Can Three Words Turn Anxiety Into Success?

A simple technique called “anxious reappraisal” might help people channel nervous jitters into improved performance.  

Olga Khazan

I am so excited for this severe threat looming on the horizon.
I just can’t wait to learn how I will fail to live up to my own expectations.
I lie awake, tight-chested, at 3 a.m., just really looking forward to what fresh hell that meeting will be about.
Don’t mind me, I’m just trying out a cognitive trick that’s supposed to help with anxiety. It’s called “anxiety reappraisal,” and it boils down to telling yourself that you feel excited whenever you feel nervous. It sounds stupidly simple, but it's proven effective in a variety of studies and settings.
It’s also counterintuitive: When most people feel anxious, they likely tell themselves to just relax. “When asked, ‘how do you feel about your upcoming speech?’, most people will say, ‘I’m so nervous, I’m trying to calm down,’” said Alison Wood Brooks, a professor at Harvard Business School who has studied the phenomenon. She cites the ubiquitous “Keep Calm and Carry On” posters as partial evidence.

But that might be precisely the wrong advice, she said. Instead, the slogan should be more like, “Get Amped and Don’t Screw Up.”
That’s because anxiety and excitement are both aroused emotions. In both, the heart beats faster, cortisol surges, and the body prepares for action. In other words, they’re “arousal congruent.” The only difference is that excitement is a positive emotion‚ focused on all the ways something could go well.
Calmness is also positive, meanwhile, but it’s also low on arousal. For most people, it takes less effort for the brain to jump from charged-up, negative feelings to charged-up, positive ones, Brooks said, than it would to get from charged-up and negative to positive and chill. In other words, its easier to convince yourself to be excited than calm when you’re anxious.
Brooks discovered this for herself by performing a series of three experiments for a study published in 2014. After rounding up her participants, she surprised them with a series of tasks that most people find at least a little bit anxiety-inducing.
First, they were asked to sing the song “Don’t Stop Believin” by the band Journey in front of the group. (“I chose ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ as the target song because it can be performed easily in three different octaves,” Brooks wrote. It “was also the 21st most downloaded song in iTunes history and tends to be extremely familiar to English speakers.”)
The participants were then told to either say “I am anxious,” “I am excited,” or nothing before they broke into song. The “excited” participants not only felt more excited, and they also sang better, according to a computerized measurement of volume and pitch. Their on-and-on-and-ons were just more, well, on—perhaps because the participants themselves were.
The same was true of a speech test. When asked to give a two-minute speech on camera, the excited participants spoke longer and were seen as more persuasive, confident, and persistent. Then came a math test, in which the excited participants similarly outperformed a group that was told to remain calm.

Surprisingly, though, the excitement reappraisal didn't actually make the subjects less anxious, nor did it lower their heart rate. That’s because the underlying anxiety was the same—it was just reframed as excitement.
The way this works, Brooks said, is by putting people in an “opportunity mindset,” with a focus on all the good things that can happen if you do well, as opposed to a  “threat mindset,” which dwells on all the consequences of performing poorly.
In 2010, the University of Rochester’s Jeremy Jamieson similarly found that reframing anxiety as a positive thing could help people do better on the math section of the GRE standardized test. In his study, subjects were just told that anxiety could improve performance—they didn’t even have to say that they were excited.
And another study published last year asked people to list goals they had that were in conflict with one another. (So, for example, training for a marathon and finishing an ambitious project.) Some participants were asked to say the phrase “I am excited” out loud to themselves three times, while others just said their names. Those who reappraised their anxiety as excitement felt they had more time on their hands to complete their goals.
I suggested to Brooks that this trick might be harder than it seems. Say you’re not really the kind of person who goes around proclaiming her enthusiasm for things. And say you have a lot of anxiety related to your job. And say that job involves reading a lot of psychology papers, so you kind of already know all the anxiety-alleviation tricks, and you have been known to try them all, fruitlessly, as you stress-eat Skinny Cow ice cream late at night. I’m asking for a friend.
The more my friend tries it, Brooks said, the easier it might become for her. She also recommends making a list of all the ways an upcoming, anxiety-inducing task could go well, and how it might benefit you. Who will be in the audience for that major speech you give? How will that change your life for the better?
She also said the technique might not be ideal for people whose success on a stressful task requires fine motor control. Surgeons, for example, are probably best off if they’re not giddy bundles of nerves when they operate. Most everyone else facing dread, though, should at least give it a shot.
So go ahead! I’m excited to read all your comments about whether it works.

Worry and anxiety linked to high IQ?

 

Are you an over thinker? Do thoughts endlessly go around and around in your head as you make up various scenarios and compare them with a multitude of possible outcomes? Do you often end up anxious and stressed out?

Don’t fret, I mean really, don’t fret, stop it right now! Because a new study has shown that excessive worry might not be such a bad thing after all — and that such anxiety may have evolved in people along with intelligence.

According to Dr. Adam Perkins, an expert in Neurobiology of Personality at King’s College in London:

“It occurred to me that if you happen to have a preponderance of negatively hued self-generated thoughts, due to high levels of spontaneous activity in the parts of the medial prefrontal cortex that govern conscious perception of threat and you also have a tendency to switch to panic sooner than average people, due to possessing especially high reactivity in the basolateral nuclei of the amygdala, then that means you can experience intense negative emotions even when there’s no threat present. This could mean that for specific neural reasons, high scorers on neuroticism have a highly active imagination, which acts as a built-in threat generator.”

He goes on to say that: “Cheerful, happy-go-lucky people by definition do not brood about problems and so must be at a disadvantage when problem-solving compared to a more neurotic person. We have a useful sanity check for our theory because it is easy to observe that many geniuses seem to have a brooding, unhappy tendency that hints they are fairly high on the neuroticism spectrum. For example, think of the life stories of Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Vincent Van Gogh, Kurt Cobain, etc. Perhaps the link between creativity and neuroticism was summed up most succinctly of all by John Lennon when he said: ‘Genius is pain.’

It’s official the people who worry in this world are the creators. They are the ones who see the problems that need to be fixed before the happy go lucky people do.

So in addition to those who worry a lot, those with anxiety disorder tended to have higher IQ scores than healthy people, as well as higher levels of activity in regions of the brain that aid in communication between parts of the brain. These regions are thought to have contributed to the evolutionary success of humans.

Although we tend to view anxiety as not being good for us, it is linked with intelligence — a highly adaptive trait,’ says Dr. Jeremy Coplan, study researcher and professor of psychiatry at State University of New York Downstate Medical Center. He goes on to explain from his findings that:

‘High levels of anxiety can be disabling, and patients’ worries are often irrational,’ But that “every so often there’s a wild-card danger. Then, that excessive worry becomes highly adaptive,” Coplan clarifies that, “People who act on the signals of that wild-card danger are likely to preserve their lives and the lives of their offspring,”

So really don’t fret about your fretting any more, its you and many others that may be the key to the survival of the human race.

Source: I Heart Intelligence - See more at: http://www.thinkinghumanity.com/2016/02/worry-and-anxiety-linked-to-high-iq.html#sthash.emUjOOp9.dpuf

6 Ways to Make Yourself Happier Every Day (Without Changing a Thing)

These simple steps can mean big changes to your mood.

How happy are you? Maybe be happier than you think. Most of us have a ton of chatter in heads--deadlines that are fast approaching or that we've missed, appointments we're late for, birthdays forgotten and on and on and on. In this busy world of ours, it's all too easy for that constant chatter to overwhelm our brains, causing us to lose sight of the big picture. Often, that big picture looks pretty good.
At least, that's how it works with me. Like most of you (I'll bet) I'm a little too busy, a little too rushed, and thus a little too stressed, way too much of the time. It was all distracting me from seeing what was right in front of my eyes. About a year and a half ago, my musician husband and I moved from Woodstock, New York to Snohomish, Washington, at the same time as I started writing this column on a daily basis instead of twice a week.
We picked Snohomish because, besides being a charming old logging town, it's the epicenter of a local music community that functions as an extended family--maybe 50 or so really talented musicians most of whom get together and play in various restaurants and bars, and each others' homes, a few times a week. Sometimes it seems Bill's life has been transformed into one very long jam session, with occasional breaks for eating and sleeping. There's a musical event, a party, or both to attend nearly every evening of the week. Sometimes it's exhausting and the other day I found myself thinking grumpily: "All I ever get to do is work and go to music events."
Then I caught myself. Say what?
The two things I love most in this world are being a writer and my musician husband. The fact that I'm busy with this column is a good thing. The fact that I'm so busy that I can't take on all the projects I'm offered, and so only do those that I enjoy--that's a very good thing. The fact that my husband and I are part of this wonderful musician community and he now spends so much of his time out performing with them--that's a very, very good thing. I was feeling grumpy because my life is busy. But it's busy with things I love.
In our overloaded world, I bet I'm not the only one to get fixated on scheduling challenges and miss noticing how great things actually are. If that sounds like you too, I invite you to join me in doing the following:

1. Give yourself time to slow down.

I don't know about you but if I go for too long always rushing from one thing to another it destroys my ability to enjoy my own life. So I'm pretty rigid about having one completely work-free day every week, even if it means missing a deadline sometimes. That simple change has made a huge difference to my outlook--if you're working both days every weekend (even just a little) I highly recommend it.

2. Start your day with gratitude.

It's human nature to focus on the negative--a response that has evolved over thousands of years because failing to notice a threat can be deadly and failing to notice something pleasant usually isn't. Knowing we have this natural bias toward the negative, we can help change our outlook by making a deliberate choice to focus on the good things in our lives. Here's a simple mental routine that I now do every morning before I get out of bed. It literally takes about a minute, and it can influence the whole day.

3. Compare where you are now to where you used to be.

It's easy to lose sight of how far we've come and how much we've accomplished when we're scramble to solve problems day-to-day. So take a moment to look back to where you were five years ago, and ten years ago. If you stop to take stock of where you are and where you were, I'm betting you'll see that you've come a long way.

4. Train yourself to say 'I get to' instead of 'I have to.'

Instead of thinking "I have to" write that report, or make that phone call, or go through that stack of resumes, or whatever next task you have to do, try thinking, "I get to" do those things. Why? Because if you're like me, the tasks you're grumbling about having to do are part of a job you love. Probably a job you've chosen, and have worked hard to get.
If I'm wrong about that and you don't love your job, then you have a different challenge because you should not stay in a job you hate. If only because it could literally shorten your life.

5. Consider all the good luck you've had.

Most of us spend most of our time feeling unlucky. We think about that big break somebody else got but not us. We think about the great contacts we haven't made, and the great opportunities that haven't come our way, and even the lotteries we haven't won. But for every break we didn't get, there are all sorts of ways in which we've been incredibly lucky. Take an honest look around at all the people you know, and all the people you encounter in the course of a day. I guarantee, you'll be thanking your good fortune that you aren't coping with some of the problems you se around you.

6. Now...think what you might like to change.

Knowing how good things already are doesn't mean you can't ask for more. You can make changes to your life if there are things you want to change. For example, even though I love the life I have, I would like to spend more time around other writers, something I miss since we moved away from my writer community on the East Coast. I need to exercise more, and also find more time to go explore the spectacular region where we now live.
I can make all these changes, and I will. But I also know how lucky I am to be right where I am now.

10 Crucial Differences Between Worry and Anxiety

Guy Winch Ph.D. The Squeaky Wheel

... and why you need to know the difference.

Posted Mar 14, 2016 

 People often use the terms worry and anxiety interchangeably, but they are very different psychological states. Although both are associated with a general sense of concern and disquiet, how we experience them is quite distinct—as are the implications they have for our emotional and psychological health.
10 Differences between Worry and Anxiety
1. We tend to experience worry in our heads and anxiety in our bodies.
Worry tends to be more focused on thoughts in our heads, while anxiety is more visceral in that we feel it throughout our bodies.
2. Worry tends to be specific while anxiety is more diffuse.
We worry about getting to the airport on time (specific threat) but we feel anxious about traveling—a vaguer, more general concern.
3. Worry is verbally focused while anxiety includes verbal thoughts and mental imagery.
This difference is important, as emotional mental images such as those associated with anxiety provoke a much greater cardiovascular response than emotional verbal thoughts (such as those associated with worry). This is another reason why we experience anxiety throughout the body.
4. Worry often triggers problem solving but anxiety does not.
Worry can lead us to think about solutions and strategies for dealing with a given situation. Anxiety is more like a hamster wheel that spins us around but doesn’t lead us to productive solutions. Indeed, anxiety’s diffuse nature makes it less amenable to problem solving.
5. Worry creates mild emotional distress, anxiety can create severe emotional distress.
Anxiety is simply a much more powerful and hence, disruptive and problematic psychological state than worry.
6. Worry is caused by more realistic concerns than anxiety.
If you’re concerned about getting fired because you did really poorly on a project, you’re worried. If you’re concerned about getting fired because your boss didn’t ask about your child’s piano recital, you’re anxious.
7. Worry tends to be controllable, anxiety much less so.
By problem solving and thinking through strategies to deal with the cause of our worry, we can diminish it greatly. We have much less control over our anxiety, as it is much harder to "talk ourselves out of it."
8. Worry tends to be a temporary state but anxiety can linger.
Once we resolve the issue worrying us, our worry diminishes and disappears. Anxiety can linger for long periods of time and even jump from one focus to another (e.g., one week we feel anxious about work, then about our health, then about our kids...).
9. Worry doesn't impact our professional and personal functioning; anxiety does.
No one takes a sick day to sit and worry about whether their teenager will do well on their exams. But anxiety can make us feel so restless, uncomfortable, and incapable of concentrating that we might literally feel too distressed to work.
10. Worry is considered a normative psychological state while anxiety is not.
In certain intensities and duration, anxiety is considered a true mental disorder, one that requires psychological treatment and/or medication.

21 Anxiety Triggers That Might Surprise You

05/13/2015 08:24 am ET | Updated May 13, 2015 

Leigh Weingus Healthy Living Writer, HuffPost TV 

 

If you suffer from anxiety, you’re not alone. Anxiety disorders affect 40 million U.S. adults, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America.

Doctors typically diagnose patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder if they suffer from symptoms of anxiety (constant worry, insomnia, difficulty concentration and more) for more than six months. But according to Everyday Health, almost all of us have experienced anxiety at some point.

What triggers those feelings of panic and worry that we’re oh-so-familiar with? We reached out to HuffPost Lifestyle’s Facebook community and got some honest, heartfelt answers from our readers. Here are 21 things that trigger anxiety:

1. “Money woes! Trying to save for a wedding, a house and pay down debts seems unattainable after paying monthly bills. And forget starting a family — how do people afford it?!” — Facebook user Rebekah L

2. “My child’s struggles in school.” — Facebook user Tess E. Williams

3. “I feel heat rising in my neck when too many people speak to me at once.” — Facebook user Zandra Rios-Martinez

4. “Being far from home.” — Facebook user Jojo Bean

5. “Trying anything new, going anywhere by myself, or going anywhere period. Arguing with the ones I love. Anxiety sucks.” — Facebook user Kristi Marshall-Miller

 

6. “Not being able to predict the future. I hate surprises and I love spoilers.” — Facebook user Bailey Annan Sonday

7. “Crowds!” — Facebook user Linda Balzano

8. “Being verbally attacked or being around extremely negative or judgmental people.” — Facebook user Anna Heiser

9. “My performance at work. Being a leader, but feeling as though I’m ‘faking’ it as I go along. Being found out that I don’t know as much as my peers think I do.” — Facebook user Shelly Bornemann

10. “Being alone.” — Facebook user Robyn Cox

11. “Death. I’ve lost a lot of people in my life over the past 10 years.” — Facebook user Lindsey Solenberger

12. “Heat! I associate it with being claustrophobic.” — Facebook user Selina Torres

13. “Thinking about my anxiety triggers my anxiety.” — Facebook user Monica Theis

14. “Work. The feeling that even though I’m a really good performer, I could be fired at any moment.” — Facebook user Gabby Nelson

15. “Hearing an ambulance.” — Facebook user Tina Mike

16. “Losing control and uncertainty. A lack of communication and trying to come to my own conclusions also does.” — Facebook user Jill Grodan

17. “Meeting new people.” — Facebook user Karen Temple Walker

18. “Not living up to the über high expectations I place upon myself!” — Facebook user Gayle Redick Cramer

19. “Driving on the freeway.” — Facebook user Camille Wright

20. “Getting older.” — Facebook user Jill Zimmerman

21. “Life in general. It’s too busy. Nobody ever takes the time to slow down.” — Facebook user Penelope Dryden

If you suffer from anxiety, take a deep breath and just know you’re not alone.

If you — or someone you know — need help, please call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. If you are outside of the U.S., please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention for a database of international resources.

These Are the Best Exercises for Anxiety and Depression

March 24, 2016 | By Kathleen Mulpeter

 

If you suffer from depression or anxiety, your workout can play a key role in managing your symptoms, thanks to the powerful link between your physical and mental health.

“We know that the old divisions of body and mind are false,” says Ben Michaelis, PhD, an evolutionary clinical psychologist and author of Your Next Big Thing: 10 Small Steps to Get Moving and Get Happy ($2; amazon.com). “The body is the mind and the mind is the body. When you take care of yourself, you are helping the whole system.”

Needless to say, you should always consult with your doctor about your treatment options, says Michaelis. But it can’t hurt to incorporate exercise, of any kind, into your routine. Research suggests that these three activities in particular could help alleviate symptoms of depression or anxiety.

Running

There’s a reason you’ve heard time and again that running is one of the best exercises for your health: It can torch calories, reduce food cravings, and lower your risk for heart disease. Running for just five minutes a day might even help you live longer, according to 2014 research.

But it’s also been shown to improve mood in a variety of ways, Michaelis says. “Running causes lasting changes in our ‘feel good’ neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine, both during and after exercise,” he explains. What’s more: The repetitive motions of running appear to have a meditative effect on the brain.

The mental benefits can be especially powerful for people who suffer from depression. In a 2006 review published in the Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience, researchers found evidence that exercise can work in a similar way to antidepressants, alleviating major depressive disorder by promoting the growth of new neurons in the brain.

Also good: Running may make it easier for you to fall asleep at night, says Michaelis, which benefits your overall mental health by improving memory, lowering stress levels, and protecting against depression.

Hiking in the woods

To maximize the mental health benefits of your sweat session, consider hitting the trails. “Nature has a calming effect on the mind,” says Michaelis. “There is evidence that being around plants, trees, and especially decaying trees can help reduce anxiety because these plants emit chemicals to slow down the process of their decay, which appears to slow us down as well.”
In a 2009 study published in Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine, Japanese researchers sent participants to either a wooded or urban area. They found that those who’d taken a 20-minute “forest bath” (a.k.a. a walk in the woods), had lower stress hormone levels than the participants who had been in a city.
Newer research seems to reinforce the idea that being immersed in nature is good for your mental health. A study published last summer, for example, discovered that when young adults went on a 50-minute nature walk, they felt less anxious and had improved memory function.

Yoga

In a small 2007 study published in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, all of the study’s participants who had taken yoga classes experienced “significant” reductions in depression, anger, anxiety, and neurotic symptoms. The findings led the researcher to recommend yoga as a complementary treatment for depression.

In 2012, another group of researchers conducted a review of trials that examined the effects of yoga on anxiety and stress. In 25 out of the 35 studies, subjects experienced a significant decrease in stress and anxiety symptoms after starting yoga.

“The great thing about yoga is that besides the stretching and core strengthening, there is a tremendous focus on breathing, which helps to slow down and calm the mind,” says Michaelis.

Experts believe that yoga’s focus on the breath is especially beneficial for your mental health because it’s difficult to be anxious when you’re breathing deeply. To take advantage of the perks of deep breathing in and out of yoga class, Michaelis suggests trying a relaxing trick popularized by Andrew Weil, MD, called the 4-7-8 breathing technique.

Can You Really Be Lucky in Love?

Theresa E DiDonato Ph.D. Meet, Catch, and Keep

... and how to make your own luck.

Posted Mar 14, 2014 

 We live in a world with more than 7 billion other people. Seven billion. Yet, look around: Every day, people find the person they want to be with for the rest of their lives. Two people, finding each other among all the other billions of people. Is it luck? Is it something else? And once you're in a relationship, does luck still matter?
Let’s examine the role of luck in romantic relationships:
Meeting Your Match. A little luck can make a difference when you’re looking for love. For a relationship to begin, luck, or chance, must work its magic so that two people find themselves in the same space at the same time—this shared geography initiates the potential for favorable interactions that generate attraction (Newcomb, 1958). So, from one perspective, a set of events must already be in motion so that two people cross paths…that's luck.
But is finding someone to love entirely left to the whims of chance? Certainly not. Behaviors affect the probability that a rare and desirable event, like meeting a romantic partner, will occur. Instead of sitting on the couch waiting for luck and love, people can get out and go to social events and settings where there is an increased chance (or luck) of meeting other people. Being open to online dating, blind dates, and new friends can help boost your chances of meeting a compatible partner.
Is Your Match Your Match? You meet someone great, and now you’re wondering: Is he or she the one? Has luck’s cousin, fate, stepped in and found me my perfect match? How you ask and answer this question may be linked to your implicit, or unconscious, beliefs and expectations about romantic relationships. Are you someone who believes in destiny, relying on luck and fate to keep you connected with your soul mate? Or are you someone who believes that relationships are growth opportunities, and must be cultivated?
Knee (1998) suggests that implicit destiny or growth beliefs have a profound influence on how you view your relationship and how much you’re willing to work to solve relationship problems. People who rely heavily on destiny see bumps in the road as indications that "it wasn’t meant to be,” while people with growth beliefs engage in active coping to help work through relationship events. Luck, it seems, might help bring people together, but an overreliance on external force—like luck or destiny—can inhibit behaviors crucial to the maintenance of a healthy relationship.
Feeling Lucky in Love. How lucky are you to be with your romantic partner? Evidence suggests that your beliefs about how lucky you are may be linked to your relationship success. Appreciation for one’s romantic partner translates to positive relationship behaviors (Gordon, Impett, Kogan, Oveis, & Keltner, 2012) and expressing gratitude increases people’s sense of responsibility for and connection to others (Lambert, Clark, Durtschi, Fincham, & Graham, 2010). Such findings suggest that healthy relationships can become even more satisfying through partners’ active efforts to recognize and express how lucky they are to be with each other.
Conclusion
Luck comes in handy as people navigate the pairing process, but much of a relationship’s success is tied to individuals’ implicit beliefs about relationships, their beliefs about their partners, and their behaviors. For people in ongoing relationships who are looking to add new life to the partnership, this exercise in counterfactual thinking might help:

To bring feelings of luckiness to the surface, imagine a hypothetical reality in which you never met your partner. Such thoughts tend to highlight the benefits and upsides of having your partner in your life, which increases the meaning ascribed to that relationship (Kray et al., 2010).

To be lucky in love is a blessing worth attention in our relationships.

The Weird Thing That Can Happen to Your Teeth Before Your Period

March 23, 2016 | By Alison Mango

 

Every few weeks, I get some uncomfortable sensations in my mouth. My teeth feel achy and loose. My gums are swollen and sensitive. And I have a desire to brush my teeth every couple of hours. These symptoms go away after a few days, but until then nothing seems to help.

The last time this happened, I finally consulted Dr. Google and came upon a condition called menstruation gingivitis—an inflammation of the gums that typically begins just before a woman’s period and goes away once her period starts.  

The symptoms matched mine, and after glancing at the calendar, I realized the timing made perfect sense. Mystery solved!

RELATED: Your Guide to Healthy, White Teeth

In search of more info, I called ob-gyn Mary Rosser, MD, PhD, at Montefiore Health System in New York City, who explained that women are more susceptible to gingivitis thanks to natural fluctuations in our hormone levels.

“A surge in the female hormones estrogen and progesterone causes an increase in blood flow to the gums, and a decrease in the way that we can fight off plaque and other toxins,” says Dr. Rosser. Plaque build-up irritates the gums, which become tender, swollen, and red, and some women see blood while they’re flossing or brushing their teeth. They may also develop sores on the insides of their cheeks. These symptoms tend to strike before menstruation and during pregnancy.

RELATED: 20 Things That Can Ruin Your Smile

There are a few other times in a woman’s life when she might develop periodontal problems due to changing hormones: during puberty, after menopause, and if she takes oral contraceptives (especially progesterone-only pills), says Dr. Rosser.

While the hormonal changes don’t cause gum disease, they can exacerbate any symptoms that you already have. That’s why Dr. Rosser stresses the importance of maintaining good dental hygiene year-round, and visiting your dentist every six months. Damage from gingivitis can be reversed if you’re diligent about those biannual appointments and the proper at-home cleaning routine—that means brushing, flossing, and rinsing with mouthwash twice a day.

RELATED: Best and Worst Food for Your Teeth

If your gums start to bleed when you floss before your period or during pregnancy, it may be tempting to quit this healthy habit. Don’t, Dr. Rosser cautions. Flossing will help lower your risk of developing more serious periodontal disease down the road.

Another tip: Consider cutting back on sugar and carbohydrates, she suggests. That may help ease the inflammation. But if at any point you notice that your symptoms are worse than usual, it’s worth scheduling a visit with your dentist to get checked out, says Dr. Rosser.

25 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be a Happier Person

Expert-backed ways to improve your outlook, fast. 

 

How to be a happier person

by Alison Mango
Some people just ooze happiness: They always seem to be smiling and having fun, and let negative emotions and experiences roll off their backs. But if you think there's no way you could possibly ever be that way, you're wrong. Science proves that you do have the power to change your outlook on life. And it isn't hard, either: Most of the tips that follow are as simple as cracking a smile once in a while (yes, that's one of the tips). Here's to a happier you!
 

Exercise

Getting your blood pumping releases endorphins throughout your whole body, creating feelings of happiness that combat a bad mood. Studies have even shown that exercise can help alleviate symptoms of depression. Any physical activity counts—running, indoor cycling, yoga, dancing—as long as you break a sweat. Even a brisk 20- to 30-minute walk will help. 

Flow through some yoga

When you start to see red, you might want to take a moment and flow through a sun salutation or two. Yoga can help ease depressive symptoms as well as anxiety, allowing you to slow down and focus on your breathing rather than your worries, frustrations, and problems. Try this calming yoga sequence from Kristin McGee, Health's contributing fitness editor.

Load up on leafy greens

Dark, leafy greens such as spinach and kale are rich in folate, providing 33% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA). This nutrient is linked to a decrease in negative moods and depression because it helps produce dopamine in the brain. One 2012 study found that middle-aged people who consumed the most folate had a lower risk of depression symptoms than those who ate the least. 

 

Try cognitive behavioral therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a proven treatment for clinical depression and anxiety disorders, and it can also help anybody who simply needs to learn how to combat negative thoughts. CBT helps patients recognize and then reverse harmful thought patterns by testing their validity and then replacing them with positive ones, leaving them happier, healthier, and in a better mood.
 

Buy flowers for yourself

A team of Harvard researchers found that keeping fresh flowers at home does wonders in keeping away anxiety and negative moods. People in the study also felt more compassionate toward others and they felt a boost of energy and enthusiasm at work. 

Smile

While you may think of smiling as a reaction to feeling happy, some researchers suggest that smiling can also lead to joy. The simple act of smiling—even if you have to force it—might help to activate the happiness centers in your brain, leaving you in a better mood.
 

Turn on a light box

Light therapy is an effective treatment for seasonal affective disorder (SAD), but experts agree that it works to treat symptoms of major depressive disorder as well. Feeling blue? You can turn on a light box for 30 minutes to an hour when you're down, but to feel its full effects, use it as part of a daily therapy routine. 

Open the shades

If you don't have access to a light box, the simple act of letting in some sunlight can brighten your mood. When your workspace or living area is brighter, you tend to feel happier too.
 

Go outside

Starting to feel down? Head outside to soak up some sunshine. The human body produces vitamin D when exposed to the sun's rays, and research suggests that people who are deficient in the vitamin are more likely to be depressed, anxious, and tired. Step into the sunshine for 20 to 25 minutes of sunlight to lighten your mood naturally. 

Eat some 'shrooms

A surprising source of vitamin D? Mushrooms. The tasty vegetable is the only plant source of natural vitamin D, and foods that contain vitamin D boost serotonin in the brain, putting you in a better mood. It's easy to increase your intake of vitamin D this way—throw some mushrooms into your breakfast omelets or lunchtime salads.
 

Try mediation

Good news: Meditation is a proven stress-buster with no harmful side effects. Studies have shown that its benefits range from pain reduction and lower blood pressure to a boost in libido. Best part? It releases "happy" chemicals in the brain—serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins—all of which work together to put you in a better mood. If you don't know where to start, try a guided meditation   to de-stress or start your morning. 

Smell the oranges

Citrus scents, such as orange, lemon, and grapefruit bring out positive chemical reactions in your brain as well as work to ease stress. If you want to feel uplifted, use a few drops of citrus essential oil on your pressure points. You can also mix the scent with a floral aroma such as jasmine to increase the positive effects.
 

Eat carbs as an afternoon snack

You know that afternoon mood slump that hits at just the worst time? Well, it turns out that you can eat your way to a happier, more energized afternoon—carbs. For years we've been hearing that we should avoid carbs, but in reality, a low-carb diet can make us feel sad and stressed. Carbohydrates actually boost mood-boosting chemicals in the brain. But let's get something straight here—we want to focus on healthy, whole-grain sources instead of refined carbohydrates to reap the benefits. When you begin to feel down, go for an afternoon snack of 25 to 30 grams of carbs, such as a three-quarter-cup serving of Cheerios. 

 

Play with your pet

Having a dog or cat can seriously improve your quality of life—their excitement in seeing you come home and their unyielding loyalty make them great companions. There are a host of reasons why pets improve your health, but they can turn around a bad mood and make you happier in no time. A study found that petting a dog for only 15 minutes releases serotonin, prolactin, and oxytocin—all of which are mood-enhancing hormones, while lowering the stress hormone cortisol.
 

Take microbreaks

Research shows that people who take quick breaks during their workday to watch funny videos online get a high emotional payoff and report feeling more energetic and happy with fewer negative emotions. Not only will this improve your mental health overall; this is an easy way to turn around a bad mood in less than a minute—plus, you can get a metabolism boost, too! 

 

Add turmeric to your meal

The active compound in turmeric, curcumin, has natural antidepressant qualities. You may already be adding turmeric to your meals because of its vast whole-body health benefits, such as lessening the effects of rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and other inflammatory conditions, as well as fighting Alzheimer's disease and diabetes. Animal studies have also linked curcumin to an increase in serotonin and dopamine, so it's a powerful way to boost your mood.
 

Listen to music…

Have you ever heard a song over the radio that just felt good? Or have you turned on an old CD only to find a flood of happy memories come streaming back? Well, that's due to the fact that music is a mood-booster. It releases the feel-good chemical dopamine into your system and brings on nostalgia.
 

…And sing along

You can also get happy by making your own music—by singing. University of Manchester researchers discovered that a tiny organ in the inner ear (called the sacculus) is connected to a part of your brain that registers pleasure. The sacculus registers frequency notes that are associated with singing almost instantly, giving you a warm and fuzzy feeling. So go ahead and sing in the shower, belt it out in your car, or get up on that karaoke stage. 

 

Eat chocolate (yes!)

While you might not need another excuse to eat more chocolate, here's another: It makes us happier. Chocolate contains tryptophan, which boosts the production of serotonin in the brain, leading to better moods. This trick also works with other foods containing tryptophan, such as poultry and eggs.
 

Drink coffee

This morning energy boost doubles as a mood pick-me-up. A Harvard University study found that women who drank at least two cups of coffee regularly were at a 15% lower risk of depression than women who did not. Just keep in mind that those fancy coffee drinks can have tons of hidden sugar and calories, so it's best to stick with black coffee (and some skim milk). 

Sip on some green tea

Green tea already boasts an impressive résumé of health benefits. Thanks to the polyphenols it contains, green tea helps with weight loss by boosting metabolism, as well as providing a reduced risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, certain cancers, and osteoporosis. But for your mood? Green tea has been shown to reduce stress levels. A study found that people who drank five or more cups of green tea per day had a 20% lower level of stress than those who drank less than one.
 

Make a human connection

Put down your smartphone and take a step back from your computer screen. If you want to feel better—and fast—go to a friend or family member for some relief. A study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that human touch releases those feel-good chemicals like serotonin, as well as reduces blood pressure and heart rate making you feel more relaxed. 

 

Consume healthy fats

You know how avocados are some of the most pleasurable foods to eat, with their rich taste and smooth, decadent texture? That's a mood-booster on its own, but research also suggests that their fat content is also the reason why they better our mood. Because fat slows digestion, it evens our blood sugar levels leaving us to feel calm and satisfied. So go ahead and treat yourself to some avocado or nuts next time you're feeling anxious.
 

Eat more salmon

Fatty fish like salmon is high in omega-3 fatty acids, which can help stave off depression (omega-3s are also present in avocados and nuts, as well as grass-fed beef and chicken). This is because they help to maintain brain function in the areas that regulate mood and emotion—a study found that women who hate fish two times per week had a 25% lower risk of depression than women who ate it less often. If you don't like to eat fish, try taking omega-3 fish oil supplements instead.

 

Try St. John's wort

This herbal supplement is one of the most-studied herbal supplements for depression, and research shows that it may be as beneficial as antidepressants when treating mild depression. While it may seem like a no-brainer, St. John's wort has known serious drug interactions, including reducing the effectiveness of birth control. Additionally, when taken in conjunction with antidepressants, the supplement can create too-high levels of serotonin, which can lead to heart problems. So before you try this one, be sure to check in with your doctor.

Start a Daily Walking Program

Walking is the easiest form of exercise to stick with, especially if you start on a Monday.

By Emily Main April 18, 2011

 

Mondays are great for making new commitments, according to the Healthy Monday Campaign: You're starting a new week, you're refreshed after a weekend off, and if you're not up for a change on any given Monday, there's always another one coming around. So today we're suggesting you begin the week with one of the easiest, healthiest forms of exercise around.
All you need is to do is keep a comfortable pair of walking shoes handy. Throw a pair of walking shoes in your car, or take an extra pair to your office, so you can take a walk at lunch—maybe walk a "Monday Mile" with a coworker or friend. A simple 30-minute walk every day of your workweek not only makes it easy to get those recommended 150 minutes of exercise per week, but it also wards off the symptoms of menopause, according to a recent Canadian study.

Walking is the easiest form of exercise to stick with, says the American Heart Association. Here are a 5 tips to put your best foot forward this Healthy Monday:

1. Get good shoes.
Nothing can kill your motivation to exercise like blisters or sore arches. But before you run out and spend hundreds of dollars on designer shoes, check your closet. Most beginning walkers (or joggers) don't need to buy new shoes, say the editors of Runner's World magazine. Any comfortable, properly fitting pair of cross-trainers or sneakers will work, they say. However, if you find yourself without even an old beat-up pair, make sure to buy shoes that fit both your foot and your body size. The editors at Runner's World can help you find the right walking shoes and other gear you might need to stay on track.
2. Map out your route.
A nearby park or walking trail can do double duty, providing you with a safe place to walk while also giving you a nature fix, which has been shown to lower stress and keep you happy. If there's no park nearby, use Google Maps, which now has a walking feature, to plan your route, or consult the U.S. Track and Field Association's America's Running Routes tool. Though designed for runners, you can map out your own walking route or even find one that other walkers have tried and liked.
3. Make it entertaining.
Hopefully, you were able to recruit a friend or coworker to join you on your Monday Mile. If not, make sure you bring along some good exercise music to keep you moving at a quick tempo. To walk at a pace of four to five miles per hour, it helps to have music with about 120 to 135 beats per minute. Or just find a song with a fast chorus and a slower verse so you can do some interval training during your walk.

4. Stretch afterward.
Conventional wisdom used to state that stretching before and after your workout was necessary. But now, exercise physiologists agree that just stretching afterwards will help you maintain flexibility without hurting your muscles. Try these stretching exercises after each walk, holding each one for 20 to 30 seconds. 5. Find other ways to move.
Even for regular exercisers, sitting for prolonged periods can encourage weight gain and lead to problems like blood clots in the legs. Try moving around for 10 minutes every hour throughout your day, whether it's simply standing up while you talk on the phone, walking up and down the stairs for a few minutes to clear your head, or delivering a message to a colleague on foot rather than sending them an email.
The Healthy Monday Campaign is a nonprofit collaboration between Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

9 Books To Read If You Struggle With Anxiety

Lindsay Mack 2 weeks ago

 

 Managing anxiety can be a giant pain in the *ss. If you have social anxiety, for instance, then it can take a tremendous amount of effort to calm yourself enough to engage in social situations (such as a networking event). And when you actually get there and do your very best to be normal and engaging, you will probably worry about appearing “uptight” or being “unable to relax.” Sometimes it just feels like you can’t win. But if you check out these books to read if you struggle with anxiety, chances are you’ll feel far less alone. 

 

 While other people may be less than empathetic (especially those who discount anxiety as something that’s just “all in your head”), books are endlessly patient. Some of these reads are first hand accounts of others who have coped with anxiety, whereas others are designed to help you find ways to manage your condition. Still others are just books aimed at pure relaxation, so you can focus on something soothing if your anxiety starts getting out of hand. Overall, these reads are great companions for any anxiety sufferer, whether you’re looking for ways to lessen your anxiety, or you simply want to hear the stories of others who have also coped with this condition. 

 

1. 'Hardcore Self Help: F**k Anxiety' by Robert Duff, Ph.D.

 

If traditional self-help books feel too soft for your tastes, then Hardcore Self Help: F**k Anxiety may be more to your liking. Written in a conversational tone (with enough swearing to make a sailor blush), this book offers information and advice about anxiety in a humorous, entertaining way.

2. 'The Mindfulness And Acceptance Workbook For Anxiety' by John P. Forsyth and Georg H. Eifert, Ph.Ds 

 

To actively work on getting your anxiety under control, The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety may be an excellent choice. By learning to accept your anxious responses instead of just struggling to push past them, this book may help you reclaim your life from anxiety.

3. 'Anxious In Love' by Carolyn Daitch Ph.D. and Lissah Lorberbaum MA 

 

Anxiety may complicate your relationships, but you and your partner can find ways to work through it. As demonstrated in the book Anxious in Love, there are easy techniques you can use to soothe your anxiety and maintain great communication with your SO.

4. 'The Grace Of Crows' by Tracy Shawn

 

In Tracy Shawn's novel The Grace of Crows, the protagonist suffers from a devastating anxiety disorder. But as she addresses her family's many problems, as well as the needs of a long-lost friend, she begins to find ways of overcoming her fears.

5. 'On the Outside Looking In' by Daniela Grazia 

 

Daniela Grazia's On the Outside Looking In is a powerful memoir of the author's struggle with her anxiety. She gets very specific with the details of her disorder (such as the intense struggle to make small talk with coworkers) in ways that might hit home.

6. 'Monkey Mind: A Memoir Of Anxiety' by Daniel Smith

 

Not all books about anxiety are full of doom and gloom. In fact, Monkey Mind: A Memoir of Anxiety is pretty hilarious. He analyzes — and makes fun of — the disorder in an uplifting way.

7. 'Walking on Custard & the Meaning of Life' by Neil Hughes

 

Another humorous take on anxiety, Neil Hughes' Walking on Custard & the Meaning of Life is a (sort of) self help book. His comedic take on managing anxiety, told with a variety of fictitious stories and graphs, helps take some of the sting out of the disorder.

8. 'I Don't Want To Be Crazy' by Samantha Schutz

 

Is there poetry in disorder? Samantha Schutz's I Don't Want To Be Crazy is a poetic memoir of the author's struggle with an anxiety disorder as a young adult. Chances are, you will recognize yourself among her lines.

9. 'Meditation and Mindfulness for Beginners' by Chris Douglas

 

Could meditation help calm your mind? It may be worth a shot. Chris Douglas' Meditation and Mindfulness For Beginners provides easy-to-follow instructions on how to meditate. You can start practicing in no time.