Drinking and eating in moderation & managing fear and anxiety
COVID-19 CARE PACKAGE UPDATE #5
We are writing to let you know that we have posted two new segments in the UCLA COVID-19 Care Package: (1) drinking and eating in moderation and (2) managing fear and anxiety.
Drinking and eating in moderation
Many of us use junk food and alcohol to help cope with negative thoughts and feelings. This is an understandable practice; research shows that junk food and alcohol activate the “pleasure center” of our brains. Eating and drinking in moderation is acceptable for most people, but too much junk food can be damaging to our emotional and physical health. In this section of the COVID-19 Care Package we review three tips to help decrease reliance on junk food and alcohol.
UCLA Associate Professor Kate Wolitzky-Taylor, PhD,
reviews how to use urge surfing as a technique to curb
junk food and alcohol cravings.
Managing fear and anxiety
Sometimes people experience surges of intense feelings like an increased heart rate, sweaty palms and shortness of breath. Some of us may feel the urge to escape, while others may feel frozen in place. Experiencing these sensations can be scary, especially when they start without warning. What’s important to know is that the vast majority of these physical sensations are not an indication that something is wrong; rather, these reactions are the result of our body’s defense system becoming activated. In this segment of the Care Package, we share two skills that can help reduce distress when experiencing symptoms.
Visit our website to try out one of the strategies when you are feeling scared or anxious.
Richard LeBeau, PhD, UCLA psychologist, reviews the
practice of finding calmness through breathing, a strategy to reduce
the stress associated with anxiety-like symptoms.
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Support Future Programming
Interested in supporting this effort and increasing COVID-19 programming?
In response to the enormous and immediate need for support during COVID-19, the UCLA Depression Grand Challenge (DGC) in partnership with Beyoncé's BeyGOOD initiative and Jack Dorsey's Start Small fund created specific COVID-19 programming including an online COVID-19 Care Package to help people struggling with stress and anxiety.
