Prozac works but why not try the un-chemical way to feel good?

This discussion is not about whether Prozac helps with anxiety. Yes, medicines like Prozac can help you control your anxiety levels, but here, I am discussing some DIY methods that are not equally chemical and don't require you to chase around for a prescription. I have had issues with restoring my mental energy levels every time they get depleted over a few hectic days. Ever since I turned 25, a pattern emerged where, after a couple of days of sustained physical and psychological work, my mind would go into a caffeinated mode, unable to wind down, and as a result, my anxiety levels and the associated digestive symptoms would surface. The medicines I tried over the years to control this habit and its root cause helped to some extent, but there is a catch to using them. No matter what the pharmaceutical world says, there is a downside to every drug out there, prescription or over-the-counter. Once you get into the habit of using mood boosters, or in my case, mood-sustaining salts, there is a big chance your body and mind will stop evolving to help you navigate and manage different phases of your life, and some need you to be alert and calm. My continuous run-ins with these meds also helped me uncover some things that could boost the overall mood and energy levels. These mental health tips are not stolen from the web or blatantly rewritten to engage the search engines. This is from my cup of psychological wellness, and I am sharing some of it with you:

Take some bites: the easiest way to control anxiety on a bad day.

You need to boost your sugar levels, but just a bit, not to the extent that you get a sugar rush. A few bites of literally anything, spaced across one hour where you nibble and munch a lot rather than consume a heavy meal, can help. Don't gulp aerated drinks as they don't hold for much time. Try more bread, cornflakes, some ice cream, a smoothie, a shake, or a small sandwich that you keep biting into. Yes, chocolate helps, but in moderation. Nuts, roasted or with something sweet, can help too. Raisins work in some way and are also a physical energy booster. Bananas tend to make me feel sluggish, so I avoid them despite a whole lot of natural sweetness. This is not meant to cure your anxiety, and it does not help you to cure anxiety. This simple exercise can help you get over anxiety for a few hours and navigate a hectic day at the workplace when there is a distinct burden you are carrying.

Don't force sleep: slightly offbeat anxiety prevention tip.

Trying to route your mind towards a relaxing mode could have disastrous results. You could end up feeling more irritated and less energetic. Don't sit alone and do too many deep breaths...this generic advice does not help many people like me. You might want to lower the intensity of the lighting around you, put on some music, and start engaging your mind with videos or music you like. Trying to put yourself to sleep is often the cause of bringing about anxiety. Your mind starts to dig up answers. You start examining everything that has happened over the course of the day or even yesterday. The further you dig, the farther you are from a good night's sleep. Sometimes, this can make you overthink to the extent that a small daft of anxiety comes knocking. As a rule, don't lie down for too long just because it seems like the right time to sleep or just because someone recommended a quick nap. If you are not someone who is genuinely good at power naps, don't stress it. Don't go chasing the general rule of an 8-hour sleep cycle. Keep it simple - sleep only when you are naturally slipping into it.

Online window shopping or OTT indulgence: easy ways to control anxiety

For shopping enthusiasts like me, an easy way to maintain sanity on a slightly stressed day is working on an online shopping cart. Prune the wish-listed products. Cancel items whose items have just escalated. Try to read into the current sales campaign. Save items you might need in the near future. De-link or upload more of your payment cards. Update shipping addresses or link a digital wallet that can provide some savings the next time you actually buy something. Indulge in some online product comparisons. Overall, this exercise might not lead to actually buying great products, but it occupies your mind in a way that takes the focus away from something that has been bothering you. It also takes away the need to sip beer. Making a big bowl of homemade popcorn and catching up with that OTT show that has been waiting in the watchlist is another good idea. Let the OTT zombies chew down your anxiety levels. A bit of butter on the popcorn will not make you morbidly obese, and renewing the monthly OTT subscription is still a lot cheaper than getting dependent on valium or Prozac.

Find getting-rid-of videos: easiest tools for managing rising anxiety levels.

This must be the strangest advice for controlling anxiety, but sometimes, it actually works. There are a lot of videos on YouTube and Instagram where people are getting rid of some strange wart or mole, overgrown nails that challenge Shrek, or hair that has never been clipped for decades. How does this work? When you are watching this type of visual content, there is a feeling of superficial, artificial relief that kicks in as the ugliest nails are clipped off, unruly locks are shaven away, or blackheads are pulled out. This helps in unwinding in a private, aloof manner, and such content is available at all times. While I call it getting-rid-of content, it can be slightly overbearing if you are watching it for the first time. Believe me, nobody really likes watching ultra-magnified views of ingrown hair on the chin being pulled out, but when you are out of quick answers to manage anxiety, anything is worth trying. However, if you chance upon animal slaughter videos uploaded by PETA-type agencies and find the recorded killings somewhat calming, you probably need help - the idea here is not to turn sadistic.

Online & Offline Clean-up: the simplest way to distract away oncoming anxiety 

You need an instant boost of goodness, and this is closely associated with a feeling of accomplishment. You need instantly doable tasks that help you feel that way. How can you do it? Get on your smartphone or get on your knees. Dust away things that are cluttering your desk or room, and your mailbox. Kick away, dump, and delete everything that seems mundane or highly unusable. From glamorous Apps to what seems no-long-usable on the bedside table, eradicate, and kill stuff that is not serving any purpose. This keeps your mind busy, works up the body a bit, and you get a nice feeling of gaining more control. Plus, your room partner or your mom would have one less reason to scream at you - how is this a bad deal?

NOT sure-shot ways to reduce anxiety - find your own fix...

There are days when running or heavy weight-lifting, even stretching, and some burpees can bring back that feeling of being alert, a reasonably good mood, and restore energy levels to some extent. And there are days when all of the things shared above don't make any impact. Like I said, this is not swallowing a pill and slightly numbing your mind. The entire efforts here are on managing your anxiety without using prescription pills or things that can be addictive. Usually, having too much caffeine or sugar does not help. Driving around aimlessly also does not get the job done. In contrast, something as simple as sipping some form of fluids might not take away that feeling of low, but it can prevent ruining your mood. You have to try it all and find what works best for you. For instance, every time I am snacking on crispy, crumbly stuff, making all sorts of horrible eating noises, my mind seems totally distracted, as if the focus has been taken away from overanalyzing things. And in the work-from-home schedule that has been enforced upon us, anxiety can come calling in the most unusual ways. You have to find simpler, non-medicated ways of keeping up your state of mental health.

I recommend trying out:

• Slow, conscious exhaling with a slight humming sound

• Chewing your food more consciously, taking extra minutes to swallow each bite

• Listening to music that tends to make your mind travel, even if for just a few minutes

• If you are connected to paper & pen, try to write a bit, try to journal your feelings a bit

• If you are addicted to blogging, write about anything - it really works [personal website]

• Tightening the grip on a body part, almost to the point of making it numb, and then releasing 

Breathing Deep: the Simplest Way to Calm Yourself

Call this Anxiety Management in a jiffy but yes it is true and comes without the fear of side-effects or addiction fears - the things we associate with conventional and modern prescription drugs for anxiety, IBS, depression, obsessive thinking...



Personal Anxiety Management Experiences

I have to confess that I am an anxious soul. I don’t get flustered easily but a sense of uneasiness often overcomes me. I have tried anti-anxiety medications too. Called anxiolytics, these medications are supposed to slow down the release of chemicals that induce a sense of anxiousness. However, I didn’t find these to be too helpful. What has helped is a very simple change I have made to my everyday existence—breathing in a more relaxed manner.

Read about Anxiety Management in the Easiest Way: No Meds, Just Pinch Yourself

Browsing the web, I realized that most of us don’t breathe right. When anxious, this problem worsens as we breathe even more shallowly. I decoded this pattern in my daily life too. Every time I got into an over-thinking mode, my breathing was laboured. I would inhale air in huge bouts and gasps. The consistent smooth breathing pattern was missing. According to researchers, shallow breathing is both a result and cause of anxiety.

Read about Defeating Anxiety Using the Exhale Quick & Strong Approach - It Works!!

It starts when you feel anxious and it also stimulates anxiety symptoms like headaches, acidity or that burning feeling in the stomach. I have put a simple practice into motion. Whenever I feel overworked or getting restless, I shun my work for a minute and start breathing deeper, drawing in more air and exhaling it slowly. The idea is to make your breathing more relaxed. The results are better than depending upon Valium or Prozac.

To take this discussion further, you might want to read about my anxiety management approach during Mornings

Have You Used Self-created Pinch Points to Handle Anxiety?

This discussion will not make sense to everyone, simply because only someone from GERD, like me, can understand how debilitating Anxiety can become...it can literally derail your life and single-handedly decide your overall health status. Over the years of dealing with Anxiety, I have come across many Anxiety-management tools, some free resources and others, obesely priced for no apparent reason. While meditation does work it is not meant for me. Why? My mind tends to wander and ruminate a bit too much. I came across one lifestyle article nearly 3 years back and put the tip to practice - using a pinch point every time you felt that a sudden bout of Anxiety was coming. Yes, you can feel it like a wave of coldness, a wiry thing that feels against your skin, traveling from your upper shoulder area to your head. The trick is simple. Grab hold of something that can pinch you for good. Something like a key does the trick for me.

A Note to My Dear Phus-Phus...[Love Sign!]

You call it a water sprayer. I call it Phus-Phus. You think it is elementary and mechanical. I think it is the smartest invention. While you think spraying the plants is no big deal, I claim it is an art, an acquired taste that evolves with time...

[Image Awaited]

Before you, there was no love in watching the plants grow!

Watering the planters had become dreary, a daily activity that had to be done. With you, I have so many angles to explore. I understand the effects of wind on water stream or spray patterns better. I understand how to control the thumb pressure to control the intensity of spraying. While some people call this misting the plants, it feels like I am nurturing something, and you are the medium through which I express my caring for things that otherwise have nothing to say, nothing to complain about, and will never answer back. You help me connect with the most innocuous things despite being undemanding and unpretentious yourself. In a way, you exude the type of wisdom that must keep monks grounded and humble. 

Until you came around, there were no hand & arm warm-ups!

I use you every day, just before the morning tea. Your loaded spring does wonders for my otherwise genetically weak wrists and arms. You give them tendons and musculature a good stretch. Until you were there, I would rarely know how to warm up my arms that are always bandaged when trying to lift heavy. Nobody knew that you could be my distant gym buddy. Now that I employ you daily, I cannot imagine working out without having spent some minutes with you.

Your Performance is Unconditional, without excuses. You Always Deliver!

In times when I am surrounded by people who are not ready to grind it out, where people exercise their hands to do only the unmentionables and smartphone jerking, you set the example with a dutiful aura about it. I have woken you up from long nights and days of slumber, but you were never lazy like me in the mornings. I have forgotten you on the balcony, but you never complained about the sunburns. You don't need a heads-up for a double round of misting. You don't find reasons to fail. There are so many forms to you, but in design, every bit of you is essentially driven to work hard.

You Don't Fret about Emerging Challenges!

The Phus-Phus knows it has a short life. I tend to trigger in a harsh way, repeatedly misting the plants. No matter for how many weeks, the Phus-Phus will stay true to its promise. It does not choke upon seeing the workflow. IT does not quit. It realizes the replacement is always there in my spare cupboard; younger contenders with stronger springs, better plastics, and improved nozzles will keep arriving. Yet, the Phus-Phus works without any complaints - a perpetual performer, it has the outdoor stamina of worker bees doing their rounds to keep up the beehive alive and humming with activity.

Psychologists should recommend you more than Gardening!

The Phus-Phus has played a role in conditioning my morning hours better, to help me start the day in a more relaxed manner. Almost like a daily ritual, spraying the plants, the young & old, creates a sense of getting the job done, and when you are getting backlash at the workplace for projects not that well-executed, this is almost like a sense of achievement. Yes, doing it/that longer with your wife is more akin to that feeling of victory, but this counts too. Anything is better than medicating yourself and this is like Prozac with an eager, easy-to-personalize trigger action but without the chemical overload.