Quick and Dirty Tips

Why Do I Grind My Teeth So Much—And How Can I Make It Stop?!

Posted: 12 Apr 2021 12:10 AM PDT

Today Savvy Psychologist is excited to share a special episode of Checking In, a new wellness advice podcast from SELF magazine. Checking In tackles our most personal health and wellness questions, no matter how complicated or embarrassing. In this episode, you'll hear how anxiety can manifest in our teeth and jaw, and you'll learn practical tips for relieving the physical symptoms of stress. Enjoy!

In this episode, a woman named Sarah calls in to tell us that she's been grinding her teeth a lot lately, thanks to her anxiety.

"I started to notice an increasing amount of jaw pain," she says. "I could feel my jaw spasming during the day." She says that the more she does it, the more worried she gets about it, which then creates a nasty cycle where her anxiety triggers her teeth grinding and vice versa. Sarah wants to know why this is happening, and how to make it stop.

This is all very relatable to me, and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in that.

New episodes of Checking In come out every Monday. Listen to this week's episode by clicking on the audio player above, and get more episodes of Checking In on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Teeth grinding, or bruxism, is when you clench your jaw and grind and rub your teeth together, generally unintentionally. There are a number of different causes of teeth grinding, and mental health conditions like anxiety can absolutely be a factor. So to get some insight into that mind-body connection, I first talk to licensed clinical psychologist Andrea Bonior, Ph.D., the author of the book Detox Your Thoughts.

"There's really no disconnecting the physical response of stress from the mental one," Bonior says. She and I discuss the fight-or-flight response, and why anxiety can indeed manifest physically in many different ways—like teeth grinding, of course, but also gastrointestinal distress, headaches, shortness of breath, insomnia, and so on.

We're in a situation where ... we have to overthink whether or not everyday, simple decisions are going to harm us. We used to take for granted the fact that we could go get groceries. Or we could get the mail, or we could talk to a neighbor. We now have to think about that on such a level that it's exhausting.
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4 Super Fun Family Challenges to Help You Stay Connected

Posted: 11 Apr 2021 09:26 PM PDT

A few years ago, I read about an interesting study in the New York Post. The destination marketing organization for the city of Anaheim, California surveyed 2,000 parents with school-aged children across the U.S. and found that American families get just 37 minutes of quality time together per day. According to the New York Post article:

The top things to blame are, inevitably, long hours at work (67 percent), weekends spent doing chores, and the kids' school schedule.

Wow, I definitely related! We spent the majority of our family time in the car driving back and forth to school and afterschool activities. But we were usually distracted by thoughts of our upcoming work or school day, sports practice, or other things we needed to accomplish. That meant we weren't in the right mindset to soak up some good conversation. Our drive counted as together time, sure ... but there wasn't anything quality about it.

Why is connecting with your family so important?

When I was raising my eight kids, it felt like they'd be little forever and I had all the time in the world. But when people tell young parents that the years fly by so quickly, they aren't kidding! It seems like my kids graduated from high school in the blink of an eye. Then, they were off to college for the next phase of their lives.

Once my kids started kindergarten, I feel as though I spent nearly half the time with them that I had before they reached school age. And that time got even shorter as they got older and more involved with friends and outside activities.

That's why, when I read that article in the Post several years back, it really resonated. Before long, our kids are grown and living lives of their own. Family together time is the best time to connect with your kids, engage with their daily lives, and learn more about the passions that drive and motivate them. It's a time to teach life lessons and help them build the foundation for successful adult life.

Creating a connection with family challenges

Although our busy 21st Century lives seem like they're custom-made to interfere with family connection, there are still creative ways to sneak in a little quality time. One of my favorites is family challenges. I...

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Food And Recipe Fusion

Monday, April 12, 2021