Natural Solutions for Stress and Anxiety

Natural Health Supplements 

One of the things I don't talk much about is the fact that a few years ago, I
took a course in Natural Health Fundamentals. It is important to me that I have as many resources possible to help clients who are struggling. One of the tools I discovered in my natural health exploration is GABA.

GABA  (gamma-aminobutyric acid) is produced naturally by the human body and it inhibits neurotransmitters that make us feel alert and excited. This promotes relaxation and reduces tension across the central nervous system. GABA may occur naturally in the human body, but we often are deficient. GABA's main role is to help calm the nervous system. I have found in personal use that GABA helps to quiet my brain while I sleep, and it is especially effective if you have a lot of nightmares. Even if the nightmares don't go away completely, I find that with regular use of GABA at night before bed, that I am able to wake myself up before they get "bad" or that my brain will simply switch the bad dream off. Regular use of GABA helps me feel more calm and balanced throughout the day.

Natural Solution for Stress and Anxiety

Many of my clients have reported that their driving anxiety decreases, they are able to focus better, and that they no longer feel that constant vibration of low-grade anxiety in their body after using GABA. 

Is GABA a miracle drug? First, it's not a drug, it's a natural supplement - an amino acid. Second, no - it doesn't work for everyone. Still, it's worth a try since it has few to no side effects, and after a few days of using it, you'll see a difference in your state of general arousal.

In my experience, GABA does not make you sleepy, so although it contributes to a better quality sleep, it won't help you fall asleep like Melatonin or 5-HTP will. 5-HTP is Tryptophan - the hormone found in turkey and bananas that make you feel like you're falling into a food coma after Thanksgiving dinner. Tryptophan makes you drowsy, and can help you fall asleep if you're struggling with insomnia.

Give it a shot! There are a host of vendors on Amazon that sell GABA, 5-HTP (tryptophan), and other natural supplements that help to calm and sedate the nervous system. When you see results, reach out and let me know how they are working for you!

Natural Solution for Stress and Anxiety

When the Roads Get HOT: How to Deal with Road Rage

The Rise of Rage by Julie A. Christiansen

Last week, I took my hubby to Burlington for some guitar shopping and dinner to celebrate his

birthday. What should have been a 35 minute drive home turned into 2.5 hours of gridlock and delays due to traffic, construction, and poor navigation choices.

It was a perfect opportunity to see road rage at work, yet there were no angry outbursts, no dangerous or aggressive drivers in sight. Given that road rage is such a HOT topic right now, here are my thoughts on why road rage occurs and why we didn't see it during 2 hours of gridlock.

Anger shows up when one or more of these four conditions are present:

1. rules are broken
2. boundaries are violated
3. needs/expectations are unmet
4. goal attainment is thwarted

This happens often when we are on the road!

I believe the reason people stayed calm during our multi-hour ordeal was this:

1. No-one was violating the rules of the road. Everyone was respectfully staying in place. A few people turned back to try to find a better alternate route, but they did so safely.
2. No boundaries were violated. There was no aggressive driving (none of us could move!), and people were being as patient as they could be given the circumstances.
3. Our need to get home was not being met, but given that traffic was clearly locked down, our expectation of a very long wait was clearly established. Because we knew and EXPECTED to be sitting in traffic for a while, there was no escalation of angry feelings. We would have only felt anger had our expectations been for a quick commute.
4. We knew that one way or another, we were going to make it home. Since we were not in a rush, and the goal was only delayed, not thwarted, we were all good, and happy to be patient.

When people decide their needs, rules, or boundaries are more important than everyone else's, that's when things can go sideways on the road.

It has been my honour and privilege to speak with the media over the several days about the realities of road rage. See the link below to read the Global News article that started it all.

My new book, The Rise of Rage is now available for pre-order at Amazon! Reserve your copy today!

The Rise of Rage by Julie A. Christiansen

Road Rage is Heating Up in Canada - Global News Report, June 28, 2023

THINK

How to react to anger emotions

According to William Glasser, the author of Choice Theory, we all filter the stimuli we receive in the “real” world through our senses, our values, and our expectations. This filtered information is the “perceived” world. We tend to think of our perceptions as reality – the way things truly are however, we must remember that our perceptions are coloured or impacted by our personal filters. This is why two people can see the same movie, witness the same accident, or look at the same beautiful person and have different reactions, thoughts, or ideas about what they saw.

A frustration signal occurs when we feel a disconnect between our perceived world and our ideal world pictures. Often when we receive that FRUSTRATION signal to the brain, we revert to whatever comes naturally for us. One typical approach is to ACT without THINKING – this is to externalize our feelings through acting out behaviours – yelling, physical actions, slamming doors, threatening,throwing things, driving too fast, etc.

The other option is to THINK without ACTING – this is to

internalize feelings, hiding them from the world and using self-blame or perhaps other-blame in a very personal quiet way, while never actually talking about or doing something about those feelings. Either way, this creates a sense of imbalance. The only way to achieve balance is through a process of self-evaluation, which I have discussed often in this blog:

T: Think – what is happening? what does it mean? how do I feel about it? what should I do about my feelings? what is the best thing that can happen if I do this? what is the worst thing that can happen if I do this?

S: Say – Talk to the person with whom you have the problem, or the one who can help you resolve it. Use assertive language – I feel … because…

A: Ask – Invite the other party to engage in a dialogue with you to work at resolving the issue that is presenting itself. See if you can work together to achieve an outcome that is desirable for you both.

Remember that you cannot and must not ask for some input then walk away once the person starts to talk! If you start the dialogue, see it through. Remember that if you expect people to hear you out,

you must extend the same courtesy to them. So hear them out, and if you disagree, then so be it! At least you are talking about it now, and even if all that comes of the dialogue is that you agree to disagree, you will still have come a long way from feeling hurt or angry.