Doctor’s 10-minute trick to combat anxiety and stress

Anxiety and stress are at an all time high but a Sydney doctor has revealed an easy and quick way to feel calm again.

Welcome to Ask Doctor Zac, a weekly column from news.com.au.

This week Dr Zac Turner looks at how to combat stress in these uncertain times.

QUESTION: Hi Dr Zac, this may seem strange - but I’m feeling more stressed now that my home town of Melbourne is finally beginning to reopen. My anxiety relates to things returning to ‘normal’ – there is so much uncertainty still, from touching things in public, to mixing with other people.

I know it’s all in my head, but it’s starting to affect my work life and is now putting a strain on my relationship.

RELATED: Doctor advises cutting one food to avoid spots

Many people are understandably feeling stressed and anxious at the moment.

A few people have suggested I try meditation, but I don’t think I would be a good candidate. My life is go, go go – and if I try and sit still and close my eyes – my mind keeps racing a million miles an hour with thoughts. I’m pretty open minded to new experiences, but I’m also a realist.

Is there actual proof that meditation works – or is it a lot of wishful thinking reserved for vegans who live in Byron Bay?! I’m desperate for help, and I really would prefer to do something that doesn’t involve taking medication to fix my anxiety? - Poppy 26 Melbourne

ANSWER: Hi Poppy, close your eyes, take a deep breath! I understand the fear of returning to normal when all you’ve known is lockdown for the last eight months. I advise you to never be afraid to reach out if all this anxiety becomes too much. Friends, family and your local GP will all listen with open ears.

My bet is if the world’s most successful people were in a room, at least 80% would raise their hand to meditation being the key to their success. Meditation is a beloved practice by the health and wellness community, others may say hippies and greenies, but the use of it is more widespread in society than you’d think and it definitely doesn’t need to be as arduous as often perceived.

I’m a big advocate of meditation and have a lot to say about it - especially since there is science to back up how powerful it can be in everyday practice. If meditation is practised for as few as 10 minutes each day, it can help control stress, decrease anxiety, improve cardiovascular health, and achieve a greater capacity for relaxation.

RELATED: Unhealthy truth about airfryers

Meditation can help to control stress and anxiety.

The ‘go, go, go!’ pace of our lives is stressful for our bodies both physically and mentally. That overbearing worn down feeling you get is caused by the stress hormone cortisol. This nasty product of our stressful lives causes sleep pattern disruption, depressive and anxious thoughts and increased blood pressure. Essentially the cocktail of a cloudy mind.

Meditation puts the body into a relaxation response, which is the opposite bodily reaction that causes cortisol production. There’s an entire library of studies which show the body’s response to everyday meditation, such as reduced stress-related inflammation, decreased levels of stress, decreased depression, alleviating anxiety and panic attacks and to promote workplace productivity.

Meditation rewires your brain, building new roads and destroying others. It decreases the neurological connections to the media prefrontal cortex - which is the part of the brain responsible for fear, stress and anxiety. Alongside this it builds new pathways to the parts of your brain responsible for focus and decision making. You are essentially training your brain to regulate emotions, become resilient to unpleasant thoughts and emotions and to react calmly when faced with stress and challenges.

Dr Zac Turner is a big advocate of meditation.

There are two types of meditation and the best way to describe them both is through a metaphor of the ocean. Mindful meditation is the surface level, you calm your mind through gentle focus such as breathing - but your thoughts are still active. You are focused, contracting your thoughts actively. Transcendence meditation is diving deep down under the surface to the rock bed, enabling your mind to reach a deep state of rest. You are unfocused, surrendering effortlessly to your blank mind. Mindful meditation can be very verbal and literal, whereas transcendence takes you to the source of non-verbal thought. I recommend being guided through the latter with a good meditation coach.

The hardest thing about mediation is starting, and there couldn’t be a better time to give it a shot. There are lots of guided meditations on YouTube or you can download apps such as Calm or Insight Timer on your phone. And if you really want someone to guide you through it - there are one-on-one coaches you can find in your city.

I recently did a number of guided transcendence meditation sessions with Sydney-based coach Sean Hamer. These sessions taught me the tools to reach a deep state of meditation and I’m now meditating 20 minutes per day. Already I’m seeing improvements in many areas of my life.

Poppy, I recommend you start with a short 10 minute meditation once a day for a week. Challenge yourself to keep to it and I guarantee you’ll keep going. Maybe even suggest your workplace do a group meditation to help boost productivity!

Dr. Zac Turner has a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Sydney. He has worked as a Registered Nurse, both in Australia and internationally and is also a qualified and experienced biomedical scientist. | @drzacturner

Originally published as Doctor’s 10-minute trick to combat anxiety and stress