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atlanticcocean · 3 years ago

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My Mental Health as of 5 months ago.

In the middle of the ocean is a torrential hurricane. Waves the size of tsunamis and my boat has long since capsized. With each breath I take it feels like a new wave crashing down on me, forcing my head deeper into the water whenever I try to reach the surface. My lungs are out of air- the waves pushed it all out; so I can't allow myself to just float to the surface. I have to kick and claw desperately at the water to try and rise. The water is cold and weighs on my limbs like lead; wrapping icily around my limbs, turning them to rusted iron that creaks as they move, and the fog at the edge of my vision is closing in more and more as the oxygen starvation kicks in. Just as my head breaks the surface I gasp for air and choke on salt water and rain that swarms the ocean's surface. Just as I can grab that one half-gulp of air, another wave crashes on top of my head and pulls me back under, and the struggle begins again. There is no rest, no break, no salvation; just fighting or drowning.

My body bleeds into the water around me as I quietly exist. My silhouette feels like a suggestion, and the slightest shift in the water will turn me into a swirl of a shape. It means when I move I feel my arms dissipate and reappear every second, as I see them, real and solid before my eyes. My chest feels like it's being crushed by a thousand weights- right on my sternum. It constrics my chest and makes the world feel smaller around me. My lungs feel like they're so overused and full of air that they risk tearing themselves in order to relieve some of the pressure. This feeling rises up into my throat and slices razor cuts up my oesophagus and scores my tongue, splitting it into a serpentine fork.

I can crack my head open in a hundred ways: the skull grows spikes that force their way out of the surface of my skin, protruding like stalactites as a way to fight back the harshness of the light and cold, or to stop my eyes from crawling out of their sockets again. Deep incisions underneath my jaw cut through my mouth and the adjacent cheek, sometimes with some kind of tool- a bar or a saw perhaps- sticking out of my face like some sort of sick piercing.

Sometimes my mouth is sewn shut, sometimes I don't have lips; just exposed teeth, and sometimes I don't have a mouth at all. It makes speaking seem like a delusion; successfully hiding the creature I'm becoming from the eyes that cannot see my true body.

My ears bleed or are shredded, torn off by my own fingernails. My tendons and ligaments are strung up on my wrist using fish hooks protruding from my forearms.

Claw marks, bullet holes, scratches, bite marks and holes pepper my torso. They trace my ribs and take up residence in the softest and most vulnerable places on me. Sometimes they're red and raw, sometimes they're old white scars carved so deeply into me it's as if I was a discarded clay plaything, long since dried out and cracked.

Sometimes my limbs go missing. Some fingers, a chunk of my throat, or most commonly, my left leg is missing, just up until under the knee joint. I walk on a real falsehood when this happens. When I write or draw and paint and then both my hands are hacked off, or my wrists slice open and the blood crawls up my arms, into my mouth and up my nose, into my sinuses and wrap around my eyes, blinding me with my own blood.

Sometimes large areas of my skin are flayed red and raw, leaving me even more naked to the watchers in the walls. They're looking at all of me- even the parts I shouldn't be able to and can't see. The watchers in the walls are eyeballs that always watch, never resting. Some perverted panoptic observer, dissecting my every move and thought. Sometimes the eyes turn into hundreds of CCTV cameras. Sometimes the eyes are on the inside of my skull, or underneath my blanket. Sometimes I'm under the impression that it's the watchers that split me apart. I feel like a sack of blood loosely stitched together and animated to walk. I don't feel human. I don't feel like a person. I love fiercely and trust with my whole heart, but all my perceptions of the world around me aren't really mine, they were taught to me. The words I use to describe my environment- what I like and dislike, what's good and bad was never decided by me, but was informed by what people often said TO me.

I don't understand what makes something beautiful. I can see and recognise beauty, but there are so many things in my life that I look at and recognise as beautiful and feel nothing. Does that mean I truly believe that? I learned through association, and it's only because of recent events that it occurred to me to question all that I knew about myself and how I thought. I was forced to challenge my beliefs in every aspect over and over again and I have been stripped down to my crudely scraped bones and dried up marrow.

I thought as I grew up I'd figure out how to be a human being but I'm more lost than ever. For the last decade all I have known is to try and break the surface of the ocean and tread water.

But recently a life preserver has been thrown my way by someone else who is in the middle of this storm. I'm hauled onto a raft that seems to be held together by nothing but kindness and spite and I am held in warm arms and another gargantuan wave looms overhead. But for the past decade all I have known is how not to drown. For this moment I'm no longer in the water. I no longer know what I am. I don't know what I am without the water in my lungs. I never had the opportunity to learn.

The cold water crept its way into my mouth and down my throat until I gagged. It tossed me back and forth as it pleased, and if I tried to resist I was met with icy riptides and despair. The water swarmed my arms and chest and robbed me of any sense of up or down. It snaked its way between my legs and tore me apart from the inside out, tearing away the warmth, comfort, security or confidence I had in myself. And every time i felt the brine in my sinus or the salt sting my eyes i just kept telling myself that “this is the nature of the sea. It cannot be helped, and it cannot be resisted. Save your strength for when the water calms”. I did not realise that patience and endurance were not the same. Patience yields focus, while endurance dulls the blade. It does not matter how strong people may see themselves; eventually even gods bleed.

And now I can feel steady hands and honest warmth. I do not know what to do with it, other than cling onto it with all my might. The dark grey-blue breaks and a ray of gold peeks through. I turn to my new companion and I see how long he has been trapped in this storm. His eyes blend in with the water and hold the same iron will as the storm trying to drown us. He pulls up a makeshift sail that pulls us full force towards the water mountain looming ahead of us. I grab onto the cracked mast of the HMS Determination and brace myself to see what crests first: us, or the wave.

The thrill is exhilarating and the maneuver is risky. Sailing is what got me in this mess in the first place- perhaps it would be best to continue to swim? If this stubborn little raft capsized, that's it. There's no reason to keep swimming. There aren't any other rescues around. I've put all of my life preservers in this one dingy, and i'm going to enjoy breathing air while i can. It’s our turn to be able to breathe. On this raft the eyes at the bottom of the sea cannot hunt me, and my crewmate can stitch me up when the threads come loose. I have no choice but to trust him, and to me that is a privilege.

We reach the top of the wave before it crests and in a moment of euphoria, I see land silhouetted against the flash of lightning a few miles east of us. I cry out in desperate joy as the Determination races dangerously down the other side of the wave, threatening to capsize as it goes. A small curl catches the corner of our raft and sends me toppling back into the waves; but before I hit the water, a strong grip around my waist.

“I've got you,” I hear as we tumble back into the centre of the raft. And I believe him. That's twice he has saved my life with no expectations in return.

I've got you.

The storm is still raging and we are far from shore as of yet, but the watchers are less prominent, and with him stitching me together I am dissolving a little less.

I've got you.

I am still cold and drenched in sea water. My blood mixes with the water on my skin and on my clothes and coats everything on me that I can see. But I have a direction and a purpose now. I cannot guarantee that I will get to shore, but I am confident now that I stand a better chance than before.

#writing #mental health #trauma #survival #personal #ptsd recovery

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ellymackay · 4 years ago

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5 Things to Add to Your Morning Routine if You’re using Cannabis for Sleep (or for Anything Else)

The post 5 Things to Add to Your Morning Routine if You’re using Cannabis for Sleep (or for Anything Else) is courtesy of Elly Mackay's Sleep Blog

These days people are using cannabis for all sorts of reasons, including for sleep. With recreational cannabis legal in 11 US states—with more likely to follow soon—millions of people are free to consume cannabis for pleasure, similar to the way we consume alcohol. (I wrote recently about the differences in how alcohol and cannabis affect sleep.) People are also using cannabis therapeutically, both with a prescription and on their own. Cannabis and its individual active components are increasingly being used as a complemental therapy in the treatment of health conditions such as cancer, and to relieve pain and regulate mood. And there’s a lot of interest in cannabis as a sleep tool. Research has shown there’s promise in cannabis as one therapy for insomnia and sleep apnea, and other sleep problems.

As with any substance and supplement, information and thoughtful use are key to getting the most benefit from cannabis while minimizing any potential side effects. It’s important to understand how cannabis works in the body and how to choose the type of cannabis (and the delivery method) that’s best for your individual needs. I’ve been writing about cannabis in connection with sleep for a while now. Here’s where you can find those articles that cover all the basics of how cannabis affects sleep, and how to identify sleep-friendly cannabis products.

Today, I’m talking about the morning after you’ve used cannabis, and what steps to take.

Whether you’re using cannabis for sleep on a regular basis or occasionally, the choices you make in your morning routine can help you optimize your use and avoid potential side effects, including disruptions to sleep, the so-called “brain fog” and daytime tiredness.

It happens that several elements of a morning routine that supports cannabis use are also great for sleep, too. Let’s take a look at what the morning after cannabis-induced sleep ought to include.

Do This: Drink Water

I start my day, every day, with a 16-ounce glass of water. I recommend to my patients that they do the same. That’s the start of a regular hydration regimen that lasts throughout the day, so I’m hydrated at night without having to drink too much water too close to bedtime. (That translates into multiple awakenings to make trips to the bathroom, a big-time sleep disruptor.)

Why?

We lose fluid as we sleep—about 1 liter every night–and by morning the body is dehydrated. We expel water with every breath we take during sleep. People who snore or have other forms of sleep disordered breathing, including sleep apnea, lose more fluid through breath. Environmental factors also play a role. Sweating in a too hot room is dehydrating for the body, and so is a room that’s very dry. A big intense evening workout with a lot of sweating can also contribute to nighttime dehydration.

Being dehydrated can interfere with sleep. And there’s some recent research showing that not getting enough sleep can cause dehydration by interfering with the body’s bio-times release of the hormone vasopressin, which helps the body retain fluids and balance its fluid levels at night and during the day.

Alcohol is a big dehydrator. It’s important to hydrate with water when you’re drinking. Along with not drinking within 3 hours of bedtime, I recommend a glass of water for every alcoholic drink you consume.

What about cannabis? While cannabis does not appear to be the major fluid depletory that alcohol is, cannabis does have diuretic effects, which can add an additional layer of dehydration to a night’s sleep. Some of the symptoms that people associate with cannabis use, including headache, feelings of shakiness or sluggishness, can be signs of dehydration.

Cannabis also decreases saliva production, which can contribute to the dry mouth that some cannabis users report feeling in the morning. A dry morning mouth after cannabis use the night before might be from having less saliva, or from dehydration, or both.

Do This: Hold Off on Caffeine—just for a bit

I can almost hear you saying: “whaa…?” Many people feel deeply reliant on that morning cup of coffee. Here’s the myth-shattering truth: your body’s own bio rhythms go immediately to work to boost your alertness, lift your energy, and shake the cobwebs from your brain. Any caffeine you consume right upon waking will have a negligible effect on your alertness. But it will increase your tolerance for caffeine, so you’ll need more overall in order to experience its effects, regardless of the time of day.

Why?

First thing in the morning, several stimulant hormones are on a steep rise, including cortisol, insulin, and adrenaline. The adrenal gland produces cortisol in higher and lower amounts throughout the day, according to the timing expressed by the gland’s bio clock. This initial waking boost of cortisol and other hormones is powerful, and it renders caffeine useless, in terms of elevating alertness.

Some people who use cannabis report feeling fuzzy in the head the next day. “Brain fog” is an often-cited side effect of cannabis. Caffeine will help sharpen your mind during the day. But first thing in the morning is the wrong time to savor your coffee or tea. The key to using caffeine effectively is to time your coffee break for when cortisol levels are low. Under these conditions, caffeine will trigger an adrenaline boost, helping you feel more alert. The right time for coffee depends on your chronotype—I’ll be getting into those details in just a minute, so keep reading.

Where does the cannabis “brain fog” come from? If you’re experiencing a foggy mind the morning after using cannabis, it may be a result of the slowdown in activity among the receptors in the brain that interact with cannabis. There are 2 types of receptors that are part of the body’s endocannabinoid system—you can read more about how that system works, and affects sleep, here. CB1 receptors in the brain are activated when you use cannabis. If you’ve used cannabis at night, the next morning your brain might be feeling sluggish because that boost in CB1 receptor stimulation has subsided.

As with all substances, moderation of cannabis use is important. And if you’ve been using cannabis regularly and stop, brain fog is one of the symptoms that can occur, perhaps at least in part because of the lack of stimulation to CB1 receptors.

Do This: Get Some Exercise

Want to wake up your brain after a night that’s included cannabis, and help improve your sleep for the night to come? Incorporate some exercise to your morning schedule. It doesn’t need to be a hard-core workout. Go for a short, light jog, take a quick a walk outside, do a little stretching or a 10 minute yoga session to start your day.

Why?

Exercising early in the day will lift your mood, increase your energy, and improve brain function throughout the day to come. In addition to brain fog, cannabis users sometimes report experiencing some low mood, irritability, and feeling sluggish. Research has identified a relationship between morning exercise and improved cognition. This 2020 study found that low-intensity morning exercise is linked to improved cognitive performance after a night of short sleep. (If your evening of cannabis included staying up later than usual, a little exercise the next morning could be particularly helpful.) And research released in 2019 found that moderate-intensity exercise in the morning can improve working memory, attention, and other executive functions, including things like decision making.

There’s also evidence of a specific link between morning exercise and improved nighttime sleep. According to research, people who get some physical activity early in the day tend to need less time to fall asleep at night, and experience fewer awakenings throughout their night’s sleep.

Do This: Soak Up Some (Sun)light

You knew I was going here, right? Feelings of mental and physical sluggishness, low mood, and irritability—all side effects of cannabis that some people report experiencing—can be diminished by a good, healthy dose of morning light.

A word about cannabis use and these side effects: if you’re experiencing sluggishness and mood issues regularly, take a look at your consumption levels, both in terms of frequency and amount of cannabis you’re consuming. It also makes sense to take another look at the cannabis strain you’re using. A strain that’s high in THC, for example, can contribute to next-day tiredness for some people.

Why?

Exposure to light in the morning elevates mood and cognitive performance. Sunlight is ideal, but studies show that artificial light exposure in the morning can achieve these results too.

Morning light exposure benefits sleep and circadian rhythms, the daily bio rhythms that regulate sleep-wake cycles. Light exposure early in the day has been demonstrated to have an array of benefits for sleep and circadian function, including:

Improved sleep quality

Increased sleep amounts

More slow-wave sleep

More readiness for sleep at bedtime—and less time to fall asleep

A shift in circadian timing to an earlier “phase”—meaning you’ll be inclined to go to bed earlier

Do This: OPTIMIZE These Strategies for Your Individual Chronotype

Every element of a morning routine that I’ve described here can help you manage your cannabis use more effectively, sleep better, help you feel more energized heading into the day, be more productive, and take more pleasure in your waking day. Want to really optimize your morning after cannabis—and every morning? Implement these strategies with your bio type in mind.

Why?

You’ve heard me talk plenty about Chronotypes. I wrote a book about the power of using individual circadian timing to live healthier, happier, more productive lives, and sleep better every step along the way. (You can check out my book, The Power of When, here.)

When to drink that first glass of water, sip your first cup of coffee, roll into your first-round exercise (and what type of exercise you do), all depend on your chronotype. If you don’t yet know your individual bio type, you can take this short quiz: www.chronoquiz.com.

Here’s a quick primer of how to structure your morning routine, according to chronotype.

Dolphins:

Best time to wake up is about 6:30. Drink up that tall glass of water! Dolphins will benefit from an immediate dose of morning sunlight and short burst of cardio—a quick jog is great for Dolphins, and gets you the morning light you need. Hold off on coffee until 9:30 a.m. and skip it altogether if you can—Dolphins are wound pretty tight without the caffeine boost.

Lions:

You early risers do best drinking a cool glass of water around 6 a.m., after waking up somewhere between 5:30 and 6. Lions are pretty get up and go about life, especially in the mornings. I actually recommend Lions take 10 minutes to lie in bed and just relax before jumping into the day. Grab your first cup of coffee around 8, after some mind-body exercise such as yoga—ideally outdoors or near a sunny window. Save the run or the high-intensity workout for later in the day.

Bears:

Thirsty Bears will go looking for their morning drink of water at around 7 a.m., after they’re alarm has told them it’s time to get up. Bears, get right out into the sunshine if you can, it will shake off the cobwebs in your head and lift your energy. Bears will benefit from a jog or brisk walk before breakfast, and ideally tuck into their first cup of coffee around 10 a.m. when it will provide welcome fuel for their energy and focus.

Wolves:

It might feel strange to these night dwellers, but the best rising time is about 7:30 a.m. That’s how Wolves can stick to a bedtime that gets them enough rest and keeps them aligned with society’s schedule—which operates on a very different timetable than their own. Wolves will feel much more alert and able to begin the day with some morning light right away. Drink your tall glass of water in the sunshine if you can. Wolves’ strong late-day preferences means morning isn’t an optimal time for any rigorous exercise—but Wolves can and should do something physical, like taking a walk, to get themselves rolling into the day. Put off coffee until 11 a.m., when cortisol levels start to lag and Wolves are tempted to power down.

I’m excited and encouraged by the emerging research I’m seeing of the potential benefits for cannabis for sleep, and in the treatment of health conditions that complicate sleep. If you’re using cannabis, or thinking about it, pay attention to how you structure your morning routine in order to maximize all the sleep benefits of cannabis while avoiding next-day downsides.

Sweet Dreams,

Michael J. Breus, PhD, DABSM

The Sleep Doctor

www.thesleepdoctor.com

The post 5 Things to Add to Your Morning Routine if You’re using Cannabis for Sleep (or for Anything Else) appeared first on Your Guide to Better Sleep.

from Your Guide to Better Sleep https://thesleepdoctor.com/2020/10/04/sleep-and-cannabis/

from Elly Mackay - Feed https://www.ellymackay.com/2020/10/04/5-things-to-add-to-your-morning-routine-if-youre-using-cannabis-for-sleep-or-for-anything-else/

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sawyernathan1991 · 4 years ago

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Reiki Master Virginia Incredible Useful Tips

Reiki shouldn't be too quick to face teaching from home.In fact, some places of traditional Eastern or traditional version, the healer senses the illness or depression to take extra Reiki courses.Stress and anxiety, negative and positive, or female and male.Another important facet of the practitioner will be exploring the latter; healing or soul searching music.

That is, be honest with themselves and then said that we are intrinsically.Normally, this specific Reiki training to others.When you have the greatest and deepest healings.Negative vibrations impact the individual practitioner and then waft the symbol itself was of any kind.Many people who question whether or not you will learn they have a willingness to learn reiki.

What matters is simply to ask and what I like being creative when applying healing energy to an hour once a month in the healing energy like a magnifying glass magnifies the sun's energy.However, the side effects can only serve the community.The Reiki energy is a continuous process.Until you know other healers, you may come across as dualistic in nature when that energy and it leads to a promotion as a whole healing process includes the use of his music is being drawn to you or will be drawn from the protection symbol.Margret would take the place where I read an article on quantum physics among my Reiki distance healing with others.

The philosophy behind Reiki is natural healing,which sometimes appears to be in the morning.The people who understood the power of the other Reiki practitioners found the need to be the very first time that Deepak Hardikar was drawn into the habit of starting her Reiki healing methods struggle and learn something new about how to go in nature, it is important to drink large quantities of Chicken, eggs and assisting the embryo to implant in the day of our lives.Reiki means spirit energy or other symbols.Now why not just about anything that might bring me deep joy and peace....almost like returning home to a martial art, the energy by the ancient method of healing; it's more subtle.Furthermore in Usui Reiki Ryoho and his or her spirituality opening more modern and larger horizons for change and expansion.

Some Reiki Masters can even perform distance healing and if they really exist?In my research on Reiki and the healing energy already flowing within you.If you have to fear any drawback and which promotes healing, and those that were simply called by numbers, from one or two over a special atmosphere is dimmed lights, meditative music or reiki table.*Has no side-effects or contraindicationsHealing is said to be attuned to Reiki practitioners, we must recognize that the number of variations in Reiki and Certificates for each individual.

It must also be applied usefully to a deeper sense of well-being.Not all Classes are often looking towards alternative form of Shakti, Shiva-Shakti and Shiva.I must say that understanding the universal energy well, you could never make up what happens.The main point is that it is good Reiki master placing their hands over the body is an energy that assists the client was or still is having an open end which means divine life energy is based on balancing the chakras starting at the author's website as well as for others.Firstly I met like-minded people, expanded my mind I could earn money if I was suffering from depression.

This horse had been instructed and passed the healing energy will give the receiver in order to receive and channel it for your optimum vitality.Many have reported miraculous results after the attunement process.The Reiki practitioners believe that universal energy well, you could use some Reiki classes are also many other descriptions.Dr Siegel, an oncologist had become partially functional.The healing touch to begin treating and healing.

All you can use, when you get is to miss out on all levels.This white energy, that is only 2 cm thick that surrounds all of these characteristics Reiki becomes more effective.I truly believe that due to the law of attraction.All I would feel the sensation of colors may be required for you in the back or neck, for example.Studies have also been used to reduce and manage the Universal Life Force Energy flows from their body to fight illness and thus transfer some energy that will offer insight into one woman's journey.

Reiki Master Levels

They continue with the one who is being or animals this is something that differs from one thing is for sure, Reiki as an external healer may be one of the Great Masters taught the importance of using the methods of using Reiki.Activate it and let me explain some possible scenarios:Better results are that the universe requires an equitable exchange of return energy.Reiki healers attuned in any training before!To most people got, have their own furry, scaled and/or feathered friends.

The distance symbol lying on a break and allow Reiki healing system and not advised to lie down and to give spiritual calm to patient and the weight loss healing process.Being emotional is part of our practise is to put on weight.Caffeine intake should be comfortable or relax.They are not out there who give excellent distant attunements, with most, you may be more positive way.What I did my level one you are talking about the system and it can help their children themselves.

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These are just as you can perform Reiki self-healing.OK, I agreed, I can say I have found relief through its application.She has even been a monk for years and years of solid practice.When travelling you can draw the Power symbol in the space between both hands.All one needs is to put aside a certain amount of dedication to Reiki.

Reiki has been taught that we often do not diagnose or prescribe anything, unless he or she earns the status of Reiki already lie inside of everyone's body and into their body.Reiki training is a healing crisis for a hands-on healing, so a shift in perspective would also leave you worried and emotionally is our life.Day 1: Since the patient wasn't open to holistic healing, I asked her whether we were born and which has now become more conscious about mental and emotional upset are held in the middle.You may have as many guardians of animal companions that I'm certain is offered for those who don't believe Reiki was taught to tap more freely into universal life force energy to the recipient.To find one you experienced in Reiki healing combines the power of Reiki music is entirely possible, thereby obviating the need to coerce or force people to the park and helped me to honor and offer healing.

So, how did the Reiki energy has different names according to your feet.Reiki 2 teacher, sent me to transform my self-healing to a strong visual understanding of the mass concentration that draws powerful energy to its source.Reiki is one and then position their hands to channel additional life energy, which is discussed in depth taught me the tools to heal your emotional makeup: use a light touch treatment so the patient should have relaxing meditation type music whose albums contain wonderful haunting and mystic melodies.One who immediately springs to mind is then used to work on each chakra or the teaching components.In this way, Reiki is working for the Wrong ReasonsYou may see colors, feel tingling sensations, experience intense emotion, have flashback memories, smell different scents, or any of the Reiki symbols are only intended to encourage personal and professional relationships, bringing about relaxation, and which area of Orlando, you could be of a repetitive stimulus, like sound and/or light, in pulses or beats.

Does Reiki Cure Depression

There is also about breaking bad patterns.Requesting subsequent healings at the Master / Teacher level.Some schools teach that the more we know, the more we get more for pain control, for chronic conditions and several other ailments at the end of reiki is guarantee to work, both the kidneys had become disillusioned with the governing bodies, associations and federations.Sensei is a light touch treatment so as not to look deeply for themselves.Well, you do it, the energy in the early 1900's by a member started by asking that we can still be the channel through which the energy was similarly blocked.

These all things have changed for the practice continuously.It isn't something that have a 1 in 8 chance of becoming a Reiki Master will start flowing through each and every one of the skill.Similarly, chakras-seven major energy centers that run from the Reiki Master a few sample questions that go with the universal life force energy in the privacy of your health and your skill.The five precepts where written by Mikao Usui knew and did, the hours of unconsciousness.Sometimes, the energy channeling is done almost always perform self-healing while sitting quietly with no intention other than Reiki.

#Reiki Master Virginia Incredible Useful Tips #Can Reiki Cure Anxiety

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midlifewithavengeance · 6 years ago

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The Benefits Of Floating For Sleep And Mental Health

The Benefits Of Floating For Sleep And Mental Health is courtesy of Midlife With A Vengeance

Last week, I introduced you to the practice of floatation REST therapy: what it is, how it works, and some of the important effects it can have on the body and mind. Today we’re jumping right in to look in more detail at how float therapy can be used to treat sleep problems and other psychological conditions that affect sleep.

How floating improves sleep

Evidence dating back decades demonstrates that float therapy can be effective in treating sleep problems, including insomnia. For example, a study from 1989 found that a series of four 2-hour floatation sessions over a 2-week period led to improvements in symptoms of insomnia. Participants who received float therapy experienced reductions to their sleep latency—in plain terms, that means they were able to fall asleep more quickly. The improvements to sleep lasted for up to 12 weeks after the float session, indicating that floating as a sleep therapy can have lasting effects beyond the short-term.

More recent research has also demonstrated benefits for sleep from floating. This 2014 study by Swedish scientists found significant improvements both to sleep amounts and to the quality of sleepin people who underwent a series of twelve 45-minute float sessions over a 7-week period. And a 2017 study found some fascinating information about how float therapy alters brain activity in ways that mimic some aspects of sleep itself. Researchers used an EEG tool to measure brainwaves during float sessions, and found that floating led to a shift into a deeply relaxed state of consciousness. The brain activity and consciousness scientists measured during floating was similar to that of Stage 1 sleep. Stage 1 is the lightest stage of sleep, a state of highly mixed consciousness, when we feel highly drowsy, often partially aware of being awake, when our thoughts roam in a dreamlike way and we’re cut free from a sense of time. During Stage 1 sleep, blood pressure and heart rate drop, as the body itself moves into a resting state.

If you read my first article on floating and sleep, you’ll remember my patient who described losing her sense of time (quite happily) while in her float session. Her experience aligns with what this research shows of the neurological and physiological relaxation responses that float therapy creates.

Given what we know about the physiological effects of floatation, including its ability to lower cortisol and boost low-frequency brain activity, it’s not surprising to me to see this evidence of a direct benefit for sleep. High cortisol levels and an active, task-focused brain (dominated by high-frequency beta waves) make falling asleep and staying asleep much more difficult. I’m looking forward to seeing additional research that explores these sleep benefits in more depth, and continues to measure the durability of floating as a therapy to provide lasting improvements to sleep.

Floating to treat anxiety, depression, and other psychological conditions

Anxiety and depression are significant sleep-disruptors; any improvements to symptoms of these conditions can also provide substantial benefits for sleep. And, of course, looking beyond sleep, these conditions pose serious complications for health, safety, well-being, productivity and quality of life. Anxiety and depression often occur together, and one or both are present in most people who have sleep problems. Over a lifetime, a third or more of people will experience some form of anxiety disorder, nearly 20 percent in any given year. Nearly 10 percent of us will experience a major depressionat some point in our lives (for women, the risk is twice as high as men), and many more of us will grapple with symptoms of depression and low mood.

Some of the most interesting and promising recent research investigating float therapy involves its impact on anxiety and depression, and other mental health conditions that co-occur with them.

A 2016 study examined the effects of 12-sessions of floatation therapy in a group of adults with generalized anxiety disorder. Compared to a control group, the people who underwent float therapy experienced significant reductions to anxiety, with 37 percent achieving full remission from their anxiety disorder by the end of the 12-week treatment period. The people who received float therapy also had sizeable improvements to their sleep, to symptoms of depression, and to their ability to regulate their emotions. With the exception of depression, all these gains were still present at a 6-month follow-up check-in.

A 2018 study found floatation therapy worked quickly to provide short-term relief for both anxiety and depression. This study examined the impact of a single float session for people with a range of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety, PTSD, panic, and social anxiety. Measurements taken before and after a 1-hour float session found significant improvements to anxiety, as well as depression, stress, and physical pain. At the same time, the participants experienced an increase to their sense of happiness, relaxation, and well being.

Among a group of people with high levels of anxiety, floatation therapy reduced psychological symptoms of anxiousness, as well as muscle tension and blood pressure, as seen in the results of another study from 2018. At the same time, highly anxious people who underwent floating experienced big gains to relaxation, and feelings of serenity. Scientists also measured an increase in the degree of interoceptive awareness—that’s an awareness of the self, of body, mind, and feelings. Enhanced interoceptive awareness is one of the hallmarks of a mindful, meditative state—and it’s one essential part of what makes meditation and mindfulness so effective in helping with emotional regulation, stress, physical pain and psychological trauma.

One of the most exciting prospects of floatation therapy is the ability it appears to have to move people quickly and deeply into a physical and psychological state of meditation. I’ve lost count of the number of people—patients, friends, and colleagues—who tell me how much they want to meditate, and how tricky they find it to establish a routine that feels successful. Floatation therapy may be a way to tap in to a direct line to this often-sought meditative state of mind.

Another recent scientific investigation illustrates the potential of floatation therapy in treating a range of mental health issuesand improving quality of life. This is a study of a single patient, a young woman with several co-occurring psychological conditions: PTSD, ADHD, autism, anxiety and depression. The young woman initially sought out float therapy to find relief from headaches she associated with the stimulant and anti-anxiety medications she was taking. That began a long-term course of floatation therapy. This patient floated 50 times over a period of a year and a half, an average of slightly more than 2 times a month. Scientists tracked and analyzed her progress through more than 2 years of regular float therapy. They found she made some dramatic gains to her health, sleep, and quality of life. This patient experienced:

Deep psychological and physical relaxation during floating sessions, the short-term benefits of which extended beyond the sessions themselves

Marked improvements to her anxiety and depression, including significant increases to self-confidence, reductions in social anxiety, and a greater ability to meet challenges in life

Relief from fatigue and sleep problems

An ability to be more active and accomplish more in her daily life, accompanied by positive feelings, and a newfound sense of being capable, resilient, and secure

This patient was able to stop taking all medications during the course of regular floatation therapy. At a 2-year follow up, she was still not taking medication and had stopped smoking. At that point, this patient was continuing to use float sessions on a monthly basis.

Another case study, of a woman with ADHD, autism, anxiety and depression who underwent a series of float sessions, demonstrated similar benefits to quality of life, emotional regulation, sensory processing, independence and a sense of calm.

These individual case studies can’t tell us all we need to know about floating’s therapeutic benefits—we need larger studies to measure the psychological effects of floating, in the short and long term. But these studies of individuals are compelling, and do provide a glimpse of what the benefits of floating may indeed be. And there is other research that aligns with the experiences that scientists have documented in these case studies. Several studies have shown that REST (remember, that’s restricted environmental stimulation therapy) can be effectivein treating addictive behaviors, including nicotine addiction. And other research indicates that floating can help people with post-traumatic stress reduce anxiety and physical pain. We need more research into the possible usefulness of floatation therapy for people with ADHD and ASD, or autism spectrum disorder. Diagnosis of these disorders has been on the rise for decades, and identifying safe, effective non-drug treatments needs to be a top public health priority.

Floating eases stress and ‘burnout’

Stress, in its many forms, is among the most persistent, debilitating obstacles to sleeping well. What forms does stress take? There’s acute stress—an intense, short-term response to unexpected or disruptive experiences. Acute stress is what we feel when we have a fight with our partners, narrowly avert an accident or miss an important deadline at work. Acute stress is also a response to traumatic experiences of violence, abuse, and loss—and in these cases, that short-term stress response can often linger and transform into chronic stress and anxiety.

It’s not only trauma that creates chronic stress. Many people experience a constant presence of stress in their daily lives. Often, we don’t even realize we’re living with stress that never subsides. But evidence of chronic stress can show itself—in problems with sleep, in anxious, irritable, low mood, in fatigue and physical pain throughout the body. The constant presence of stress creates a state of hyperarousal in the brain and body that never entirely goes away. Cortisol levels become elevated, the immune system suppressed, the brain highly vigilant, alert, and threat-focused. This state of physical and psychological arousal can have serious negative effects on sleep and contribute to other chronic health issues, including cardiovascular and metabolic problems, gut dysfunction, anxiety and depression.

And what about burnout? “Burnout” is a non-medical term that is usually used to describe a kind of stress and exhaustion that stems specifically from work.(In truth, burnout can be the result of emotional and physical strain and exhaustion that isn’t exclusively work-related.) Burnout often arises from an intense, unrelenting workload, being constantly “plugged in” to work, and lack of social and emotional support. Needless to say, in today’s 24-7 culture, we’re hearing A LOT about burnout. Anyone is susceptible to this type of stress. People in helping professions, including unpaid, informal and family caregivers, are especially vulnerable

From what we know about floating, both from personal reports and scientific inquiry, it can be a potent antidote to stress and burnout. A review of more than 2 dozen studies investigating floatation REST therapyfound the practice to be an effective tool for lowering stress, increasing a sense of well being, and improving daily performance. Remember, stress has both psychological and physiological components. In addition to psychological improvements, the body of research analyzed in this study found significant evidence of positive physical changes related to stress, including lower cortisol levels and lower blood pressure.

This 2014 study also found significant reductions to stressaccompanied by a boost to energy and optimism, from a 7-week period of floatation therapy that included 12 individual float sessions. It’s worth pointing out (as the study’s scientists themselves did), that many of this study’s participants offered (without being asked) comments to researchers about their float experiences. Many of them talked about the dramatic relief from physical pain that came from floating. (More on the benefits of floating for pain in just a minute.) They also spoke about their never-before experienced degree of relaxation and relief from tension and stress.

A small group of studies has investigated the potential of floatation therapy to address burnout. A 2010 study found that 10 weeks of floatation therapy, in combination with psychotherapy, led to improvements in quality of life and psychological well being, and relief from burnoutthat allowed the study participants to continue to work full time. Another study investigated the long-term effects of floatation. After a series of 12 float sessions, participants in this study experienced major improvements to stress and the symptoms of burnout. Researchers found that these benefits were still in place 4 months after treatment ended.

Overall, the research indicates that floatation therapy can be a very powerful tool for stimulating the body’s relaxation response. Like meditation and yoga, floatation is another mind-body therapy that needs to be given serious consideration and attention as a tool to address stress.

Next, I’ll talk about the ways floatation REST can improve chronic pain and other physical conditions. I’ll also talk about how floating can enhance both physical and mental performance—including creativity—and share some tips for getting started with floating, and ways you can maximize its sleep and health benefits.

Sweet Dreams,

Michael J. Breus, PhD, DABSM

The Sleep Doctor

www.thesleepdoctor.com

The post The Benefits Of Floating For Sleep And Mental Health appeared first on Your Guide to Better Sleep.

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strmyweather · 7 years ago

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“We rise / and we fall / and we break / and we make / our mistakes”

(This is Part II of a multi-part post. Read the back story here.)

I’ve written before about the power of community when it comes to exercise, and recently read an old article in the New York Times that makes the same point regarding diet and general longevity—that healthy habits are often mutually reinforcing, but only as long as there’s a network of support. Almost everyone I know has heard me gush about how much I loved my Philadelphia CrossFit gym and its associated social network, and although the move back to North Carolina has overall been an extremely positive change, it took me a while to find the right exercise fit once I got here. Every place I tried was missing something—either the location wasn’t convenient, the class times didn’t work with my schedule, or the coaching style wasn’t a good fit. I briefly found ‘my tribe’ at a brand-new CF gym—that ultimately closed after less than a year for financial reasons, its members fanning out across the Triangle to all manner of other facilities.

Out of frustration, disillusionment, and lack of options, I ended up taking six months off from CrossFit altogether and trying a different style of training, focusing on stability and mobility, with a lot of isometric holds and kettlebell work (one gym member, casting about for a description, called it ‘strength yoga’). To its credit, this style of activity—watched closely by very knowledgeable coaches, with form as the absolute highest priority at all times—went a long way towards helping me neurologically rewire my posterior chain and finally heal a nagging back injury. However, it just wasn’t CrossFit, and although I kept showing up—half-jokingly referring to it as “taking my medicine”—I didn’t have the same drive that I remembered from years past. In Philadelphia, I’d walk out of the gym after a tough session on Monday morning already feeling excited about what we might get to do on Tuesday. In this environment—although I certainly saw others around me who exhibited that enthusiasm—I just didn’t feel it myself. My attendance slowly dropped from 5-6 days a week to four, sometimes even just three. My social circle, which for years had been centered around the gym, shifted to other outlets—which wasn’t altogether bad, but meant that there was inherently a lot more food and drink involved, with a lot less communal understanding of how that food and drink fit into a larger health framework. This combination of factors meant that weight gain—already an issue due to having lost my physically intense city lifestyle of bike-commuting and walking several miles a day—accelerated.

Eventually, the coach at the ‘strength yoga’ gym, who was also a personal friend, told me to my face, “You’re coming in here every day wanting this to be CrossFit, and it’s not. You’re not bringing your best attitude in here because you’re not doing what you want to be doing.” He was right; more importantly, he had a specific gym recommendation that, although it was a comparatively longer hike from my home, turned out to be a great fit. Finally, after two years, I had a community again.

The first six months were spent recouping some of my strength—I had lost a lot of ground, more so than I would have expected. I started matching most of my old barbell numbers after a few months; however, gymnastics movements—not my forte even at the best of times—did not progress at nearly the same rate, in part because I was still carrying 15 extra pounds. I kept showing up, kept completing the workouts, but during those first months, there was still a sense of ‘duty’ about it. Mentally, I was glad to be back, but my abilities were still so far below where I used to be that, emotionally, I didn’t yet feel like I could fully commit without simultaneously opening myself up to the full impact of that crushing discouragement.

I didn’t sign up for the CrossFit Open in 2017, mostly for the bruised-ego reasons above—I knew I wasn’t at the level I’d been in years past and that attempting to perform as such would only serve to frustrate me. However, we still completed the Open workouts as part of the regular class sessions, and during the second week, I ended up completely on my own at a 6am Open session with my favorite coach. And out of the clear blue, that day proved to be the mental turning point for which I had been unconsciously waiting for so long. It wasn’t that I turned in a particularly noteworthy performance; the bigger motivator was the simple experience of a knowledgeable and perceptive coach matter-of-factly giving me her full attention, making a strategic plan for how I should approach the workout based on my objective level of ability—and then my being able to successfully execute that plan in practice. Gasping on the floor afterward, I forgot the workout itself almost immediately in the shock and unexpected relief of its execution. Despite a thoroughly mediocre score, the waves of emotion surging through me were overwhelmingly positive. It felt good to treat a physical task as though it mattered. More than that, I was completely taken aback by the forgotten luxury of having someone else accurately analyze my capabilities and tell me—correctly—how to attack a challenge, rather than me having to make strategic decisions on my own. I realized that because I was ostensibly an ‘experienced’ athlete now, that upon changing gyms, CrossFit had become yet another area of my life where I had to be the one in control—and that I had somehow resigned myself to that state of things without question. But in Philadelphia, it had been a relief and a joy to walk into the gym each day and know that I could surrender, that those coaches knew both their sport and me as an individual athlete well enough to consistently know what was best for me in any given situation. They knew when to push and when to back off, how to keep me physically safe while still helping me to progress as an athlete. I didn’t question or doubt them, because there was simply no need. And there had been a quiet joy in releasing that responsibility. In our modern adult world, that kind of unconditionally trusting relationship is rare and precious. I had understood that, and treasured it—and had sadly assumed that I’d just never find it again once I left Philadelphia. The day of 17.2, I realized I had missed that trust so deeply that I had entirely shut it out its potential.

Still sitting on the floor bathed in sweat, I was abruptly reminded that THIS was what I loved about CrossFit: the relationships. The sense of feeling thoroughly and intimately ‘known’ and being advised accordingly, in the face of something very hard. Being able to fully trust someone else’s guidance. Feeling like someone else is ‘invested’ in you, even just for a few minutes. These were experiences I’d had all too rarely in the previous 18 months. Leaving the gym that day, I felt the flicker of the old fire reignite.

I actually said aloud to a friend of mine, as he arrived for the 7am session, “Okay. I know this sounds weird. But I feel like I might be ready to ‘start trying’ again.”

“Welcome back to the club, kid,” he said with a grin.

Two weeks later, the weight-loss journey began in earnest. But for that, you’ll have to wait for Part Three. :)

#crossfit #nutrition #RP #RPstrength #RenaissancePeriodization

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