Holistic Help for Anxiety: The Nine Types of Anxiety, Practical Tools for Relief, and How to Uncover the Root Causes with Dr. Nicole Cain

Summary

Life with Marianna: Holistic Help for Anxiety with Dr. Nicole Cain

Episode Overview In the December 17, 2024 episode of Life with Marianna, host Marianna Hewitt engages in a profound conversation with Dr. Nicole Cain, author of Panic Proof: The New Holistic Solution to End Your Anxiety Forever. The episode delves into understanding the nine distinct types of anxiety, practical tools for relief, and strategies to uncover the root causes of anxiety. Drawing from personal experiences and professional expertise, both Marianna and Dr. Cain aim to equip listeners with actionable insights to manage and overcome anxiety holistically.

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Introduction to Dr. Nicole Cain and Panic Proof

Marianna Hewitt introduces Dr. Nicole Cain, highlighting her credentials and the essence of her book, Panic Proof. Dr. Cain emphasizes a paradigm shift in addressing anxiety by viewing it not merely as a problem to be eradicated but as a signal pointing towards underlying needs and healing.

“Panic Proof is a book that looks at anxiety as the solution as opposed to the problem to be solved. … we can do better.” — Dr. Nicole Cain [01:05]

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The Nine Types of Anxiety

Dr. Cain addresses a common issue in anxiety treatment: the broad categorization that often leads to generalized treatment approaches. She introduces nine distinct systems through which anxiety can manifest, ensuring a more personalized and effective treatment strategy.

1. Thought Anxiety: Characterized by racing thoughts and brain fog.
2. Nervous System Anxiety: Manifests as headaches, muscle tension, or numbness.
3. Chest Anxiety: Feeling of tightness or difficulty breathing.
4. Gut Anxiety: Symptoms like bloating, diarrhea, or nausea.
5. Endocrine Anxiety: Linked to hormonal imbalances.
6. Immune System Anxiety: Associated with autoimmune conditions.
7. Trauma Anxiety: Rooted in past traumatic events.
8. Anger Anxiety: The anger facet of the fight or flight response.
9. Depressive Anxiety: Combines feelings of despair with anxiety.

“… if your anxiety is caused by your immune system … they're not going to get the more precision based or personalized solutions that they need … there are about nine different systems we can categorize them in.” — Dr. Nicole Cain [01:43]

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Importance of Understanding Anxiety Types

Marianna shares her personal connection to the discussion, relating to the various types of anxiety and the multifaceted approach she employs to manage her own. Dr. Cain reinforces the significance of recognizing these different manifestations to move beyond the myth that anxiety is an unchangeable human condition.

“… one of the biggest myths that I hear about anxiety is that it's a problem that we cannot solve … the research is abundantly clear that that's a myth, that you can actually heal anxiety, that you can actually get better.” — Dr. Nicole Cain [05:19]

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The Stoplight System for Managing Anxiety

Dr. Cain introduces the “Stoplight System,” a practical tool to categorize and manage anxiety based on its intensity:

1. Green Light Zone: When feeling calm and connected. Strategies include maintaining a healthy morning routine, avoiding inflammatory foods, and nurturing positive relationships.
2. Yellow Light Zone: The onset of stress where minor symptoms appear. It’s crucial to recognize these signs early and implement self-care practices to prevent escalation.
3. Red Light Zone: A state of crisis, such as panic attacks or overwhelming despair. Dr. Cain advises having pre-planned strategies to address these intense moments.

“… think about your stoplights so that you can start making changes before it turns into a crisis.” — Marianna Hewitt [06:54]

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Practical Tools: The Panic Pack

When anxiety peaks despite preventive measures, Dr. Cain recommends using a “Panic Pack.” This toolkit contains items that can quickly ground an individual during a panic attack by stimulating the brain and reactivating the logical brain functions.

Contents of a Panic Pack:

• Cold Packs: Applying cold can calm the amygdala and bring one back to the present moment.
• Fidgets: Tactile objects like stress balls or fidget spinners help distract and ground the individual.
• Scented Items: Scents like lavender and rose are scientifically proven to reduce panic symptoms.

“… a panic pack is something you'll carry with you, and inside of it, you're going to place things that will stimulate the brain back into your grounded state.” — Dr. Nicole Cain [09:33]

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Managing Work-Induced Stress

Dr. Cain shares strategies for handling unexpected work stressors, such as urgent emails or meeting demands that can trigger anxiety. She emphasizes the power of breathwork and physical relocation to mitigate immediate stress responses.

Key Techniques:

• Breathwork: Utilize deep breathing exercises, specifically the “physiologic sigh” to calm the nervous system.
• Physical Relocation: Moving to a different environment, such as the bathroom or a quiet space, to reset and regain composure.

“… elongate the breath for as long as you can … inhale for four counts, hold for four, exhale as hard as you can for six, and hold at the bottom.” — Dr. Nicole Cain [16:54]

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The Gut-Brain Connection

When overwhelmed by multiple self-care practices, Dr. Cain advises prioritizing gut health. The gut plays a pivotal role in producing neurotransmitters, regulating hormones, and supporting the immune system.

Gut Health Recommendations:

• Increase Fiber Intake: Consuming cruciferous vegetables and complex carbohydrates like legumes and brown rice.
• Balance pH Levels: Maintaining a healthy gut pH to support overall mental health.

“Your gut, it is responsible for making neurotransmitters. 95% of your serotonin is made in your gut … Always go to the gut.” — Dr. Nicole Cain [19:14]

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Tailoring Movement and Exercise

Dr. Cain introduces Ayurvedic principles to customize exercise routines based on individual anxiety types. She highlights that not all physical activities are beneficial for everyone and stresses the importance of selecting movements that balance one’s specific dosha.

Ayurvedic Recommendations:

• Pitta Types: Prefer cooling exercises like swimming or stretching instead of high-intensity workouts.
• Vata Types: Engage in grounding activities such as hiking, walking in nature, or yoga nidra.
• Kapha Types: (While not detailed in the transcript, typically would involve more invigorating exercises to balance their inherently slow nature.)

“… if you're pitta and you're in that fiery state, you may get worse by adding fire and doing something like CrossFit … instead, do cold swimming … If you're vata … exercise that’s really grounding.” — Dr. Nicole Cain [21:44]

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Advanced Strategies: The Three Minute Hack

For persistent anxiety that resists conventional methods, Dr. Cain recommends the “Three Minute Hack”—a structured approach to delve deeper into the roots of anxiety.

Steps of the Three Minute Hack:

1. First Minute: Acknowledge and physically identify where anxiety is felt in the body.
2. Second Minute: Trace the sensation back to its earliest memory or root cause.
3. Third Minute: Communicate with that part of yourself, offering acknowledgment and releasing the burden of protection.

“… practice the three Minute hack.” — Dr. Nicole Cain [25:45]

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Conclusion: Empowerment Through Understanding

Dr. Cain underscores that Panic Proof is designed for anyone seeking to reclaim control over their emotional well-being, especially those grappling with anxiety or panic.

“This book is for anybody who wants to improve their sense of personal power over their emotional well being. And a bonus is if you struggle with anxiety or panic.” — Dr. Nicole Cain [30:12]

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Final Thoughts This episode serves as a comprehensive guide for individuals seeking to understand and manage their anxiety through a holistic lens. By identifying specific anxiety types, employing practical tools like the Panic Pack and Three Minute Hack, and emphasizing the interconnectedness of physical health and mental well-being, Marianna Hewitt and Dr. Nicole Cain provide a roadmap for listeners to navigate their anxiety and cultivate a healthier, more balanced life.

Transcript

[A]

The following podcast is a Dear Media production. Hi, it's Mariana. I am the co founder of Summer Fridays and host of the Life with Mariana podcast. In this episode, I've got Dr. Nicole Cain. She's the author of Panic, the new holistic solution to end your anxiety forever. In this episode, we talk about holistic help for anxiety, the nine types of anxiety, practical tools for relief, and how to uncover the root causes. This is something that I've struggled with in my own life and I'm always looking for ways to help improve it or maybe help alleviate it just a little bit. And she talks about something called a panic pack. So that if you're in the moment and you need some help, what can you do if you need a quick fix? If you guys want to learn about this, keep listening. And just so you know, I'm taking a little holiday break, so I will be back in the new year and I'm wishing you guys a very happy holidays. Now let's hear from Dr. Nicole Caine. As soon as I received a copy of the book, I was so excited and I can't wait to dive into it. And I know my listeners will really love to hear from you. So tell me a little bit about Panic Proof and why is this different from other books about anxiety?

[B]

Panic Proof is a book that looks at anxiety as the solution as opposed to the problem to be solved. And so it's written from a really different paradigm where we look at our symptoms and we are able to explore or what those symptoms are trying to tell us. Needs healing. Needs healing. And how, as opposed to how do I just make it go away? How do I make it stop?

[A]

I definitely can relate to that because sometimes I'm like, okay, what is actually causing this? And what changes can I make in my life because I want to feel better? And so what are the different nine types of anxiety that you talk about? And why does this distinction matter?

[B]

We used to just throw anxiety into a big bucket. Oh, you feel nervous or panicky or anxious? Well, okay, we'll throw you into this big diagnostic bucket and almost everybody gets the same treatment. For example, maybe your doctor will give you an antidepressant or they'll send you to talk therapy where you try to rationalize yourself out of it. But what if your anxiety is caused by your immune system? Or what if your anxiety is caused by a history of trauma? Or what if your anxiety is caused by hormone imbalances? All those people that are getting sent into that just one big category, they're not going to get the more precision based or personalized solutions that they need and so we can do better. And what I did is I looked at all the research on how anxiety presents differently in people, and I looked at the research on the different root causes of anxiety, those factors underneath, why we get anxious, why we get panicky. And the research suggests that there are about nine different systems we can categorize them in. So the nine systems, in short are if you get really anxious, thoughts, maybe difficulty focusing or brain fog, we call that thought anxiety. Or maybe your anxiety shows up with headaches or muscle tension or maybe even numbness and tingling. This is nervous system anxiety. Anxiety where you feel like an elephant's on your chest or you can't get a good breath or your heart is racing. Chest anxiety. Then we have gut anxiety, which is where when you feel stressed or overwhelmed, you may get gas, bloating, maybe a little bit of butterflies in the stomach, or really severe symptoms like diarrhea or constipation or vomiting. Endocrine anxiety, we touched on that earlier. This is anxiety that may be related to your thyroid, your estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, cortisol, and then immune system. Anxiety is immune system can stimulate your body just like adrenaline. And we see that individuals who have autoimmune conditions like Hashimoto's or lupus, they may experience anxiety that won't get better till you treat that autoimmunity. Anxiety can come from trauma. And arguably most or all anxiety is rooted in some sort of a stressor or an adversity or a traumatic event. But trauma anxiety is where the main thing is the trauma. You may have had a single event that was really difficult. You have flashbacks, you have nightmares, you avoid that. And so that's trauma anxiety. And then the last two of the nine types are anger anxiety, which is the fight part of fight, flight, freeze, and then depressive anxiety, which often goes hand in hand, where not only do we feel afraid and anxious, but we also feel hopeless and despair. Sharing.

[A]

Unfortunately, I feel like I can relate to a lot of these. And I think sometimes when we think about depressive or anger or trauma, that's something that's maybe a little bit more common that we hear of. But for me, it really is like the thought and nervous and chest and gut. And so for me, that's a lot of the work that I've tried to be doing for myself, whether it's the food that I eat, the daily practices that I have, my morning and evening routine. And it wasn't that I just did one thing it was, I try to do a lot of things to help all of these different ways that anxiety might show up in my own life. So why is it so important for women to understand these different types of anxiety and how it shows up? So it's not just one blanket treatment for what you think is an all in one encompassing anxiety.

[B]

You know, one of the biggest myths that I hear about anxiety is that it's a problem that we cannot solve, that anxiety is just part of the human condition and that we just need to live with it. And I encounter so many women that are showing up from their best selves. They're sacrificing themselves for other people, they're pushing through things. They are such strong and amazing human beings. And they're also told that, well, you can't actually fix your anxiety, you can't actually get better from this, so you're just going to have to suck it up. And the research is abundantly clear that that's a myth, that you can actually heal anxiety, that you can actually get better. And what you were just describing is looking at the different ways it can show up and asking the body and being curious about what those symptoms are trying to tell you will inform what will actually work so that you can get better, so that you can show up from your even better self for your family, in your career and in your own personal life.

[A]

Yeah, I think that this is really helpful. And I think instead of just being like, oh, this is just the way that I am trying to find ways to help yourself. So for many women, these can show up as mental and physical ways. But what are you like, okay, this anxiety feeling that I have, these feelings of anxiousness, whether it's showing up in the gut or the chest or anything, how do you know it's time to just take a step back and focus on self care and do some of these things to help ourselves.

[B]

I want you to think about this in a stoplight and so you have green light. And that's when you're feeling really good, really calm, connected, you're in your body. You women often, when they're more relaxed and more happy, we have a better libido, we feel like we could be more creative, we feel like we're more centered and happy. And so that's your green light zone. And what I want you to think about is what is it like for you when you're in your green light zone and what are the strategies that you do to help keep you there. Whether it's not using your phone first thing in the morning, or avoiding inflammatory foods like sugars and artificial additives and ingredients. And also, what relationships keep you in the green light zone? All of us, we have antagonists in our relationships and we have protagonists. And so who in your life is really keeping you in green light? And then as stress mounts, because we live in a stressful world, our body will start to tell us, okay, I'm starting to feel this. And that's when you start to go into the yellow light zone. So you're starting to feel maybe the thoughts are getting a little quicker or you're getting some muscle tension, or maybe your heart is starting to just kick up a little bit. And so this is the moment when you really want to stop. You want to dial it back and you want to ask yourself, okay, what are these little canaries? What are these symptoms trying to inform me is going on right now? Did I eat lunch? Is my blood sugar crashing? Am I feeling completely overtaxed and under supported? And anything else that may be going on with that? And then if we don't listen to the whispers of our symptoms, oftentimes they'll get louder and turn into shouts. And this is when we get into the red light zone. And this is more when we're in a crisis. This is panic attacks. This is a rage attack. This is feeling like a flop where I just want to lay down, cry. I can't do anything. And so in terms of your individual experience is sit down today and write out your stoplights so that you can start making changes before it turns into a crisis.

[A]

I feel like I really try my best to do all of these things so that it doesn't get to that point, but sometimes I do just have a panic attack or anxiety. And it feels like I try to do all the tools that I knew had all the lifestyle changes, but it still happens. So when something like that happens and you are feeling super anxious, what is there any sort of quicker fix or something you can do in the moment to help shift your mindset?

[B]

Yeah. So let's say that, you know, life happens. There are things out of our control, and our body is going into a state of panic that this is the moment to use our crisis strategies. My favorite is a panic pack. And this was something I created out of necessity. I used to be terrified of flying. Every time I would get on an airplane, I would curl up in the fetal position and just cry and chew on ice and cry. And the flight attendants are like, oh my God, are you okay? And my husband would just be like, she does this there's just let her be. And so panic pack was my answer to that. And what it contains are things that stimulate the brain back into your grounded state. Because when we get activated, our emotional brain takes over and it sends out this whole domino of chemicals like cortisol and adrenaline, and that makes us feel really fearful, and it shuts down our logical brain. So we don't even have access to the prefrontal cortex. This is the part that will help you problem solve and be rational. And so a panic pack is something you'll carry with you, and inside of it, you're going to place things that will stimulate the brain. So, for example, cold is amazing. There's a ton of research where if you get a cold pack and apply it around your eyes, on your face, on your chest, or on the back of your neck, that cold can stimulate the body, bring you back into the present, calm the amygdala, the emotional brain, and put your logical brain back online. Another thing that I keep in my panic pack is I always have fidgets. Fidgets are very grounding. They're very tangential. You can touch them. Tactile sour candies have been studied to stimulate vagus nerve, which goes through your tongue. The vagus nerve is your light switch into calm. And some people do really well with other flavors, like sweet or salty, but sour is the most studied. And then another thing that you might include in your panic pack is scent. And the brain is really very, very sensitive to scent. And the most researched sense are lavender and rose, especially for panic.

[A]

Wow. I love these. I think something that I use a lot is cold. And so if I'm at home, I have. It's like a cold cap for migraines that people buy. You can buy them on Amazon and I'll just put one on. Or if I'm out and I notice it, I'll literally just get some ice cubes and, like, hold them in my hand or, like, put them on my chest. So if I'm ever on the go and I need something that's really helpful. So I'm so excited to tell you guys about something that I drink every single day and why I made the switch. So if you're thinking about New Year, new you, and if you're thinking about resetting some of your habits and routines in January, there's something that I love, and that's pistachio milk. I was trying to make some changes in my life, and I was, like, trying to avoid inflammatory oils and other things. And when I was thinking about A plant based milk. What was the best option for me was pistachio milk. And you guys have definitely seen this milk. It went viral. Pistachio milk called Tash, like pistachio. And it comes in this green packaging. You can't miss it when you see it. And I love this. So it's really, really great to mix into Matchas coffee. I even put it into my smoothies too. I use it for so many things and what I learned from having so many people on the podcast talk about hormones and balancing your hormones and really being mindful of our glycemic load. Oat milk has nearly the same blood sugar impact as drinking a can of soda. And with pistachio milk, it's actually a better option for maintaining stable blood sugar levels. I love this brand and I love it so much that I actually became an investor after I was a customer already. And I was so excited about it because it was something that I love so much. They've got two barista versions, the original and unsweetened original, and there's also three chilled milk versions, Unsweetened Original vanilla and unsweetened Original. All five flavors are available in the refrigerated milk and creamer sections of over 500 Target stores nationwide. There's a special deal for Life with Mariana. Listeners take 20% off all products, including subscriptions with code MARIANA on pistachiomilk.com this offer is only good for a short time to help you kick off the new year. So don't wait. The holiday season is here. I can't believe we're winding down and the end of the new year. And it's a very busy time of year for me and I'm thinking, thinking about my New Year's intentions and my health and wellness. And if you are looking to stay motivated during the healthy holiday season, I know that it can be a challenge, but for me, I just try to make a few small changes and decisions, especially when starting my day. And I think about my nutrition and my supplements and I want to tell you guys about AG1. So I've been drinking AG1 for so long, my favorite recipe to do this actually is just with cold water. So by mixing it with cold water, it really just tastes the best for me. And I love that they actually have this in travel packs because when I'm on the go, especially this time of year, I want to make sure I'm really taking care of myself. AG1 can help combat the stress of holiday schedules while helping your digestion and supporting your energy. And when I travel, I have a package with me and I just mix it with cold water, and I feel like it really just tastes best that way. I've been drinking it for a really long time, and I feel like my hair and nails feel stronger. I can recover quicker from workouts, and I just really have this great boost of energy. And because it's one thing that does so many great things for my health, I always find myself giving a package to a friend, and I'm like, just try this with some water. And they all instantly love it the first time they try it. So this holiday season, try AG1 for yourself and even gift it to someone special. It's the perfect time to focus on supporting your body with an easy and surprisingly delicious daily health drink. And that's why I'm so excited to be partnering with them. And AG1 is offering new subscribers a free $76 gift. When you sign up, you'll get a welcome kit, a bottle of D3K2, and five free travel packs in your first box. Make sure to check out drinkag1.com Mariana to get this offer. That's drinkag1.com Mariana to start your new year on a healthier note. What are fidgets and tactile? What do you mean by that?

[B]

So I have a fidget that I really love. It kind of looks like a hair tie, but it's metal and spiky. And so the other day I had a big dental procedure done, and I was a little nervous about it. And when. I don't know if you ever experienced this, but when you go to the dentist and you know they're going to numb you, all of your attention is right there on where that needle is going. And so fidgets can distract your brain. And I really like the. The more spiky ones that you can really, really feel and you can't ignore. And so I put that little metal, spiky fidget. It's a toy you could get online, like 99 cents. And I used that. I just rubbed it up and down my thumb and it distracted my brain away from what the dentist was doing and helped me stay grounded in my body. Other fidgets? Some people really like the fidget spinners. If you've seen those people that are, like, holding onto something and then they spin it, that can move distracted energy out to the hands. It can help you be not focused on whatever the task at hand is if you need a distraction. Some people also really like the stress balls. They have those in a lot of doctors offices. You get blood work, they give you something like a stress ball that you could squeeze. So anything that's small, portable, that you would like to use, that you're fun, you've fun playing with is great.

[A]

Those are all really helpful things. And for me and I think so many other women, we are balancing a lot or trying our best through our career, relationship, personal goals, and a lot of times there is work induced anxiety and these things we can't necessarily avoid because it's just the nature of our day to day lives. So what are some effective ways to manage stress and stay grounded during really overwhelming work moments or times?

[B]

I actually just wrote an article about this for Harvard Business Review where you're at work, you're overloaded with all of the things and suddenly you get an email from your team lead or your boss and you made a terrible mistake. They need to meet you in the next five minutes and your heart is pounding and you have deadlines and you feel so upset and so scared and you're on the verge of a panic attack. What can you do in that moment? Well, there are a couple of things that you want to do really quickly. So number one is you want to go straight to the breath. And so I know this is something that you use and that you teach about, is you have your breath everywhere and your breath is your quickest inroad to calming the nervous system, to calming the body. So the very minute that you get that email or you're feeling those flood of yellow light symptoms is you're going to elongate the breath for as long as you can. Andrew Huberman calls this the physiologic sigh. And so you exhale out as hard as you can and then followed up with just a couple more seconds of breath. If you could do this for maybe 15 seconds. And guaranteed if you just give yourself 15 seconds, it will give you just the time that you need to keep your logical brain on board so it doesn't go into crisis mode so that you can make the next best decision for yourself. So you're going to inhale for four counts, you're going to hold your breath at the top for four counts, you're going to exhale as big and as hard as you can for four to six counts and you're going to hold your breath at the bottom. So do that twice and then the next thing that you want to do is you want to actually relocate yourself. So, okay, I'm going to get up, I'm going to walk to the bathroom. Oftentimes there's cold water, so you can run your hands under the cold water. You could go to the water fountain, get cold water, take a drink so that you're combining the breath with the temperature, and then you can handle whatever comes your way. You'll be much more equipped.

[A]

I think that's really helpful. And I know for so many of us, we think it might just be one thing. And I know that things like sleep and exercise and nutrition really play so much support in our mental health. Like, do you think sleep is the most important thing to focus on? Or nutrition? If you really feel overwhelmed by trying to do all these things at once.

[B]

Oh, it can be so overwhelming. And we're trying to do all of the things. And so nutrition is important. And oftentimes people ask me if I only change one thing in my entire protocol. I'm really panicky, I'm really anxious, but I only have the bandwidth for one thing. And when in doubt, go to the gut. Always go to the gut. Your gut, it is responsible for making neurotransmitters. 95% of your serotonin is made in your gut. Your gut is responsible for metabolizing hormones. Your gut regulates your immune system. Your gut communicates with your vagus nerve. Your gut is everything. And so one really important thing that you can do for your gut is to increase fiber. Fiber feeds good bacteria. Fiber brings down inflammation. Fiber balances the pH. Fiber is important for your gut. And so that would be cruciferous veggies, complex carbs like legumes or rice, brown rice in particular. And so really focusing on your gut. So if that's all you can do is do that. If you also have the time and space for movement and exercise is, I like to recommend movement that retrains us how to become activated and then how to come out of activation. Because for a lot of panic sufferers and anxiety warriors, we get activated, and then we feel stuck, we feel disempowered. I don't know how to calm myself. I don't know how to get out of it. All I know is to take that emergency Xanax from my doctor. We can use exercise to reprogram us to know what it feels like to get activated. Your heart rate goes faster, your breathing goes faster, your body temperature rises. You may do this by running really hard, if you're able, for 15 to 30 seconds. And then you bring yourself out of it. You slow down, you feel your feet on the ground. You slow the breath, cool your body, and then you repeat that so that when you get that Email at work, or when you get cut off in traffic, or whenever something out of your control that's difficult happens. When you go into that activation, you're like, oh yeah, I've done this a thousand times. We know how to bring ourselves back out. So those are the two big hacks.

[A]

And you were just talking about movement. And something that I see a lot is people talking about certain types of movements spike their cortisol. It makes them too anxious. So what are those types of movements that you think that we should avoid?

[B]

You know, I like to incorporate Ayurveda into the answer to this question. And Ayurveda, for those who aren't familiar, many of us are familiar with acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine. And so that's ancient wisdom that came out of China. Ayurveda is ancient wisdom that came out of India and that precedes any modern understanding of medicine that we have by thousands of years. It's amazing how research just keeps on finding scientific truths and old wisdom. And in Ayurveda they teach that if we're in a state of pitta, which is like a lot of the high achievers that you work with. And so I'm type a, I, I'm enneagram3. I'm pushing myself to the limit and then some. I feel hot, I feel agitated. And so if you're pitta and you're in that fiery state, you may get worse by adding fire and doing something like CrossFit or hot yoga. It's like adding kerosene to the fire. And so what you're going to want to do instead is maybe do cold swimming. So get into a swimming pool, do exercise and something that's going to balance out your dosha, it's going to cool you. Stretching, relaxing, calming, versus if you're completely burned out and you're in a flop. We're coming into winter season as you and I are recording this. And if you're finding that you can't get moving, you can't get motivated, it's hard to get out of bed, you just want to lay down. Is that doing those higher intensity exercises are actually going to be really, really important for you and really helpful. The hardest is just getting started. And then the third is vata, which I resonate with. And especially women who are in their 30s and 40s tend to be more vata. And so this is if you feel really adhd, really distracted, really anxious, those thoughts, anything. You're like in the clouds, right? You feel very ungrounded, you want to do exercise, that's really grounding. And so think about being outside and going for a hike or going for a walk or do a yoga nidra, where you're laying on the ground and you even have weights or weighted blankets. So the type of exercise you want to tailor to you, that really is.

[A]

Really helpful because I think it's like, I never love, like, blanket statements like, everyone is supposed to do one thing. Because even in my own journey of trying to, you know, feel more grounded in the morning, at night, I was testing and trying so many things where people are like, this is, like, the ideal morning routine. You should do all of this stuff. And I was doing things, and it was almost making me more anxious and more stressed out than calming me down. And so I love that you're like, okay, certain people need certain types of workouts, and it does work for some people. So it's not that these type of workouts is going to be stressful and anxiety. Do you see for everyone?

[B]

I love that. Do you resonate more with one of the doshas? Like, do you tend to be more vata Pitta kapha?

[A]

I think vata was the one that, when you were saying it, I was like, okay, this one is the one that I resonate with the most. And so that one, I think, made the most sense for me. And I think that's why a lot of grounding techniques or things where I'm outside or I can be in nature are the most grounding and helpful for me. So I know if I am having a stressful day, sometimes I just need to go for a walk outside. And a walk outside for me is very different than a walk inside on a treadmill. And so, you know, living in California, I'm really grateful that I get to be outside and be by nature. And that really is the most helpful for me in the fresh air. And so I prefer that over, like, a treadmill walk. Even though I'm doing the exact same thing.

[B]

Yeah, same. I'm vata too, girl. And, like, the name of the game is just, even if it's cold is just bundle up, get outside. California dream come true. Because you get the sun and the warmth most of the year.

[A]

Exactly. So if you're trying to do all these things, we're listening to all your advice. We're following these things for our gut and our mind and. And breathing and all of the things, food, nutrition. But we still don't feel like it's helping us, and we still feel really anxious. What can we do at that point?

[B]

Your anxiety is trying to tell you something. And so if you feel like, and I so resonate with this, and this is my story, is I tried herbs and supplements and homeopathics and chiropractic medicine and supplements and functional tests. I spent thousands of dollars on functional tests and did acupuncture and I had an Ayurveda practitioner pour thorough oil in my head, in my face. And so if you feel like nothing is working to stop the anxiety, it means that your anxiety is trying to tell you something and you haven't figured out what that is yet. And so the questions that we want to ask come from being still in the anxiety. And so there's an exercise that I teach and I call it the three Minute Hack. And so I'll walk you through that. We won't spend three minutes, but you can set your alarm as well, and you can do this on your own. But what you'll do is you'll set your alarm for 60 seconds. And during that 60 seconds, what you're going to do is you're going to notice what anxiety feels like in your body. You're going to look for that alarm. You're going to look for where the sensation in the body is the strongest. So maybe you do have thought anxiety and your thoughts are racing and they're intrusive and they're worried and they're future tripping. But then notice where in the body you feel that. And so maybe it's in the chest and we have to feel it to heal it and those symptoms are expressing themselves. And if we deny it, they're just going to get louder. So we want to feel it. So that first 60 seconds is to feel it. And then you're going to set your alarm again for your second 60 seconds. And what I want you to do is to notice that physical sensation that happens when you get anxious now. And I want you to follow that through line to the earliest moment that you can ever remember feeling that way. Because your symptoms are adaptations, they're coping mechanisms to something that happened to you or it could still be happening to you. And so there's a great book that expands on this that I love. It's by Oprah and Bruce Perry and it's called what Happened to you? And they talk a lot about this. So during that second 60 seconds, you're going to follow that timeline to the earliest moment that you remember feeling that way and you're going to notice that and then the last 60 seconds. So set your alarm one more time and what you're going to do is you're going to go into that part, that part that's trying to communicate that anxiety to you, and you're going to acknowledge it. And you're going to say to that part, thank you so much for sharing your needs with me. I hear you. I've got you. And I want you to know that we are not in the past anymore, that it's 20, 24 or whatever year it is, and that you don't have to hold on to the burden of trying to protect us. Because I'm an adult now. I have resources you didn't have. And I want to ask you to let go of that heavy burden of trying to protect us from anxiety and to let me take care of you. And so you, you acknowledge that part, you thank that part, you honor that part, you resource that part, and then you ask that part to let it go. And if you really want to supercharge this activity, the research suggests that using tapping while doing this can be really helpful. So a simple way to do that is to cross your arms like you're hugging yourself, like a butterfly hug. And you rest your fingertips on your shoulders, on opposite shoulders. And then you just tap gently left and right while you're talking to that part. And what we think that this is doing in neuroscience is it's grounding you in the present moment. It's telling your brain, we are here right now. We're not in the past anymore, while you're activating those past brain circuits so that you can clear anything that's stuck. So that's my favorite thing. If we feel like we're hitting our heads against the wall and we're not figuring it out is practice the three Minute hack.

[A]

Amazing. I think that was such a great place to end on. And while you were doing that, I was like, okay, there's so many things that I want to incorporate into my own life. So for anyone who wants to pick up a copy of Panic Proof, who is this book for?

[B]

This book is for anybody who wants to improve their sense of personal power over their emotional well being. And a bonus is if you struggle with anxiety or panic.

[A]

Amazing. Thank you so much.

[B]

Thank you for having me. It's been great.

[A]

Thanks so much for listening. And be sure to subscribe to my podcast and rate and review because it would mean so much to me. And follow me on Instagram ariannahewitt to see what episodes are coming up next.

[B]

Please note that this episode may contain.

[A]

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[B]

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[A]

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