It's very challenging for children and teens to socialize with their peers, especially with the restrictions associated with the pandemic. Friends are very important to kids, and if your son was already struggling socially prior to COVID, he is likely finding the lack of in-person contact with peers even more difficult. He has also been spending more time than usual at home with his family due to restrictions, which can make all of us more irritable. I suggest you ask him how he is feeling and then tell him that you understand how hard this is for him. You could also help him identify at least one friend he has a positive relationship with and can connect via FaceTime etc., and focus on maintaining/developing that relationship. Also, try to find opportunities to give him positive feedback and praise for things he is doing well at home and try to pick your battles as far as issues that come up.
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Low moods and anxiety are a part of life. Every day our bodies deal with stressors that they can bounce back from. However, when we are experiencing chronic low moods and periods of ongoing worry, the body struggles to bounce back. Anxiety and depressive symptoms go hand in hand. As we worry, it affects our mood and our ability to cope. Look at what stressors are driving the worry and low mood. What is happening in your life that the body is responding to support you this way?
Additionally, some of the best ways to address the body going into low moods are to engage in exercise to get your blood oxygenated. Just when you are feeling fatigued, you need to bring your energy up. Being with nature and becoming aware of your surroundings can help the body calm down. Connect to your breath. Your essence. Slow down the pace of your life. Connect with yourself.
It is helpful to begin your day with foods that help to manage anxiety. This includes hydrating the body as soon as you awake and eating meals that contain protein, complex carbohydrates, fruits or vegetables. The body needs its energy to start the day and keep the fuel running for all the things you require it to do all day.
Include vitamins and supplements. With stress, all B vitamins are leached from the body. The body does not produce Omegas. With breakfast, you will need a high potency B complex, Omegas, Vitamin D and at night Magnesium Glycinate to help the body relax.
Sleep is another area to focus on. The body needs to go into 4 stages of sleep in order to feel refreshed. So, paying attention to sleep hygiene is very important. Sleep is one of the keys for mental health, so any clinician assessing the clinical levels of your mood and mental health will pay attention to your sleep. If anxiety affects your sleep, you will need to focus on relaxation methods to allow the body time to relax and be ready for sleep. If your sleep is affected by racing thoughts, write them down before bed. Create some rituals before bed that help your body know it is the end of the day and it is time to produce melatonin to increase sedation for sleep.
If the low moods and anxiety affect your ability to manage your work, family and other commitments, it is time to seek professional support.
Answer provided by:
Rennet Wong-Gates MSW, RSW, RP (she/her)
Psychotherapist, Psychiatrist and Social Worker
Rennet Wong-Gates
Psychotherapist, Psychiatrist and Social Worker
Rennet Wong-Gates
Acne is typically a complex condition that tends to be impacted by many factors, especially gut health and hormones.
We know that a healthy diet is key for optimal body functions, which extends to your skin. Our skin needs essential micronutrients to be able to be clear.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, foods that cause blood sugar to rise quickly can worsen acne due to the glucose and insulin’s effect on other hormones and inflammation. When insulin levels spike after eating food, the body makes more androgens, worsening acne.
Focusing on foods rich in antioxidants, such as leafy greens and berries, protein and fibre with every meal to help balance blood sugar levels, and having healthy omega 3s and fats to help with balancing blood sugars is where we usually start.
Vitamins and supplements are complementary to a good diet and clean beauty routine. We know that a few nutrients have good research behind them to show that they can support healthy skin. Zinc helps with healthy skin and decreases excess androgen production. Spearmint tea can also decrease the production of androgens, therefore decreasing excess sebum production. We cannot talk about supplements for skin without mentioning probiotics because the gut microbiome plays a large role in what is going on with our skin. Specifically, the strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG has been shown to inhibit the growth of the bacteria associated with acne.
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Thanks for reaching out with this question. That must be really difficult for you to deal with and cause even more anxiety around social activities.
Typically, there is an underlying cause that can be found and treated, but in some cases, there isn’t. The most common cause is primary hyperhidrosis, where the nerves responsible for signaling your sweat glands are overactive and trigger a sweat response. Though we cannot control the nerves themselves, stress or anxiety can definitely make the problem worse. There are also other causes to rule out, like a thyroid issue and low blood sugar levels.
There are several options for management, but it all comes down to the cause. Since it is mostly caused by the nerves signalling too strongly, some of the things that you could focus on are relaxation techniques regularly so that your nervous system is calm and your stress levels are controlled, as this will decrease the reactivity of the nerves to the sweat glands.
Meditation, yoga, deep breathing techniques, and select supplements to help support the parasympathetic nervous system (check with your healthcare provider before starting any supplements, but things like magnesium, L-theanine, and passionflower may be options).
I hope this helps! Just know that there are many options to explore with your healthcare provider.
Our minds often run around like a busy puppy, jumping from thought to thought. We can get stuck in these thoughts, leading to us "overthinking." Overthinking, more often than not, causes us emotional stress, which can lead to feelings of worry, fear, and even panic.
One of the ways we can settle the mind and reduce thoughts that contribute to "overthinking" is to get those thoughts OUT! When we take the thoughts out of the mind and release them, we are better to work through them and let them go. You can do this by reaching out to a supportive friend or family member and saying those thoughts out loud.
You can also try an expressive writing exercise where you sit and write for 15-20 minutes uninterrupted:
- Find a quiet place where you can easily write.
- Using Pen/Pencil and Paper is best.
- Set a timer and WRITE!
- Allow whatever comes out onto the paper to come out. Do not edit. Do not worry about spelling or grammar.
- When the timer goes off, stop.
- Take a deep breath in and exhale fully with a big sigh.
When you allow yourself time to let out the thoughts, you are honouring them for what they are instead of trying to push them away, which often can make those thoughts louder. It can be amazing to see what shows up when you let yourself express your thoughts freely.
After your writing or sharing session, take some time to do something you enjoy. Change your perspective by moving to another room, watching a funny video or having a little dance party and congratulate yourself for taking the time to care for your thoughts and yourself!
Anxiety causes a 'fight or flight' response in our brains. The hypothalamus - a structure located in the limbic system of our brain - receives messages from the thalamus (another structure in the limbic system) about things going on in our environment that we perceive as threatening in some way. Often the situation is not actually dangerous to us, but our brain responds as if it is a real threat or danger. Examples include doing something new for the first time or having to present in front of a group of people. The hypothalamus then responds to this message by releasing a stress hormone to the pituitary gland, which sends a hormone through the bloodstream to the adrenal glands to create the energy that the body needs to take fight or flight action.
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Anxiety is a normal human emotion that most of us experience from time to time. Having a good support system in place, including friends and family, is one thing that can help us cope with these feelings. However, if anxious feelings are arising often and negatively impacting everyday life, you would benefit from learning more ways to cope with your anxiety. Also, remember that caring family members may not be sure of the best way to help you and may actually respond in a way that unintentionally contributes to the problem rather than helping. For mild anxiety, family members gently supporting you and encouraging you to take tiny steps toward facing your fears rather than avoiding them would be helpful.
Here are some tips for dealing with your anxiety in social situations. First, I would come up with a personal affirmation for yourself. Some examples are: "I am worthy," "I am enough," and "I am friendly and likeable." Write your affirmation on several sticky notes and place them where you will see them daily, such as on your bathroom mirror, on a wall in your bedroom, on the back of a door, etc. Get in the habit of saying your affirmation out loud to yourself frequently throughout each day.
My second tip is to think of the qualities about yourself that attract your friends to you in the first place. It can be easier for us to focus on negative things about ourselves but try hard to come up with at least 3 positive qualities and then think of evidence that these are true about you. For example, evidence that you are loyal would be that your friends confide in you often and evidence that you are friendly and likeable is that your friends invite you to do things with them.
You likely become anxious just before a social situation with other people. When you notice you are beginning to feel anxious, you are likely to think negative thoughts about yourself, so it is helpful to look in the mirror and repeat your affirmation several times and also to focus your thoughts on your positive strengths instead, reminding yourself that you have evidence these things are true about you. Continue to focus your thoughts on these positive qualities when you are with your friends or a group of people.
Low energy can make it difficult to get back up and feel motivated again.
Low energy is commonly associated with depression, anxiety, and many other mental health conditions. It can also exacerbate these conditions.
The first question I always ask is: are you struggling with low physical energy (does it feel like you are dragging your feet, too tired to walk or exercise) or low mental energy (brain fog, poor memory, poor concentration), or both?
This can help indicate what might be going on, as there are several options to consider when dealing with low energy.
First to consider is your diet. It is so important to provide your body with the right nutrition. Lots of vegetables, bright coloured fruits, protein, and healthy fats are what your body needs to function. The more vitamins and nutrients it gets, the easier it is to heal.
Make sure you stay hydrated. We are mostly made out of water, so if we don’t drink enough to maintain healthy hydration, this can drastically impact energy levels.
Consider your adrenal glands. They take part in the stress response and release adrenaline and cortisol. If you don’t take care of them by ensuring you manage stress levels, they can become dysfunctional and lead to HPA axis issues (adrenal fatigue).
Nutrients like vitamin B12 and vitamin D are commonly low and can impact our energy levels. It is especially common to have low Vitamin D status in the winter months in Canada. Low Vitamin D doesn’t just cause energy levels to go down but can also impact motivation and health status.
Take away?
Eat a healthy balanced diet. Plan your day by listing some activities and tasks you want to accomplish so that it motivates you to get them done. Include self-care in your daily plan to ensure you stay on top of managing stress. And finally, talk to your healthcare providers regarding Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D as supplements.
Yes! There are loads of options for supporting anxiety, mood, and overall mental health using vitamins and supplements. The tricky part is finding the one that will work best for you because not all anxiety is treated the same way.
The following represent the most common types of supplements used for anxiety:
Passionflower
This herb is great for anxiety and insomnia because it helps turn off all the running thoughts that could be going through your mind. It has been extensively studied for its use in supporting mental health and works fairly rapidly.
Magnesium
This is one of my favourite supportive supplements for anxiety, especially if you feel like you have tense muscles due to stress and anxiety. Magnesium helps relax the nervous system as well as muscles. Many of us are deficient in this mineral and could use a little more. Magnesium helps anxiety by binding to and stimulating GABA receptors in the brain. What’s GABA? Read the next supplement.
GABA
Your brain makes the neurotransmitter GABA (aka the calming, inhibitory neurotransmitter), the one that puts the brakes on an overly active brain. You can support its production or take it as a supplement to help calm the nervous system and alleviate anxiety.
L-Theanine
Theanine is an amino acid extracted from green tea and has some pretty amazing anti-anxiety effects. It enhances alpha brain wave activity and increases the synthesis of GABA (your calming neurotransmitter).
B vitamins
All B vitamins are great for mental health and supporting the nervous system because they act as cofactors for many processes and the formation of neurotransmitters. B12 is especially important and can also help with energy levels.
Remember:
Always make sure you are talking to your healthcare practitioner about the supplements you may want to take so that they can assess if it is safe for you to take. Supplements can interact with medications, including the birth control pill, so it is best that you don’t self-prescribe and talk to a health professional.
Tips to promote healthy eating habits
You do not have to tackle all of these suggestions; just pick the ones you feel most drawn to and start there.
- Plant a vegetable garden: Most people enjoy eating the foods they plant, nurture and grow. Some veggies grow really well in pots, so even if you have limited space, such as a balcony, you can still have a garden of your own.
- Plan ahead: For meals and healthy options for snacks. Try not to get overly hungry, or you may make an unhealthy choice.
- Take healthy options for when you are on the go: Related to the “plan ahead” suggestion above.
- Do not reward (or punish) with food: Food is not to be used in this manner.
- Replace the unhealthy gradually: If you have foods in your diet that you know are not nutritious, replace them, one at a time, with a healthy alternative.
- Set a good example: If you are a role model to anyone, consider yourself first in choosing healthy eating habits.
- Discourage eating in front of the TV: Have family meals that are mindful and full of conversation.
- Get everyone involved: In the shopping, preparing and cooking.
- Eat breakfast: Start making a list of healthy breakfast options and start with getting this meal down pat. Then move on to healthy dinners. Lunches and snacks will naturally fall into place over time.
- Get the unhealthy “stuff” out of the house: Reduce the temptation. This will also help stop the arguments about what is allowed to be eaten.
- Take a trip to a local farm or farmer’s market: Perhaps learning about how food is grown will help enable wise decisions about food choices. In the process, you are helping to support a local cause.
- Host a potluck: Make sure everyone understands that they are requested to bring a healthy offering. Trying new foods is wonderful and if you like something, ask for the recipe.
- Try a new recipe once a week: Variety can keep us motivated.
- Drink water: Reducing pop, juice, and energy drinks.
- Smoothies: These are great ways to get in some healthy nutrients and fantastic for taking on the go.
- Become aware of the relationship between food and feelings, mood and energy levels: Become aware of how you feel after eating certain foods and start talking about it. Sharing out loud will help others see the relationship. Notice that when you do make wise food choices, you feel better.
- Experiment: Just for a short period of time, decide to omit/eliminate something from your diet (pop, for example). A week is a good time frame to start out with. Then, notice how you feel after the week is up. That way, you can decide if it is worth reducing or eliminating altogether moving forward.
- Talk to an expert: Hearing healthy suggestions from another person (a holistic health practitioner, for example) can be impactful.
- Set healthy wellness goals: Once again, this may be an area where a wellness professional can be of assistance in mapping out a plan to help get you there.
- What is your reason why?: To stay on track, we need to have “point B” clearly defined. What is your motivation? What pulls you forward? Why do you want to incorporate healthy food choices and habits? It should be meaningful enough to get an emotion flowing through you… Where are you headed, and why do you want to get there? Inspiration comes in many forms. What is your reason?
Answer provided by:
Barbara Bates RNCP, ROHP (she/her)
Registered Nutritional Consulting and Orthomolecular Health Practitioner
Registered Nutritional Consulting and Orthomolecular Health Practitioner
"Creating new habits and breaking old habits can take some work. The habits we create are etched in our brains and can keep us doing the same things repeatedly without even thinking about it. We become creatures of habit, some of them good (like brushing your teeth) and some of them not so good (like sitting down with a bag of junk food when watching Netflix).
The good news is that, through repetition, we can rewire our brains and create new neural pathways creating the habits that are best for our well-being. We have the ability to design a life living in conscious choice rather than on autopilot (this applies to all aspects of life; relationships, exercise, eating, work). As we become mindful of what we eat and tap into why it is so important to eat healthily, we can become more aware and stop making poor food choices. We can then start creating new pathways and eating habits that benefit our physical and mental health."
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When we are stressed or experiencing anxiety, our body goes into ‘fight or flight’ mode, which causes changes in the body, including a shift in how our stomach and digestive system function. The stress response signals our stomach to stop breaking down food so it can focus on getting us out of what we perceive as dangerous instead of focusing on other body processes.
That’s why when the body is under stress and/or anxiety, many people experience stomach pains, digestive problems, or a lack of appetite.
When we are stressed, it is important to ensure we are eating to get all of our nutrients (especially those that help us combat stress and promote healthy brain function). Two really easy and effective techniques you can try are:
#1 Deep breathing before meals. Inhale for 4, hold for 4, exhale for 4. Repeat 4-5 times. This helps to bring our body back into a calm state and allows us to be in ‘rest and digest’ mode, so not only will it help us to calm down, but it will allow our body to turn back on the hunger signals and help us to better digest food and avoid the stomach pains, bloating or nausea you may be experiencing.
#2 Smoothies and soups. A smoothie or soup is a really easily digestible way to pack in a lot of nutrients that don’t require chewing or our body to have to work so hard to break down food -especially if you don’t have an appetite and a piece of chicken or heavy meal is looking really unappetizing. You can pack your smoothie with nourishing ingredients like antioxidant-rich berries, avocados for delicious creaminess and brain-boosting healthy fats, chia seeds or flax seeds for fiber and tons of vitamins & minerals, as well as protein powder for a protein boost and a handful of leafy greens. You can also try adding super-food powders like greens powder or Maca powder for a phytogreen and energy boost.
Same for soups, blend up as many vegetables as possible and add a healthy grain like quinoa or rice!
- Stephanie Di Grazia, R.H.N.
Let me start by explaining the difference between a food allergy and food intolerance in case some of you do not know the difference. A food allergy is triggered by an IgE reaction in the body and usually leads to immediate symptoms like hives or anaphylaxis. Food intolerances or sensitivities are delayed reactions that are triggered by IgG antibodies. The symptoms associated with intolerances are often less obvious because they can occur hours to days later and include things like bloating, headaches, stomach aches, etc.
What happens in the body when you are consuming foods you are intolerant to? IgG antibodies, produced by the immune system, attach themselves to the food particle (called the antigen) to create a complex molecule called the antigen-antibody complex. These are usually easily removed by cells called macrophages in your body as they come across them and see them. However, they may not be able to keep up in a few instances such as: 1) you are consuming the food too often, or 2) your intolerance to the food is quite high, or 3) you have leaky gut syndrome, and a lot of food particles are making their way into the bloodstream.
In these cases, the antigen-antibody complexes accumulate and get deposited into body tissues causing inflammation. And we know that inflammation plays a role in numerous diseases and conditions such as autoimmune conditions, chronic health concerns, digestive concerns, anxiety and depression, and much more.
Thanks for reaching out and asking these questions. It sounds like you have been doing all the right things and have done quite a lot to support her over the years.
It is always hard to know how to help or what to say when someone is going through highs and lows, but the best thing you can do is simply be there for her and listen whenever she needs someone to talk to.
If you have noticed that her current medications haven’t really improved anything, it is worth following up with the prescribing doctor to see if there are other options. The same goes with counselling - if you noticed that it didn’t work or she isn’t going to the sessions, perhaps she hasn’t found a person she feels comfortable speaking with. This is what I tell all my patients. Finding a counsellor takes time and might require talking to a few different ones at first before finding the perfect fit. There are also online counselling platforms available now that might suit her more if you are noticing that she doesn’t want to leave the house to go to the sessions.
When it comes to mental wellness, it is important always to consider the whole person. Looking at gut health (because the gut-brain axis plays a huge role in mental health), diet (making sure she is getting all the nutrients she needs to produce neurotransmitters), exercise, sleep, and so on. Some supplements and herbs can help support mood by decreasing anxiety, calming the mind, and improving low moods. A licensed naturopathic doctor would be able to recommend supplements that won’t interact with her current medications to support her mental health further.
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I would suggest you have a conversation with a friend/family member about the things you've noticed about them lately that makes you wonder if they are feeling anxious and/or depressed. Then I would strongly encourage them to talk to their family doctor/naturopathic doctor or a mental health professional who will assess their symptoms and severity level and then suggest treatment options. While the holidays can be a very happy time of year for many of us, it is also a time that many individuals are prone to feeling anxious & or depressed for various reasons.
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