Preparing for the Summer Celebrations

The Fourth of July is a holiday that often entails loud, food-focused social gatherings. Many elements of these celebrations can be stressful to endure. By highlighting some of the “triggers” you may confront in the next few days, we hope to provide a few coping strategies that will help you take care of your physical, mental, and emotional health throughout the holiday. 

Family Gatherings

Being with family and friends can produce a range of emotions and experiences for people, from feeling rejuvenating to challenging. If you fall into the latter category, here are a few ideas for preparing for family festivities:

1. “Be like a Duck.” When someone interacts with you in a hurtful way, try to picture yourself as a duck, and their words as water rolling off your back. Try to remind yourself “this isn’t really about me.” 

2. Gravitate toward family members or friends who make you feel more comfortable. As needed, limit interactions with difficult people and focus your energy on conversations that will feel more life-giving. 

3. Check in with yourself and listen to your needs. If you need to take some space to breathe and re-center, or even leave the gathering early, give yourself permission to follow your inner wisdom.  Agree to a “check-in” time with your partner or set an alarm on your phone so you decide how long you would like to stay. Maybe it feels better to expect a two hour commitment ahead of time rather than an unknown time frame. Checking in while at the party can help relieve anxiety because you know there will be an opportunity to decide whether or not to stay longer- rather than just staying for an unknown amount of time.

4. Think about people who make you uncomfortable and why. Excuse yourself to use the restroom if topics of conversation or feedback feels negative. Use that time to re-ground with positive affirmations and slow breathing. Resist the urge to fuel negative thoughts about yourself or others.

Picnics and Barbecues

Eating during social gatherings can be tricky and challenging if you have dietary restrictions or personal preferences that require intentional eating. When partaking in traditional Fourth of July meals isn’t in your best interest, try to plan ahead with a few of these ideas:

1.  Don’t go to the event hungry! Eat a meal beforehand, or bring your meal to eat alongside the rest of your group. You will be less likely to succumb to the foods at the gathering (that may not nourish you in the way you need).

2. Bring a dish to share that aligns with your needs and preferences--maybe you will inspire others by your food and beverage choices. 

3. When you’re in a social situation where people are asking about your food habits, give a concise response and trust that you’re taking good care of your body. Remember that you do not need to convince anyone of your dietary choices and what you choose has nothing to do with what they choose for themselves.

4. Trying to stay sober? Bring your own non-alcoholic beverage that feels celebratory. Maybe you find a recipe for a non-alcoholic mixed drink. Drinking can feel like an assumed behavior, but should never be expected. Plan ahead for this and stay true to yourself.

Firework Displays

People who experience PTSD are highly susceptible to the loud, triggering noise of fireworks and bright flashing lights. In a similar vein, some individuals and pets are more sensitive to things like large crowds, fireworks, and overstimulation. With this is mind:

1. Remind yourself that having startle or upset reactions are normal, and try not to judge yourself harshly.  If the sound is too intense, bring along ear plugs (Even in large crowds this can help).

2. Practice grounding techniques like slow, deep breathing, mindfully observing the situation with your five senses, or noting the details of your present environment as a reminder that you are safe. 

3. Consider taking a drive outside the city, where you may even be able to watch the fireworks at a distance, or experience the beauty of nature. 

4. Reach out for help if your PTSD symptoms worsen/interfere with daily life. 

Hopefully these tips prepare you for an enjoyable Fourth of July experience. Remember that these tips can help with birthday parties, baby/bridal showers, weddings, etc. If you are feeling anxious or apprehensive about upcoming social events, take the time to investigate why you are stressed. Once you think about the boundaries or strategies you can use at the party, you can relax and trust that you are going to have a good time!

References

Burn, S. M. (2018). Holiday Strategies for Dealing with Difficult Family Members. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/presence-mind/201811/holiday-strategies-dealing-difficult-family-members

Healthy You. (2018). How to manage PTSD on the 4th of July. Retrieved from www.peacehealth.org.

Acupuncture for Medication Withdrawal

By: Amanda Gawrysz, L.Ac, MSOM

Have you been told about the effects of eliminating your psychiatric medications? Detoxing from medication can be a very uncomfortable and sometimes debilitating experience. People are not often offered much for withdrawal support, which leaves individuals “white knuckling” through a rollercoaster of physical, emotional, and psychological distress. Not to mention, the psychological aspect that comes along with the decision to stop taking a medication that can be terrifying. Life may feel like an eternity as each moment passes during a medication taper experience. Utilizing acupuncture can help achieve a state of harmony during this process and promote a level of balance in your body that minimizes the intensity of these symptoms.

Acupuncture is an under utilized modality that can help ease the emotional, mental, and physical manifestations during this time. The body is in a state of disharmony and shock from the absence of certain chemicals that it was accustomed to receiving. It needs time to return back to its homeostasis. There is a real sense of urgency when in the transition period of a tapering plan and acupuncture can make this transition less intense.  

Acupuncture ultimately helps restore balance through the stimulation of specific points. By stimulating these points, we improve the movement of Qi (energy) and of blood to help relieve pain, increase circulation, stimulate the liver, and speed up lymphatic drainage to ease the negative effects of withdrawal. Your practitioner will target specific meridians and acupoints that are connected to your specific withdrawal symptoms and bodily imbalances.

Acupuncture during medication withdrawal can help with agitation and restlessness, muscle aches and pains, insomnia, nausea, vertigo and dizziness, headaches, depression, temperature fluctuations, and what patients describe as “brain zaps.” A rebound effect may also be experienced during tapering where the original symptoms return and are worse than they were before.

Many are unaware that endorphins are released from the brain during acupuncture. Endorphins are our natural pain killers which also have a calming and positive effect on our mood. The release of endorphins also help relieve those pesky body aches that may be experienced. Using acupuncture, you can take advantage of the body’s natural chemicals to calm your brain and provide relief that will promote staying sober.

Withdrawal can cause uncomfortable body temperature changes, especially from alcohol and opiates. Alcohol usually causes an increase in temperature while opiates may cause fluctuations between sweating and feeling cold. A study has demonstrated that in combination with electrical stimulation acupuncture reduced this unpleasant withdrawal side effect.

Acupuncture has been known for centuries to help relieve nausea and vomiting from pregnancy, chemotherapy, and postoperative cases. Medication withdrawal is no different. Acupuncture speeds up the elimination process and improves detoxification pathways to allow the chemicals from medications to be expelled out of the body more efficiently.

In the case of experiencing depressive symptoms from alcohol, opiates, or even antidepressant withdrawal is common. In Chinese Medicine, depression causes a stagnation or seizing up of liver energy. These drugs falsely stimulate the energy from the liver causing it to flow more freely throughout the body. Once these drugs are stopped, that liver energy once again becomes constrained based on the Chinese Liver System. Additionally, your Liver energy can move erratically when these medications are stopped causing something called “internal wind” in Chinese Medicine. Internal wind is a sense of movement where there should be stillness. This internal movement is similar to akathisia and is also considered to be a rebound reaction. This effect manifests symptoms such as dizziness, vertigo, restlessness, tremors, and the brain zaps.  

The current common approach to medication elimination sets us up for failure. The process of medication tapering can feel overwhelming, discouraging, and impact our mental and physical body’s to a point where we decide it is not worth the effort. Acupuncture is built upon a foundation of ancient knowledge that can promote balance in your body and provide you with the stability that you need to take your withdrawal head-on and minimize the impact of resulting physical symptoms. Psychiatric medications can have an enormously positive impact on an individual’s life.  When a person is ready to move on without those medications, it is crucial that there is support provided to create a confident and successful transition toward independence.