Speaker 1: The content of this podcast is provided for general informational
purposes only and is not intended as nor should it
be considered a substitute for professional medical advice. Hello, this
is Karen Nichol, family nurse practitioner, and you are listening
to Itchy and Bitchy, a podcast that provides answers to
your many unanswered health questions. Lately, my anxiety and stress
levels have been rising as world events grow increasingly chaotic
and tragic. I don't need to list everything happening. You
probably are all too aware. Many of us have started
avoiding the news just to protect our peace of mind,
and I've found myself doing the same. A listener recently
suggested that this would be the perfect moment to rerun
our November twenty twenty four episode called how to Reset
Distress to Peace and Joy, given that global divisions seem
to have only deepened since then. I couldn't agree more.
It feels like exactly the reminder we all need right now.
I know I do, and I hope it brings you
some comfort and calm too. Here's the episode. It is
a stressful, stressful time in the US for many of us,
with our recent election battles and living in a country divided.
I know I need to remember ways to lessen my
distress and thought my listeners can also benefit from some
tips to reduce the distress you may be feeling. I
know that not all of my listeners are US residents,
but I'm sure this episode will be helpful for you
as well. I'm going to share some easy, tangible ways
to help you. Rather than just providing the advice to
reduce stress, I'm doing air quotes on that reduce stress.
I am guilty of using this generalized statement, I know,
so I'm going to talk about some concrete measures we
can all take. These exercises, which are a form of
grounding techniques, may help you refocus on the present moment
to distract yourself from anxious feelings. Grounding techniques can be
used to provide distancing from distressing feelings, including anxiety, depression,
and stress. They can also improve mood and a sense
of well being, as well as reduce PTSD post traumatic
stress disorder, and disassociation symptoms. Grounding techniques use tools such
as visualization and senses including sight, hearing, taste, and smell
to help distract you from negative feelings and thoughts. They
help you returned to the present moment. During a panic
attack or traumatic flashback, your emotions can take over your
thoughts and physical responses, and pulling you out of that
and bringing you back to the present using grounding techniques
can help interrupt your body's response and return your brain
and your feelings back to a place of peace and safety.
We have both physical and mental grounding techniques, and I'm
going to review both, but I'm going to start with
those physical techniques. Again, these are simple things that can
really work. You may want to do this first one
over a sink, Hold a piece of ice in your
hand or hands and observe it as it melts. Ask
yourself questions like what does it feel like when I
first hold this, how does the sensation change as it's melting?
How long do I have to hold it before it
starts melting. Just take in very detailed observations of this
ice cube melting in your hand. Also, take time to
savor a food, a favorite food or a favorite drink.
Take small bites or SIPs and focus on the flavors
and how it tastes or smells. What flavors linger after
the bite or the sip, A fun way to experience
this is to do a blind taste test game with
a friend or family member. See if you can tell
the difference between different brands of peanut, butter or juice.
What are the differences in texture, sweetness, saltiness, and so forth.
Engage your sense of touch by picking up items around
you and notice their texture, shape, color, and weight. A
lot of these are all about being intentional about the
things around you. Be aware, Be aware and intentional about
the things around you. You can take a short walk,
be mindful of your steps. You can even count your steps,
note the rhythm of your steps. I took a walk
this morning. It is an unusually warm November day, and
I took the time to marvel at the azaleas that
are still in bloom. It's true azaleas in November. I
also enjoyed soaking up some sun I use sunscreen people
and noticing the lovely difference between walking in the warm
sun and moving through the cool shade. Take a moment
to put your hands in water. Pay attention to the
water's temperature. How does the water feel on your fingertips, palms,
and the backs of your hands. Does it feel the
same in each part of your hand. Change up the temperatures.
Use warm water first, then cold. After that, you can
try cold water first then warm and what differences do
you notice when changing the oor. Do some movements with
your body. You can do jumping jacks, jump rope, stretch,
jog in place. What does your body feel like when
you do this? Note the rhythm of the movement. If
you're jumping rope, pay attention to the sound of the
rope hitting the floor. Stretching really helps me be more
aware of all my muscles and takes me out of
my head and I really notice which ones need a
little more attention and care, and today that would definitely
be my neck muscles. Listen to the sounds around you.
Is the wind rustling through the trees? Do you hear
birds singing, traffic, noise planes overhead. I'm trying to be
more mindful of the sounds around me other than the
ear splitting sound of my husband making a smoothie every
morning with his amazingly loud blender. Breathe in a fragrance
that you love. It could be a spice lotion, cup
of tea, scent in candle or oil. Savor the scent
and think about the qualities it has. Is it sweet, spicy,
crisp fresh? Take deep breasts and feel the air moving
in and out of your body. Feel that deep breath
moving your belly, and then feel the air moving out
of your body. Just be aware of that and pay
attention to that. The five four three two one method
is one that allows you to use your senses while
you're on that short walk or wherever you are. You
start with listing five things you hear. So five things
you hear, then four things you see, followed by three
things you can touch near you, two things you can smell,
and one thing you can taste. Also that five four
three two one method, it sounds a little bit like
twelve Days of Christmas, which that could be a distraction
technique for you too, if you can remember all the words.
Up next are mental grounding techniques to lower your feelings
of distress. Back in a minute, so stay with me. Okay,
let's talk about the mental grounding methods you can use
to relieve your anxiety and worries. These techniques can mentally
distract you, which helps move your thoughts away from distressing feelings.
I'll start with my favorite one, laughing, do something that
makes you laugh, as most, if not all, of you know.
This podcast was hosted originally by me and Leanne Moore,
who is a very very funny lady. To have a
good laugh, pull up one of her many online videos
and that will do the trick. I can guarantee it.
Or you can pull up a funny animal video on
YouTube or Instagram, read a funny story, or watch a
TV comedy. So many choices to get you laughing. I
think laughter is one of our most powerful ways to
heal ourselves. Although I was always serious about providing the
best care I could to my patients, I infused humor
in nearly every patient appointment, and so many times patients
would tell me that they always felt better after the
appointment than they did when they arrived. It really really works.
Recite the words to a song or poem or passage
in a book. Be intentional about the recitation. Notice how
the words feel in your mouth as you say them.
If you have it memorized, visualize the words as you
say them. Pay attention to the rhythm of each sentence
or phrase. Use a technique called anchoring. This involves establishing
a reference point to return to if you start having
mood changes like anxiety. Anchoring can be done in several
different ways. First is a visual anchor, which can be
external or internal. An external anchor is something that is
readily available to you to see when needed, like a
locket you wear daily or a picture you have in
your wallet. An internal visual anchor involves mentally visualizing a
place or scene that you recall as peaceful and calm.
You can use an auditory anchor when you experience distress.
An external example of this type of anchor is whistling
or singing to release stress. I personally have about a
five note whistling range, so it's not a great option
for me, but I will sing versus whistle. But whatever
you want to do is good. Repeating in your mind
words like I am calm, I am relaxed is an
example of an internal auditory anchor. Using your sense of
touch is a kinesthetic anchor. You can use a worry stone,
which is a smooth, indented stone or a fidget toy.
Either it can be kept in your pocket or purse.
Consider using a worry stone of clear quartz, which is
famously known as a master healer, or black obsidian, which
is used to remove negativity. Smell is our most powerful sense,
and using your sense of smell is an excellent mental
anchoring technique. For example, you can choose an essential oil
that has a fragrance you love and put it on
a handkerchief or small cloth and smell the fragrance when
you experience distress or anxiety. There are also nasal inhalers
available for purchase that looks sort of like a chapstick
and come in several different fragrances like melon, cinnamon, and
tropical sense. You can also use your sense of taste
as an anchor. Pick a flavored mint or gum that
you associate with a calm state to pop into your
mouth when you begin to experience a dark mood. My
grandmother always had clove gum in her house, and to
this day, when I chew a piece of clove gum,
which is not very often not easy to get, I
get a sense of calm and joy, and I recall
fond memories of my grandmother. Another anchoring method is to
sit with your pet as a grounding technique. If you're
not at home, you can visualize your pets and think
of ways they comfort you. Being with animals is so
effective in reducing stress that Many airports now use them
to reduce the stress that travelers experience. Stress relief is
provided at a Kentucky airport using a miniature horse therapy program. Yes, indeed,
passengers are greeted by a therapy miniature horse, providing stress
relief to weary, weary travelers. I live near Kentucky, so
it's unlikely I will fly through Kentucky, but I'm tempted
to go to that airport just to see the miniature horses.
The Portland, Oregon Airport is using llamas and alpacas for
stress relief at its terminals. Therapy animals are becoming more
and more popular in airports across the country and can
even include farm animals. Another technique is to list some
of your favorite things, and Hammerstein had it right when
they compose the song My Favorite Things in the sound
of music, rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens,
You know the rest. You don't have to set your
list of favorite things to music, but think of three
of your favorite things from several different categories like foods, books, places,
and so forth. Listening to music is a very effective
way to ease your mind and spirit, as you are
listening to some of your favorite music, Listen as though
you are hearing it for the first time, and note
the things that stand out to you and make it
special for you. I'll end with this one practice being
kind to yourself. Think of compassionate things to say to yourself,
like it's a tough time for me right now, but
I'll make it through this or you're a strong person,
you will get beyond this painful time where simply I
am enough. I am enough. One of the things I
Am going to do in my moments of stress is
to think of all of you terrific listeners listening to
the Itchy and Bitchy podcast in your car, in your home,
or on a walk. What a wonderful family I have
in you. Thank you for listening to and for sharing
the podcast with others. Wherever you listen to this podcast,
please leave a review and rate the podcast. Your reviews
and ratings do matter. I encourage you to visit our
Facebook page imb Podcasts, where you can leave comments or
questions for me. Our website is Itchyanbitchy dot com, where
there are blogs with some of our subjects available for
you to read. As always, thanks to Forrest Winzel, our
producer and composer of our theme music, and the person
who's always there and does all the behind the scenes
work to make this podcast possible. Thank you. Forest Forest
continues to thrive at Peabody Music Conservatory and is in
the middle of his final semester of the Master's program.
If you want to listen to what he's creating, you
can go to his website Forestwinsle dot com, f O
r R E S t w E N t z
e l dot com. Remember that your health is in
your hands.