The Mental Health Doctor: “Sitting Is Increasing Your Anxiety!”, Your Phone Is Destroying Your Brain, You May Have ‘Popcorn Brain’!
Jan 15, 2024
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Steven Bartlett interviews Mel Robbins and Dr. Aditi Nerurkar on overcoming stress and anxiety. They discuss the physical impacts of stress, the need for digital boundaries, the myth of multitasking, and the connection between gut health and stress reduction.
Stress and burnout are prevalent in modern society, emphasizing the need for personalized strategies to manage and address these issues.
Chronic stress keeps the stress response system activated, leading to physical and mental health problems.
Toxic resilience, which prioritizes productivity at all costs, can have detrimental effects on well-being. Authenticity and self-compassion are crucial in fostering true resilience.
Implementing small changes at a time and setting achievable goals can increase self-efficacy in managing stress and improving overall well-being.
Engaging in regular physical activity, even in small increments, can positively impact mental health and build resilience against stress.
Deep dives
Understanding and Combating Modern-Day Burnout
Chronic stress and burnout have become prevalent issues in modern society, with high percentages of people struggling. Stress expert Dr. Aditi Norakha, a Harvard physician, discusses the rise in stress and its impact on mental health. She emphasizes the need to address stress-related conditions and highlights the importance of disconnecting from work. Additionally, burnout is not limited to specific demographics and affects parents, young entrepreneurs, and others. Despite its prevalence, burnout can be isolating. Dr. Norakha introduces five resets to survive and thrive, focusing on personalized strategies for managing stress.
Understanding and Adapting to Chronic Stress
Dr. Norakha delves into the effects of chronic stress and its impact on the brain and body. She explains the role of the HPA axis in regulating the stress response and the hormone cortisol. Chronic stress keeps the stress response system activated, leading to physical and mental health issues. Dr. Norakha discusses the factors contributing to chronic stress and the concept of atypical burnout. She highlights the importance of recognizing individualized symptoms of burnout and understanding the difference between acute and chronic stress.
Toxic Resilience and the Importance of Authenticity
Dr. Norakha explores the concept of toxic resilience, which promotes productivity at all costs. She highlights the importance of differentiating between toxic and true resilience. While resilience is a positive trait, toxic resilience can have detrimental effects on mental and physical well-being. Authenticity plays a key role in resilience, as it fosters genuine connections, therapeutic encounters, and improved outcomes. Dr. Norakha emphasizes the need for self-compassion, setting boundaries, and cultivating true resilience through rest and recovery.
The Resilience Rule of Two and Small Changes
The Resilience Rule of Two suggests that making two small changes at a time is more effective than overwhelming oneself with numerous changes. Dr. Norakha explains that this approach respects the brain's natural adaptation mechanisms and increases self-efficacy. She introduces the concept of MOST (Motivating, Objective, Small, Timely) goals to focus on what matters most. By setting achievable and measurable goals, individuals can make progress in managing stress and improving overall well-being.
The Role of Daily Physical Activity in Stress Management
Dr. Norakha highlights the importance of daily physical activity, even in small increments, as a powerful tool for managing stress. Engaging in regular activities like walking can positively impact mental health and overall well-being. The focus is on integrating movement into daily routines, rather than complex exercise regimens. Dr. Norakha suggests finding enjoyable activities that increase self-efficacy and provide measurable progress, leading to reduced stress and improved resilience.
The Impact of Popcorn Brain and Internet Addiction
Popcorn brain, which is different from internet addiction, has become ubiquitous in modern life. When feeling stressed, our amygdala prompts us to scroll incessantly as a primal urge to scan for danger. However, over-consuming graphic content and engaging in excessive scrolling can lead to trauma and increase the risk of PTSD. Setting digital boundaries, such as time limits, creating geographical limits, and implementing logistical limits, can help mitigate the negative impact of popcorn brain. It's important to balance being an informed citizen with safeguarding our mental health.
Practical Strategies to Reduce Stress and Promote Well-being
To enhance well-being and reduce stress, it's crucial to implement practical strategies. These include incorporating diaphragmatic breathing and the stop-breathe-be technique to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, lowering stress levels. Therapeutic writing, known as expressive writing, can help process emotions and promote a sense of agency. Journaling about traumatic events or challenging situations can lead to cognitive reframing and self-compassion. Additionally, adopting the practice of monotasking through time blocking can boost productivity, concentration, and problem-solving abilities while protecting the prefrontal cortex.
The Gut-Brain Connection and its Role in Stress
Emerging research highlights the significance of the gut-brain connection and its impact on stress. Trillions of healthy bacteria live in the gut, influencing mood and mental health. Serotonin, a mood-regulating hormone, is found significantly more in the gut than the brain. Maintaining a healthy gut through prebiotic and probiotic foods, along with practices like diaphragmatic breathing and stress reduction techniques, can positively influence the gut-brain connection and the biology of stress. Engaging in a media diet that limits consumption of graphic content and setting digital boundaries is also crucial to protecting mental well-being.
Living a Lifetime in a Day as an Antidote to Hustle Culture
Living a lifetime in a day involves incorporating six key areas into daily life: childhood, work, solitude, vacation, family, and retirement. By dedicating even a few minutes each day to activities that bring joy, playfulness, reflection, engagement, and connection, individuals can cultivate a greater sense of meaning and fulfillment. This approach provides an antidote to hustle culture, reminding individuals to prioritize well-being, purpose, and human connection. It is essential to adopt a balanced approach that celebrates the complexities of life and nurtures our humanity.
Over 70% of people struggle with stress, but only 3% of doctors offer stress management, could a cure be just a handful of simple lifestyle steps?
Dr. Aditi Nerurkar is a doctor, global public health expert and medical correspondent, she specialises in stress, resilience and burnout. She is author of the book, ‘The Five Resets: Rewire Your Brain and Body for Less Stress and More Resilience’.
In this interview, Steven and Dr. Aditi discuss everything from the physical impacts of a delayed stress response, popcorn brain, the need to create digital boundaries, how stress can sometimes be helpful, and why multitasking is a myth.
You can purchase ‘The 5 Resets: Rewire Your Brain and Body for Less Stress and More Resilience’, here: https://amzn.to/48AiM8a
