Recently, I've become interested in health a lot more and the more I learn about what's good and what's bad to put in our bodies, the more I want to know. Because the more I learn, the more I realize I need to know.
A great source of health information I've found is Dr. Joseph Mercola's web site and his newsletter, which I highly recommend even if you're not into a super-healthy lifestyle. He puts a lot of work into exposing the health risks of the foods we eat these days and the drugs mainstream doctors put us on. As well as recommending supplements for optimal health. And one of those is what I want to tell you about.
About six months ago I decided I should have a full physical and made the necessary appointments, the first being with the lab at my doctor's clinic. They ran a full range of blood tests so the doctor would know as much as possible about my overall condition before seeing me, and truth be told, that's pretty much all he used. Very expedient, and one of the things I find unsatisfying about medical care in this country today - but that's a post for a different day.
So, back to the blood work. One of the things my doctor learned from it was that I was low on Vitamin D and he recommended I start taking a corrective dose of 2000 units a day, about twice what the usual supplementation dose would be. No problem. I bought a big bottle of 2000 unit gelcaps and started taking them.
Is It Enough?
A few months later, after I had started following Dr. Mercola's blog, I read that the Vitamin D level considered adequate by the mainstream medical community is really only enough to prevent rickets! That we should actually double that at least. So I upped my dose to 4000 units and have been taking that daily ever since.
Now, where this ties into the subject of this blog, Anxiety Disorder, is I started to notice that my generalized anxiety symptoms got better. I still have a problem with stress and get stressed out often, but now I don't seem to feel the physical sensations like I did before. No tightness in my chest, no feeling like my heart's racing. All from taking two of those tiny gelcaps a day!
So this got me thinking about the area where I live and how many other people are diagnosed as being low on this simple vitamin. And how that relates to Seattle's dubious distinctions of being cloudy and gray so much of the time AND its standing as the US city with the highest suicide rate and the highest percentage of people taking anti-depressants. And get this: I read about studies that have shown that a VERY high percentage of people who are clinically depressed and taking meds for it are found to be low (many critically low) on Vitamin D.
Sunshine Makes For Happier People
I was also reminded by Dr. Mercola that the sun's rays are the very best source of Vitamin D (actually that our bodies use those UV rays to synthesize it) and the fact is, most Americans today don't get enough sunshine. Well, where I live, we don't have much opportunity even if we do get away from our desks and computers and get outside.
Without soaking up the sun in sufficient amounts to supply us with enough of this forgotten vitamin, we need to supplement our diet. And, according to Dr. Mercola, an adult should probably take 4000 to 5000 IU per day. If you have anxiety and stress issues, you might want to start with 2000 units and see what happens. That much can't hurt you and you might start to notice the same changes I did. If not, double it. But you might want to have your blood checked first to see where you stand; your doctor might in fact put you on a much higher dose temporarily.
Another thing I should mention is that Vitamin D is well-known as a mood
enhancer. When your mood is better, you have a more positive attitude
and we also know that will lessen your anxious feelings, don't we?
Owen
Showing posts with label stress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stress. Show all posts
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Gratitude vs Fear
Let me start out by saying I love birds. Not like I'm into bird watching or anything, I just love watching them and hearing them. They fascinate me and I consider them to be nature's gift to me. And I'm a little envious, wishing I could fly like that.
This morning, like most mornings, I poured a cup of coffee (decaf, of course) and went out onto my balcony to see the world. As I was standing there, a tiny hummingbird came to get breakfast at the feeder I put out. Talk about a fascinating bird, these guys are so small, I wonder how they survive! And how the heck do they get their little wings to move so fast I can't even see them - they're just a blur!
As I was quietly observing this cute little creature getting its fill of sweet nectar, I noticed that directly in my line of sight, off in the distance over the lake, was a majestic, glorious eagle soaring effortlessly on an updraft. I see these graceful giants often and wish I was closer to them. Eagles are so magnificent (to me, anyway) that watching one brings out an emotional response almost like, I don't know, maybe seeing my favorite singer or band live.
The total contrast between the tiny hummingbird, with a blur of wings as it finished and darted away, and the huge eagle flying endlessly in circles without moving its wings at all while it eyed the lake looking for its next meal, was absolutely astounding. This was a view of evolution at its very best! A true moment of bliss for me.
Thinking back to that moment, I realize I didn't even hear the sound of traffic that's always there. I wasn't thinking about my day, my problems or my stresses. I was totally focused on the gift of seeing these two birds living their lives. Simply.
I was also experiencing a moment of gratitude that I'll try to carry with me through the day.
Are there those moments in your life that can take you completely out of your head? Moments when without even thinking about it you feel gratitude for life and the world around you? I hope so.
When you're feeling grateful for life, you don't feel stress and anxiety. Feeling and acknowledging your gratitude brings peace to you, a feeling of well-being. Learn to notice these moments and appreciate them.
Wallow in them when they present themselves to you. And practice remembering them throughout the day. Maybe go through your day describing them to others, this will keep them fresh in your mind and you'll feel that feeling all over again many times.
Remember that gratitude and fear don't co-exist very well. Beauty and anxiety don't get along. "Thank you" and "woe-is-me" can't share the same breath. Learn to notice the beauty of nature and focus on it, practice saying a silent (or not silent, if you want) "thank you" when you see, hear, touch, smell or taste something blissful and watch as your thinking starts to become more positive and your anxiety fades.
To Your recovery,
Owen
Moment of Bliss
This morning, like most mornings, I poured a cup of coffee (decaf, of course) and went out onto my balcony to see the world. As I was standing there, a tiny hummingbird came to get breakfast at the feeder I put out. Talk about a fascinating bird, these guys are so small, I wonder how they survive! And how the heck do they get their little wings to move so fast I can't even see them - they're just a blur!
As I was quietly observing this cute little creature getting its fill of sweet nectar, I noticed that directly in my line of sight, off in the distance over the lake, was a majestic, glorious eagle soaring effortlessly on an updraft. I see these graceful giants often and wish I was closer to them. Eagles are so magnificent (to me, anyway) that watching one brings out an emotional response almost like, I don't know, maybe seeing my favorite singer or band live.
The total contrast between the tiny hummingbird, with a blur of wings as it finished and darted away, and the huge eagle flying endlessly in circles without moving its wings at all while it eyed the lake looking for its next meal, was absolutely astounding. This was a view of evolution at its very best! A true moment of bliss for me.
Thinking back to that moment, I realize I didn't even hear the sound of traffic that's always there. I wasn't thinking about my day, my problems or my stresses. I was totally focused on the gift of seeing these two birds living their lives. Simply.
Gratitude vs Fear
I was also experiencing a moment of gratitude that I'll try to carry with me through the day.
Are there those moments in your life that can take you completely out of your head? Moments when without even thinking about it you feel gratitude for life and the world around you? I hope so.
When you're feeling grateful for life, you don't feel stress and anxiety. Feeling and acknowledging your gratitude brings peace to you, a feeling of well-being. Learn to notice these moments and appreciate them.
Wallow in them when they present themselves to you. And practice remembering them throughout the day. Maybe go through your day describing them to others, this will keep them fresh in your mind and you'll feel that feeling all over again many times.
Remember that gratitude and fear don't co-exist very well. Beauty and anxiety don't get along. "Thank you" and "woe-is-me" can't share the same breath. Learn to notice the beauty of nature and focus on it, practice saying a silent (or not silent, if you want) "thank you" when you see, hear, touch, smell or taste something blissful and watch as your thinking starts to become more positive and your anxiety fades.
To Your recovery,
Owen
Friday, February 26, 2010
Stress And Obsessive Compulsive Anxiety Disorder
I've been making some personal observations on the effect of increased stress on a person with obsessive compulsive anxiety disorder lately. The subject of my observation is a man I work with who I noticed early on shows signs of OCD.
He seems obsessed with keeping our work area neat as a pin and sanitized and compulsively picks things up and puts them away. Like if I leave a pen on a table, it's not there when I come back to pick it up - he's put it away with all the junky, cheap pens we have all over the facility. When we first start our shift, he grabs a bottle of cleaner and a towel and goes to work cleaning all the work surfaces.
In the last few months this has gotten obviously worse and now I understand why: A few months ago he and his girlfriend (who also works in the same job but a different shift) started shopping for a house together, bought one and THEN became engaged.
When a married couple is buying a house, conflict usually surfaces and puts a strain on the relationship. So you can imagine what it would do for two people who have only been dating a few months - and personally, I think it's an insane thing to do. It's like walking into a dark room and locking yourself in, THEN turning on the light to see where you are. Surprise!
So, they move into the house and immediately she shows her territorial tendencies - she doesn't want his "stuff" in the house. He buys a new big screen TV (with his money) and she goes ballistic, saying he should have consulted with her first. NOW he finds out what she's really like, after he's locked himself into that dark room and then switched on the light.
This isn't a relationship blog but I wanted to set the scene for you.
OCD is a form of anxiety disorder and displays itself as a need to have everything under control. When things are out of the person's control, he or she becomes anxious. We all feel more stressed when our life, work or relationships seem like they're controlling us, not the other way around, and what the OCD sufferer does is tighten up their controls over those things they CAN control. Which, to them means every pen has to be put away, clothes can have no wrinkles and everything MUST be neat and clean.
This is exactly what I've been seeing in my co-worker. He's become more obsessed with compulsively cleaning and tidying up and since he's a supervisor, he's exerting more control over his staff - sometimes to the point of it being detrimental to the team's efficiency.
If I found myself in this man's position, I know I'd be fearing I made a major mistake and wondering how in the world I'm going to get myself out of the fix I put myself in. I'm betting you can probably imagine it, too. The point is, conflict and fear cause stress, stress causes anxiety, and in the case of obsessive compulsive anxiety disorder, anxiety makes it worse.
Want to learn more about Obsessive Compulsive Anxiety Disorder?
He seems obsessed with keeping our work area neat as a pin and sanitized and compulsively picks things up and puts them away. Like if I leave a pen on a table, it's not there when I come back to pick it up - he's put it away with all the junky, cheap pens we have all over the facility. When we first start our shift, he grabs a bottle of cleaner and a towel and goes to work cleaning all the work surfaces.
Conflict
In the last few months this has gotten obviously worse and now I understand why: A few months ago he and his girlfriend (who also works in the same job but a different shift) started shopping for a house together, bought one and THEN became engaged.
When a married couple is buying a house, conflict usually surfaces and puts a strain on the relationship. So you can imagine what it would do for two people who have only been dating a few months - and personally, I think it's an insane thing to do. It's like walking into a dark room and locking yourself in, THEN turning on the light to see where you are. Surprise!
So, they move into the house and immediately she shows her territorial tendencies - she doesn't want his "stuff" in the house. He buys a new big screen TV (with his money) and she goes ballistic, saying he should have consulted with her first. NOW he finds out what she's really like, after he's locked himself into that dark room and then switched on the light.
This isn't a relationship blog but I wanted to set the scene for you.
Where Does the OCD Come Into Play?
OCD is a form of anxiety disorder and displays itself as a need to have everything under control. When things are out of the person's control, he or she becomes anxious. We all feel more stressed when our life, work or relationships seem like they're controlling us, not the other way around, and what the OCD sufferer does is tighten up their controls over those things they CAN control. Which, to them means every pen has to be put away, clothes can have no wrinkles and everything MUST be neat and clean.
This is exactly what I've been seeing in my co-worker. He's become more obsessed with compulsively cleaning and tidying up and since he's a supervisor, he's exerting more control over his staff - sometimes to the point of it being detrimental to the team's efficiency.
If I found myself in this man's position, I know I'd be fearing I made a major mistake and wondering how in the world I'm going to get myself out of the fix I put myself in. I'm betting you can probably imagine it, too. The point is, conflict and fear cause stress, stress causes anxiety, and in the case of obsessive compulsive anxiety disorder, anxiety makes it worse.
Want to learn more about Obsessive Compulsive Anxiety Disorder?
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