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Today on the Anxiety

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Guide podcast we are

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diving into the fascinating and

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crucial topic of the

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link between inflammation and

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anxiety. This isn't just

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about understanding symptoms, it's

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about uncovering deeper connections that

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could transform how we approach

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mental health and

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our anxiety healing. Let's

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go. Welcome

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to the Anxiety Guide podcast where

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we delve deep into the heart

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of anxiety, providing you with

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the tools, insights and

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inspiration to reclaim your life

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from the grips of fear

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and uncertainty. I'm your host

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Dennis Simsek, a former

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anxiety sufferer turned anxiety

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healer and each week

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we will explore proven strategies,

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share personal stories and

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create more than anxiety moments towards

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inner peace and empowerment. Get

1:06

ready to break free from the

1:08

chains of anxiety and step into

1:10

a life filled with purpose, joy

1:13

and unshakable confidence.

1:17

This is the Anxiety Guide

1:19

podcast and your path

1:21

to liberation starts now.

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Friends welcome to another episode of

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the Anxiety Guide podcast. I'm your

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host Dennis Simsek and I am

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grateful to share

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with you this very

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important podcast episode on

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the connection between inflammation

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and anxiety. Before

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I get into it let me remind

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you that this episode is brought to

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you by the Health Anxiety Recovery Program,

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a 12-week deep dive into the

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root causes of your health anxiety.

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can learn more about

2:02

this very powerful program

2:04

at theanxietyguide.com under health

2:06

anxiety or just check

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the link at the bottom of

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this description of this episode. So

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let's dive deep into this. Because

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when I was suffering from

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an anxiety disorder, multitude of

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anxiety disorders, I had never

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made the connections between a

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dysregulated nervous system

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that can in fact lead

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to inflammation in the body,

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that can create certain anxiety

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sensations and symptoms. Because

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I always looked at it

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as anxiety and for me personally,

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because I perceived this all of this

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as anxiety and did everything in my

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power just to try to calm myself

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down. I wasn't getting

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to the root of the inflammation

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and the dysregulated nervous system.

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And so I went from

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just focusing on this being

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a head related issue to

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an entire system related issue.

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Because there were these embedded alarms

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in my body and I needed

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to understand the roots of

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them. I needed to understand how

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much inflammation was really going on

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in this body that were creating

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these sensations, these symptoms

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that were leading to these kinds

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of intrusive thoughts. Now first off, let's

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break down inflammation. Normally

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it's our body's response

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to injury or infection

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which is essential for healing.

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But when it becomes chronic,

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lingering and unrelenting it can

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wreak havoc on

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our entire systems. Now

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I want you to picture it as

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a smoldering fire inside of us. us

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and it is subtly affecting

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everything from our gut to

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our brains. Now

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here's where things get really interesting.

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Our nervous system isn't

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just about thoughts and movements.

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It's about a powerful regulator

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of our immune responses and

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inflammation levels. When

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it becomes dysregulated,

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say due to

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chronic stress, it

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can amplify inflammation throughout

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our entire bodies and

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this sets the stage for

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a cascade of health related

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issues including anxiety.

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Now have you ever had butterflies in

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your stomach when you were nervous before?

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Maybe as a child you were going

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to go up on stage and say

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a few things to people or whatever

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it may be. That's no

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coincidence. Our gut and

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brain are in

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constant communication and

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this is known as the

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gut-brain axis. When

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inflammation disrupts this delicate

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balance, it can

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directly impact our mood and

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our mental health. So

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understanding this connection is

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absolutely crucial for anyone

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that's battling anxiety. Now

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let's zoom in to the brain itself

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for a few moments. Neurotransmitters

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like serotonin, dopamine

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and GABA are

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vital for regulating our moods.

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But guess what? Dopamine

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can throw their levels

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completely off kilter and

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this can lead to

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symptoms of anxiety and

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depression. It's

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kind of like a domino

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effect. Once inflammation starts, it

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can affect our brain chemistry

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profoundly. Now

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we all know that stress is

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not great for us, but did

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you know that it can

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fuel inflammation? Stress

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can fuel inflammation.

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Chronic stress activates our

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body's fight or flight response, which

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over time can

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completely dysregulate our

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nervous system and of

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course increase inflammation.

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You know friends, it's kind of

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like a vicious cycle that many

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anxiety sufferers find themselves trapped in,

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but they never take the time

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to realize that this connection, this

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deeper connection is actually going on

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within them. The

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good news is this. We

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have a lot of

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control over this

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inflammatory response. And

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I want to dive deep a little bit into

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some of the things that we can do in

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order to heal this.

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So diet, very, very

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important. Exercise, very

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important. Sleep, very important. These

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are all powerful tools that

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can either dial down or

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ramp up inflammation in our

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bodies. But the key is

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to make small changes that will

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make a big difference in how

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we feel mentally over

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time. Now for

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me personally, back in the day,

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one thing that worked very, very well for

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me was turmeric. Turmeric

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really helped inflammation, especially

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in my lower body. So

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turmeric shots for me were

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very, very beneficial. In

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terms of exercising, it was difficult

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because I also was

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experiencing burnout. There

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was chronic fatigue syndrome within

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me that could not be

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diagnosed because when you

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use the word fatigue with physicians they

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truly don't understand that. So I

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had burnout chronic fatigue so in

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terms of the exercise what

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I needed to make sure I did

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was I focused on balancing exercises

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specifically in

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relation to yoga poses. So

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my exercise came from yoga

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poses and very gentle walks

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because my system could

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not handle what everybody else

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was doing at the gym. Okay

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so that's very important and

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I do believe this can help you

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as well to see exercise in a

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much lighter way. Exercise doesn't have to

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be going and lifting 40-50 pounds of

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bench press and all that. It doesn't

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have to be. Exercise for

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you can be things like dancing,

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cleaning the house, gardening.

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These sorts of things must be seen

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as exercise and

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of course sleep. So

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in terms of lessening the inflammation in

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my body I needed to

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reset my circadian rhythm. In order

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to do that I had to

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follow a very strict sleep

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pattern that went to

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bed before my second wind hit at around

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11. So I went to bed around 1030,

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10 1030 and I

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would get up at the same time every

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single day. What

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was important was my relationship with

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my bed and everything in that

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bedroom. What I actually did

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initially was I moved my bed from where

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it was to a new position. I

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got a new poster. I

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moved my table from where it was to a

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new position. I rearranged my

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entire bedroom so that it could

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feel... a bit like

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a sanctuary. And that really,

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really helped me to get better sleep.

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Okay, so these were some of the

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changes that I made in

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relation to my dysregulated

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nervous system and inflammation. Now,

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let's quickly talk about a

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few more holistic approaches. By

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addressing inflammation through a holistic

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lens, which means, as

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I mentioned, combining nutrition, combining

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mindfulness and awareness as

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you're going about the day in

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relation to your reactions to your

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symptoms, and perhaps

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even targeted supplements. There are

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some really good adrenal

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fatigue related supplements on

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Amazon, for example, but of course,

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talk to your physician before you

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embark on any of these combinations.

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Through these things, we can support

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our body's natural ability to heal

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and find balance. It's

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about treating the root causes, not just

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the symptoms. Remember that we

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are trying to get to the

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root causes. So

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friends, in today's episode, I

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wanted to share with you how inflammation, driven

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by a dysregulated nervous

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system, can significantly impact

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anxiety and our mental

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health. It's

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a very complex interplay

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of biology and environment,

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but understanding these

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connections can empower us to

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take charge of our health

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and our wellbeing. I

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thank you so very much for joining me

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today, and I'm gonna talk about this topic

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more often in the

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coming videos and podcasts, of

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course. If you'd like

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to join these kinds of conversations,

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I'm gonna leave a link in

11:52

the description of this episode for

11:54

the Health Anxiety University. If

11:56

you're currently going through Health Anxiety and

11:59

you need... a very supportive and in-depth

12:01

community to help you to heal

12:03

health anxiety. Join us in the

12:05

Health Anxiety University today so I'll

12:07

leave a link at the bottom.

12:11

And my friends remember knowledge is

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power but we also have to

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put to practice that

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knowledge on a regular basis especially

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when it comes to understanding our

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bodies and our minds. So

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until next time stay

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curious my friends and stay well

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have a progress-filled day and

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remember that you are

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more than anxiety. See

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you soon. Bye-bye. online

12:59

program for you. Remember you

13:01

are more than anxiety. See you

13:04

in the next podcast episode.