Angela Grey's Blog, page 10

Good Nutrition to Lessen Anxiety

Most of us know the benefits of good nutrition but don’t always follow that plan. Here are some thoughts on what to do and what not to do:

Eat an antianxiety diet introducing more anti-anxiety foods as part of your self-care routine to better manage your anxiety. Healthy eating is beneficial for mental health, but it also helps to control sugar cravings. Eating complex carbohydrates such as vegetables and whole grains give a slow release of energy and are stable on blood sugar, helping to control your sugar cravings, and I know this from experience. I used to be seriously addicted to sugar and this was yet another bad habit that I had to break in an effort to manage my anxiety.

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Avoid the added detrimental additives or toxins. Conventional farming uses chemicals such as pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides which are toxins that your body needs to eliminate. Processed foods are loaded with additives, preservatives, colorings, flavorings and other chemicals that also cause a lot of extra work for your detox organs. Research shows that these types of toxins affect the central nervous system and can contribute to mental health issues such as anxiety and depression disorders.

Some popular detox techniques include eating plenty of high fiber foods i.e., root vegetables and whole grains, Epsom salts baths, quality sleep, sweat in a sauna, and drinking at least two quarts of water daily.

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Eating a balanced, healthy meal. Research shows that nutrient deficiencies and poor diet are common in people with anxiety disorders. For example, essential nutrients such as B vitamins, Vitamin A and C, magnesium, zinc, iron and selenium, and omega 3 fatty acids are likely to be deficient. A healthy and balanced meal includes mainly carbohydrates (veggies and whole grains), in addition to heathy fats (nuts, seeds, cold pressed oils), healthy proteins (legumes, lean meats, and fish), vitamins and minerals (vegetables, whole grains, fruit, legumes, nuts, seeds, and herbs). Eating a diet like this, optimizes your intake of essential nutrients, required for both your body and mind to function properly.

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Eating too much sugar can cause or contribute to many health issues and chronic diseases, including mental health disorders. Studies show that overconsumption of sugar triggers imbalances in certain brain chemicals, that can potentially cause anxiety and depression or make its symptoms worse. Sugar gives a quick release of energy, followed by a sudden crash which results in more sugar cravings which is the opposite of our goals to reduce anxiety through proper nutrition.

Book review: Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2007

Three teens who meet at Reno, Nevada’s Aspen Springs mental hospital after each has attempted suicide connect with each other in a way they never have with their parents or anyone else in their lives. This was a very good book, well-written in free verse format, that described the repercussions of suicide.

Their distinct character’s lives unfold in alternating chapters which might be confusing at times remembering whose mind you’re in. The dynamic of the 3 characters was also a little confusing because the 2 boys were supposed to be gay, but then fell in love with Vanessa.

SPOILER ALERT:

I blame the parents for what happens to Conner. after his sister read the letter I got the sense that he was going to kill himself because that letter screamed you have to be perfect when the reason he killed himself is because he wasn’t perfect. Nobody’s perfect. And his mother never seemed to think it was her fault, she just thought going to a mental hospital could fix him, but its hard to fix someone who felt empty inside to begin. I wonder if she really loved her son at all. I’ve got to say I like the father more; he is also to blame but I think he was a really good person inside, deep down but he just didn’t know how to show it and that’s why he was so distant.

The story was interesting from the very beginning, easy to read, realistic, and connectable. There wasn’t a moment where I didn’t feel close to the characters!

Ellen Hopkins writes in such a unique format. The books may be thick but don’t let that stop you. Her books just flow along about serious issues and get right to the heart of the topics, no matter she chooses to write on. The characters are so well explored and distinct. I’d recommend this for those who like darker YA fiction about mental illness.

Author Interview Questions

1. Q: Tell the world who you are and why you wrote a book. A: My name is Angela Grey and I published through CreateSpace to tell my life story.

2. Q: Give us an insider’s look at how your book came to be. Give us a deeper understanding of your creative process. A: I was journaling about my schizophrenia diagnosis and wanted to put it in book format for my family. Through writing I gain insight into the parts of my life I think that are important. When I read about a subject, I also get a better understanding into myself. I hope that I inspire others with schizophrenia that way as well.

3. Q: What’s important about your book and why should we buy it? A: I think with the recent negative media portrayals that people with mental illnesses are hiding in the background and possibly not accomplishing all that life has to offer them, including participating in their hobbies. For me that it writing, and I want others to see that it is possible to tell their life story, even if only a handful of others read it. At least they accomplished what they set out to do plus it combats the stigma related to schizophrenia and other delusional disorders. We need to strive to overcome our setbacks on any given day. This book reveals that resiliency.

4. Q: Will your book benefit your readers’ lives? Why or why not? A: Yes, because it gives hope to those diagnosed with a delusional disorder (schizophrenia) and lets them know that it doesn’t have to be a death sentence. There is still so much possible despite the diagnosis.

5.Q: Give us a brief history about you, the connection to your book, if any, and why you write. A: I write to release the voices in my mind. If I put words on paper, then I’m free from the mental messages.

6.Q: What have been some barriers to achieving your goals of writing and or becoming published? A: Social anxiety and withdrawal are components of my illness. That has kept me from contacting bookstores to set up events in the hopes of making my writing a little more mainstream.

7.Q: What do you hope to achieve from your writing career? A: To tell my story and I’ve done that, so I’m content.

8.Q: Do you have a strong support system and or dream team backing you? If not, why not?, If so, tell us more. A: My family encourages me to write because they see that it calms me and makes me a more satisfied person. They see that it gets the chaotic energy out of my mind and onto paper.

9.Q: What has been the highlight of your writing career so far? A: The highlight is getting feedback, whatever it is. I like to know if I achieved what I wanted to tell.

10.Q: What’s next for you? What does your future hold? What are you currently working on? A: I'm a residential drafter full-time but in my spare time, I’m currently working on two fiction mysteries where a main character has been tangential in my own life.

Who is Angela Grey?

I'm an enrolled member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate. Thanks in part to fantastic foster parents, sassy social workers, and outstanding teachers, I'm a family-focused parent of four wonderful young adults. I've self-published four fiction novels under a pseudonym, Peyton Mathie. Those accounts were based on my life stories. Although I'm a native of the Lake Traverse reservation in South Dakota, I lived in Brooklyn, New York off and on throughout my childhood. Currently, I reside in Eden Prairie, Minnesota with my family. My hobbies include yoga, MBSR, camping, budget travel, and painting.

Note: The pseudonym was derived from the first name of my daughter’s childhood friend and the surname of a coworker at approximately the same time frame. In one I saw signs of my past and the latter, hopefully, my future.