Anxiety | Mental Health | Lionel Messi - It Happens to the Best!

This discussion about mental health, anxiety, and how being anxious chronically can happen to the best, people as good and great as Lionel Messi, is inspired by this article by Adam Alter, on Ideas.Ted.com

For many people, when celebrities talk about mental health issues, it becomes a bit easier to comprehend the problem and understand that it can happen to anybody irrespective of the amount of inherent talent or the fandom that comes with being the best in anything, ranging from movies to soccer. The latter has its smart, Messi, whose psychological challenges of holding up his performance in the middle of a growing, global fan following. The problems with Messi' preparedness for the big stage have been doing the rounds for some time. Reports suggest that he usually vomits and according to some sources, his vomiting is a bit of a chronic thing that tends to happen en route to a big match. It was in 2014 that reports emerged about Messi showing symptoms of vomiting and perhaps, the condition being associated with trouble in handling anxiety.

Two Massagers & A Reasonably Good Guy

The tiny one with a cable, definitely Chinese: I found this red-coloured, funny looking massager at an electronics store. At first, it looked like one of the many Chinese electronic items that have flooded the global market. However, I was ready to take the risk, hoping that it will last for at least two weeks or so. It has been almost a month and despite some very rough handling and long bouts of massaging my head and thighs, this device has not surrendered. It does need a regular meal of three AAA batteries.

Just some quick eye-shut time to reconnect with yourself

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You must have read a lot about the concept of power napping and how the shortest periods of relaxation can cleanse the mind of overwhelming thoughts. I am using the same thing in the most micro fashion – using some eye-shut time to ensure you have a more uncluttered mind. I do this at the desk, in the car and even when taking a bath. Just shut your eyes and banish all thoughts. Try to concentrate on a facial muscle, i.e. on your face. I tend to focus on the nose bridge, clutching the skin around it. This is not about many minutes but a handful of seconds. You can do this repeatedly, like a breath hold & go exercise that is found in many meditation prep programs. For me, concentrating with my eyes closed is almost impossible. I tend to hop to what happens next scenarios a bit too often.

Gravity Blanket For Folks Who Are Not Sleepy Enough

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Sleeping issues and insomnia are common and so are sleep remedies. There is an increasing rush towards off-the-counter medications that promise to put you to sleep…to the extent that you wake-up the next day! However, the Gravity Blanket is comprehensively a non-medicated sleeping aid. It has been something special, unlike insomnia solutions that come with plugged-in devices. However, the promise is a bit of an overkill. For starters, it does not seem like that compression or the hug-like treatment can help everyone sleep. It seems rather expensive too. The closest I can get to is the massaging action that helps folks realize. From anxiety to stress and physical exertion, any therapy that involves rubbing and pressing the body can be a bit therapeutic. Is the gravity blanket destined to fail? NO. There are so many desperate souls out there searching for a good nap that they won’t be satisfied unless they have tried it. This is not supposedly addictive and hence, will be tried by folks coming-off anti-anxiety and sleep-inducing prescription drugs. Not much science here unless the makers can explain…

Snacking, Munching, Food Hunting as 3-Pronged Daily Management Tool

The obvious question is that nearly everyone, from the Cro-Magnon man to Neanderthals and the slick city dwellers, takes to food when it comes to being stressed or when navigating through the daily schedule becomes a bit too challenging. I will be talking about the same thing but perhaps, will dig into the subject a lot more, sharing things many of us feel a bit apprehensive about when it comes to eating to do a bit better, at work, at home, in the bed or when idling on a Sunday afternoon: 

Tends to Jolt the senses, Controlling Anxiety Pangs: this applies to food options that are dangerously spicy or cold to the extent that they freeze-up your mouth. Why does it work? The same reason I shared above but this goes one step ahead. How?

Have You Used Self-created Pinch Points to Handle Anxiety?

This discussion will not make sense to everyone, simply because only someone from GERD, like me, can understand how debilitating Anxiety can become...it can literally derail your life and single-handedly decide your overall health status. Over the years of dealing with Anxiety, I have come across many Anxiety-management tools, some free resources and others, obesely priced for no apparent reason. While meditation does work it is not meant for me. Why? My mind tends to wander and ruminate a bit too much. I came across one lifestyle article nearly 3 years back and put the tip to practice - using a pinch point every time you felt that a sudden bout of Anxiety was coming. Yes, you can feel it like a wave of coldness, a wiry thing that feels against your skin, traveling from your upper shoulder area to your head. The trick is simple. Grab hold of something that can pinch you for good. Something like a key does the trick for me.

DIY Anxiety Management: Need that Morning Sense of Calmness

There is one challenge that has been constantly biting me – the inability to dress up in a calm, relaxed manner when getting ready for the daily drive that leads me to the office. Why? I am a self-confessed, highly embraced, chronic anxiety sufferer, and despite my best efforts, the smallest of changes in plans for the day, from a minor change of breakfast menu to running any small errand that might surface at the last moment, I tend to get a bit agitated. During winters, this feeling is somewhat controlled as I don't sweat as much but during summers, the feeling can be excruciatingly bothersome. To explain this better, I will need to divulge more details about my morning routine too, and the stickiness of it that is also a bit of a challenge. The thing is that I need a few minutes of working in the morning to get in the right frame of mind and soldier up for the day to follow. This is not about gaining muscle or fitting into a muscle tee. This is just a means to an end, as it helps me prepare mentally for things that might bother me and those that have already been marked as problems to solve. Whether I am expected to be a peacemaker or a troubleshooter at home or the office, the morning workout helps me be better at it. But working out comes with another challenge - the sweating and the time it takes to snap out of the exercising mode.

Gastric Health Upkeep: Using the Enigma called Isabgol

Say aloud the word and you can bet on all the heads in the room turning towards you as if you shouted something unholy. However, try the same thing in a patient waiting room where you have diabetics, those diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome and folks fighting away the flab, and Isabgol immediately seems something most people can relate with! There is a trick to using Isabgol and you have to be a bit patient since the concoctions take some time to work their magic. Sharing My Gastric Management Strategies - this is what I have learned from my experiences:

- Mixing Isabgol with curd: the best remedy if you have IBS, acidity or the stool movement seems to be lazy. This is not for those diagnosed with chronic constipation. This Isabgol blend helps to add more fiber to the intestinal pathways, helping to add bulk to your stools. Try this if you want that feeling of accomplishment as you lift your proud-self from the toilet seat

Trying to Breathe-In, Hold and Then, Exhale the Anxiety Out of ME

If you have visited this blog a couple of times, it would have been apparent by now that am a unique blend of being a hypochondriac, serial assumer, and unnecessarily honest. Each of these traits, combined with my ability to shunt out any human interaction that does not seem important leads to a widening space for feeling anxious. I have been in and out of gym sessions and yoga classes to help me unwind better, stop the overthinking and get more realistic about life.

Allergy to prescription medicines? Read This...

2017 has been a bit overwhelming, with nearly four instances of a full-blown allergic reaction on the face. This seemed like a herpes breakout and I was using multiple anti-virals for this at one point. Subsequent medical investigation yielded the fact that the breakouts were closer to and more likely to happen again when using certain medications. The trick, as I have realized, after a lot of suffering, lies in finding out the possible factors and then creating layers of self-defense, where you want to avoid the possible allergens, especially when you are already suffering from some disease or a temporary condition like the flu.