The Truth About Stress, Anxiety and Stress

Zoe Sofia: Now this is part two of our stress video. A lot of people think about nutrition in terms of what you should eat and there is whole other side of it too in terms of what you shouldn't eat, what you shouldn't consume and that's an elimination. So you are keeping something out of your diet that has an undesired effect. So we are talking about drugs and stress. So if you think that this video doesn't apply to you because you don't do legal drugs I got news for you. This one is for you because we are talking about everything from a cup of coffee to cigarette to alcohol, prescription drugs, I mean all across the board and in fact if you live in America this video is for you. Now if you haven't watched the first video on stress part one, I just really want to tell you that stress is a natural function. It is a natural biological process and it has its place. We are supposed to be fearful sometimes. We are supposed to be nervous sometimes because we either need a get away from that situation or we need to be prepared to fight, whatever the circumstance maybe. But the problem is when we are constantly stimulating that process, so we are constantly worried, we are constantly angry, we are constantly nervous, we are constantly anxious, that cycle keeps on going rather than it being stimulated every once in a while in the appropriate situation and when it is constantly stimulated it is going to be have major effects on our mental and physical function. Drugs effect that stress response in three different ways. Either it has a direct impact, it directly mimics the stress response; two, it causes withdrawal symptoms when you are coming off the drug which will cause stress as well or three it will deplete your Vitamins and that Vitamin deficiency will cause stress as well. So there is three different ways, and we are going to go over those. So the first category is Stimulants and Amphetamine type drugs. So, these are actually everything from Caffeine to illegal substances and everything in between. A lot of these things that we are going to be talking about right now, directly stimulate the stress response are things that people do everyday. So we are talking about Caffeine, a cup of coffee, tobacco and then even prescription drugs, ADHD medications and then all the way up to smoking meth. So there is a lot of things in between here, but these directly stimulate the stress response. They increase your heart rate. They interfere with your sleep patterns. They interfere with GABA which is a neurotransmitter that has a calming effect on the brain. It stimulates your Sympathetic Nervous System and I have talked about that nervous system in previous videos. Basically, when your Sympathetic Nervous System is stimulated that decreases your digestive function, so you are actually absorbing less nutrients no matter how good your diet is. These types of drugs also elevate your Stress Hormones and they increase your stress response. So there is a lot of results from these types of drugs and if you are that person that is doing one of these on daily basis, you are impacting your stress and you might not even know it. Now if you are one of those people that has anxiety problem or you know that you are that chronic worrier, the last thing you need is to have a stimulant or an Amphetamine type drug in your daily routine because the fact is that it's just going to make your stress worse and in some instances your stress could be a direct result from that stimulant rather than being because of a situation or because of an issue you are going through, it could be just because you have that stimulant in your diet or in your daily routine. And it's so crazy because there is actual disorders that are associated from these drugs. There is called a Caffeine induced anxiety disorder. There is an Amphetamine induced anxiety disorder and an Amphetamine induced mood disorder. So these are actual diagnosis that are related to just someone consuming a stimulant or an Amphetamine type drug. So the second way drugs can impact your stress is through withdrawal. So maybe you have been around someone who is trying to quit smoking. Well what happens? Well their stress level is pretty elevated. They are anxious. They can actually pretty moody. A lot of times that's not the person you want to be hanging around because all of their stress and anxiety associated with stopping smoking. So that's an example of a long-term withdrawal, but think about how long it takes them to go without a cigarette before they began to feel this comfort. So, if they are in a movie theater, maybe they are watching a movie and they haven't had a cigarette for few hours, they can actually start to have withdrawal symptoms and it hasn't been that long and the same thing can be with someone who is chronic coffee drinker. How long does it take them to not have that cup of coffee before they begin to feel those withdrawal symptoms? Well, the first thing you are going to experience is cravings. So those cravings; your body is telling you, I want that substance and then it can get worst from there. Those can go to headaches, it can go to increased anxiety and then it can even go further than that if something is a severe substance. Headaches are something that a lot of people get on a very continual basis and you may not realize that it could be associated with the fact that that's actually a withdrawal symptom. Now when you are getting off of a drug it can actually have the opposite effect that the drug was meant to do. So if you are taking a drug that is meant to lower your anxiety level, when that drug begins to wear off, you actually can have increased anxiety or if you are consuming a stimulant; when that drug begins to wear off you can actually experience the opposite, exhaustion, fatigue or if you are taking a drug for depression and it's supposed to boost your mood and make you feel happier, when that wears off, it can actually cause you to have greater depression than before when you took the drug. So the point is that whatever drug or whatever substance you are taking, when a drug begins to wear off the withdrawal symptom itself can be the opposite of what the drug was meant to do. Now the reason I brought that up is because there are who people to take anti-anxiety medications and they are known as anxiolytics and these medications are very addictive and the problem with them is that when the drug begins to wear off, it can cause very much increased anxiety. So the person is taking the medication to reduce anxiety, but then when it wears off it can cause even more anxiety and I want to read you the official psychiatric disorders that can be caused from these anxiolytics. So we have anxiolytic induced anxiety disorder, anxiolytic induced mood disorder, anxiolytic induced persisting amnestic disorder, anxiolytic induced persisting dementia, anxiolytic induced psychotic disorder with delusions, anxiolytic induced psychotic disorder with hallucinations, anxiolytic induced sexual dysfunction, anxiolytic induced sleep disorder, anxiolytic intoxication, anxiolytic intoxication delirium, anxiolytic related disorders not otherwise specified, anxiolytic withdrawal and anxiolytic withdrawal delirium. So basically we have disorders here that are resolved from the medication. It's actually causing a disorder that wasn't there in the first place. So when someone is taking an anti-anxiety medication, it can actually be causing another disorder and not really be relieving the problem in the first place. Now the other thing I want to point out is I have heard people say before and maybe you have heard people say to you well I smoke because it calms me down or I drink coffee because it relaxes me. Well, these are stimulants and they are supposed to excite you. So that's sort of a consuming phenomena because, it's a stimulant and it's suppose to excite you and yet it's calming you. Well, what is going on there is that that calming relaxing effect is actually undoing that withdrawal symptom. So the reason why that person feels relaxed or that person feels calm is because they are not experiencing those withdrawal symptoms anymore. So if that category fits you, if you are that person who is calmed or feels more relaxed by taking a stimulant, that's actually a very good sign that you could be addicted. And the third reason why the drugs can impact your stress is because they are considered toxins. Your body wants to get rid of them. So that's why alcohol and caffeine are considered diuretics and a diuretic is something that causes your kidneys to work harder. Your kidneys work harder to basically flush your blood so you have to pee a whole lot more. And then also when someone is taking a substance or taking a stimulant or alcohol or caffeine or whatever it maybe, a lot of times the effect that they are seeking when they take that substance is actually a symptom of the body trying to detox. So if your heart is beating faster, if you feel energized, a lot of times that's the symptom that your body is showing because it's initiating all the organs, it's sending out all these signals to tell your body to get rid of this because this is not what your body needs and in that process, in that detox process where your body is trying to flush this thing out, you burn through your Vitamins. So we're talking major stress here, your body is freaking out because you need Vitamins. And before we move on, I want to mention a few more things about two drugs, the first is marijuana. So the first point is that it doesn't feel as good coming down as it did when you are getting high. So just like feeling good, when you were drunk or feeling good when you were speeding on your drugs or if you were high on marijuana, you are not going to feel very comfortable, you don't feel very good when you are going down, when the drug is wearing off. And the reason why this is happening is because the point two, is that you are going through a detoxification. You are burning through those Vitamins. Your body is trying to get rid of that junk and that's not going to make you feel very good. It's going to contribute to your stress. And then number three is that you can actually get paranoid when on marijuana. So there is people that have increased anxiety when they are smoking marijuana and they are actual psychotic disorders, psychiatric disorders that are related to cannabis consumption. So there is a cannabis induced anxiety disorder and a cannabis induced psychotic disorder. And the last drug I want to mention is alcohol and just like with all the other drugs when you come off that drunken state or that high of the drug, you are going to go through withdrawals and a hangover is the detoxification process. Your body is trying to get rid of that alcohol and you are burning through your B Vitamins faster than any other substance you could consume. Your body is trying to get rid of that substance and when that happens, you have withdrawal symptoms and that's what a hangover is. And there is an actual psychiatric disorder associated with alcohol consumption and it basically is alcohol induced anxiety disorder. In other words, alcohol consumption can cause increased anxiety. Now another problem associated with drugs is that they interfere with your sleep patterns. They are going to mess up not only the length of time you sleep, but also the quality of your sleep and when you don't get enough sleep you are moody. You are nervous, you are more prone to anxiety, you can be more stressed out and irritable because your body needs sleep and so there are substances that actually induce an anxiety disorder. So we have anxiolytic induced sleep disorder. We have caffeine induced sleep disorder. We have amphetamine induced sleep disorder and alcohol induced sleep disorder. So if you are on one of these substances and you don't sleep good, it could be the result of just taking that drug in the first place. Unfortunately, in our society people have the tendency to self medicate. So if you are stressed or if you have anxiety issues, you may drink alcohol because you want to feel more calm or you may smoke pot because you are trying to feel more relaxed and so you are actually using a drug to reduce your stress when in actuality can be increasing your stress. So even the drugs that we talked about anxiolytics or xanax they are actually some of the most abused prescription drugs in the market and they are sold illegally all the time because people want to feel relaxed and yet in the long run, it's contributing to more anxiety. So it is my opinion that a lot of people who have anxiety problems is just the result of a drug. So whether you realize or not that that pot of coffee every morning is actually increasing your stress or that those mixed drinks or all that beer that you are drinking on daily basis is burning through your B Vitamin so fast that that's contributing to stress or that your ADHD drugs that you have taken have interfered with your sleep patterns and so when that happens you have more anxiety. So whether or not those are what you are taking through out the day or the other things that we have mentioned, if that's something that you are doing a daily basis, it is having an impact on your anxiety. And the last thing I want to mention is we have talked different types of drugs, alcohol and amphetamines, anxiolytics, marijuana, all these different types of things, but there is a lot of prescription drugs that have anxiety as a side effect as well. So if you are someone that has increased anxiety, go talk to your pharmacist about what prescriptions you are taking, what medications you are taking and you all narrow down which ones maybe causing increased anxiety and if they find something and they are very knowledgeable, they know more about medications than most doctors do. So talk to them first, narrow it down and then if there are some found that can be increasing your anxiety, talk with your doctor about a better alternative. So yes, people do soft medicate and there is something else that also occurs and it's poly-pharmacy. So someone may start out, they have trouble concentrating so they are put on an ADHD medication. Well one of the side effects of ADHD can be increased anxiety and so because of that increased anxiety, they are put on an anxiolytic and one of the side effects of that could be increased mood disorders and so that person goes back to their doctor and their doctor puts them on another medication to calm the moods and they kind of help chill them out. And so the long-term look is that, someone could be five or six medications and it all was a result of one problem in the beginning and they are all trying to cover up the side effects of each one of the other ones and so all the while, all these medications and all these drugs are burning up your Vitamins. Your body is detoxing and trying to get rid of all these junk and when that happens you are going to have Vitamin deficiencies. You have Vitamin deficiencies, you have increased stress and that's our next video. So subscribe to our videos and take care of yourself, I will see you next time.