Understanding The Body And Anxiety

19:11

Understanding The Body And Anxiety

by Caroline Buzanko

Type

talks

Activity

Meditation

Suitable for

Everyone

The body and brain are constantly communicating, and understanding these signals can change how we experience anxiety and emotional overwhelm. Explore how the vagus nerve, physical sensations, nutrition, sleep, hydration, and our interpretation of stress can influence emotional regulation. Learn why recognising a racing heart, tense muscles, or changes in breathing can help reduce uncertainty and support a calmer response. Building awareness of what is happening in the body can help us respond to anxiety with greater understanding and confidence.

Anxiety Emotional Regulation Vagus Nerve Mind Body Connection Sleep Stress Awareness

Meet your Teacher

Caroline Buzanko

Calgary, AB, Canada

Meet your Teacher

Caroline Buzanko

Calgary, AB, Canada

Transcript

Today I actually wanted to talk about the vagus nerve. There's been a lot of controversy about it. I'm not going to get too much into that, But I just want to help. Everyone understand how it works and why it's important. We're still always learning more. And, You know, So things are always changing, But from a very simplified sort of view, The vagus nerve starts at the base of your brain and it wanders all the way down through our neck, Into our chest, Past our heart and our lungs, Deep into our stomach and into our intestines. It touches almost every major organ throughout the whole body. So the word Vegas actually comes from the Latin word for wanderer, Which is applicable here for sure, Because it just kind of wanders all the way down from our brain. Now, For a long time, Scientists thought the brain was the boss of everything, That the brain sent the commands down to the body, And that was the end of the story. But we know that the Vegas nerve is more like a two-way highway. But really, When we're looking at it, Like 85% of the traffic on that highway is actually going up from the body to the brain. And so that means our body is constantly sending information to our brain about what's happening inside. Is our stomach full, Is our heart racing, Are we fighting off a cold, Is there inflammation, All of these things. Our brain is getting all of that data through the vagus nerve and it uses that information to decide how we feel emotionally. So when a kiddo says my tummy hurts, Maybe they've got a big test, Or a teen feels nauseous before going to some social event, It's not just in their head. Their vagus nerve is sending real physical signals up to the brain. So the body and brain are talking to each other, And the body often is speaking first, Which is why we never want to tell kids that they're just nervous, That it's just in their head. They are actually feeling those physiological symptoms. I'm usually saying our body is so much smarter than our brain because it does pick up things way quicker than our brain. So we really want to make sure we're validating their experience because it does feel awful. They really do feel sick to their stomach or they really do feel, You know, Those chest pains. So we want to make sure that we're talking about that and validating that. Now, If you listened to my episode last week, You know that we really can't separate our emotional health from our physical health. And so there's a really, You know, When we're looking at a really easy intervention right away, Helping kids take care of their bodies through eating properly and every few hours to make sure they're feeding their brain so it's not deprived and worrying about their next source of food versus I should be listening to my teacher. Sleep, If they're sleep deprived, Obviously their body's not going to care about quadratic equations if I need to sleep. And then, Of course, Moving and hydrating. All of those things support their emotion regulation. So we really want to just make sure those things are at a good level, Because if they're not, It doesn't matter what strategies and interventions, They're not going to be as effective. I do, Though, Want to talk about the gut-brain connection. Our gut, Or our digestive system, Is often called the second brain. It has its own nervous system with millions of nerve cells and it communicates directly with the actual brain through that vagus nerve. There are some chemicals we should consider. First, Of course, Is dopamine, Which is the chemical of wanting and seeking. A lot of people think of it as sort of the motivation chemical. It's what drives us to pursue things like food. How many likes we get on social media, Winning a game, Things that are important to us. What's pretty cool to think about, Though, Is that our gut has sensors that can detect nutrients in our food before our taste buds can even register what we're even eating. And so when our gut detects certain amino acids, Like ones in meats and nuts, For example, It sends signal up to the vagus nerve that triggers dopamine release in the brain, Which is why protein, For example, Is so good for neurodivergent ADHD kids. Kiddos, Especially before they go to school in the morning. But that creates a feeling of craving and reward. That's why the hidden sugars in processed foods are such a problem, Because we might not even taste the sweetness, But our gut detects that sugar and sends that dopamine signals to our brain saying, More, More, More, I want more. It's driving the cravings, And it's driving the eating habits beneath conscious awareness, Which is important to consider. Now, The other one is serotonin, And that's linked, Of course, To feelings of calmness, Contentment, Just overall positive well-being. That I don't think a lot of people know about is that 90%, About 90% of our body's serotonin is actually made in the gut, Not the brain. I will say though, The gut serotonin, It can't directly enter the brain. There's a barrier that blocks it, But the gut still plays a really important role here because when we eat things like carbs, For example, It increases levels of tryptophan. And that's an amino acid that the brain uses to make its own serotonin. So what kids eat really does influence how they feel. And that's why things like diet is so important. And we want to make sure we're taking care of those baseline physiological pieces. So what? So why am I telling you this? Well, I think it's really interesting. So that's why I wanted to do an episode on this. But for kiddos, You know, We want to pay attention to what they eat before emotionally demanding situations. Are they even eating breakfast? I've got two teenage girls. I know they leave the house without breakfast sometimes, But a breakfast that includes protein and complex carbs, It's giving the brain what it needs to produce both the dopamine and the serotonin. That's going to help them learn in school. That's going to help them regulate their emotions and to self-regulate their actions and their thoughts. And everything that they need to do. Conversely, If they're eating sugary cereal for breakfast, Or if they're skipping a meal entirely, We're just setting the stage for mood crashes and poor regulation and their body and brain are not going to care about learning, Right? And so. We got to model this. It's not just for kids. It's applying to us as well. So that's really important. And then in school, I don't know about you, But I find kids don't have enough time to eat at lunch. Right. I can't tell you how many kids I work with, Which, By the way, Are usually the emotionally dysregulated kids. They say they don't have enough time to eat lunch. So now, Depending on what they eat for breakfast, Maybe they had, You know, Some sugary stuff for snack and they're not eating lunch. I mean, No wonder they're emotionally dysregulated after lunch. Right. Probably a good reason why our brain uses up twenty five percent of our calories and it's all glucose. If it's starving, It's not going to be able to do the things that it needs to do like line up and transition and learn and do the things that I need to do and regulate my emotions. So we really need to make sure that kids are getting consistently fed throughout the day. That's going to help with their learning readiness. It's going to help with their emotional stability. I mean, I've been telling teachers lately, Just give kids a spoonful of almond butter every few hours. Just everybody have a spoonful of almond butter. It's one of the better things. I mean, You could just do a fruit, Like a juice box, But they're still going to have those crashes. I know that there's allergy implications, So we really want to find just almond butter so perfect because it can kind of give them a little bit of that consistency over a few hours. But just know, If they're not eating, We can expect kids to regulate when their body and brain are hungry. We just can't. We've heard about hanger. Well, There's also anxious as well. So even in my own work, You know, As a clinician, I'm always looking at nutrition history and what are kids eating now and before school and after school and all of those things. If they're eating a lot of processed food, That could be actively working against any of the therapeutic interventions that I'm trying to implement the brain and body. It's not going to care about regulating their emotions when their survival gear kicks in to avoid starvation or dehydration. So I think that that's really important. I don't like getting into food and nutrition too much. Maybe I'll talk about a couple of things. I mean, Protein, Complex carbs, We know those are really important for kids. Look up all of the dietary requirements and guidelines and things that are out there because every child is different. But I will say, You know, There are things like EPA, You know, For adults anyways, A thousand milligrams of EPA, And that's a specific type of omega-3 that's found in fish oil. We know it's just as effective as Prozac, Which is a common antidepressant, In treating major depression. EPA, It appears to work by lowering the inflammation in the body, And it's improving how flexibly our heart responds to stress. And so we can see some of these things can be really helpful. And I think we know that fish oil is very helpful anyways for our brain and heart health. So making sure kids get enough omega-3 too. Food is always the best versus a supplement, You know, Fish, Walnuts. Chia seeds. I mean, If you've got a really good quality supplement that can do all of those things are going to support the brain health, But also that emotion regulation. So we can look at that. I'm looking at a lot of gut stuff myself personally, And I'm always asking about these things too, But our gut has trillions of bacteria, Which is really important for mental health as well. Those artificial sweeteners that shifts the balance towards sort of less helpful types of bacteria, And that can change the gut lining in the body, And that can increase inflammation, Which then gets reported to the brain through the vagus nerve, Right? And now we start getting stuck in those loops, Which can be really problematic. It's automatic. Usually two servings of fermented foods daily, Like yogurt or kimchi or sauerkraut, Those things can support a healthy gut ecosystem. I myself am looking at low FODMAP just because I do have a lot of bowel, Gut stuff going on right now. And so sometimes fermented, You got to look at whether or not fermented stuff is going to be helpful. But those things do support that healthy gut ecosystem. So I know it's a hard one. I try to do it sometimes. I forget those. So I'm not all that great, But that can be really helpful. So just a few ideas when we're looking at some of those pieces too. But I do want to quickly talk about just how our mind can also focus on, You know, Some of these things in the body pieces as well. I talk a lot about how the body influences the brain, You know, Those bottom up signals, But it goes in the other direction too, Because I said the vagus nerve is like this dual highway, Right? Even though from the body up, There's so much more. But what we believe about something can literally change our body's response to it as well. There's a great research where they're looking at milkshake study. It's the milkshake study, But people are given the exact same milkshake twice. So one time they're told it's a rich, Indulgent, You know, 600, 700 calorie milkshake. The other time, They're told that it's a sensible, Healthy, You know, 140 calorie sort of shake, Even though it's the exact same shake. But when people believed that they were drinking the indulgent shake, Their body actually produced a much bigger drop in the hunger hormone. Their bodies literally responded differently based on what they believed they were consuming. And that same researcher, She also studied things like hotel housekeepers who got a lot of physical activity throughout the day, But they weren't really thinking of it as exercise. It was just their work, Right, As they're cleaning rooms. So this researcher told one group that their work was actually exceeding the recommended daily exercise guidelines. So they thought they were getting more exercise than they actually needed to every single day through their work. The control group didn't get that information at all. They were just doing status quo. Four weeks later, The group that were told that their work exceeded those daily exercise guidelines, They actually showed lower blood pressure and lower body fat even though their behavior didn't actually change. No changes in their actual behavior. How powerful is that, Right? Just thinking about things. I mean, There's so much through history. I mean, One that I've talked a lot about is Keller's work from the 1990s, I think it was 96, Where she looked at different groups of people. And so high stress, Low stress, Right? So people who had high stress all the time, Chronic sort of high stress, Yes, They did not live as long. They had more health problems as people with low stress, But only when they believed the stress was unhealthy for them. Conversely, There was a group just as much of high chronic stress as the other group, But they believed that stress was helpful. It was actually boosting their success. Those people actually lived longer than either the high stress who believed it was bad for them and the low stress group. They were actually the healthiest of the group. Again, Just another way that our brain is actually quite powerful and really affects our body. The reason I really bring this up is because language is so influential. The stories that we're telling kids about their anxiety can really impact them. If a kiddo believes that their anxiety means something is wrong with them, Or it's so ingrained, Like I hear it all the time. Oh, They come by it. Honestly, I was anxious. Grandparents were anxious. It's just through our family line. I mean. That instills this helplessness and hopelessness, Right? And they think that nothing can change. It just becomes very pathologizing, And their body might actually respond accordingly. But if we help them understand that anxiety, It's just their protection system. It's doing its job. It's doing exactly what it's supposed to do. Just might be a little too enthusiastic, Right? It's just a little bit more sensitive. We can recalibrate it. That's OK. But when they understand this is exactly what's supposed to happen, Every time I feel nervous, Every time I go into a test, My heart is supposed to start beating. Once they understand that, We're going to change the biological equation. And it's not just about positive thinking, Right? It's about thinking about this as a physiological intervention. When kids understand what's happening in their body, It's already taming the amygdala. They're like, Ah, Yeah, I knew you were gonna show up now. So then it's not setting off that fight-flight response, Right, In the first place. I really like the vitamin shot study. This is a good one to show this too. So it was done in the 60s where they gave groups adrenaline shot. And so. There's four groups. The first set of two groups. We're given a vitamin shot. It was actually adrenaline, OK? So they weren't told that it was adrenaline. They were told it was a vitamin shot. They didn't know that all of these side effects from adrenaline, Like a panic attack, Was going to show up. They didn't know that. But they were given the shot. Then they had to go in a waiting room. And so one group, Let's say group A, They had an actor come in who was super happy, Joyful, Easygoing, Right? Everything's great. Group B had an angry actor come in. He was hostile and irritable. When group A and B laugh, They reported feeling either really, Really happy or really angry depending on which actor came into the room. Interpreted all of the physiological feelings that they got from that adrenaline shot based on their external environment. Income group C and D. Now, What's different with them is they were told this vitamin would have side effects. They were told that they were going to have the racing heart, Maybe the shallow breathing, The muscle tension. They were told exactly what was going to happen with their body, So they knew what to expect. And then in comes for C, You know, That happy, Joy, Joy actor. Group D, They had that angry actor. Now, Both of these groups, C and D, When they left, They were not influenced by the actor. They correctly interpreted what was happening in their body, And so they were not so easily influenced by the other people who came in. So that's really important. Again, This just shows when we understand what's happening in our body, We're not so easily influenced by our environment. And I see this all the time. Our kids are like, You made me mad. You know what? I see adults doing this all the time. You did this, And you are the, You know. When we understand what's going on in our body, It just helps. The mystery's gone, Right? The amygdala already is going to calm down. When they understand what's going on in the body, They're less likely to become emotionally overwhelmed. And the other thing is to just going back to how we think about it. If we think poorly of what's happening in our body, We're more likely to become emotionally dysregulated than when we understand exactly what's happening. So when we know what's going on, That they're able to reframe that racing heart. You know, I'm going into a presentation. I've got this racing heart. They're not going to go into, Oh my gosh, I'm panicking. There's no way I can do it. And then feeding that loop. Instead, They're going to understand my body's giving me energy. We know, The research shows that cardiovascular response shifts from the threat pattern, I'm panicking, Oh my gosh, Survival, To a challenge pattern. Yes, I can use this energy to give a great presentation. So framing that difficulty is really important. We want to create an environment where we're talking about all of these. Yes, This is supposed to be hard. Struggle and frustration is supposed to show up. That's how your brain grows. And guess what? This is what's going to happen in your body, Right? So we want to make sure that they understand it has to show up in our body. It's always going to show up in our body. Body is the first thing that registers anything that's going on in our environment. So we just got to make sure that we understand what that is. So we want to make sure we're creating an environment of understanding and expecting it. Just expecting a physiological response is enough to start calming that amygdala. The worst thing we can say is, Let's make this easier for you. We're actually going to see very different neurobiological outcomes. Now, There is a lot more that I want to go into when we're putting this all together into a picture of resilience, But I'll leave it there for today because I do think it's a lot to think about. So, We can just start looking at the body map from last week. This week, Let's just look at what's our sleeping, What's our eating, What's our hydration schedule because all of those things are going to affect A, How we interpret the environment, And B, Whether or not we're gonna be able to manage our emotions in anything that comes up, Because our body's gonna be more worried about those things. But I will leave it there. Help those kiddos be bold and courageous, And I will see you next time.