Category: Therapy

Body in Charge: Manage Anxiety by Managing Your Breath

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Yesterday, for my Body in Charge: Managing Anxiety series, I wrote about how cutting down on stimulant substances can improve anxiety symptoms. In today’s post, I’ll offer an even simpler strategy: breathe.

Because the mind and body are inextricably linked, they must work together as one. This is why, when our minds are hyperactivated with worry, our bodies tend to mimic the problem with hyperactivated physical symptoms: shallow breathing, overheatingA, rapid pulse, etc, even when we’re physically healthy. While it is sometimes difficult to control the mind when anxiety hits, it’s fairly simple to control the body through breathing, making it one of the most effective interventions in anxiety research.

It takes practice, but what many of my clients have discovered is that if they practice deep breathing during an anxiety episode, the body has no choice but to calm down, and the mind has no choice but to follow. Oxygenated blood and expanded airways will slow down the pulse, and help soothe a troubled mind and body,

And don’t just use it as an intervention! Deep breathing techniques work best when practiced regularly to decrease the severity of anxiety symptoms and ultimately prevent them! Try some of the following activities for a week or two and see if you notice a difference:

  1. Begin and end each day with a set of 10 long, deep breaths, holding the breath for a few seconds between inhalation and exhalation.
  2. Practice yoga breathing, or deep belly breathing, by inhaling air into the bottom of the lungs, so the belly poofs out when the lungs are full. (This takes practice!)
  3. When doing physical activity, check in with the body regularly to make sure you are breathing deeply.
  4. If you have an office job, or spend lots of time in front of the computer, set a timer to take frequent breaks so you can pause, sit back, and take a deep breath at regular intervals.
  5. Download a guided meditation app so you can take short lessons about breathing and mindfulness. (Some apps have meditations as short as 3 minutes, but you might find yourself wanting to do more!)
  6. Try a yoga or tai chi video on YouTube. They’re free, you don’t even need a mat, and the practice of slow movements coordinated with breathing will help you develop the habit of deep breathing.

All of these above activities are simple, effective, and proven ways to settle an anxious mind and body. And not only that, but they also work to improve your own sense of physical fitness and wellness.

Body in Charge: Managing Anxiety by Managing Substances

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Caffeine, pseudoephedrine, nicotine, even chocolate could be making your anxiety worse.

With Starbucks on every corner, pseudoephedrine in every allergy medication, and energy drinks becoming one of the most popular beverages in the US, stimulant consumption among most demographics in the US is at an all-time high. Most people talk about their reliance on these substances as if it’s a nutritional need: “I can’t even move until I’ve had my coffee,” is something we’ve all heard before. With stimulant consumption so normalized it’s no wonder anxiety rates have sky-rocketed in recent years.

Most people are so accustomed to the physiological effects of stimulants (raised pulse rate, shallow breathing, muscle tension, rapid thinking, etc.) that they hardly notice the them, and rarely consider their compounded effects. Hours, days, even weeks and months of stimulant consumption can accumulate until heightened activation of the body’s nervous system becomes the norm. Add in a few extra worries, and you’ve got the perfect habitat for a full-blown panic attack.

When a client comes to me with complaints about anxiety, one of the first things I assess is their level of stimulant consumption. Many times, after cutting out (or at least cutting down) the following items, they find their anxiety attacks disappear!

These are some of the things to decrease, or cut out of your system before any therapy for anxiety will be effective:

  1. Caffeine (coffee, teas, energy drinks, chocolate, especially if taken after lunch)
  2. Pseudoephedrine (often in cold and allergy products that have ‘D’ in the name, i.e. Allegra D)
  3. Sugar
  4. Some dietary supplements for mood or weight loss (often have caffeine or herbal stimulants)
  5. Ritalin, Adderall or other stimulants for ADD/ADHD (consult your doctor if this is prescribed. Your doctor may have other suggestions if you share your concerns about your anxiety symptoms.)
  6. Nicotine (cigarrettes, e-cigs such as Juuls, gums)
  7. Alcohol (a depressant, not a stimulant, alcohol can affect deep sleep REM cycles, making a person feel more tired, anxious, and depressed than they would be with some good night’s rest)

Cut out or cut down these substances, and you might see your anxiety symptoms decrease or disappear completely!

What is counseling like? Part II

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Counseling can be whatever you need and whatever you feel comfortable with!

Some people choose therapy because they just want a safe place where they can talk confidentially. In those cases, we usually analyze the week’s events or past conflicts and traumas together, and I might suggest better communication or stress management techniques, or have the client come up with their own “how I wish I would’ve handled it.”

Other people seek therapy because they have experienced a recent trauma (accident, hospitalization, natural catastrophe, etc) and they just want to be desensitized to the pain and fear resulting from that trauma. EMDR therapy is often very applicable in those situations and sometimes allows people to reprocess traumatic events more quickly than standard talk therapy.

Other people have more complex, long-term traumas, sometimes due to sexual abuse, domestic abuse, or military involvement, and we sometimes start and stop EMDR treatment to do more basic talk therapy, psychoanalysis, or cognitive-behavioral techniques as deeper emotions come up.

Then, there are others who are dealing with serious mood or anxiety disorders who come to me weekly so we can monitor their ups-and-downs, the side-effects of their medications, and help them identify external triggers and identify the best ways cope with those triggers.

Many people come to my office because they are experiencing the emotional swings of a death, relationship breakup, an affair, or loss of child custody. During these difficult events, having a counselor can help ease the loneliness and isolation that tends to exacerbate these problems, while also giving you the opportunity to learn skills to cope with the problem. You don’t have to suffer alone.

And finally, some people come to counseling because they feel lost and without direction, or constantly at odds or out of rhythm with their family and friends, so we spend a lot of time clarifying their beliefs, values, and goals. In most cases, the clients do most of the talking, while I offer guidance, support, teach techniques, and point out moments when things don’t quite match up or possibly explain a certain behavior.

No matter whom you choose to go to for therapy, always remember: Your therapist has skills, but you know what’s best for you, and your therapist will rely on your feedback to adjust treatment as you progress. It’s a collaborative effort. Counselors have lots of tools and techniques, and are trained to tailor counseling to your needs, so always speak up if something isn’t working or doesn’t feel right.

 

Call Megan Medina at 432-278-1617 or email MeganMedina1217@gmail.com for more information or to book an appointment.

 

Why take a chance on an LPC-Intern?

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A lot of people are reluctant to begin therapy with an LPC-Intern because they don’t quite know what an LPC-Intern is. An LPC-Intern is a Licensed Professional Counselor who has completed all educational requirements and passed all licensing exams, but has yet to complete the required 3000 practicum hours under the supervision of an LPC-Supervisor in no less than 18 months before they can be fully certified. (That’s 75 weeks on a full-time work schedule and this is in addition to the 500-1000 practicum hours they already completed for their master’s degree!)

In other words, an LPC-Intern is a fully qualified counselor who is in the early stages of their career, but they are by no means a novice! It makes sense that an LPC-Intern might give you pause, but it doesn’t mean they are uneducated or unseasoned, and there are some valid reasons why some clients might prefer seeing an LPC-Intern.

  1. LPC-Interns tend to offer more flexible appointment times. Because most LPC-Interns are just building their practices and often still depend on another full-time job, they are usually more willing to meet with clients on weekends, early mornings, evenings, and even during lunch.
  2. You’re getting two counselors for the price of one. Every LPC-Intern is supervised by a more senior LPC-Supervisor who maintains the LPC-Intern’s records, reviews cases, and provides consultation to the LPC-Intern. The LPC-Intern can turn to that supervisor for advice, guidance, or concerns about their clients, which means clients are often getting the input of two therapists at the same time.
  3. LPC-Interns tend to charge lower rates. Because they are just starting their careers, or simply don’t feel justified charging the same rates as more veteran LPCs, LPC-Interns tend to charge lower rates than other LPCs in their area. Most LPC-Interns don’t have to deal with the burden of overhead costs such as office space and marketing (since they often share the office space of their supervisor), and many still depend on their full-time salaried job and don’t feel the need to charge higher rates. And once fully licensed, most LPC-Interns feel ethically-bound to maintain those lower rates for their current clientele.
  4. LPC-Interns tend to be more up-to-date on recent research and promising techniques. Because most LPC-Interns have recently completed their final courses for their master’s degree and/or licensing hours, and passed the state licensing exams, they tend to have more up-to-date knowledge and recent access to latest research. They are also more likely to still be in touch and consult with the PhDs and professors in their field of study.
  5. LPC-Interns often have more experience than you think. Many LPC-Interns come to private practice from similar careers (school counseling, social work, religious and spiritual counseling, crisis work, mediation, mentoring, etc.), and are well-practiced at working with clients in a similar capacity (and often in less controlled environments). In fact, some LPC-Interns might have completed their education courses long ago, but simply never got around to completing the licensing requirements because they were already satisfied practicing their passion in less traditional environments. For whatever reason, most LPC-Interns come to agencies and private practices via a long and fruitful journey in other helping fields.

You will be in good hands!

Why counseling?

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Many clients come to counseling feeling overwhelmed or dissatisfied, and feel that their usual support systems are insufficient. Sometimes the problem isn’t clear: they just don’t feel like themselves, their usual coping methods are no longer working, or they just crave change. Sometimes it helps to get another perspective.
Most people know when it’s time to seek help. The first (and hardest) step is talking about it; without shame or fear of judgment. For teens and adults who are experiencing loss, trauma, stress, mood and anxiety disorders, and life transitions, Megan Medina can provide a warm, positive, and down-to-earth approach.

For more information on modalities and rates, click here.

For more information about our location, click here.

For more information, please call 432-278-1617
or email meganmedina1217@gmail.com

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