Resilience, and Less Anxiety

• Getting involved in cultural or mental activities for life satisfaction: visiting museums, going to concerts, or plays and or playing an instrument, creating art through painting or other mediums lowered mental health problems like anxiety. Finding enjoyment in activities and work improves life satisfaction and even longevity.

• Make adequate time for sleep: Keeping a regular sleep schedule ensures circadian rhythms are optimal which influences mood regulation and improves well-being. Matthew Walker, a sleep scientist, shares in his book,

Why We Sleep, a sleep-deprived individual is 60% less able to handle stress with an appropriate response.

Biological strategies to reduce heart rate and help lower anxiety:

• Diaphragmatic (Belly) Breathing: Fear and anxiety increase heart rate while diaphragmatic breathing forces the heart to slow down. The diaphragm is a large muscle that sits below the lungs and controls breathing. Consciously using the diaphragm to breathe deeply and slowly about 4 breaths a minute brings maximum oxygen into the lungs and stretches the diaphragm triggering the relaxation response. Research by Xiao Ma, et.al. on The Effect of Diaphragmatic Breathing on Attention, Negative Affect, and Stress in Healthy Adults, found belly breathing significantly lowered cortisol and negative affect levels.

• Physiological sigh: Jan-Marino Ramirez explains in her research paper, The Integrative Role of the Sigh in Psychology, Physiology, Pathology, and Neurobiology, breathing is highly influenced by positive emotions; pleasure, love, and relief, and negative emotional states; panic, anxiety, and pain. Increased sigh frequency is characteristic of panic and anxiety. The sigh causes both a maximum inhale and exhale to restore lung function, an automatic response to restore proper breathing for life. Intentionally sighing during stressful times helps slow the heart rate and bring breathing to a healthier function. Andrew Huberman, a neurobiologist, demonstrates how to conduct a physiological sigh on his YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=kSZKIupBUuc

Mindfulness Practices for Increasing Confidence and Resilience

Trusting the body is designed to act during stress that threatens one’s well-being. The automatic physiological responses, such as increased attention, heart rate, breathing, and blood flow to the extremities prepare the body for an appropriate response. Sometimes during an extremely stressful event, the mind is not capable of determining the best response. Making healthy lifestyle choices, and intentionally using biological strategies to calm the body, enable the brain to respond optimally. Practices shown to help with mental processing include talking it over with a trustworthy friend, coach, or therapist, developing a spiritual practice, doing a brain dump by journaling emotions and thoughts, and asking yourself good questions like, “What do I want, and what is one step in that direction” can bring positive responses that build confidence and resilience for the next inevitable stressful situation.

Please seek professional help if struggling with excessive anxiety and other negative thoughts. Reaching out for help is always a great response and builds resilience.

Sandie Lynch is a registered dietician, fitness trainer, wellness and lifestyle medicine professional coach, and owner of ATP Wellbeing Consultants LLC. Attain Top Performance (ATP) in Life with health, fitness and spiritual connection. Contact her for a free 60-minute consultation session for three powerful steps toward greater sleep and health at Sandie@ ATPHealthandFitness.com or 240-439-9927.