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EPISODE SUMMARY: 

Dr. Ellen Vora, MD, is a board-certified psychiatrist, acupuncturist, yoga teacher, and author of The Anatomy of Anxiety. In today’s episode, we sat down with Dr. Vora to discuss real v.s. fake anxiety, the connection between anxiety and sleep, how hormones affect our mood, and the importance of food to our mental health.

First, we asked Dr. Vora to explain the difference between real and fake anxiety. She told us that when discussing false anxiety, she is in no way stating that the anxiety isn’t real or valid. False anxiety refers to the anxiety that occurs physically as a reaction to our body’s stress response. Low blood sugar, sleep deprivation, hangovers; these are all things that can lead our bodies to become imbalanced and, as a result, leave us experiencing high levels of anxiety. By identifying the root cause of the false anxiety, we can address the issue and eliminate unnecessary suffering. Real anxiety, however, works differently. While most people want a quick fix to dealing with their anxiety, Dr. Vora argues that it’s important to sit with your feelings. Instead of thinking of ways to stop being anxious, focus on what your body is trying to tell you through your anxiety so you can better address the problem and take action. Taking action can look different for every person. From career changes, to activism, to family relationships, the first steps towards taking action and facing anxiety can be daunting but are a vital part of our mental health.

When working with her own patients, Dr. Vora always addresses false anxiety first, for the false anxieties can make addressing the real anxieties beneath even more difficult. To help clients find the root cause of their anxiety, she uses a false anxiety inventory. The inventory is a list of possible body-based reasons a person may be feeling anxious so that instead of jumping to conclusions, the patient can sit with their anxiety and find the real cause behind it. Dr. Vora uses a plethora of different methods to help her clients, each unique to the person, and while her approach is holistic, she is still an advocate for medication. Her work strives not to eradicate anti-depressants but rather present a longer list of different approaches someone can take to improving their mental health. Everyone is different; therefore, their treatments shouldn’t be forced to be the same.

Another aspect of anxiety Dr. Vora focuses on with her clients is the connection between anxiety and sleep. Improving sleep quality can improve a myriad of mental health issues, and Dr. Vora emphasized to us how important it is to make sure our eyes and brain are getting the correct light cues to maintain a normal circadian rhythm. One of the best ways to do this is to get true, unfiltered light first thing in the morning by going outside. We also asked Dr. Vora about hormones, and she explained that hormones have a strong influence on our moods and mental health. For years, women have been medically gaslit due to not being treated properly for their hormone imbalances. It’s vital for healthcare professionals to understand not only how the body works but how hormones affect us, especially when it comes to menstrual cycles. There are so many social stigmas and stereotypes surrounding a woman who is “PMSing”, when in reality, a woman’s hormones simply go through changes throughout her period cycle. Hormone levels also drastically change when a woman goes through menopause. Before menopause, reproductive hormones keep us calmer and less likely to stir the pot. However, after menopause, midlife women are more likely to stand up for themselves and shake things up.

Food can play both a positive and negative role in our mental health. Some people focus so heavily on societal beauty standards that their relationship with food sours, leading to eating disorders and mental health issues. When asked her opinion, Dr. Vora said that food should be looked at through a lens of health and love. A person should base their diet off of wanting to feel the best and love themselves, not on how they look. It’s also important to look at nutrient density, which foods have the most nutrition, and find the balance between eating nutrient-rich foods and doing so in an affordable and enjoyable way. Finally, we asked Dr. Vora about the connection between anxiety and control. She explained how when someone goes through a traumatic event, the anxiety that follows is often heavily connected to feelings of control. Rather than talk-therapy, treatments such as EMDR, breathing techniques, and meditation are beneficial ways to help deal with the anxiety.

Dr. Ellen Vora

Ellen Vora, MD is a board-certified psychiatrist, acupuncturist, and yoga teacher, and she is the author of The Anatomy of Anxiety. She takes a functional medicine approach to mental health—considering the whole person and addressing imbalance at the root. Dr. Vora received her B.A. from Yale University and her M.D. from Columbia University.

In this episode, we discuss…

• [0:01] Introduction
• [1:49] Guest Introduction
• [3:47] Start of Interview
• [4:30] Real V.S. False Anxiety
• [9:30] Body-Based Anxiety
• [14:09] False Anxiety and Sleep
• [20:14] Mental Health and Hormones
• [27:06] The Importance of Food
• [34:57] Anxiety and Control
• [41:26] Closing Thoughts
• [42:30] Outro

Useful Resources:

Dr. Vora’s Website I [https://ellenvora.com/]

Dr. Vora’s LinkedIn I [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellen-vora-md-a89b8a47/]

Dr. Vora’s Facebook I [https://www.facebook.com/ellenvoramd/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel]

Dr. Vora’s Instagram I [https://www.instagram.com/ellenvoramd/]

Dr. Vora’s Twitter I [https://twitter.com/ellenvoramd]

Dr. Vora’s YouTube Channel I [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiVEkdGfZmvqfBcPvF9EvJA/videos]

Dr. Vora’s TikTok I [https://www.tiktok.com/@ellenvoramd?lang=en]

Dr. Vora’s Blog I [https://ellenvora.com/articles/]

Dr. Vora’s Book

The Anatomy of Anxiety I [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0063075091?tag=imprintweb-20]

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