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Automatic negative thoughts
by Daniel G. Amen, MD
I have a terrible ant infestation in my house, and there’s a terrible ANT infestation in our country that’s driving anxiety, depression, trauma, and grief. ANTs are the automatic negative thoughts that ruin your day, steal your happiness, and prolong grief. These days, ANTs are everywhere. Do any of these thoughts sound familiar?
“Nothing will ever be the same.”
“Everyone’s going to get COVID and die.”
“The economy is ruined. It’ll take years or decades to recover.”
“I’ll never get another job.”
“I lost my business. I’m a loser. I’m nothing.”
“My best friend died of COVID. I’ll never get over it.”
“The life I knew is over. I’ll never get used to this new normal.”
“There’s so much uncertainty, I can’t handle it.”
During the pandemic, mental hygiene is just as important as hand washing. It’s time to disinfect your thoughts and kill the ANTs to overcome anxiety, depression, trauma, and grief.
WHAT ARE ANTs?
I coined the term ANTs in the early 1990s after a hard day at the office, where I had seen 4 suicidal patients, 2 teens who had run away from home, and 2 couples who hated each other. That evening, when I arrived home and walked into the kitchen, I was greeted by an ant infestation. There were thousands of the pesky invaders, marching in lines on the floor, crawling in the sink, on the countertops, and in the cabinets.
As I wetted paper towels and began wiping up the hoard of ants, the acronym ANT came to me—Automatic Negative Thoughts. As I thought about my patients that day, I realized that just like my kitchen, they were also infested with ANTs that were robbing them of their joy and keeping them stuck in hurts from the past.
WHY ARE ANTs SO HARMFUL?
Negative thoughts cause your brain to immediately release chemicals that affect every cell in your body, making you feel bad. The opposite is also true—positive, happy, hopeful thoughts release chemicals that make you feel good. Your thought patterns can also have long-term effects. Repetitive negative thinking may promote the buildup of the harmful deposits seen in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease and may increase the risk of dementia, according to a 2020 brain imaging study in Alzheimer’s & Dementia.
WHY YOU NEED TO ELIMINATE THE ANTs
Just because you have a thought has nothing to do with whether it is true. Thoughts lie. They lie a lot, and it is your uninvestigated or unquestioned thoughts that steal your happiness. If you do not question or correct your erroneous thoughts, you believe them, and you act as if they are 100% true. Allowing yourself to believe every thought you have is the prescription for anxiety disorders, depression, relationship problems, and prolonged grief.
You can learn to eliminate the automatic negative thoughts and replace them with more helpful thoughts that give you a more accurate, fair assessment of any situation. This skill alone can completely change your life if you embrace and practice it.
Note: I am not a fan of positive thinking. It kills way too many people. I advocate accurate, honest thinking. Some anxiety is absolutely critical to good health and success. Pie-in-the-sky thinking and low levels of anxiety are associated with underestimating risks, a lackadaisical attitude toward your health, and making bad decisions.
My ANT killing process is based on the work of two mentors: psychiatrist Aaron Beck, who pioneered a school of psychotherapy called cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), which is an effective treatment for anxiety disorders, depression, relationship problems, and even obesity; and Byron Katie, a teacher, and author.
HOW TO KILL THE ANTs
Here are the simple steps to eliminate the ANTs. Whenever you feel sad, mad, nervous, or out of control, do the following:
- Write down your automatic negative thoughts (ANTs). The act of writing down the ANTs helps to get the invaders out of your head.
- Identify the ANT species. There are 9 types of ANTs. ANT Types
- All-or-Nothing ANTs: Thinking that things are either all good or all bad
- Less-Than ANTs: Comparing and seeing yourself as less than others
- Just-the-Bad ANTs: Seeing only the bad in a situation
- Guilt-Beating ANTs: Thinking in words like should, must, ought, or have to
- Labeling ANTs: Attaching a negative label to yourself or someone else
- Fortune-Telling ANTs: Predicting the worst possible outcome for a situation with little or no evidence for it
- Mind-Reading ANTs: Believing you know what other people are thinking even though they haven’t told you
- If-Only and I’ll-Be-Happy-When ANTs: Arguing with the past and longing for the future
- Blaming ANTs: Blaming someone else for your problems
- Ask yourself if the thought is true. Are you 100% sure it’s true?
- Ask yourself how you feel when you have the thought. The ask how you would feel without the thought.
- Make ANT-killing a daily habit. Killing the ANTs takes practice. You can’t just do it once and think you’ve mastered your thinking patterns. When you make it a daily practice, you will feel freer, less anxious and depressed, and less trapped in past hurts or losses.
Anxiety, depression, trauma, and grief can’t wait. During these uncertain times, your mental well-being is more important than ever, and waiting until life gets back to “normal” is likely to make your symptoms worsen over time.
COVID in the brain
Two months after beating COVID-19, a 60-year-old woman was experiencing extreme fatigue and depression so severe she was contemplating suicide. In an article for the BBC, the patient’s doctor said the woman experienced ongoing confusion among other bothersome symptoms. The woman told her doctor, “COVID has killed me.” It hadn’t physically taken her life, but it had stolen her mind and left her with no will to live.
While most people are worried about the threat of respiratory failure from the novel coronavirus, there is another invisible risk that could have more lasting consequences for survivors.
At Amen Clinics, we call it COVID-Brain.
COVID-19 IN THE BRAIN
According to a 2020 study in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 36.4% of COVID-19 patients develop neurological symptoms. Another 2020 study appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine that looked at 64 consecutive COVID-19 patients in France found that 84% of them exhibited neurological symptoms.
Amen Clinics defines COVID-Brain as the cognitive and psychiatric problems the virus causes that attack the brain and steal the mind.
Among the symptoms seen in patients with COVID-19 are confusion, headaches, loss of smell and taste, tingling sensations, strokes, aphasia, and seizures. But these acute symptoms aren’t the only ones associated with the illness.
In the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, a 2020 study reveals that long-term consequences of COVID-19 may include:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Memory loss
- Poor attention
- Insomnia
- Psychosis
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Mild cognitive impairment
- Accelerated brain aging
Other findings point to subsequent learning problems in both children and adults. The findings are so disturbing some experts are warning that a second pandemic of neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric problems is on the horizon.
HOW DOES COVID-19 ATTACK THE BRAIN?
In order to better understand the aftereffects of the illness, scientists are using brain imaging to look for abnormalities. Emerging research suggests COVID-19 can cross the blood-brain barrier, a lining that typically protects the brain from viruses and other foreign invaders. Once inside the brain, it can cause damage in a variety of ways.
For example, a 2020 paper in Acta Physiologica, has found that attention problems and memory deficits following infection with the virus are linked to damage in the hippocampus and cortical regions. The hippocampus is involved in mood, memory, and learning.
Brain imaging tests performed on 11 of the patients in the New England Journal of Medicine study mentioned above revealed low blood flow to in the frontotemporal lobes in all of them. On brain SPECT imaging, hypoperfusion in the frontal lobes has been associated with inattention, distractibility, impulsivity, and forgetfulness.
Other scientific findings suggest the virus may disrupt the production of neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and serotonin. These neurochemicals play an important role in mood control, motivation, and attention span.
The Alzheimer’s Association is partnering with scientists worldwide on a study to better understand the long-term consequences of COVID-19 on the brain and cognitive function. It remains to be seen if COVID-19 may cause neurobiological changes typically associated with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
THE CHRONIC EFFECTS OF COVID-BRAIN
As devastating as the pandemic has been so far, it could leave a lasting legacy of brain dysfunction. With over 5 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. and many more to come, this could mean millions of Americans will be left with brain issues that can impair every aspect of their lives. Considering the brain is the organ of thinking, feeling, and loving, it could impact the ability to learn in school, to achieve success at work, and to maintain healthy relationships.
How can you counteract this impending tsunami of brain-related problems?
The authors of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease study on the neurobiology of COVID-19 mentioned earlier suggest it would be helpful for survivors who are experiencing lingering cognitive issues, brain fog, or poor attention to undergo neurocognitive testing.
“Patients with low scores in certain cognitive domains can consider receiving brain rehabilitation in order to return to their baseline level of cognitive capacity. By doing so, they would reduce their risk for developing a worse case of age-related cognitive decline later in life,” they write.
Similarly, anyone who has had the illness should be aware of any new or worsened symptoms of depression, anxiety, OCD, or PTSD and be screened. Considering that COVID-19 attacks the brain, it is critical to look at the brain as part of the screening process. SPECT, a functional brain imaging technology that measures blood flow and activity in the brain, can detect abnormal brain patterns associated with psychiatric conditions and cognitive dysfunction.
Adopting a brain-centered treatment plan that helps heal any underlying brain disorder will become more important than ever.
When COVID-Brain strikes, getting a personalized treatment plan and ongoing support from the world’s leader in brain health is the key to getting your life back and feeling like yourself again.
At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. Amen Clinics has built the world’s largest database of functional brain scans—over 160,000 scans and growing—related to behavior. Our comprehensive evaluations include brain SPECT imaging, neuropsychological testing, lab testing (when necessary), and an in-depth look at the biological, psychological, social, and spiritual factors that may be contributing to your symptoms. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples.
Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 866-982-1353. If all our specialists are busy helping others, you can also schedule a time to talk.
COVID in the brain
Two months after beating COVID-19, a 60-year-old woman was experiencing extreme fatigue and depression so severe she was contemplating suicide. In an article for the BBC, the patient’s doctor said the woman experienced ongoing confusion among other bothersome symptoms. The woman told her doctor, “COVID has killed me.” It hadn’t physically taken her life, but it had stolen her mind and left her with no will to live.
While most people are worried about the threat of respiratory failure from the novel coronavirus, there is another invisible risk that could have more lasting consequences for survivors.
At Amen Clinics, we call it COVID-Brain.
COVID-19 IN THE BRAIN
According to a 2020 study in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 36.4% of COVID-19 patients develop neurological symptoms. Another 2020 study appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine that looked at 64 consecutive COVID-19 patients in France found that 84% of them exhibited neurological symptoms.
Amen Clinics defines COVID-Brain as the cognitive and psychiatric problems the virus causes that attack the brain and steal the mind.
Among the symptoms seen in patients with COVID-19 are confusion, headaches, loss of smell and taste, tingling sensations, strokes, aphasia, and seizures. But these acute symptoms aren’t the only ones associated with the illness.
In the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, a 2020 study reveals that long-term consequences of COVID-19 may include:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Memory loss
- Poor attention
- Insomnia
- Psychosis
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Mild cognitive impairment
- Accelerated brain aging
Other findings point to subsequent learning problems in both children and adults. The findings are so disturbing some experts are warning that a second pandemic of neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric problems is on the horizon.
HOW DOES COVID-19 ATTACK THE BRAIN?
In order to better understand the aftereffects of the illness, scientists are using brain imaging to look for abnormalities. Emerging research suggests COVID-19 can cross the blood-brain barrier, a lining that typically protects the brain from viruses and other foreign invaders. Once inside the brain, it can cause damage in a variety of ways.
For example, a 2020 paper in Acta Physiologica, has found that attention problems and memory deficits following infection with the virus are linked to damage in the hippocampus and cortical regions. The hippocampus is involved in mood, memory, and learning.
Brain imaging tests performed on 11 of the patients in the New England Journal of Medicine study mentioned above revealed low blood flow to in the frontotemporal lobes in all of them. On brain SPECT imaging, hypoperfusion in the frontal lobes has been associated with inattention, distractibility, impulsivity, and forgetfulness.
Other scientific findings suggest the virus may disrupt the production of neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and serotonin. These neurochemicals play an important role in mood control, motivation, and attention span.
The Alzheimer’s Association is partnering with scientists worldwide on a study to better understand the long-term consequences of COVID-19 on the brain and cognitive function. It remains to be seen if COVID-19 may cause neurobiological changes typically associated with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
THE CHRONIC EFFECTS OF COVID-BRAIN
As devastating as the pandemic has been so far, it could leave a lasting legacy of brain dysfunction. With over 5 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. and many more to come, this could mean millions of Americans will be left with brain issues that can impair every aspect of their lives. Considering the brain is the organ of thinking, feeling, and loving, it could impact the ability to learn in school, to achieve success at work, and to maintain healthy relationships.
How can you counteract this impending tsunami of brain-related problems?
The authors of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease study on the neurobiology of COVID-19 mentioned earlier suggest it would be helpful for survivors who are experiencing lingering cognitive issues, brain fog, or poor attention to undergo neurocognitive testing.
“Patients with low scores in certain cognitive domains can consider receiving brain rehabilitation in order to return to their baseline level of cognitive capacity. By doing so, they would reduce their risk for developing a worse case of age-related cognitive decline later in life,” they write.
Similarly, anyone who has had the illness should be aware of any new or worsened symptoms of depression, anxiety, OCD, or PTSD and be screened. Considering that COVID-19 attacks the brain, it is critical to look at the brain as part of the screening process. SPECT, a functional brain imaging technology that measures blood flow and activity in the brain, can detect abnormal brain patterns associated with psychiatric conditions and cognitive dysfunction.
Adopting a brain-centered treatment plan that helps heal any underlying brain disorder will become more important than ever.
When COVID-Brain strikes, getting a personalized treatment plan and ongoing support from the world’s leader in brain health is the key to getting your life back and feeling like yourself again.
At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. Amen Clinics has built the world’s largest database of functional brain scans—over 160,000 scans and growing—related to behavior. Our comprehensive evaluations include brain SPECT imaging, neuropsychological testing, lab testing (when necessary), and an in-depth look at the biological, psychological, social, and spiritual factors that may be contributing to your symptoms. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples.
Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 866-982-1353. If all our specialists are busy helping others, you can also schedule a time to talk.
COVID in the brain
Two months after beating COVID-19, a 60-year-old woman was experiencing extreme fatigue and depression so severe she was contemplating suicide. In an article for the BBC, the patient’s doctor said the woman experienced ongoing confusion among other bothersome symptoms. The woman told her doctor, “COVID has killed me.” It hadn’t physically taken her life, but it had stolen her mind and left her with no will to live.
While most people are worried about the threat of respiratory failure from the novel coronavirus, there is another invisible risk that could have more lasting consequences for survivors.
At Amen Clinics, we call it COVID-Brain.
COVID-19 IN THE BRAIN
According to a 2020 study in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 36.4% of COVID-19 patients develop neurological symptoms. Another 2020 study appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine that looked at 64 consecutive COVID-19 patients in France found that 84% of them exhibited neurological symptoms.
Amen Clinics defines COVID-Brain as the cognitive and psychiatric problems the virus causes that attack the brain and steal the mind.
Among the symptoms seen in patients with COVID-19 are confusion, headaches, loss of smell and taste, tingling sensations, strokes, aphasia, and seizures. But these acute symptoms aren’t the only ones associated with the illness.
In the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, a 2020 study reveals that long-term consequences of COVID-19 may include:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Memory loss
- Poor attention
- Insomnia
- Psychosis
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Mild cognitive impairment
- Accelerated brain aging
Other findings point to subsequent learning problems in both children and adults. The findings are so disturbing some experts are warning that a second pandemic of neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric problems is on the horizon.
HOW DOES COVID-19 ATTACK THE BRAIN?
In order to better understand the aftereffects of the illness, scientists are using brain imaging to look for abnormalities. Emerging research suggests COVID-19 can cross the blood-brain barrier, a lining that typically protects the brain from viruses and other foreign invaders. Once inside the brain, it can cause damage in a variety of ways.
For example, a 2020 paper in Acta Physiologica, has found that attention problems and memory deficits following infection with the virus are linked to damage in the hippocampus and cortical regions. The hippocampus is involved in mood, memory, and learning.
Brain imaging tests performed on 11 of the patients in the New England Journal of Medicine study mentioned above revealed low blood flow to in the frontotemporal lobes in all of them. On brain SPECT imaging, hypoperfusion in the frontal lobes has been associated with inattention, distractibility, impulsivity, and forgetfulness.
Other scientific findings suggest the virus may disrupt the production of neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and serotonin. These neurochemicals play an important role in mood control, motivation, and attention span.
The Alzheimer’s Association is partnering with scientists worldwide on a study to better understand the long-term consequences of COVID-19 on the brain and cognitive function. It remains to be seen if COVID-19 may cause neurobiological changes typically associated with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
THE CHRONIC EFFECTS OF COVID-BRAIN
As devastating as the pandemic has been so far, it could leave a lasting legacy of brain dysfunction. With over 5 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. and many more to come, this could mean millions of Americans will be left with brain issues that can impair every aspect of their lives. Considering the brain is the organ of thinking, feeling, and loving, it could impact the ability to learn in school, to achieve success at work, and to maintain healthy relationships.
How can you counteract this impending tsunami of brain-related problems?
The authors of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease study on the neurobiology of COVID-19 mentioned earlier suggest it would be helpful for survivors who are experiencing lingering cognitive issues, brain fog, or poor attention to undergo neurocognitive testing.
“Patients with low scores in certain cognitive domains can consider receiving brain rehabilitation in order to return to their baseline level of cognitive capacity. By doing so, they would reduce their risk for developing a worse case of age-related cognitive decline later in life,” they write.
Similarly, anyone who has had the illness should be aware of any new or worsened symptoms of depression, anxiety, OCD, or PTSD and be screened. Considering that COVID-19 attacks the brain, it is critical to look at the brain as part of the screening process. SPECT, a functional brain imaging technology that measures blood flow and activity in the brain, can detect abnormal brain patterns associated with psychiatric conditions and cognitive dysfunction.
Adopting a brain-centered treatment plan that helps heal any underlying brain disorder will become more important than ever.
When COVID-Brain strikes, getting a personalized treatment plan and ongoing support from the world’s leader in brain health is the key to getting your life back and feeling like yourself again.
At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. Amen Clinics has built the world’s largest database of functional brain scans—over 160,000 scans and growing—related to behavior. Our comprehensive evaluations include brain SPECT imaging, neuropsychological testing, lab testing (when necessary), and an in-depth look at the biological, psychological, social, and spiritual factors that may be contributing to your symptoms. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples.
Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 866-982-1353. If all our specialists are busy helping others, you can also schedule a time to talk.
anxiety
There’s only so much you can take—a global pandemic, an economic shutdown, sheltering at home, social injustice, societal unrest—it’s enough to make your anxiety go through the roof. But how can you tell if it’s just heightened stress or if your anxiety is a real problem?
Here are 7 signs that your anxiety is out of control and 7 strategies to soothe it.
1. Your sleep is disrupted.
Having trouble falling asleep or tossing and turning throughout the night is a common red flag of anxiety disorders. And it’s a 2-way street. Anxiety can lead to sleep issues, and a lack of adequate rest can ramp up nervousness and stress. In addition, when you sleep for 7 hours, it turns on 700 beneficial genes, but without 7 solid hours of shuteye, you lose out on this important process.
Soothing Strategy: Make sleep a priority. Create a calming nighttime routine and consider natural supplements that promote relaxation, such as magnesium, melatonin, GABA, 5-HTP, l-theanine, and vitamin B6.
2. You have trouble catching your breath.
If you feel like you can’t take a deep breath, you may be worried it’s a sign of COVID-19 or a garden-variety cold or flu. But feeling like you can’t catch your breath is a common indicator of anxiety. The tree branches in the lungs are wrapped with smooth muscle, and when you’re anxious, those muscles clamp down.
Soothing Strategy: Learning diaphragmatic breathing can help loosen those muscles in the lungs so you can breathe freely again. Here’s a very simple yet powerful breathing technique. Breathe in for 3 seconds, hold it for 1 second, breathe out for 6 seconds, hold it for 1 second. Do this 10 times, and you’ll start to feel more relaxed almost immediately.
3. You have an ANT infestation.
ANTs are the automatic negative thoughts that infest your brain and ruin your day. If you’ve got an army of ANTs swirling in your head, they can drive anxiety.
Soothing Strategy: Be careful what you listen to. Don’t subject yourself to hours of TV news, which is constantly spewing out frightening stats and ghastly projections. And understand that you don’t have to believe every stupid thought in your head. You can challenge your thoughts. Whenever you feel sad, mad, nervous, or out of control, ask yourself if what you’re thinking is true. During these difficult times, mental hygiene is just as important as washing your hands. You need to disinfect your thoughts, so they won’t steal your mind or ramp up your anxiety.
4. You’re trying to calm your stress with sugar.
During the pandemic, a lot of people have put on the “Quarantine 15.” If you’re stress eating with cookies, cakes, and candy or other foods that quickly turn to sugar—think pasta, bread, potatoes, and rice—it’s a sign of anxiety. Be aware that sugar may provide short-term relief, but it adds to anxious feelings in the long-term. And packing on the pounds doesn’t help either. Research on 35,000 brain scans shows that as your weight goes up, the physical size and function of your brain goes down.
Soothing Strategy: If you’re struggling with sugar cravings, try intermittent fasting, which has many brain benefits and can diminish cravings. Wait 14 to 16 hours after eating dinner before having breakfast. For example, if you finish dinner at 7 p.m., don’t have breakfast until 9 a.m. or 11 a.m.
5. You’ve stopped caring about taking care of yourself.
If you’ve lost the will to work out or go for a walk even though you know you’ll feel better afterward, it can be a red flag that anxiety has taken control. You may feel so worn out by the chronic bombardment of stress that you don’t want to do anything.
Soothing Strategy: Do something! Even if you just take a 5-minute walk outside or you change up your routine in some small way, it can help get you out of a funk and reset your frame of mind. To get inspired, combine physical activity with things you love, such as listening to an audiobook or a podcast while you go for a walk.
6. You’re more irritable.
If you’re uncharacteristically snapping at your family, your neighbors, or the grocery store checker, it could be due to relentless anxiety. In a 2017 study in The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, over 90% of people with generalized anxiety disorder said they felt very irritable during periods of especially high anxiety.
Soothing Strategy: Before you snap at someone, ask yourself this question: Does it fit? Will saying something nasty to your spouse, coworker, or friend help you get you what you want in life? To help you get irritability under control, figure out what you want out of life, and write it down. Then every time you’re about to snap, take a moment and ask, “Does it fit?” If your behavior isn’t going to help you get what you want in terms of the big picture, don’t do it.
7. You’re experiencing repetitive negative thoughts (RNTs).
If you’re ruminating on negative thoughts—repeatedly worrying about the future or fretting about something that happened in the past—it’s time to get serious about your anxiety. RNTs are really nasty thoughts. They’re like ANTs that link to other ANTs, then stack together and attack your mind. A 2020 study in Alzheimer’s & Dementia shows that RNTs are associated with an increased risk of dementia, so it’s critical to change your thinking patterns.
Soothing Strategy: If you’re mired in repetitive negative thinking during these uncertain times, try a little TLC. Researchers have found in extremely stressful situations, people who struggle tend to think that things are permanent (this will never change!), global (it’s everywhere!), and out of control (I’m powerless to do anything!). People who are able to thrive in challenging times think differently, telling themselves that the situation is Temporary (this will pass), Local (it isn’t happening everywhere), and Control (I have control over my own behavior). Try the TLC approach to help calm anxiety.
Anxiety, panic attacks, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and other mental health issues can’t wait. During these uncertain times, your mental well-being is more important than ever and waiting until life gets back to “normal” is likely to make your symptoms worsen over time.
anxiety tips
NOTE: There are so many calming techniques. These are just a few. I work with at 15 clinically proven ways to calm yourself when having anxiety.
When anxiety, fear, or panic attacks arise, it can feel like you’ve been swept up in an emotional riptide. But you don’t have to let daily stressors hijack your emotions. With a very simple strategy—so easy even children can do it—you can calm yourself and wash away anxiousness. What is this soothing technique? It’s called havening, and you can do it anywhere, anytime.“Havening is a technique that uses touch to create delta waves in the brain,” explains Sandlin Lowe, M.D., a neuropsychiatrist and former neurosurgeon who specializes in integrative psychiatry to enhance brain health at Amen Clinics. Certain surfaces of our skin—such as the palms of our hands—have special nerve endings called Pacinian corpuscles, and if you put pressure on them, they generate delta waves. These calming brainwaves, which typically occur during sleep, can help soothe anxious feelings.
HOW DO DELTA WAVES CALM ANXIETY?
Havening, which was developed by Ronald Ruden, M.D., an internist with a Ph.D. in organic chemistry, generates delta waves that have a positive effect on regions of the brain that are involved in creating emotionally charged memories and trauma. One of these brain regions is the amygdala, which plays a major role in recording the emotions of our experiences. When it comes to traumatic experiences, the amygdala encodes emotions in a different way, and they become what neuroscientists call “potentiated.” This means they get hard-wired into your brain where they stick like super glue.“That’s why you can close your eyes and within moments feel like you’re back in a traumatic moment,” says Dr. Lowe, who sees patients for havening appointments at Amen Clinics (via Zoom or in-person at the Amen Clinics New York location). “It’s Mother Nature reminding us not to do that again.”Emotional trauma is usually related to an experience or event that is either unpredictable and/or inescapable. With the coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Lowe says, “You could argue that we’re all being emotionally traumatized each and every day from what’s going on.”
3 TYPES OF HAVENING TOUCH
Dr. Lowe, who uses this unique therapy with many of his patients, says the most common havening touch techniques include the following:
- Rub the palms of your hands together. Rub your hands together slowly as if you’re washing your hands.
- Give yourself a hug. Place the palms of your hands on your opposite shoulders and rub them down your arms to your elbows.
- “Wash” your face. Place your fingertips up high on your forehead just within your hairline and then let your fingers fall down your face to your chin. Note: This technique is not recommended during the coronavirus pandemic when health officials say it is not advisable to touch your face.
3 COMMON FORMS OF HAVENING
There are many forms of havening, but 3 of the most common are called transpirational, affirmational, and event havening.
Transpirational Havening
If you feel anxiety from the day’s events, distressing news, or a desperate situation, transpirational havening can help. While you use one of the 3 touch techniques described above, talk about what you’re feeling. For example, as you stroke your arms in a downward motion, you may say something like, “I’m feeling so worried about our finances, and I’m feeling helpless.” As the touch produces delta brainwaves, the special nerve endings send signals to the amygdala that make it feel safe and secure. This helps take away the anxiety-producing effects of the words you are saying.During the pandemic, this can be very effective for frontline healthcare workers who have gone through a difficult experience with COVID-19 patients and are having trouble coping. After a particularly stressful or sad shift, a frontline worker might do self-havening and talk about what they’re feeling. “There were so many sick people on my shift, and I’m so scared of getting the virus and infecting my family. I didn’t’ sign up for this and it isn’t fair.” While talking about these feelings, the emotions are being neutralized by the delta waves to help restore calm.
Affirmational Havening
Saying positive affirmations while practicing one of the havening touch techniques can be very powerful. This is due to the fact that havening mimics the sleep stage when your brain incorporates the memories of the day. Because of this, saying affirmations while havening puts those positive thoughts into the brain’s memory centers—the hippocampus involved in declarative memory and in the dorsolateral striatum and ventral striatum involved in operational and procedural memory.“This is like taking the power of positive thinking and exponentially supercharging it,” says Dr. Lowe. “Not only are you loading up your brain with wonderful, powerful affirmations, but you’re also putting them into procedural/operational memory. so you can operationalize these powerful positive aspirational thoughts.”This can be very effective at resetting your anxiety levels. For example, during the day if you get anxious or frightened, think “safe, peaceful, calm” while you rub your hands or arms. This will help defuse your brain’s fear centers and promote soothing.
Event Havening
This form of havening is often used for people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It has been found to help eliminate the intrusive thoughts, nightmares, and flashbacks associated with PTSD. Note that this form of havening is best done with a trained therapistMore from Dr. Sandlin Lowe on Havening:What is Havening, and How Can it Help with Anxiety? with Dr. Sandlin Lowe and Donna LalwaniAnxiety, depression, PTSD, and other mental health issues can’t wait. During these uncertain times, your mental well-being is more important than ever and waiting until life gets back to “normal” is likely to make your symptoms worsen over time.
Depression
If you’re feeling depressed, you may go to a psychologist, psychiatrist, or your primary care physician (who prescribe 85% of psychiatric medications), who will ask you to describe your symptoms. In most cases, your doctor will listen, do a brief examination, then look for symptom clusters. Based on this, they’ll give you a diagnosis and treatment plan, usually involving one or more psychiatric medications.
For example, you may say, “I’m depressed.” Your doctor will then label you with a diagnosis that has the same name as your symptoms—depression, in this example—without taking any biological information into consideration. And you’re likely to walk out with a prescription for antidepressant medication.
Unfortunately, antidepressants are often ineffective. Approximately one-third of people with depression don’t respond fully to treatment with antidepressants, according to a 2015 study in Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience.
What’s the problem?
Symptoms don’t reveal anything about the underlying biology of the problems people have. All other medical professionals look directly at the organs they treat, but psychiatrists are taught to assume what the underlying biological mechanisms are for illnesses, such as depression, without ever looking at the brain. Because of this, the root causes of depression are often missed.
Here are 8 facts about depression that traditional medical professionals may miss.
1. Depression isn’t just 1 thing.
Brain SPECT imaging studies show that depression isn’t a simple or single disorder. In fact, there are 7 types of depression and anxiety. Giving everyone the same treatment will never work. You need to know your depression type.
What you need to know: Getting a brain scan can help determine which type of depression you have so you can get the most effective treatment.
2. Head trauma can cause mood disorders.
Mild traumatic brain injury is a major cause of psychiatric problems, but very few people know it. Head injuries, even minor ones, increase the risk of depression, according to research in Frontiers in Psychiatry. At Amen Clinics, 40% of patients had a significant brain injury prior to seeking help. Most of them didn’t connect the injury to their psychiatric issues, and many didn’t even remember hurting their head.
What you need to know: A brain scan can reveal damage from a past head injury that may be contributing to feelings of depression.
3. Chronic inflammation is linked to depression.
Just as inflammation can ravage your body, it can also damage your brain and mind. It has been associated with a wide range of neurological and psychiatric illnesses, including depression. If you’ve been treated for major depressive disorder without success, it may be time to look at inflammation as a possible root cause.
What you need to know: Have your doctor check your inflammation levels with tests for C-reactive protein, homocysteine, and the omega-3 index. Avoid eating pro-inflammatory foods (such as corn and soy). A 2015 study in Brain and Behavior has found that some anti-inflammatory medications (such as aspirin and ibuprofen) and nutraceuticals (such as omega-3 fatty acids and curcumin) have been found to decrease depression in people who have evidence of persistent inflammation.
4. Depression may be a symptom of underlying infections.
Infectious illnesses including Lyme disease, streptococcus (strep throat), toxoplasmosis, syphilis, helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), HIV/AIDS, herpes, and others are a major cause of psychiatric problems like depression that few medical professionals recognize.
What you need to know: If you or a loved one’s depression is not getting better with standard treatment, consider testing for (and treating) infectious diseases that commonly affect the mind.
5. Neurohormonal imbalances can produce symptoms of depression.
In particular, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, brain fog, moodiness, and lack of motivation are common symptoms when neurohormones—such as thyroid, estrogen, progesterone, or testosterone—levels are abnormal.
What you need to know: Have your doctor check your hormone levels and balance them if necessary.
6. Diabesity is tied to depression.
Diabesity is having high blood sugar and/or being overweight or obese. Obesity is associated with a greater risk of depression. According to 2016 research in Current Diabetes Reviews, depression and anxiety are 2-3 times higher in patients with Type 2 diabetes than the general population.
What you need to know: Eat brain healthy foods to help balance blood sugar and to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
7. Depression may be related to sleep problems.
In general, a single night of staring at the ceiling can make you wake up feeling sad, irritable, or moody. Over time, sleep problems can lead to a higher risk of depression. Research in Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience shows that about 75% of people with depression also have insomnia. In addition, having untreated sleep apnea nearly triples your risk of depression, according to a 2016 study in American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
What you need to know: Create a healthy sleep routine and if you snore, get checked for sleep apnea and treat it if necessary.
8. Exposure to toxins can cause depressive symptoms.
Your brain is the most metabolically active organ in your body. As such, it is vulnerable to damage from toxins, such as toxic mold, smoke, conventional cleaning products, carbon monoxide, pesticides, and more. Toxins are one of the major causes of psychiatric issues, such as depression, that traditional psychiatrists almost completely ignore.
What you need to know: Avoid exposure to environmental toxins and get tested for levels of mold toxins, especially if your home has ever been flooded or had water damage.
Depression—as well as anxiety, ADD/ADHD, and other mental health—issues can’t wait. During these uncertain times, your mental well-being is more important than ever and waiting until life gets back to “normal” is likely to make your symptoms worsen over time.
At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 866-982-1353. If all our specialists are busy helping others, you can also schedule a time to talk.
PTSD
What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
Many people are exposed to trauma during their lives, whether they experience it themselves, witness it in person, or are repeatedly exposed to it in the media. It is common for people who live through emotional trauma to experience a wide range of distressing feelings in the days and weeks that follow. In most people, these feelings naturally subside over time. In others, however, they persist and develop into symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a potentially debilitating condition that can steal your life. This condition can occur in anyone who has experienced trauma, but it is common in military veterans and in first responders who are routinely on the front lines responding to emergencies and crisis situations. The multiple traumas and stress they experience are expected as a part of their job, but it comes at a high cost. Repeated exposure to trauma and critical incidence stress have been shown to significantly impact mental health and can be devastating to both their personal and professional lives. PTSD (which is sometimes referred to as “critical incidence stress” or simply “emotional trauma”) is usually considered a psychological issue, but even though PTSD can impact your psychological wellbeing, it is not a mental disorder. It’s important to understand that struggling with symptoms of PTSD is not a character flaw or a sign of personal weakness. However, if it is left untreated, PTSD can cause a wide array of issues and can even lead to suicide.
Who is Affected by PTSD?
Approximately 3.5% of U.S. adults suffer from PTSD, and an estimated 1 in 11 will be diagnosed with the condition at some point during their lifetime. Although most people think the condition primarily affects military veterans, it can strike anyone—any nationality, any occupation, any ethnicity—at any age, including children.
PTSD can affect men and women, however, females are 2-3 times more likely to experience the condition than males. In addition, women tend to suffer trauma at a younger age when it has a greater impact on brain development.
Common PTSD Symptoms
Following a traumatic event people are likely to experience an array of uncomfortable reactions. Our brains are wired to alarm us about the presence and threat of danger, so having a biological and psychological response to trauma is normal. These symptoms usually diminish as time passes. However, when symptoms persist, it is a sign of PTSD. In general, any frightening, dangerous, or life-threatening event can trigger PTSD symptoms. These can include intense recollections (such as flashbacks and nightmares), avoidance of people or things that are reminders of the event, and self-destructive behavior. See below for a more comprehensive list of the signs and symptoms of PTSD.
What Causes PTSD?
In addition to being a victim of a traumatic event, you can also develop PTSD by being exposed to violent and dangerous situations through the media or other indirect ways. Some causes of PTSD include:
- Pandemics
- Military combat
- Childhood abuse
- Rape or other physical assault
- Repeated exposure to violence
- Seeing someone get hurt or killed
- Being held at gunpoint
- Automobile accidents
- Natural disasters
- Mass shootings
- Kidnapping
It is common for PTSD to co-occur with other conditions, including:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Insomnia
- Addictions
- Anger issues
- Panic Attacks
- Bipolar Disorder
- Psychotic Disorders
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
- Cognitive issues
- Memory problems
Schizophrenia or something else?
Delusions, hallucinations, distorted thinking—these are some of the frightening symptoms of schizophrenia, a condition that affects a person’s ability to distinguish reality from fantasy. Getting diagnosed with this chronic condition generally means you’re in for a never-ending battle, a lifetime of medication, and possible hospitalizations. It also puts you at greater risk of substance abuse, homelessness, and suicidal thoughts and behavior.
But what if that diagnosis was wrong? That’s what happened to Adrianna.
From Healthy to Hallucinations in Just 10 Days
Adrianna, age 16, was a healthy honor roll student when she went with her family on vacation to Yosemite National Park. When they arrived at their cabin, they were surrounded by 6 deer. It was a beautiful moment.
Just 10 days later, Adrianna became agitated and started having auditory hallucinations, one of the hallmark symptoms of schizophrenia. Her parents sought help for their daughter, who was admitted to a psychiatric hospital and prescribed antipsychotic medications. But the pills didn’t help. The next three months were a torturous road of 25 doctors and multiple medications—all at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars. But nothing was working, and Adrianna had become a shadow of her former self.
A doctor at Stanford University told her mother, “Your daughter will be schizophrenic for the rest of her life and will need medication for as long as she lives.”
Looking for Another Path
Unwilling to accept that diagnosis and desperate for a different path forward for her daughter, her mother, Deb, learned how brain SPECT imaging could offer more information about what is happening inside the brain and how it could help diagnose and treat psychiatric patients more effectively. She was hoping it could shed some light on what was really happening to her daughter Adrianna, so she took her for a brain scan.
What Adrianna’s Brain Scan Revealed
Adrianna’s brain scan wasn’t consistent with the patterns typically seen in people with schizophrenia. Instead, it showed evidence of inflammation with areas of unusually high activity. This suggested there might be other potential causes of her symptoms, such as an infection or autoimmune system disorder.
After performing bloodwork and other lab testing, the results confirmed that Adrianna didn’t have schizophrenia. She had Lyme disease, an infection caused by deer ticks. A single tick bite during that trip to Yosemite is likely what triggered her symptoms.
Lyme disease can cause a host of symptoms that mimic those seen in a variety of mental health disorders, including hallucinations, disorganizations, memory problems, short attention span, impulsiveness, addictive behaviors, violence, and suicidal thoughts.
Treatment with antibiotics helped Adrianna get her life back. She subsequently graduated from Pepperdine University and then the Queen Mary University of London with a master’s degree in international human resource management. Now, she’s living a happy life.
Imagine if no one had ever tested her for Lyme disease. It’s quite possible she would still be living in a psychiatric hospital.
In an amazing twist of fate, Adrianna’s uncle had been committed to Napa State Hospital for 27 years for paranoid schizophrenia. It turned out he also had Lyme disease, which was only discovered after Adrianna’s mother had to fight the hospital administration to have him released so he could be tested. Treating Lyme for her brother did not get rid of his hallucinations, but on a small dose of an antipsychotic medication, he has been able to live with his family and is doing well as a free man.
The Link Between Lyme Disease and Schizophrenia
For more evidence about the connection between infectious diseases and psychiatric illness, look at the two maps below. In the top image, you’ll see the highest incidence of schizophrenia in the U.S., and in the bottom image, you’ll see the greatest risk for Lyme disease. It doesn’t take an expert cartographer to see that the maps are nearly identical.
The medical community needs to wake up to the link between chronic infections and mental health. In 2016,33 scientists from around the world wrote a joint editorial in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease suggesting the medical community was overlooking infectious diseases as a root cause of many memory problems and dementia.
In a “lifelong” psychotic illness, such as schizophrenia, it’s important to rule out infectious diseases and autoimmune disorders as causes of mental health symptoms. Your life depends on it.
At Amen Clinics, we have seen hundreds of patients, including Adrianna, with psychiatric symptoms or cognitive issues that weren’t responding to treatment who tested positive for Lyme disease. Many of them had been infected years or even decades previously, but nobody had ever thought to test them for infectious diseases. With the proper treatment, their symptoms improved significantly.
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Paramdayal Kaur
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