Saturday 23 September 2017

Practical Anxiety Management Techniques.

Practical Anxiety Management Techniques - let's talk about some of the things that you might consider trying in order to feel more in control of your anxiety. We talk about what anxiety actually is, how it works and how you can work on reducing the impact it has on your life in order to promote positive health and wellbeing.

Anxiety is something that can easily make you feel completely out of control. It might start off small, but it has a knack of worming it's way into your life and taking up far more space than it should. It also has a habit of spiralling, catastrophising and making you feel generally awful about even the smallest of things. 

We all need anxiety. It's built into our DNA. Anxiety is a safety mechanism, it tells us not to do certain things because it knows that there might be risk involved that could potentially put us in a dangerous situation, for example, walking out in front of a car. But anxiety can also get a little bit too big for it's boots. It can get good at convincing us that there's danger ahead, when really there isn't. Well, certainly not life threatening danger anyway.

So how do you take control back from your anxiety and start feeling more like you're in the driving seat again? Well it can be really tough and don't get me wrong, it's not an overnight job. Anxiety management takes work and commitment on your part. And it may be that your anxiety continues to live with you, but more in a way that serves you, rather than limits you.


First of all, let's take a minute to look at the physiology of anxiety.


When something triggers anxiety your body kicks your sympathetic nervous system (SNS) into action which sets off the fight or flight response. The sympathetic nervous system is generally an all or nothing response, so when it kicks in it really kicks in.  It sets off  the release of adrenaline and other hormones which increase blood flow to your heart and limbs and increases your heart rate, blood pressure and respiration rate. It also increases sweating, reduces saliva production and diverts blood flow away from digestion which can cause that uneasy feeling in your gut.

Because your body is a clever little bean it, of course, has a system in place to counteract the SNS's fight or flight response - the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). The PNS aims to restore order and calm. It's always there to stop the fear response, which means the feelings you experience with anxiety will not continue forever. The two systems can't function at the same time and so activating the PNS ceases the fight or flight response from the SNS. The PNS slows down your heart and respiration rate. It also redirects blood flow away from the limbs and back to your internal organs. It basically has the total opposite effect of the SNS.

The experiences happening in the body when the fight or flight response is triggered can often cause an individual experiencing this to become even more anxious and panicked by the sensations. This can then fuel a vicious cycle of fear which keeps the SNS firing and can make you feel really out of control. And so an important aspect of anxiety management is looking at how you can switch on your PNS in order to reduce your anxiety

So what can you do in an attempt to take control back from your anxiety? Here are three practical techniques to get you going.

Practical Anxiety Management Techniques - My General Life

Breathing is an automatic response, something which requires zero conscious effort. But are you breathing in the most effective way?

Many people actually breathe more shallowly into their upper chest without even realising it. The fact that you're breathing this way can actually induce anxiety, as your body can recognise the shallow breaths and likely increased respiration rate that goes with this as mild hyperventilation, something which comes as part of the fight or flight response from the SNS.

Breathing with the proper use of the diaphragm (also known as diaphragmatic or belly breathing) allows more air into the lower part of the lungs, which means that full oxygen exchange can take place. It also induces the PNS to spring into action and take the control back from the SNS. Because remember, only one of these systems can function at any given time. And so, if you can't do anything else, trying to take control of your breath by retraining yourself to use diaphragmatic breathing is one thing you have within your power to aid you in managing anxiety.

The way to start with altering the way you breathe is to practice at times when you're not in a heightened state of anxiety. Place one hand on your tummy and one hand on your chest. As you begin to inhale through your nose, focus on expanding your stomach as if it were a balloon. You should notice that your stomach moves ever so slightly before your breath actually starts, this movement is what creates the space for your lungs to begin their expansion. You shouldn't be feeling any movement in the hand that's on your chest - this breathing technique is for normal, everyday breathing and the aim isn't to consciously breathe deeply - that's more for relaxation which we'll come onto soon.

Aim to practice belly breathing regularly throughout the day. You could set yourself a goal of trying to practice it every hour, or every other hour, just for a minute or two whilst you're going about your day to day activities. Try not to stop what you're doing in order to practice, as the aim is for breathing into your abdominals to become a natural and automatic way of breathing so that you're actively encouraging the PNS to stay in control.

Practical Anxiety Management Techniques - My General Life

This is not a case of someone telling you to "just relax" because that isn't going to fly. But relaxation, when practised regularly, can be a fantastic tool to have in your anxiety management toolbox for maintaining the function of the PNS over the SNS. But the key is in the practice. Because the more you practice, as with most skills, the more effective you will be at implementing the relaxation when you really need at - at times when you're anxious.

We've already talked in detail about the breath and it's ability to set off the PNS. But the breath is also a great tool for supporting relaxation, as it's something that you will always have with you to use as a focus point. If you want to practice some deeper diaphragmatic breathing, you should notice that after your belly has risen, as you continue to take a deeper breath your chest will then rise slightly as your lungs fill up right to the top.

A relaxation technique that can aid in anxiety management is muscular relaxation. This involves tensing and releasing your muscles in order to physically encourage them to relax. You see, when the SNS is activated, your muscles become tense because they're getting prepared to either fight or run away. If your SNS is running the show for a prolonged period, this tense feeling becomes normalised so you're less likely to notice it. And so actively tensing and releasing individual muscle groups can help you physically feel more relaxed alongside reminding you what it's like not to be tense all the time. You can use this method alongside a body scan, which encourages you to pay attention to how your body is feeling and notice areas that are feeling more tense than usual and could use some physical relaxation.

You may also find that visualisation techniques can help you tap into your PNS as you can visualise being in a safe space that allows your body to recognise that that it not longer needs the SNS to be active. I have gathered up a collection of relaxation spaces over on my Pinterest which might provide some inspiration for visualising a safe haven that you can escape to as you relax.

I can't reiterate enough how important it is to practice. Why not set aside 5-10 minutes each day to dedicate to relaxation? Start at a time when you feel reasonably calm in order to make it easier to begin with and allow you to feel more confident in your technique. Try not to judge yourself if there are occasions when you find it more difficult, but be consistent and keep trying. 

You might find that having someone guide you through the process of relaxation is helpful initially. There's lots of relaxation resources available on Youtube, plus many free apps that you can download. I personally enjoy Calm and Stop, Breathe & Think, both of which have many different relaxation techniques that you can explore in order to find what works for you.

As your practice develops, you can start to try out relaxation alongside your breathing techniques at times when you're more anxious, which will allow opportunity for the relaxation to work it's magic on your PNS and provide some positive feedback and reinforcement. 
Practical Anxiety Management Techniques - My General Life

Graded exposure is a process of gradually introducing yourself to anxiety provoking situations, environments or objects in a gradual, more manageable manner that aims to reduce experiences of overwhelming anxiety.

Many people use avoidance or leaving an anxiety provoking situation as a means of managing, as when the SNS fires up it's about fight or flight, so it's natural to want to remove yourself from the perceived danger. But this doesn't help you work through the anxiety and the reasons you might be experiencing it. This means that the next time you're in that situation or environment you will experience just as much anxiety as you did the previous time.

Remember, the PNS ceases the fight or flight response. Although anxiety and the SNS in itself is a safety mechanism, the PNS is an extra safeguard to prevent the SNS from causing harm or wearing out. This means that no matter how awful you feel, your body isn't going to break as a result of the anxious response and your PNS will kick in at some point in order to protect you.

The purpose of graded exposure is to take gradual steps towards the anxiety provoking situation that allows you to experience just enough anxiety and to remain in the situation for long enough for the anxiety to subside, which it will do because your PNS will kick in. Your body cannot maintain high levels of anxiety for prolonged periods, and so in time, your anxiety level will come down on it's own.

Graded exposure is not an easy out, it requires hard work and determination because as part of the process you do have to face your anxiety head on and ride it out. But it works on breaking down the anxiety, retraining the SNS and PNS response to whatever is triggering it and making the process feel far more manageable than just chucking yourself in at the deep end.

These techniques are by no means an exhaustive list. It's important to explore what works for you and remind yourself that everyone is an individual, so what works for one person might not work for another. Most importantly, treat yourself with compassion, always.

Let's start a conversation:
If you experience anxiety, I'd be really interested to hear what your management techniques are? Why not leave a comment below, or drop me a tweet @_hellojordan?


DISCLAIMER: none of the information in this article is intended to be medical advice and is for information purposes only. It aims to encourage people to take controls of their health and wellbeing and make positive choices around this. If you are struggling, please seek the support of the appropriate professional.

Practical Anxiety Management Techniques - let's talk about some of the things that you might consider trying in order to feel more in control of your anxiety. We talk about what anxiety actually is, how it works and how you can work on reducing the impact it has on your life in order to promote positive health and wellbeing.



Monday 11 September 2017

Reflection as a Tool for Self Development.

Reflection is a great little tool to help you on your self development journey. In this post I talk a little more about what reflection is, plus the process that comes with it alongside sharing 5 tips to help you utilise reflection more effectively in order to guide your self-development.

Reflection as a tool is something I started using during the very early days of my occupational therapy training. During the process of the degree you’re required to use reflection as a learning process to develop skills and clinical reasoning and to learn from experiences.

Initially I saw it as a necessary evil. I felt like I was, at times, reflecting for the sake of reflecting. And it’s true, I was doing that, particularly in the early days when I would write a reflection on any old thing. At that point, I hadn’t really twigged that the purpose was to reflect on something useful and relevant that would enhance my thinking, learning and benefit my practice. Well that penny did drop eventually, and reflection suddenly became a whole lot more meaningful.

So, what is reflection? Well in an informal sense, it’s something I’m sure we all do on a regular basis. We reflect on our day, reflect on situations and how they might have gone differently, reflect on our behaviour and the behaviour of others. It’s a process of evaluating your experience and learning from it. For me, this kind of reflection is done in my head, or maybe out loud on occasion, but usually in my head.

And then there’s the more formal reflective methods that I would use as part of my professional development. It’s not always written, but it’s usually guided by some form of reflective model and involves drawing in the evidence base in order to ensure that you’re critically analysing your activity against what the evidence reports. There are several reflective models, including Kolb, Gibbs and my personal favourite Borton. The reason I like Borton over the others is because it’s so simple, consisting of just three questions; what, so what and now what.

For me, the simplicity allows for flexibility and honestly, I personally find that far easier when guiding my reflective process than a more complex model like Gibbs. I find that the simplicity also lends itself well to being able to implement reflection whenever I need to, even if it’s just in my own thought processes. But, it’s important to remember that everyone is different and so what works for me might not work for you. I’d recommend, if you’re interested in reflection, that you spend a little time researching the different models out there and considering which one might fit better with your mindset and goals.


So how can reflection help on our self-development journey?


Reflection aids self-awareness. It encourages awareness of our own behaviour and actions, of how we respond and where we’re at in our journey. Self-awareness helps keep you accountable when working towards your goals. It allows you to know where you are, consider where you want or need to be and allows you to start to make positive steps in the right direction. Without self-awareness, you can’t acknowledge where you’re at now and what you feel needs to change. And in order to gain greater self-awareness, you need to reflect.

In the pursuit of self-development, the use of reflection isn’t always going to be pleasant. It might highlight particular circumstances where your actions or attitude didn’t align with where you want them to be. It’s important to be honest with yourself, although that might feel a little uncomfortable, but you have to work through those more negative feelings in a non-judgemental way as part of your journey. The purpose of reflection is to evaluate and then question “now what?”. What will you now do differently in order to ensure that your actions next time align more with your beliefs, values and future goals? And that, ladies and gents, is the start of self-development.

And so, the question is, how do you start to make reflection part of your regular routine?

1. Identify a method of reflection that works for you.

As I mentioned earlier, everyone is different and so in order for reflection to be meaningful it’s important to do a little work around the best method for helping you achieve your goals. Also consider whether you would prefer to reflect in your own head or maybe write it down – go with whatever helps your thought processes the most as ultimately this will be more beneficial when it comes to development.

2. Know your goals.

What is the purpose of your reflection. What are your trying to develop or work towards that would benefit from increased self-awareness and a reflective guide?

3. Set aside time.

Particularly in the beginning. It could be daily, weekly or even monthly depending on your goal and your journey. From experience reflection can easily fall by the wayside if you’re not actively making time for it as part of your regular routine.

4.  Be honest, open and non-judgemental.

If you’re looking to develop and increase self awareness then it’s likely you’re going to get uncomfortable at times. But that’s OK, it’s all part of the process. Allow yourself to be open to change and growth and try your best not to judge yourself. Remember, it’s a journey.

5.  Enjoy the process.

Reflection is all about learning. Through reflection you are growing and inching ever closer to where you want to be. And if that’s not a wonderful thing then I don’t know what is. Like I said, it won’t always be easy, but I’d like to hope that it’ll be worth it in the end.

Let's start a conversation:
Do you intend to bring more reflection into your life? If so I’d love to chat about how you want to go about it – leave your thoughts either in the comments below, or drop me a tweet @_hellojordan

Reflection is a great little tool to help you on your self development journey. In this post I talk a little more about what reflection is, plus the process that comes with it alongside sharing 5 tips to help you utilise reflection more effectively in order to guide your self-development.

Monday 4 September 2017

Simple Switches to Reduce Waste.

This week (4th-8th September) is zero waste week. Five days that are dedicated to raising awareness of the environmental impact of waste alongside encouraging people to do what they can to reduce the amount of waste that they produce. 

Zero waste is something that I've been interested in for a fair while now, although in all honesty, implementing it is not as easy as I thought it would be. We live in a world wrapped in plastic and the reality I found is that it's hard to avoid. I feel this is a particular issue in mainstream supermarkets where the waste free options can be quite limited - even when it comes to fruit and veg. 

I know that many zero wasters shop at bulk stores where you can buy package free dry goods e.g. grains, oats etc. The unfortunate thing is I don't have anything like this nearby, nor have I managed to find a good greengrocer to buy my fruit and veg from. 

It blows my head that virtually everything you throw in your bin ends up buried in the ground. We only have one Earth and we are literally filling it with rubbish. Alongside this, the oceans are also teaming with plastic. Around 8 million tonnes of plastic is being dumped into our oceans each year, to the point that it's killing off marine life and if you eat fish it's ultimately ending up in your food chain.

The thing is, this culture of throw away, single use plastic is not sustainable. So I'm keen to do what I can to reduce my waste and work towards living more of a zero waste lifestyle. Today I thought I'd share a few simple switches that you can make to your everyday life that will help to reduce the amount of waste you produce and ultimately help you take small steps towards helping the planet.

Today marks the start of zero waste week, and so I thought I'd share some simple switches that you can use to help reduce your waste


DITCH THE PLASTIC BAG

Take your own reusable shopping bags to the supermarket rather than purchasing single use plastic bags. I think the 5p charge placed on plastic bags in the UK has really helped in reducing the number of plastic bags used since it came into effect in October 2015. 

I always aim to take reusable bags with me - I have some stored in my car and I even have a small fold up bag in my handbag for if I just pop to the shop for 1 or 2 items.

I also try to ditch plastic bags for fruit and vegetables where possible. When buying loose veggies I try to weigh them myself and put them into my own reusable bag, rather than the plastic bags provided by supermarkets. 

CHOOSE RECYCLABLE

If you can't ditch the packaging altogether then try to locate items in packaging that is easier to recycle e.g. card and glass. This means that once you're finished with your item you can pop the packaging into your recycling bin, rather than in a bin bag that will end up in the ground. 

I try to recycle as much as a possibly can and that's not just for food items but for other items too. Rather than putting items in the bin, I'll take them to my local recycling centre if I know they'll accept them. I'll also drop unwanted items such as clothes, trinkets and lightly used household items at my local charity shop rather than binning them.

SWITCH SANITARY PRODUCTS

A woman will use on average 11,000 disposable sanitary products throughout her reproductive life. That's a huge amount of waste that could be avoided by the use of reusable sanitary products. No only do sanitary products contribute to waste, but they're also chemically processed and bleached which is honestly not something I want in close contact with my lady bits. 

In the last year I've switched to fully reusable sanitary products in the form of a Mooncup and cloth sanitary pads. Both of these items can be used time and time again and are honestly far more comfortable to wear than traditional sanitary pads and tampons. I simply wash them after use and store them away once my periods finished until the next month. They even take up less space than packs of pads and tampons.

Another item I'm trying to replace with a reusable alternative is cotton wool. I purchased some reusable makeup wipes that are made from fabric off cuts to use in place of this when removing making and cleansing my face. They're so much softer on my skin and I just pop them in the wash in a little laundry bag each week.

CHOOSE REUSABLE

There are many ways you can utilise reusable products in order to reduce waste. Some of the things I  try to do include reusing packaging where I can e.g. jars. I don't by singe use plastic water bottles as I have my trusty 2.2l dual bottle that comes with my most places (although admittedly this is plastic, I guess aluminium would be better). I've switched to an aluminium safety razor with replaceable blades rather than disposable plastic razors (the blades last SO much longer too). I use a bamboo toothbrush that is fully compostable, even the bristles. And finally, I'm currently waiting on a Keepcup too which I intend to take with me when I grab a coffee and ask them to pop it in the Keepcup rather than the non-recyclable cups.

COMPOST

Composting my food waste has definitely helped cut the amount of rubbish I place in the bin. Last year I purchased a compost bin and ever since I've been collecting my food scraps and popping them in, alongside garden waste. As I eat a vegan diet, the majority of food I tend to prepare can be composted, which means there's very little food waste that actually goes in my bin. I know some areas in the UK accept food waste with the bin collections, which unfortunately my local area doesn't do, however, if your area does then make the most of it!

Alongside food you can also compost brown paper, egg cartons, toilet/kitchen roll tubes and pet hair (amongst many, many other things).

Like I said, these are just a few simple switches that require minimal effort and can easily become part of your regular routine. I really encourage you to consider ways you can reduce your waste and reduce your overall footprint on our gorgeous planet. 

Let's start a conversation:
Is there anything you already do to try reduce your waste? Or is there anything above that you're keen to try out? I'd love for you to leave your thoughts either in the comments below, or drop me a tweet @_hellojordan. You can also join the zero waste conversation this week by using #zerowasteweek


[Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. It costs you nothing to click on these links, however, if you are to purchase the item through the link I will earn a small percentage at no extra cost to you.]

Friday 1 September 2017

Ooey Gooey Vegan Brownies.

There's something about brownies that sends me into a little bit of a frenzy. They're just so chocolately and, well, delicious. They're not something I'd made myself since going vegan, and so a few weeks ago I decided to delve into the realm of vegan friendly brownies. What a delight that's been!
I've tweaked this recipe several times over recent weeks and I'm really pleased with how it's turned out. It's got that deliciously chewy crust with a soft, gooey centre. How have I managed to achieve this I hear you cry? Well, the secret is something you may not expect. Aquafaba.

If you don’t know what aquafaba is, then don’t worry, I didn’t either until a few months ago. Aquafaba is the name for the leftover water from a can of cooked chickpeas or beans. It’s made up of a mix of carbohydrates, proteins and other soluble plant solids which has the ability to foam, whip, thicken and bind and makes for an egg-cellect (Christ, I’m hilarious) egg white substitute.

Aquafaba (aqua meaning water and faba meaning bean) as an egg white replacer was discovered by a French chef in 2014 and, as such, has opened up a whole new, accessible realm of vegan cooking. It can be used to make meringues, macarons and marshmallows amongst other things, but today we’ll be using it to make gooey brownies.

Now, I don’t want to toot my own trumpet. But a work colleague told me that these brownies were the best cake he’d ever eaten. I know, my head is so massive I can’t fit it through the door. But seriously, this is a reasonably easy recipe that will knock the socks of anyone, and they won’t for a second suspect it’s vegan.

A reasonably simple recipe for vegan brownies that a fudgey on the outside and gooey in the middle. Made using a slightly unusual ingredient - aquafaba!


WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

♥ 160g plain flour
♥ 50g cocoa powder
♥ 200g caster sugar
♥ 120ml flavourless oil (e.g. rapeseed or vegetable)
♥ 125g dark chocolate (vegan friendly, of course).
♥ 250ml aquafaba (approx 1 cup)
♥ additional 125g melted dark chocolate for the topping (optional)

WHAT TO DO:

♥ Heat the oven to 180°c and line a square cake tin with greaseproof paper.
♥ Place the aquafaba into a large mixing bowl and begin whipping with an electric beater on a medium speed until it starts to bubble up.
♥ At this point gradually add in the sugar (I usually add it in thirds) and continue beating on a medium speed. The aquafaba should start to thicken and change to a white, silky mix.
♥ Continue to beat until the aquafaba forms a medium peaks consistency (a la egg whites). 
♥ Once the aquafaba is mixed, melt the dark chocolate (I just do this in the microwave).
♥ Then sift the flour and cocoa into the aquafaba, alongside the oil and the melted dark chocolate.
♥ Gently fold until the mix is all combined. Once mixed pour into the lined tin and pop in the over for around 20-25 minutes or until a knife/skewer comes out clean (ish - by clean, I mean not wet).
♥ Once cooked allow to cool and add, if using, the melted chocolate to the top (ideally whilst still in the tin).
♥ Chop into squares. Best enjoyed with vegan ice cream and a cuppa.

A reasonably simple recipe for vegan brownies that a fudgey on the outside and gooey in the middle. Made using a slightly unusual ingredient - aquafaba!

Let's start a conversation:
I'd love to know if these are something you'd make? I'm keen to do more experimenting with aquafaba (although I need to find a use for all the chickpeas) so please let me know if there's any recipes you think I need to try. I'd love to hear your thoughts either in the comments below, or drop me a tweet @_hellojordan