Ep. 155 Practical Coping Skills to Enhance the Effectiveness of Your Anxiety Medication in Midlife

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Are you frustrated that anxiety medication isn’t giving you the relief you hoped for?
If you’ve been relying solely on medication and still struggle with anxiety, there’s hope.
In this episode you’ll discover:

1. Five simple, no-cost strategies to enhance your medication’s effectiveness and build a more balanced life.
2. How to shift your mindset from “I need to fix my anxiety” to “I need to improve my lifestyle” for long-term relief.
3. The 5  practical things you NEED to do, to reduce your anxiety. Even if you take medication

Press play now to uncover the missing pieces of anxiety treatment and take the first step toward a healthier, calmer you! 

Links to Episodes Mentioned in Episode 155:

Ep. 61 – Mental Wellness: Specific Coping Skills for & Losing Weight Your Way in Young Adulthood, Midlife & the Golden Years
https://tinyurl.com/y3eukhnh

Ep. 91 – Use These 2 Mindfulness Practices To Instantly Increase Gratitude, Calm & Joy!
https://tinyurl.com/u82dbx4z

Ep. 93 – 5 Simple Sleep Hacks To Help You Sleep Better Tonight!
https://tinyurl.com/ymbte8xu

Ep. 121 – Outsmarting Your Smartphone – The Science and Solutions You Need To Decrease Anxiety & Increase Midlife Calm
https://tinyurl.com/43znpns9

Ep. 122 – 3 Proven Coping Skills to Outsmart Your Smartphone and Decrease Anxiety & Reclaim 2 Hours a Day for Midlife Calm
https://tinyurl.com/mvbd5dzk
(Additional Link: https://pod.fo/e/2ac72e)

Ep. 123 – Simple Hacks to Conquer Midlife Exercise Resistance, Shift Your Mindset, Decrease Anxiety This New Year
https://tinyurl.com/3nbrh2b2

Ep. 124 – 3 Science-Backed Coping Skills to Overcome Exercise Challenges in Midlife
https://tinyurl.com/4p8rhma5

Ep. 140 – Understanding Hormones and Anxiety and How Midlife Women Can Regain Control
https://tinyurl.com/55df8dn4

Ep. 141 – The 3 Essential Hormones You Must Balance in Midlife for Less Anxiety, Better Sleep, and a Healthier Weight
https://tinyurl.com/5n6f4ksn

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About the Host:
MJ Murray Vachon LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with more than 48,000 hours of therapy sessions and 31 years of experience teaching her Mental Wellness curriculum, Inner Challenge. Four years ago she overcame her fear of technology to create a podcast that integrated her vast clinical experience and practical wisdom of cultivating mental wellness using the latest information from neuroscience. MJ was Social Worker of the Year in 2011 for Region 2/IN.

Creating Midlife Calm is a podcast designed to guide you through the challenges of midlife, tackling issues like anxiety, low self-esteem, feeling unworthy, procrastination, and isolation, while offering strategies for improving relationships, family support, emotional wellbeing, mental wellness, and parenting, with a focus on mindfulness, stress management, coping skills, and personal growth to stop rumination, overthinking, and increase confidence through self-care, emotional healing, and mental health support.

Episode Transcript

M.J. Murray Vachon LCSW (00:00):
In this episode, you'll discover why

(00:02):
medication alone isn't enough tofully manage your anxiety,
Welcome to Creating MidlifeCalm, a podcast dedicated to
empowering midlife minds toovercome anxiety, stop feeling
like crap and become morepresent with your family, all
while achieving greater successat work.
I'm MJ Murray Vachon, a licensedclinical social worker with over

(00:24):
48, 000 hours of therapysessions and 31 years of
experience teaching mentalwellness.
Welcome to the podcast.
In Monday's episode, we talkedabout medication and weight
gain, why it happens, and how tomanage it.
If you've ever felt frustratedthat medication isn't giving you
the relief you hope for.
You're not alone.

(00:45):
Many people think medication isthe only answer to anxiety, but
today, we'll talk about whythat's not true and what you can
do to feel better.
In this episode, we'll explorewhy medication alone isn't
enough to effectively manageyour anxiety and how making
small strategic lifestylechanges can dramatically improve

(01:05):
your mental and physicalwellbeing, you'll walk away with
five simple no-cost strategiesto enhance your medications
effectiveness and build ahealthier, more balanced life.
Living with anxiety day in andday out is not only exhausting,
but can be incredibly limiting.
What if I told you it doesn'thave to be that way?

(01:27):
What if your anxiety couldactually be a springboard to a
healthier, more satisfying andmore meaningful life?
In my 38 years as a therapist, Ifound that most of my clients
believe that medication is theonly tool they need to treat
their anxiety.
But that would be like a homecontractor showing up to build a
house with just a hammer.

(01:47):
In today's episode, we're gonnaget practical and explore the
other tools you have at yourdisposal right now to decrease
anxiety and increase yourenjoyment of life.
Before we dive in, let's checkin on last Monday's Inner
Challenge.
I encourage you to pay attentionto how your medication affects
your appetite, cravings, andenergy level over three days.

(02:11):
Did you notice any patterns?
Maybe you realized your cravingsfor certain foods increased, or
your energy dipped at a specifictime of the day.
Becoming aware of those smallshifts can help you make
informed decisions about yourhealth and if needed, discuss
adjustments with your doctor.
If you tracked your changes,great job.
If not, no worries.

(02:32):
There's always time to startpaying attention to what works
best for you and your body andeverything that I'm talking
about today will apply to you asyou move forward.
Let me start with a story abouta woman I worked with who had
moderate to severe anxiety.
She found it hard to go to acoffee shop even though she
really wanted to.

(02:53):
Both she and her doctor agreedthat she was a great candidate
for medication.
After a few months, she feltbetter, but not as good as she
had hoped.
Her doctor then recommendedtherapy, which is how she came
to work with me.
During my assessment, I askedher what else she had done since
starting medication.
She looked confused and saidnothing.

(03:14):
Was I supposed to do somethingelse?
I told her, medication calmsyour mind, but your habits and
lifestyle determine how well itworks.
She was shocked.
No one had ever told her thatbefore.
She had assumed her unhealthyhabits were caused by anxiety
and that medication would makethem disappear.

(03:35):
This is something I hear all thetime in my office and to be
honest, it makes me sad.
When it comes to mental healthmedication, whether for
depression, A DHD, or anxietytherapy and lifestyle changes
yield the best results.
Why?
Because if you've been livingwith anxiety depression or A
DHD, chances are you haven't hadthe energy focus or time to

(04:01):
create healthy lifestyle habits.
And on top of that, we live in aculture that promotes unhealthy
habits.
Think about it.
A huge part of our economydepends on processed foods,
excessive screen time, and asedentary lifestyle, all of
which undermine your wellbeing.
When I shared this with myclient, she said, oh, this is a

(04:22):
bigger deal than I thought.
Yes, medication can help, butthe only way to truly feel good
is to make it the foundationwhile using other tools to build
a healthier lifestyle.
This requires a shift in mindsetfrom thinking I need to fix my
anxiety to, I need to fix mylifestyle.

(04:43):
I like to compare medication toglasses.
Glasses don't cure pooreyesight, but they help you see
more clearly.
Likewise, medication doesn'tcure anxiety, but it makes it
easier to manage.
I recently shared this with aclient and she admitted I'm kind
of disappointed.
I wanted the medication to fixeverything.

(05:04):
I get it.
Of course, we all want a magicbullet, but what if the
medication could be the agent ofchange Helping you not just
manage anxiety, but build alifestyle that keeps you feeling
well for years to come.
Think of it as remodeling yourhouse.
You start by deciding what youwant to add or subtract to make
your life better.

(05:25):
The same applies here.
Now that we reframed how tothink about anxiety treatment,
let's talk about the fivebiggest areas where you can make
meaningful lasting changes.
I use the acronym nests,N-E-S-T-S to outline the
essential pillars of self-care,nutrition, exercise, sleep

(05:48):
technology management, andstress management.
Let's look at each one alongwith a simple action you can
take today to improve yourlifestyle and help your
medication work moreeffectively.
Nutrition fueling your mentalhealth.
Notice I didn't say weight loss.
In my experience, when peopleshift from I want to lose weight

(06:11):
to, I want to nourish my body,they naturally reach a healthier
weight.
If you're in midlife, start withone of these two hacks.
Increase your protein intake ordrink half your body weight in
ounces of water each day.
If you're a midlife woman, youshould probably be eating
protein equivalent to two and ahalf chicken breasts a day.

(06:33):
A midlife man.
More like three and a half.
You get the picture.
The more protein, the moreenergy, and the better your
medication will work.
Proper hydration and nutritionhelp your brain function
optimally, improve energy levelsand support your mood.
Want more details?
Check out episode 61, exercise.

(06:57):
Movement as medicine exerciseenhances anxiety medication by
boosting serotonin, dopamine,and endorphins.
Your brain's natural moodstabilizers.
It also lowers cortisol.
Your stress hormone improvesyour sleep and increases your
energy.
If strength training feelsoverwhelming, start with

(07:19):
something simple like walkingwith a weighted vest.
Want guidance on gettingstarted?
Listen to episodes 1 23 and 124.
There is such great informationin those short episodes.
Sleep.
The foundation for mentalwellness medication works better
when you're well rested.

(07:39):
Poor sleep raises cortisollevels and reduces medication's.
Efficiency, making anxietyharder to manage.
If your sleep is terrible, starthere.
Try not eating after dinner toallow your body 12 hours to rest
and repair each of your organs.
My client was shocked at howmuch better she felt just after

(08:01):
two weeks of this simple habit.
For more sleep tips, check outepisode 93.
I think you'll be surprised howeasy it is to improve your
sleep.
I also encourage you to look atepisodes 1 31, 1 32, where I
talk with Dr.
Connie Chalko you listeners inperimenopause and menopause

(08:24):
where sleep gets highlydisrupted, these episodes will
give you a starting place ofwhat you should know about your
body.
So your body has the best chancenot only of sleeping, but of
using your medication to itsmost effective level.
The T in Nests is technologymanagement.

(08:45):
Outsmarting your smartphone.
There has been no other area inthe last 10 years that I have
put more energy into than tryingto understand how I can help my
clients outsmart theirsmartphones.
Excessive phone use, especiallybefore bed, disrupts melatonin
production and increasescortisol, making it much harder

(09:07):
for your medication to regulatemood.
We also know any use beyond twohours a day, you run the risk of
increasing your anxiety.
Wanna break the cycle?
Start by charging your phone inanother room at night.
Need help managing screen time.
Listen to episodes 120 and 1 22.

(09:28):
Trust me, they will be sohelpful, not just to you, but to
your family.
S and Nest is stress managementresetting your nervous system.
Even with medication, stress canstill throw off your nervous
system.
The good news, you can retrainyour body to recover faster.

(09:48):
Think about it.
On a typical day, you look atthe clock and you're already 10
minutes late, your cortisolrises.
You are stressed.
Five or six hours later, you'redriving to work and someone
almost hits you.
Your cortisol rises and you arestressed.Later in the day, you
can't find an important file atwork.
You're stressed.
Each of those really smallinstances in your life, your

(10:12):
body has a reaction and I wannainvite you to do a simple
mindfulness exercise.
Move your awareness to your feetand take a few breaths and
reregulate your nervous system.
If you can do this when younotice your body getting revved
up, you're not storing all thisanxiety as you move through your

(10:33):
day when regular things set youoff.
If you want more information onthis mindfulness exercise, check
out episode 91.
Where I give you two simplemindfulness exercises that help
you with the foundation ofemotional regulation.
I know what you might bethinking, MJ, I don't have time

(10:54):
to integrate and start all ofthese things.
Trust me, you do.
Just pick one and integrate itfor two weeks until it feels
more normal, and then move toanother one.
Most of us can take 30 minutesaway from our phone in order to
add some of these lifestylechanges that will not only help

(11:16):
your medication work moreeffectively, but allow you to
really feel better day in andday out.
In this episode, I've encouragedyou to make the mindset shift
from, I need to treat my anxietyto, I need to treat my
lifestyle.
I've introduced you to nests,nutrition, exercise, sleep,

(11:38):
technology management, andstress management.
Five foundational pillars ofyour self-care, and I've given
you simple ways that you canchoose one or two things to
begin to move in that mindsetdirection.
I have also given you numbers toprevious episodes that look a

(11:58):
bit more deeply into each ofthese lifestyle hacks.
Check out the show notes forlinks that go directly to each
of these episodes.
You can do this I'll be back onMonday and thanks for listening
to Creating Midlife Calm.