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Finding the right therapist can involve almost as much energy and time as finding the right spouse. Instead of meeting for coffee, or appetizers and drinks, you’re spilling your guts inside a bunch of psychotherapists’ offices, trying to gauge whether all that notebook scribbling is going to translate into help or not. If you don’t know what you’re looking for, the important work of therapy can be delayed by months or years. Luckily, there are therapists like Ryan Howes, PhD, who are our tour guides inside the counseling walls. He’s like our Match.com concierge, equipping us with the right questions to ask so that we don’t spend years on the couch sitting across from the wrong notebook scribbler.

Dr. Howes (pictured on the left) is a board-certified psychologist in Pasadena, California, where he’s in private practice and is a clinical professor of psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary. He writes the blog In Therapy for Psychology Today, as well as an interview column for Psychotherapy Networker magazine. In 2012, Howes and some of his students formed National Psychotherapy Day (September 25th), a day to demystify therapy and reduce the stigma surrounding both it and mental health issues. As part of that campaign last year, he held a storytelling event called Moments of Meaning, in which therapists told true (but non-identifying) stories of powerful moments from their own work.

“Therapists are eager to tell you about things that aren’t directly related to your question of whether or not they can help you solve your problem,” explains Howes. “They will tell you where they went to school, where they were trained, what modalities they learned, what they researched, and so forth.” Instead of asking for their resume, he recommends you ask these six questions, and explains why.

1. My problem is _______. How would you go about treating that?

This is pretty straightforward. Of course, you have to know what your problem is, but even describing symptoms would help. “My problems are insomnia, worry, and anger outbursts. How would you treat that?” Hopefully the therapist’s response will either resonate with your game plan or will make sense so you’re willing to adopt a new game plan. The most important thing is that therapists are able to describe their process in a way that you can understand it. If they present a flashy, jargon-filled approach that goes over your head, you can expect to feel similarly confused in therapy with them.

2. Some therapists are more comfortable addressing the immediate problem, while others want to focus on the deeper issue. Which are you? 

Many cognitive-behavioral based therapies are focused on treating immediate symptoms, while deeper, psychodynamic-based therapies focus on the root causes of a problem. The preferred answer depends on your needs: If you need quick, immediate relief, you’ll gravitate to CBT, but if you’re willing to wait a while to reach a deeper insight, the psychodynamic theories are probably more your style. Again, the therapist’s ability to clearly communicate their approach is key here, even if they say they combine approaches.

3. Do you tend to lead the session, or follow my lead?

Another key distinction is whether a therapist is “directive” or “non-directive,” which is fancy talk for a leader or follower. Some therapists have an agenda for your session before you sit down: The gameplay is set, and you’re a passenger on this ride. Other therapists wait for you to set the agenda, either with a pre-determined topic or whatever comes up for you as soon as you sit down. Again, this is a matter of your personal style — directive appeals to some, while non-directive appeals to others.

4. What role does our relationship play in our work?

Some therapists view therapy as a laboratory: The problems you experience in the outside world will come up between us, and that’s a great opportunity to do important work. For others, therapy is more of a lecture hall — a place where you learn tools and tips to apply outside the session. It’s good for you to know which you’re stepping into. If you want to learn to confront people and want to practice that with your therapist, you’ll want therapy to be a laboratory. If you want tips for managing your OCD and just want therapy to be a resource for information and exercises, you’ll want the lecture.

5. What are your strengths as a therapist?

Not many clients ask this question, but I think they should. By asking, they’re inviting the therapist to make an honest appraisal of their strongest attributes, and at the same time asking them to point out what they believe are important therapist traits. If they say “my ability to earn fame and fortune,” well, you know what you’re getting into.

6. Have you been in therapy?

This may be an optional question for the most bold among you, but I think it’s a valid and important one. It’s essential for a therapist to spend a significant amount of time in their own therapy. In fact, as a therapist myself, I intend to be in therapy as long as I see my own clients. Why? Because it reminds us what it’s like to be on the other couch, because it helps me discern between my garbage and my clients’ garbage, because it models a lifetime process of constant introspection, and because I can learn things from my own therapist that may help my clients. You don’t need to ask specifics — or names and dates — but I think asking if a therapist has been in therapy is a legit question.

But your work is not over there. Howes thinks it’s even more important to have questions for yourself, such as:

• How soon did you feel relaxed when speaking with the therapist?
• Did you feel rushed to ask your questions, or were you able to go at your own pace?
• Did the therapist seem to “get” your questions, or did they misinterpret or need to ask for several clarifications?
• Did you feel like the conversation flowed, or was it clunky and awkward?
• Did you understand the response, or was it filled with technical jargon or vague statements?
• Imagine your deepest, darkest secret — could you imagine telling this person about it?

“Study after study shows that successful therapy depends on the quality of therelationship between the therapist and client,” Howes explains. “You’re much better off seeing a graduate student you connect with than a 40-year veteran and author with whom you don’t feel understood.”

In the end, he advises folks to go with their gut, much like you would with a blind date over coffee.

“Panic is a sudden desertion of us, and a going over to the enemy of our imagination,” said the 19th century writer Christian Nestell Bovee.

As everyone who has ever experienced a panic attack knows, there is nothing imaginary about the way you feel. I’ve tried to convince my husband on countless occasions, in the middle of an attack, that I was dying. Many people I know have driven to the emergency room convinced they were having a heart attack.

The physiological symptoms are so acute and so real that you can’t believe that your mind is partly to blame. The word “anxiety” seems way too lame to attach to the sweat, racing heartbeat, and sheer terror of what you are feeling.

At the point of my life in which I was most depressed and anxious, when my kids were preschoolers, I would carry a paper bag around with me in case I had a panic attack. It would help stabilize my breathing so I wouldn’t hyperventilate and pass out during their karate practice right as Mr. Joe was telling them to use their “black belt spirit” to control their thoughts. Since then, I’ve graduated to other techniques that prime my parasympathetic nervous system when I start to feel panic and help calm me down before I get to that painful and embarrassing place. Here are some of them.

1. Breathe Deeply

Every relaxation technique that mitigates the stress response and halts our “fight or flight or I’m-dying-get-the-heck-out-of-my-way” reaction is based in deep breathing. I find it miraculous how something as simple as slow abdominal breathing has the power to calm down our entire nervous system. One way it does this is by stimulating our vagus nerve — our BFF in the middle of a panic — because it releases a variety of anti-stress enzymes and calming hormones such as acetylcholine, prolactin, vasopressin, and oxytocin. In another blog, I go over three basic approaches: coherent breathing, resistance breathing, and breath moving. But really, all you need to do is inhale to a count of six and exhale to a count of six, moving the breath from your chest to your diaphragm.

2. Splash Water on Your Face

Have you ever noticed that when you splash cold water on your face, it changes your perspective — if only for a minute? Research shows that cold-water face immersion produces physiological changes by stimulating the parasympathetic system. It quickly rouses the vagus nerve (our calming buddy), bringing down our heart rate while activating our digestive and immune systems. Apparently the area behind our eyeballs is an easy and powerful locus of stimulation for the vagus nerve.

3. Take an Epsom Salts Bath

Your eyeballs aren’t the only things that benefit from the healing powers of water. If you have the time, immersing your entire body into an Epsom salts bath can possibly reverse your stress response. Epsom salts are a mineral compound containing magnesium, sulfur, and oxygen. When used in a warm bath, they allow magnesium to be easily absorbed into the skin, which promotes a feeling of calm and relaxation. According to a 2012 study in the journal Neuropharmacology, magnesium deficiencies induce anxiety, which is why the mineral is known as theoriginal chill pill.

4. Massage Your Scalp

I wish I could afford a massage every time I felt anxious, because research shows it clearly shifts a person’s biochemistry. According to a study published in theInternational Journal of Neuroscience, massage therapy decreased cortisol levels by as much as 31 percent and increased serotonin by 28 percent, and dopamine by 31 percent. Scalp massages are particularly beneficial because they send blood circulation to the brain and reduce the muscle tension in the back of the head and neck. With practice and a few tips, you can learn how to give one to yourself. I use a little bit of lavender essential oil because it can be very calming. A study from Osaka Kyoiku University in Japan found that lavender oil reduced mental stress and increased alertness.

5. Shake

I mentioned this technique in my blog 10 Instant Ways to Calm Yourself Down, which includes more ideas on how to slow panic. After animals escape from a predator, they don’t engage in an intellectual conversation with their peers about what it was like to almost be dinner for a family of five. No. They shake. As American pop star Taylor Swift sings in “Shake It Off,” moving our bodies in a primal fashion can simply be the best neurological exercise we have for loosening the noose of fear that often hangs around our necks, and for moving forward like a creature who refuses to be anyone’s dinner. Don’t know where to begin? Try this shaking meditation by meditation teacher Pragito Dove.

6. Pray

I have prayed my way through many a panic attack. Mostly I uttered the words, “Please, God, end this!” But you need not possess a deep religious faith to benefit from contemplation. Reciting a mantra over and over again, something as simple as the word “peace,” can stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system and calm you down. Most of the world’s religions use prayer beads as part of their meditative exercises. I find holding the rosary and moving the prayer beads as I say a Hail Mary over and over again — even if my mind is somewhere completely different — is one of the best activities I can do when I’m panicking. I even sleep with a rosary. It calms me.

7. Do Rabbit Pose

Ideally, it would be great to attend a yoga class where your breath gets shallow and the mind takes over, but that’s hard to do as a confident, cool mom who pretends to have her life together when you’ve got deadlines to meet and you need to pick your kids up in five minutes. If you have one minute and privacy, try Rabbit Pose, where you’re sitting on your heels Japanese style with your knees and feet together. Reach back behind you and grab your heels with either hand, palms down. As you look at your stomach, lower your chin to your chest and curl your torso slowly until your forehead is touching your knees and the top of your head is touching the floor, lifting your hips into the air. Rabbit Pose relieves tension in the neck, shoulders, and back, where we carry most of our stress. It’s especially therapeutic for depressionand anxiety because it compresses the thyroid and parathyroid glands and moves blood to the brain.

8. Listen to Binaural Beats or Waves

Some of my friends swear by binaural beats, a technology that uses low-frequency tones and brainwave entrainment to influence mood and provide control over pain. A few recent studies show that the use of binaural beats, or audio therapy, can significantly reduce anxiety, at least during cataract surgery, and can even help symptoms of ADHD in children and adolescents. Personally, I just like to listen to ocean waves. If I close my eyes and imagine myself at the beach, concentrating only on the ebb and flow of the water, I can often stabilize my heart palpitations enough to go to a semi-happy place, or at least to not obsess so much about whatever is causing me panic.

9. Warm Your Hands

Did you know that whenever we get stressed, our hands get colder because blood is being fed to the areas of tension in our shoulders and hips in a fight-or-flight response? Warming our hands, then, reverses the stress response and triggers parasympathetic relaxation. A number of studies report that we can lower blood pressure with hand warming. I go for the obvious route — holding a hot cup of tea, sitting in a warm bath, etc. But you can also visualize activities that warm the hands — sitting in front of a hot fire, curling under the covers — and generate a relaxed response that way, too!

10. Eat Dark Chocolate

If all these things seem like way too much work, there’s one last technique that I think you’ll like: Simply eat lots of dark chocolate. Not the Hershey’s bar that says “dark chocolate” but has much more sugar than cocoa — shoot for at least 85 percent cocoa or higher. Dark chocolate has one of the highest concentrations of magnesium in a food, with one square providing 327 milligrams, or 82 percent of your daily value. As I said earlier, magnesium is our calming friend. The only other foods that are as concentrated are squash and pumpkin seeds. Dark chocolate also contains large amounts of tryptophan, an amino acid that works as a precursor to serotonin, and theobromine, another mood-elevating compound. I find that eating a few squares of Lindt’s 90% Cocoa EXCELLENCE bar is much more enjoyable than breathing into a paper bag.

I have mentioned in some of my posts that drinking a green smoothie is one of my more effective sanity tools. For fear of sounding like an infomercial, I must say that I realize there is no simple cure for depression. But I do think chugging down two or three of these leafy-green concoctions a day has significantly impacted my health and begun the healing process for some of my conditions.

The Benefits of Green Smoothies

Why green smoothies?

“Greens are the primary found group that matches human nutritional needs most completely,” explains Victoria Boutenko in her book Green for Life. They are nutrition powerhouses, packed with vitamins A, C, E, K, and folate; minerals like iron and calcium; carotenoids; antioxidants; omega-3s; and phytochemicals. Greens provide insoluble fiber, which is like a miraculous sponge, helping us regularly eliminate pounds of toxins. They balance our pH levels, leaving our bodies more alkaline, and are a major source of chlorophyll, which, according to Boutenko, “heals and cleanses all our organs, and even destroys many of our internal enemies, like pathogenic bacteria, fungi, cancer cells, and many others.” In the book, you’ll read smoothie testimonials from people who have been able to get off breathing machines, sell their wheelchairs, recover from a stroke, and heal from cancer.

We could eat kale, Swiss chard, and spinach, of course, but many of us — and especially those like me who have been on different medications for decades — don’t have the stomach acid required to break down and process all the nutrients from the greens. Even for folks that do, it’s difficult to invest all the time we need to actually chew our food as we really need to in order to get the nutritional value from the greens. When they are chopped and blended into bitty pieces, they absorb more easily into our digestive systems.

How many of these things do you need to guzzle in order to feel any benefits? Boutenko recommends that we consume one to two quarts (liters) of green smoothies a day in addition to our existing diets. That’s four to eight cups.

My Favorite Recipes

Folks have been asking me for recipes, so I’m starting you off with a few simple ones.

I would recommend you start with more fruit and less greens (at least half and half) and graduate to a smoothie with more greens than sweet stuff. I started out hard-core, of course, and was pretty disgusted off the bat. Then I introduced more fruit and eased into this gig. Now I can tolerate more greens. If you Google “green smoothie recipes,” you’ll get over 8 million results! So don’t stick to these if you find that you feel better drinking this stuff. There is a whole new world ahead of you. I would start by visiting these two sites dedicated just to smoothies: Simple Green Smoothies and Incredible Smoothies.

Unfortunately, the smoothies are going to taste a lot better if you prepare them with a power blender, like a Vitamix or a Blendtec, but I realize that is an investment. My husband bought a refurbished Vitamix off Amazon for $500 two years ago. At the time, I was not at all happy about that. But given that I use the thing a few times a day, it’s proven to be one of the best investments we’ve ever made.

RELATED: 5 Tips for a Super-Healthy Smoothie

Boutenko says it’s important to rotate your greens and not drink the same smoothie every day. That way, you avoid a buildup of alkaloids from the same plant and you get a variety of different nutrients.

Place all the ingredients in your blender. The order doesn’t matter. If you have a Vitamix or another sophisticated blender, set it on the smoothie setting. If you are using a generic blender, blend the ingredients for one minute or until the mixture is smooth and without clumps.

1. Eric’s Kale and Pineapple Smoothie

This is my staple — the one I keep going back to — because it’s the easiest, and the one with which I began this venture.

• 4 cups kale
• 1 cup frozen pineapple
• 1 cup water
• Beginners: Throw in another cup of either frozen pineapple or frozen strawberries.

2. Spinach Banana Smoothie

This is my second staple because, again, it’s simple. When I’m at the store, I buy a bunch of bananas, peel them, cut them up, and freeze them. I find that the frozen fruit tastes better in the smoothies.

• 4 cups baby spinach
• 2 frozen bananas
• 1 cup water
• Beginners: Add a cup of frozen strawberries or pineapple.

3. Swiss Chard Strawberry Smoothie

When I can make it to Whole Foods, I buy Swiss chard because it always tastes good in a smoothie, and it’s incredibly nutritious. I like to blend it with berries, but warning: The color isn’t appealing. Just imagine that it’s chocolate.

• 4 cups chopped Swiss chard
• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• ½ cup frozen blueberries
• 1 cup water

4. Spinach Cocoa Smoothie

You don’t think of spinach and chocolate as a happy marriage, but let me tell you: This one tastes ALMOST as good as a Dairy Queen shake. Spinach, of course, is a wonder food, but did you know that just one tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder contains 3 to 9 percent of the recommended daily intake of essential minerals like iron, manganese, magnesium, and zinc? It’s a win-win.

• 4 cups baby spinach
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup water
• 2 frozen bananas

5. Tropical Skin Cleanser Green Smoothie

To be honest, I’m not really after the skin side effects from drinking green smoothies, but people have told me my complexion looks better. I liked this smoothie from the site Simple Green Smoothies because it was, well, simple, and because avocados are a mood-boosting food.

• 1 ½ cups fresh spinach
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut water
• 1 cup frozen pineapple
• ¼ avocado

6. Apple-Lemon Smoothie

This is one of my favorite green smoothies from the site Incredible Smoothies:

• 2 apples
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach (or other leafy green)
• 1 whole carrot
• 1/2 cup water

7. Igor’s Favorite

Boutenko includes 30 green smoothie recipes of her own in her book Green for Life. This is her husband’s favorite:

• ½ bunch spinach
• 4 apples, peeled
• ½ lime with peel
• 1 banana
• 2 cups water

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Photo credit: Getty Images

Two-and-a-half years ago, I experienced a terrible case of insomnia. I took the sleeping drug Lunesta (eszopiclone), which afforded me a few wonderful nights’ sleep until I realized it substantially increased my anxiety during the day. Within a week on the drug, I became addicted, experiencing more and more withdrawal (anxiety) symptoms. Other sleep aids had the same effect — even over-the counter medications like Benadryl (diphenhydramine). So I was forced to figure out how to get my sleep back on track naturally.

I asked anyone I knew who had ever suffered from sleep problems for tips on catching some quality ZZZs, and spent lots of time researching ways to get some shut-eye without taking drugs. Although it felt like I was the only one awake at night, I certainly wasn’t alone. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than one-quarter of the U.S. population occasionally does not get enough sleep, while nearly 10 percent experience chronic insomnia. Sleep problems are associated with a number of chronic illnesses and, according to the CDC, are a real threat to our nation’s health.

For the last month I’ve been battling the beast of insomnia again — it’s common when you taper off of any medication — so I’m back to compiling techniques I’ve learned from other folks who lie awake at night.

Here are some natural remedies that have allowed them to get a better night’s sleep.

1. Herbal Teas

Many of my friends who suffer from sleep problems have benefitted from drinking different kinds of herbal teas an hour or two before they go to bed at night. You can make your own from dried herbs: Put a teaspoon of your mix into a tea ball or tea bag and add to hot water, or try some tea bags from a trusted boxed brand. You want to include or look for ingredients such as lavender, valerian, chamomile, passionflower, lemon balm, ashwagandha, holy basil, rosemary leaf, and dill seed. Some popular tea brands include Sleepytime, Yogi Tea (I like their Honey Lavender Stress Relief tea and Calming tea) and Traditional Medicinals (especially their organic Nighty Night tea and Cup of Calm tea).

2. Essential Oils

For nearly 6,000 years, essential oils have been used for therapeutic purposes — sleep issues included. Several people in my online depression community use lavender oil to help them relax before bed and to help them sleep. They either apply a few drops to their temples before going to bed at night or spray a lavender mist on their pillow. I’ve used lavender oil myself for about a year now, and I do think it’s helpful. Other calming essential oils include valerian, vetiver, roman chamomile, and marjoram.

3. Meditation and Relaxation Tapes

A few years ago when my daughter couldn’t sleep, we would listen to calming meditations by Lori Lite designed for children. They were very effective in helping her to relax her body and mind enough to drift off to sleep. There are all kinds of sleep meditations and apps on the market today. Mashable published a good listawhile back. Personally, I like the meditations by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, founding director of the University of Massachusetts Medical School’s Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society in Worcester, as well as its stress reduction program.

Dr. Zinn’s voice soothes me more than any other meditation guide. A friend of mine swears by the meditations found on the free app CALM. Of course, you don’t need a guide to meditate. Sometimes just paying attention to your breath on your own — concentrating on your belly as it rises with each inhale and lowers with each exhale — or concentrating on a bodily sensation is a great way of calming yourself down.

4. Soothing Music and White Noise

Many of the apps listed above come with soothing music and white noise. Some nights, I’m not up for listening to instructions on how to relax each of my muscles or reminders to pay attention to my breath. I simply visualize myself lying by the ocean, listening to the waves on the shore, or I concentrate on my breath as I listen to nature sounds. So I have a few apps and soundtracks of just ocean waves and rain and water streams that are helpful for unwinding. Other people I know like to listen to soothing music, instrumental melodies, or simple white noise.

5. Cooler Temperatures

According to California-based clinical psychologist Arlene K. Unger, PhD, becoming overly heated is a common cause of sleeplessness. As one of the many helpful hints in her book Sleep: 50 Mindfulness and Relaxation Exercises for a Restful Night’s Sleep, she advises wearing lighter pajamas, keeping the window slightly open, and possibly ditching the heavy covers. I know people who sleep much better with a fan. The breeze and white noise create a conducive sleeping environment.

6. Melatonin and Other Natural Supplements

There are several natural supplements that can help relax the nervous system and assist sleep. The most common are melatonin, which regulates the sleep-wake cycle, and the amino acid l-theanine that’s typically found in teas. Valerian, GABA, kava, and 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) are others. I’ve found the combination of magnesium and calcium to be effective at times. Some natural sleep aids that combine various supplements include Neuroscience’s Kavinace Ultra PM, Genestra’s Calm-gen, and Nature Made’s Sleep supplement.

7. Epsom Salts Baths

Taking an Epsom salts bath in the evening has been one of the more effective parts of my sleep hygiene routine. Epsom salts are a mineral compound containing magnesium, sulfur, and oxygen. When used in a warm bath, they allow magnesium to be easily absorbed into the skin, which promotes a feeling of calm and relaxation.

According to a 2012 study in the journal Neuropharmacology, magnesium deficiencies induce anxiety, which is why the mineral is known as the original chill pill. I simply add two cups of the lavender-scented Epsom salts with added potassium and zinc to my bathwater. I then turn off the bathroom lights and use a lavender candle.

8. Prayer Beads and Mantras

You need not be a devout Catholic to use prayer beads: They’re employed in all of the world’s religions as part of meditative practices. The process of repeating a prayer or mantra over and over again while thumbing the beads can be very relaxing and soothing. Personally, I’ve slept with a rosary since I first experienced insomnia two years ago. The prayer beads have become my safety item, much like a child’s blankie, and give me comfort in the middle of the night when I wake.

9. Yoga

Any kind of yoga primes the parasympathetic system and promotes relaxation, taming the stress responses that cause insomnia. I’ve found hot yoga to be especially beneficial for sleep because, in addition to doing the healing postures, sweating releases stored toxins (so it’s very cleansing). Certain postures like these 19 listed in Yoga Journal are especially helpful for sleep. Doing them in the evening, or even when you wake at night, can soothe your central nervous system. PracticingSavasana (Corpse Pose) in particular before sleeping can promote deep rest, according to yoga instructors I know. There are also some apps you can download, like Yoga for Insomnia, that will help guide you through the postures.

10. Audiotapes and Free Lectures

Reading in periods of sleeplessness helps many folks I know doze off into slumber. But as a highly sensitive person, the light wakes me up. According to some Harvard research, all light-emitting e-books and screens negatively affect our sleep — even the Kindle. I therefore prefer to listen to audiotapes. Lately, I’ve been listening to the book Wherever You Go, There You Are by Kabat-Zinn. It’s a collection of small chapters about mindfulness that is effective at calming me down. Since audio books can be expensive, you might consider downloading university lectures, which are free content, from iTunes U — the section of Apple’s iTunes music store devoted to higher education.

Aerobic movement of any kind helps to relieve depression and anxiety by boosting our brain’s dopamine levels and providing endorphins. But some types of exercises are superior for healing chronic conditions, mood disorders, and addiction. Yoga’s therapeutic benefits have been studied in recent decades, with much of the research being in randomized controlled trials — the most rigorous for proving efficacy.

There are many types of yoga, of course — from the more aerobic power yoga to a meditative gentle yoga. Hatha yoga, the most studied, combines physical postures (asanas) and controlled breathing with short periods of deep relaxation. I have found the most benefit from Bikram yoga, or hot yoga, a sequence of 26 Hatha yoga positions and two breathing exercises designed by Bikram Choudhury to engage and heal all of the systems of your body.

According to Sara Curry, Bikram yoga instructor and creator of the Sober Yogis program in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, medical miracles can happen when a person commits to a regular practice. In her TEDx talk, she tells the story of David, one of her yoga students who had a pacemaker surgically implanted in his chest. Six weeks after surgery, he began to practice with her six days a week. After only four weeks of yoga, David returned for a checkup with his cardiologist, and the doctor took him off three of his six medications and cut the remaining dosage of the other three in half.

“Our bodies can recover from tremendous amounts of trauma and chronic abuse,” Curry explains in her talk.

Curry and a team of counselors work with addicts on using Bikram yoga, group therapy, and meditation to help them stay clean. According to her exploratory study, hot yoga appears to decrease the length and intensity of symptoms of post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS). These protracted withdrawal symptoms that include depression, anxiety, irritability, and sleeplessness can last up to two years after a person gets clean, and are the primary reason for relapse. Participants reported significant reductions in PAWS symptoms that negatively correlated to the number of classes taken a week.

I was inspired by her talk not only because I struggle with addiction, but also because yoga is one of the critical tools I have employed to manage my depression and anxiety more naturally as of recently. In the last nine months that I have been practicing consistently (for the last five months, I attend class five or six times a week), I have been able to significantly reduce my psych meds, wean off of a medication to control growth of a pituitary tumor, and have decreased my medication for an underactive thyroid.

I’m fascinated by the science of yoga — what specifically is happening in our bodies that makes these changes in us. Why is yoga more beneficial in relieving depression and anxiety, and controlling addiction, than, say, running six miles a day like I used to? What about hot yoga, in particular, is so transforming?

Yoga Helps With Detoxification

“Ninety-five percent of all disease is a result of nutritional deficiency or toxicity,” explains Steven J. Saltzman, MD, an anesthesiologist with an interest in integrative medicine who practices Bikram yoga himself, in a question-and-answer session about the medical benefits of hot yoga that I recently attended. Most of our toxins are stored in fat cells just beneath the skin, so we release them by sweating the way we do in a 105-degree room.

It Gets the Blood Flowing, Boosting Your Health

Yoga redistributes blood flow, increasing oxygen delivery and improving the circulatory system. All of the postures in the Bikram sequence work to increase the flow of fresh, oxygenated blood to every part of the body. Bikram calls it extension and compression. In all of the postures, we are creating a tourniquet effect — cutting off the blood supply to different organs and glands. Then, after 20 seconds holding the posture, the blood’s volume and pressure have reached maximum capacity and the newly oxygenated blood rushes in and floods our system. According to Bikram, “no other form of exercise can create this volume and force.” Until listening to Dr. Saltzman, I was unaware that the recovery phase of yoga or any interval training program is as important as the maximum performance phase. The built-in Savasana in yoga trains and establishes our heart-rate variability, a predictor of heart health and of general health.

Yoga Helps You Control Your Breath and More

Learning how to breathe is a critical component of the yoga practice. If we stay on our mat and don’t lift a leg, but can maintain calm, stable breathing in the hot room, we are still receiving medical benefits from the class, a yoga teacher told me recently. Why is the breathing so important?

“By voluntarily changing the rate, depth, and pattern of breathing, we can change the messages being sent from the body’s respiratory system to the brain,” explainRichard P. Brown, MD, and Patricia L. Gerbarg, MD, in their book, The Healing Power of the Breath. “In this way, breathing techniques provide a portal to the autonomic communication network through which we can, by changing our breathing patterns, send specific messages to the brain using the language of the body — a language the brain understands and to which it responds.”

Bikram designed a breathing exercise, pranayama, to introduce each class because he believes that “improving the function of the lungs is almost always the first repair that needs doing.” Properly functioning lungs send fresh oxygen throughout the body, purifying our blood.

It Tames the Stress Response

Unlike some aerobic activity that increases cortisol levels, yoga tames the stress response by priming the parasympathetic nervous system. “It is established science that yoga destroys and metabolizes stress hormones,” explains Dr. Saltzman There is a meditative element of yoga that promotes mindfulness (helping us to stay in the present moment) that is effective therapy for depression and anxiety. Yoga moderates our stress response systems which, in turn, decreases physiological arousal — like reducing heart rate and lowering blood pressure. As mentioned above, yoga also increases heart rate variability, which can be an indicator of the body’s ability to respond to stress and an overall gauge for emotional resilience.

Yoga Provides You With a Caring Community

“The yoga community is one of the most supportive communities of compassionate individuals you’ll ever meet,” explains Sara in her TEDx talk. “We all struggle, thrive, fail, and persevere on the mat together. That’s how to learn what we say in yoga,Namaste, ‘the light within me acknowledges the light within you.’”

I have found this to be the case with my own group of yogis. There is a group of us that show up at 9 a.m. almost every day to fight together. Many of us are battling some kind of chronic illness, and all of us are trying to clear the mental clutter from our brains to make room for more positive and peaceful emotions. It’s extraordinarily encouraging to me to have them beside me as I meet my demons on the mat.

As a clinical psychologist, Mary Pipher, PhD, designed “healing packages” for her patients: activities, resources, and comforts to help them recover from trauma. Then, after Dr. Pipher’s book Reviving Ophelia became a runaway best-seller, she herself suffered from an episode of major depression and designed a healing package of her own. “The essence of my personal healing package,” she describes in her book Seeking Peace, “was to keep my life as simple and quiet as possible and to allow myself sensual and small pleasures.” She created a mini-retreat center in her home and modified the ancient ways of calming troubled nerves to fit her lifestyle. Pipher’s healing package looked like this:

She accessed the healing power of water by walking at Holmes Lake Dam, swimming at the university’s indoor pool, and reading The New Yorkermagazine in the bathtub every morning.

She cooked familiar foods, dishes that reminded her of home: jaternice, sweetbreads, and perch; and cornbread and pinto beans with ham hocks.

She unpacked her childhood teacup collection and displayed it near her computer desk to remind her of happy times and of people who loved her.

She reconnected with the natural world by walking many miles every week on the frozen prairie, watching the yellow aconites blossom in February and the daffodils and jonquils in March, following the cycles of the moon, and witnessing sunrises and sunsets.

She read biographies of heroes like Abe Lincoln, and read the poetry of Billy Collins, Robert Frost, Mary Oliver, and Ted Kooser.

She found role models for coping with adversity.

She limited her encounters with people and gave herself permission to skip holiday gatherings and postpone social obligations. She erased calendar engagements until she had three months of “white space” in her future.

She embraced her body through yoga and massage. She started to pay attention to tension in her neck and other cues from her body and let those signals teach her about herself.

She meditated every day.

These activities were exactly what she needed to emerge from the other side of depression. She writes:

After taking care of my body for several months, it began to take good care of me. My blood pressure improved and my heart problems disappeared. After a few months of my simple, relatively stress-free life and my healing package of activities, I felt my depression lifting. I enjoyed the return of positive emotions: contentment, joy, calmness and new sparks of curiosity and energy. I again felt a great tenderness toward others.

Psychiatrist James Gordon, MD, discusses similar healing packages in his best-selling book Unstuck. At the end of his first meetings with all of his patients, he will write out a “prescription of self-care,” which includes instructions on changing diet, advice about specific recommended meditations or exercises, and a list of supplements and herbs. “Among my recommendations, there are always actions, techniques, approaches, and attitudes that each person has told me — which she already knows — are helpful,” he explains.

At the end of his introduction, he suggests each reader take some time to write out his or her own prescription. He supplies a form and everything. Mine looked like this:

Each person’s healing package is unique. For example, many of my friends have benefited from more meditation and mindfulness exercises, psychotherapy sessions, and therapies like Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) that help unclog the brain of painful memories. I do better with more physical exercise and nutritional changes. While mindfulness and meditation have certainly helped me become aware of my rumination patterns, the most profound changes in my own recovery in the last two years have come from the bags of dark, green leafy vegetables that I drink and eat every day, and Bikram yoga, an intense sequence of 26 postures with two breathing exercises. My mind seems to sort itself out when my body is engaged, but many people do better by dedicating their time to cognitive behavioral therapy and meditation.

It’s empowering to know that we don’t need a doctor or any mental health professional to design a healing package for us. We are perfectly capable of writing this prescription ourselves. Sometimes (not always), all it takes are a few simple tweaks to our lifestyle over a period of time to pull us out of a crippling depression or unrelenting anxiety.

When you suffer from anxiety, no one understands how you feel. You stay up all night searching the web for your symptoms, but you never find any answers. You turn to numerous doctors, but they don’t understand what you’re going through. They just want to prescribe you more pills. As your anxious thoughts intensify, activities that you could manage in the past are now overwhelming. You would do almost anything just to feel the way you used to. You’re not alone. Over 500 million people worldwide struggle with anxiety.

Anxious thoughts are emotionally devastating, but new clinical research suggests that they pose an even greater danger to your long-term mental health. Have you noticed that you are experiencing drastic mood changes, having difficulty making decisions, or having trouble remembering things? In a 2008 clinical study published by the American Medical Association, researchers concluded that anxiety left untreated can impair key areas of the brain and cause these very symptoms.

What causes anxiety in the first place, and what can we do to stop it? New England researchers suggest that it’s not the reasons that you think.

Fig 2. GABA and serotonin flowing between neurons.

These researchers have pinpointed the cause of anxiety as a shortage of GABA and serotonin compounds in your body. GABA and serotonin are your body’s natural anxiety and stress relievers, acting as speed limits for the frenzied communication in your brain.

Before the advent of modern society, we needed these strong emotional anchors of anxiety to warn us away from dangerous situations which may recur in our lives. In today’s society, it’s not so simple. The stress stays with you in your mind to protect you from a similar event in the future. This causes you to continuously replay the event in your mind and trap yourself within a cycle of negative behavior.

But how do you break out of this cycle? Unfortunately, many of the 500 million people worldwide who are plagued by anxiety turn to prescription medication. They are trying to solve a natural problem with chemicals.

This new research says that you don’t have to change your body’s chemistry and open yourself up to harmful side effects or even addiction to break free from the cycle of negative behavior. You can treat this problem in an easy and inexpensive way that does not involve uncomfortable doctor visits or awkward therapy sessions.

Over the last 18 months, researchers in an FDA-certified facility in New York have been perfecting how the five safest and most potent natural compounds to fight anxiety can be combined into one formula.

It’s called RediCalm, and here’s how it works.

Five natural ingredients in the RediCalm formula work together to aid your body’s natural defense against anxiety. 5-HTP, L-Theanine, Ashwagandha, Passion Flower, and Lemon Balm have been clinically proven to boost GABA and serotonin levels in the human body. The result? You’re more relaxed. Worries don’t seem as big. Anxiety disappears. And over time, RediCalm helps to calm your body’s natural response to anxiety so you can break free from the cycle of negative behavior and feel like yourself again.

Studies have shown that these natural ingredients can stimulate the production of GABA and serotonin in your body so worry goes away and you feel calm and anxiety-free. And best of all was RediCalm’s safety rating. There were no reported side effects.

RediCalm is not available in stores. But through October 7th, they are offering a limited number of 30 Day Trials to the public.

How good is prescription medication if the side effects are worse than your original problem? RediCalm was created to be not only effective but also safe for long-term use with no side effects. RediCalm is made in a GMP-certified, FDA-inspected facility in New York to ensure the highest standards of safety.

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In his book The Antidepressant Solution, Harvard physician Joseph Glenmullen, MD, uncovers the problem of antidepressant withdrawal that’s not discussed in most doctors’ offices.

“Research has shown,” he writes, “that when patients stop antidepressants cold turkey, they can have high rates of withdrawal reactions, which vary depending on the particular drug.”

For example, he says, 66 percent of patients stopping Paxil (paroxetine), 60 percent stopping Zoloft (sertraline), and 78 percent stopping Effexor (venlafaxine) have withdrawal reactions, according to some studies. “Unfortunately, most doctors and patients have not been adequately informed about the problem of antidepressant withdrawal reactions,” Dr. Glenmullen explains. Too many people are caught in what he calls the antidepressant catch-22: restarting antidepressants or upping the dose, thinking they’re treating depression when, in fact, they’ve become dependent on the drugs to suppress withdrawal reactions.

Even when folks do slowly taper off of a drug, I’ve found that there are often withdrawal problems. A while ago, I asked my online depression communities,Project Beyond Blue and Group Beyond Blue, for input on medication withdrawal. I was surprised that two-thirds of the members said, even with careful tapering over an extended period of time, it took them three months on average to regain stability. As I mentioned in my piece differentiating withdrawal from relapse, it can be especially confusing when the withdrawal is a delayed reaction, happening two months after the last dose is taken — when everything has cleared your system.

While antidepressants aren’t addictive in the sense that cocaine and other street drugs are, they do cause dependence, meaning the brain has to substantially reorganize when you stop taking them. The period of withdrawal can be brutal and downright dangerous, causing impulsive behavior, intense suicidal thoughts, insomnia, crying spells, severe anxiety, mania, and even hallucinations.

Stopping antidepressant medication is a serious step, and you should never stop taking antidepressants without first discussing it with your doctor.

I’m in the midst of withdrawal right now, and I can say it’s one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done in my life.Like any challenging endeavor, this one requires preparation. Here are some techniques that have helped me through the last few weeks and aided others I know who have persevered through withdrawal to the other side.

1. Exercise

Aerobic exercise can be very effective at relieving some withdrawal symptoms. First, cardiovascular workouts stimulate brain chemicals that foster growth of nerve cells. Second, exercise increases the activity of serotonin and/or norepinephrine. Third, a raised heart rate releases endorphins and a hormone known as ANP (atrial natriuretic hormone), which reduces pain, induces euphoria, and helps control the brain’s response to stress and anxiety. Exercise also improves sleep patterns, which are usually affected by withdrawal.

2. Hot Yoga

In a TEDx talk, yoga instructor Sara Curry explains how yoga can decrease the length and intensity of post-acute withdrawal symptoms in addicts, which include anxiety, irritability, depression, and sleeplessness. In the last few months, I’ve benefitted immensely from hot yoga. The 105-degree room is important for sweating out the toxins that are stored in fat cells beneath your skin, and the combination of postures and rest redistribute blood flow to all organs and glands, increasing oxygen delivery. Regular practice also destroys and metabolizes stress hormones.

3. Saunas or Steam Rooms

In the same way that hot yoga can promote detoxification through sweating, saunas and steam rooms may help cleanse your system. According to one small Finnish study published in 2013 in the Journal of Human Kinetics, saunas may also help create a stronger immune system by producing white blood cells. Our arsenal against infections and ailments, white blood cells can help us heal faster.

4. Supplements

The blog Mental Health Daily, written by someone who’s had experience with withdrawal, offers a great list of supplements for antidepressant withdrawal. Among the suggestions are omega-3 fatty acids (I find a higher ratio of EPA/DHA is best, like this one by OmegaBrite), glutathione, magnesium, 5-HTP or L-tryptophan, vitamin B complex, L-tyrosine or L-phenylalanine, Himalayan salt, gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA), and S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe). Amino acids, especially L-theanine, and lots of vitamin C have also helped me. Other supplements that have taken the edge off for friends of mine are LifeExtension’s Natural Stress Relief, and Calm PRT by Neuroscience. Finally, I have been taking a multivitamin by Truehope, EmpowerPlus, designed to help people taper off meds.

5. Support

You’re going to need support, because most people will think you’re irresponsible for trying to do what you’re doing. You need at least one person — preferably a few — who will be there to remind you of why you are attempting to do this, and to be your cheerleader along the sidelines of this hellish marathon.

I have three people in my life right now who are behind me 100 percent. When I don’t think I can take another night of insomnia followed by a day of crying spells, they tell me that I am Sisyphus pushing a rock of immense weight up a hill, but that my efforts will soon be rewarded. There is an end to this pain, and the pursuit of healing is worth the sweat.

6. Epsom Salts Baths

I mentioned Epsom salts baths in both my piece on panic attacks and in the one on insomnia. Epsom salts are a mineral compound containing magnesium, sulfur, and oxygen. When used in a warm bath, they allow magnesium to be easily absorbed into the skin, which promotes a feeling of calm and relaxation. According to a study published in 2012 in Neuropharmacology, magnesium deficiencies induce anxiety, which is why the mineral is known as the original chill pill.

7. Deep Breathing

Every relaxation technique that mitigates the stress response and halts our “fight or flight” or “I’m-dying-get-the-heck-out-of-my-way” reaction is based in deep breathing. I find it miraculous how something as simple as slow abdominal breathing has the power to calm down my entire nervous system. One way it does this is by stimulating the vagus nerve — our BFF in the middle of a panic — because it releases a variety of anti-stress enzymes and calming hormones, such as acetylcholine, prolactin, vasopressin, and oxytocin. Deep breathing can be very effective at mitigating the panic that’s so often part of withdrawal.

8. Crying

Although some people find that crying makes them feel worse, I’ve always felt much more calm after a sobbing session. In a New York Times piece, reporter Benedict Carey referred to tears as “emotional perspiration.” They remove toxins from the body that build up from stress, like the endorphin leucine-enkephalin, and prolactin, the hormone that causes aggression. Emotional tears — those formed in distress or grief — actually contain more toxic byproducts than tears of irritation (like onion peeling). Crying also lowers manganese levels, which triggers anxiety, nervousness, and aggression. In that way, tears elevate mood.

9. Dry Skin Brushing

In the last two weeks, I have started to brush myself every evening before I go to bed with a dry skin brush. A friend of mine said it helped soothe her father when he was battling a brain tumor. Dry brushing can stimulate the lymphatic system, which is responsible for eliminating cellular waste products. In this way, it helps release toxins and decrease inflammation. It also increases blood circulation to the skin and reduces muscle tension, helping us to calm down and relieving stress.

10. Calming Foods and Teas

Diet is critical to mood, of course, but it’s especially important to pay attention to what you eat and drink when you’re going through withdrawal symptoms. Some ingredients, like white flour and sugar, can aggravate your symptoms, while anti-anxiety foods can help calm you. They include maca root, almonds, dark chocolate, pumpkin seeds, seaweed, blueberries, kefir, turkey, avocados, and teas that contain chamomile, rooibos, lemon balm, passionflower, ashwagandha, valerian, peppermint, and kava.

11. Massage

Massages can be expensive, but if you can afford it, this hands-on therapy can help you relax — priming your parasympathetic system — and can facilitate the elimination of toxins. According to a study published in the International Journal of Neuroscience, women with breast cancer who received massage therapy three times a week reported being less depressed and angry. Other studies have found that massage improved the quality of sleep in women with breast cancer.

12. Incentive and Good Information

When I decided to get sober, I penned pages and pages of my “bottoms”: memories of those times I woke up in a foreign place and didn’t know what had happened, the things that I had lost because of my drinking, and the reasons I had for quitting. In the same way, I consult my mood journals over the last 10 years to remind myself of the risk-benefit ratio and the track record of many of the drugs I was on: how, in the last six years, they failed to improve painful depressive symptoms while contributing more and more significantly to health conditions. I revisit the incentives I have for trying a more holistic path to healing, even if it entails feeling my way through a haunted forest to get there. It’s also helpful to read the research of Glenmullen and others who aren’t afraid to expose the side effects and significant risks of antidepressants, while sharing the success stories of people who have found other paths to recovery.