When you're dealing with a return of anxiety or depression, or maybe an upswing of stress in your life, here's a helpful acronym to remember:
NURSE
Nourishment - be mindful of what you're feeding your body - fresh veggies, fruit, water, whole grains - you know the list.
Understanding - name the beast for what it is & acknowledge that you're feeling funky for the moment, day, week.
Rest - it's amazing how good it feels to catch up on your sleep & how sleep deprivation can really mess with our mental states & ability to handle stress.
Spirituality - whatever grounds you, be it religion, mindfulness, being in nature - access that power & calm now.
Exercise - Dr. Oz recommends 30 minutes of walking every day no matter what. Why not experiment & see what happens when you incorporate something like that into your life? How does your perspective shift?
from: Women's Moods: What Every Woman Must Know about Hormones, the Brain, and Emotional Health: by Deborah Sichel & Jeanne Watson Driscoll
3 comments:
I recently found your site and feel very grateful for your honesty in sharing your experiences with anxiety, as well as for the helpful links and information you provide. I have struggled with anxiety for the past 12 years. I am currently pregnant with our third child and after a very stressful couple of months, I am finding myself in the thick of it with anxiety, panic attacks and a loss of joy. I take heart in reading your posts as I feel we have a bit in common -- I also work with pregnant women as a doula and midwife assistant, and am a homebirthing, breastfeeding mother. I would love to know more about how you were able to overcome the anxiety you experienced in your pregnancy and postpartum. I am finding myself preoccupied with worry about how I am going to feel once we have this baby if I am already struggling so much now.
Thank you for your honest, personal stories and the information. It helps immensely just knowing that I am not the only one who faces these challenges.
Hi,
Thanks for your comment. I'm sorry to hear your anxiety is up again - it's never fun, but can be especially difficult during pregnancy. What helped me during my 3rd pregnancy was getting some "booster" sessions with an awesome CBT therapist who was able to challenge some of my false beliefs (I'll always feel this way; I must be losing it; etc.). Then, exercise, nutrition, rest. Also, the knowledge that, rationally, the worst that panic can do is to make me feel really uncomfortable - that's it.
I would encourage you to check out Reid Wilson's books (see list of books): Facing Panic & Don't Panic. His idea of asking panic to give you more symptoms when you're feeling panicky feels counterintuitive, but really works.
If you want to send me your email address, we can continue this conversation, too.
Take good care of yourself.
Kristin :)
Hi Kristin
I hadn't checked your site in a while, so I missed your response to my comment back in January. I told you a bit about the struggle I am having with anziety and depression here during my third pregnancy. I would love to discuss things a bit more with you and ask you some questions if you have the time. My e-mail is amanda.greco@sbcglobal.net. I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks again,
Amanda
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