00:48:13.669 The great thing is we're all on telehealth now, so you can do that right from the 00:48:13.669 --> 00:48:15.319 comfort of your own home if you want. 00:48:17.679 --> 00:48:18.069 Julia: Great. 00:48:18.099 --> 00:48:18.639 Thank you. 00:48:18.639 --> 00:48:20.259 We have one last question. 00:48:20.289 --> 00:48:21.819 I think we have time for one more question. 00:48:21.819 --> 00:48:25.839 And so this one is, how do I know when my anxiety is bad enough 00:48:26.139 --> 00:48:27.669 that I should talk with someone? 00:48:27.909 --> 00:48:31.299 And how do doctors diagnose anxiety disorders? 00:48:31.839 --> 00:48:33.549 Oh, really good questions. 00:48:33.549 --> 00:48:34.029 Amy Miller: Yeah. 00:48:34.279 --> 00:48:40.064 I'll address the doctor piece first because it often takes a long time to 00:48:40.064 --> 00:48:42.584 get a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder. 00:48:42.824 --> 00:48:48.329 Sometimes as long as 10 years because it often shows up as physical symptoms. 00:48:48.399 --> 00:48:52.299 When we go to our doctor, we tend to talk about our physical symptoms and 00:48:52.299 --> 00:48:55.149 not our emotional or mental symptoms. 00:48:55.179 --> 00:49:00.509 We'll say, oh, I'm short of breath, or my heart races, or I have an upset stomach. 00:49:00.819 --> 00:49:05.029 We don't always think to disclose I can't control my worrying and I'm 00:49:05.339 --> 00:49:07.139 constantly anxious about things. 00:49:07.139 --> 00:49:09.839 So doctors will often address the physical symptoms. 00:49:10.769 --> 00:49:13.859 Not knowing that there's also an emotional component as well. 00:49:14.499 --> 00:49:17.289 With doctors it's really critical to talk about all the things 00:49:17.289 --> 00:49:21.099 you're experiencing, including the mental and emotional wellness. 00:49:21.459 --> 00:49:24.994 Most primary care physicians are pretty comfortable prescribing 00:49:24.994 --> 00:49:26.614 something like an antidepressant. 00:49:26.744 --> 00:49:28.304 So that can be a great first step. 00:49:28.304 --> 00:49:31.754 Then they often have resources and referrals for different 00:49:32.034 --> 00:49:36.524 therapists or counselors who can help with that therapy component. 00:49:37.284 --> 00:49:38.814 That's a great place to get started. 00:49:38.864 --> 00:49:42.269 Remind me the question was, when do I know I should seek out therapy? 00:49:42.269 --> 00:49:43.229 Was that right, Julia? 00:49:43.379 --> 00:49:43.739 Julia: Yep. 00:49:43.739 --> 00:49:47.749 How do I know that my anxiety is bad enough that I should seek out help? 00:49:48.409 --> 00:49:51.319 Amy Miller: Yeah, I would say if you're asking that question, I think 00:49:51.319 --> 00:49:54.979 that's a good indicator that it's probably a good idea to seek out. 00:49:55.189 --> 00:49:59.539 I wouldn't worry about am I meeting clinical criteria or I have this 00:49:59.539 --> 00:50:00.799 symptom, but not this symptom. 00:50:00.799 --> 00:50:04.519 I would say if you're feeling anxious and it's impacting you. 00:50:05.344 --> 00:50:07.594 That's a good time to go out and seek some help. 00:50:07.594 --> 00:50:13.154 It can just be beneficial to have just another person who doesn't have 00:50:13.154 --> 00:50:14.774 a horse in the race, so to speak. 00:50:14.984 --> 00:50:17.864 They aren't your spouse, they aren't your partner, they aren't your mom. 00:50:17.864 --> 00:50:21.654 They aren't a friend who maybe has their own opinions about what they 00:50:21.654 --> 00:50:25.524 think you should be doing, someone who's objective and who's trained to just 00:50:25.524 --> 00:50:27.054 really help you sort through things. 00:50:27.319 --> 00:50:31.079 Because with therapy it's not that the therapist is gonna come in and have all 00:50:31.079 --> 00:50:32.969 the answers, but they're going to listen. 00:50:32.969 --> 00:50:35.009 They're gonna ask really helpful questions. 00:50:35.009 --> 00:50:38.819 They're gonna help you make the connections and help you identify 00:50:38.819 --> 00:50:40.589 what resources work well for you. 00:50:41.289 --> 00:50:44.959 There's a lot of great work that can happen and I wouldn't be too 00:50:44.959 --> 00:50:46.609 concerned about, is it bad enough. 00:50:46.609 --> 00:50:47.209 I would say. 00:50:47.854 --> 00:50:52.674 I'm experiencing this and it's impacting me in a way that isn't helpful. 00:50:52.924 --> 00:50:55.464 So I'm gonna go out and get some help. 00:50:55.464 --> 00:50:57.234 Again, it's very effective. 00:50:57.414 --> 00:50:59.154 Lots of different treatment options. 00:50:59.154 --> 00:51:02.484 It may take a while to find exactly the right one that works best for you, 00:51:03.354 --> 00:51:06.414 but that's what we're here for and what we can help support you with. 00:51:06.414 --> 00:51:09.314 You don't have to continue trying to figure it out all on your own. 00:51:10.529 --> 00:51:10.919 Julia: Great. 00:51:10.919 --> 00:51:11.729 Thank you Amy. 00:51:12.049 --> 00:51:13.219 That was a great answer. 00:51:13.409 --> 00:51:15.509 I think that's all we have time for today. 00:51:15.559 --> 00:51:18.649 Just remember that no matter what you're facing in life, like if you're feeling 00:51:18.649 --> 00:51:22.699 overwhelmed or worried or stressed, Jefferson Center is here for you. 00:51:23.009 --> 00:51:26.999 We are open, we're accepting new clients, and as Amy mentioned, accessing 00:51:26.999 --> 00:51:30.509 care is easier than ever now because we're doing virtual appointments. 00:51:30.789 --> 00:51:35.389 You can visit our website at jcmh.org or also follow us on Facebook for 00:51:35.389 --> 00:51:38.389 more resources and information, and you can always reach us by 00:51:38.389 --> 00:51:42.809 calling us at (303) 425-0300. 00:51:43.109 --> 00:51:45.509 Amy, thank you again for presenting today. 00:51:45.539 --> 00:51:48.629 Thank you to everybody who's joined us, and have a great day.