When combined, a series of lifestyle adjustments can prove to be very effective in alleviating debilitating anxiety. Although medication is often the go to bandaid for anxiety, it is not a long term solution and simply masks the message that is trying to be received. Don’t get me wrong, there will be many people who will benefit from Meds but they are best used as a bridge to a series of lifestyle adjustments and interventions. Anxiety is multidimensional. Many factors play a role in influencing its severity, pathology and frequency. Because it is multidimensional, it needs to be looked at from several angles. When most angles are accounted for through lifestyle change, a cumulative easing can be experienced. Anxiety can be addressed with biochemistry in mind: What foods you eat vs the foods you don’t eat Certain foods amplify anxiety whilst others pacify it. Some of the big players in amplifying anxiety are: Refined Sugar Caffeine Alcohol Cigarrettes Trans Fat Hydrogenated oils Most nutrient dense whole foods help to pacify Anxiety. Nutrients (B Vitamins, Vitamin C, Zinc, Magnesium + Amino acids mainly) are the building blocks for brain chemicals known as neurotransmitters. The more raw materials there are, the more quality neurotransmitters are available for the brain to communicate properly. Anxiety is felt when the brain has a communication breakdown. Balanced brain chemistry is a result of a nutrient rich diet: Fatty Fish + Omega - 3 oils - helps brain build receptors to accept neurotransmitters Quality meats - Chicken, beef…. for B12 + amino acids Grains - some people who are gluten and starch sensitive may experience anxiety from eating grains - in this case go Paleo/ketogenic. Leafy greens - abundant phytonutrients, magnesium +Vitamin C Legumes Coconut oil, grass fed butter, avocado, nuts + seeds - these fats especially are brain fats. Like the omega 3 DHA, they help to build receptor sites where NTM’s like serotonin bind. Saturated fat is not your enemy here. Probiotics for healthy gut flora. Healthy flora ensure that all the nutrients from our food are properly extracted and assimilated. Anxiety is also inflammatory - look to consume antioxidant rich, anti-inflammatory foods. Biochemistry can affect our emotional states Exercise We all know how beneficial exercise is, but what about for anxiety specifically? What type of exercise is best? Yoga Bending yourself into a pretzel may not be everyones cup of tea but it certainly shows promise in providing a peaceful and calming wake to its practice. A lot of tension is held in the musculature of the body and has accumulated over - time. Releasing this tension can bring release to the body. By releasing the body, the mind is also released. Much of the tension from the body has been passed on from the mind. When the body is allowed to release so is the mind. Yoga has shown to be effective in treating mental health by reducing cortisol - one of the bodies primary stress hormones and elevating serotonin levels, both long - term and short term. Serotonin is a big player in the anxiety matrix. Low levels expose us to it and high levels defend us from it. Aerobic +Anaerobic exercise Simply running, sprinting, dropping for some press-ups can provide you with a hit of endorphins. As little as 10 minutes of exercise is enough to get your hit. Endorphins make you feel good. Staying topped up with endorphins means that your resilience to stress will be greater and your brain chemistry conducive to a more calm and centred state of mind. The sense of achievement and boosted self - esteem makes exercise a great method to deal with anxiety. Look to exercise outdoors as immersion of oneself within nature is calming and connects you to the peace and harmony around you. Exercise for mental health Breathing Deep, diaphragmatic breaths help to activate the branch of the autonomic nervous system which corresponds to rest and relaxation. Due to the nature of everyday life many people live under the activation of the sympathetic nervous system. This branch of the ANS causes the flight or fight response which signals DANGER. Often our threats are psychological and we cannot outrun that which does not exist, so anxiety persists. Breathing deeply can help to bring you back to a calm centre. Try ujjayi Breath Ensure sufficient human contact Being socially isolated doesn't just cause anxiety but affects your health at a cellular level. Humans are social beings who need connection to stay sane. Make sure you have regular human contact, tell people how you feel, express gratitude and enjoy every moment with friends and family. A sense of community is a powerful way to stay on top of anxiety. CBT Cognitive behavioural therapy is an effective anxiety management tool. It reframes the way that anxiety affects you through looking at your thoughts. An example of one tool is the school bus analogy. You have many voices going through your head day to day, doubting voices, adventuros voices, angry voices…… picture all these voices as people on a school bus. Your true voice is driving most of the time and you want to keep it that way, but sometimes an anxious voice can take the wheel and hijack the direction of the bus. Stop here and remember which voice is meant to drive the bus - Your authentic voice shines through, the driver is in control, not the punk kid who has stolen the wheel. Mindset In order to really address anxiety we need to get to the root of why we are experiencing it. What is the anxiety in relation to? What are the triggers? Is there something wired into your belief system which is causing it? Sometimes a job, relationship or general lifestyle as a whole brings about anxiety. Sometimes something as simple as checking social media less and watching the news less can have a benefit. It will be different for everyone - tune into Your anxiety and listen to what it is telling you and in response to what. The suggestions above are all ways of dealing with anxiety, but what about moving past it? Many people say that in order to move past anxiety, it needs to be accepted. Instead of resisting it, we can accept it as part of who we are. Moments of serious introspection can give insight on how to move past anxiety - Yoga, meditation and the use of psychedelics can provide pure moments which point to a direction of how to move past your anxiety. Everyone experiences anxiety, some more than others but building resilience to anxiety through the steps above can give you strength. When you have strength, you can look at why it is happening, how you move past anxiety and accepting it as part of you. When we stop resisting and start accepting, things get a lot easier.
