Free Yourself from Anxiety (6 page)

You don’t have to make a precise record of quantities, because this isn’t a weight loss, or weight gain, exercise.

Somebody who is well nourished will feel stronger and more able to face life’s challenges, and yet Anxiety often brings with it a lack of appetite, or a desire to eat comfort foods that may have little nutritional value.

Many of us are drawn to sugary foods, such as cakes, sweets, biscuits and chocolate. They taste nice and give us a quick fix by producing a little burst of energy. This is because of the effect the sugar has on blood sugar levels. Unfortunately it wears off just as quickly, leaving you down in the dumps again.

What’s more, a sudden change in blood sugar can make you feel a bit light headed or shaky, which is the last feeling you need if you’re on the alert for the next panic attack.

The natural sugar (or fructose) that occurs in fruit doesn’t have this effect on your body. Because of the way your body processes fructose it doesn’t cause a big increase in blood sugar or the sudden drop in blood sugar that follows. This means that eating fruit can satisfy your sweet tooth without having a bad effect on your Anxiety.

When you have kept a record for a week or so, compare it with the model below.

(this model is for Anxiety management, not nutrition or weight loss)

Eat something within 20 minutes of waking up – remember your body will have been without food for several hours overnight. This doesn’t have to be a full breakfast, but once you are fully awake it is good to eat breakfast – it will give you energy for the next few hours.

Have a snack mid-morning, a light lunch, another snack mid-afternoon and an evening meal, then finally a snack before bedtime. In other words, eat little and often throughout the day and keep the night time fast as short as possible. If you are worried about being overweight, then make your meals smaller so that you can have snacks.

Avoid cakes, biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks both at mealtimes and for snacks. Snacks can be fresh fruit, milky drinks or dried fruit and nuts. If you have a really sweet tooth, then have a dessert after your main meal – because you have eaten a meal, the sweet food won’t have such a dramatic effect on your blood sugar. Here’s an example:

If you have a very active lifestyle you may need to eat more than this, or less if you are very sedentary. This is just an example to show you how you can eat little and often through the day. You can eat the kind of food you like.

How does your eating pattern compare with the model? If it is very different, don’t despair, a series of small changes will gradually help you – you can use your goal setting skills to break the changes up so that they are manageable.

One very common problem for many Anxiety sufferers is the feeling that they can’t face breakfast. They may wait several hours before eating anything and in extreme cases will only eat once a day, in the evening when they feel up to it. This creates a vicious circle, because someone whose system is very empty is bound to feel lethargic and even slightly unwell, which makes them less likely to eat, and by not eating they feel even worse, and so on.

In the example above, there is a 10½ hour gap between the last snack of the day and the first one of the next day. After such a long wait your body needs fuel to get it going. If you skip breakfast you’re denying it that fuel and yet you need energy to start your day. What is your body to
do? One answer is to pump adrenalin into your system – not a good idea for someone with Anxiety.

Since breakfast is the most important meal of the day it is worth trying to manage it. Try some lateral thinking – breakfast doesn’t have to be cereal, toast or eggs and bacon. How about a banana or some yoghurt? If the only thing you can face is a sweet biscuit, then break the sugary snacks rule and have biscuits. When you’ve got used to eating breakfast you can switch to something healthier.

Also, no one likes to waste food, and yet for someone who is struggling a whole banana or a whole slice of toast can seem just too much. The answer is that while you are working on your recovery you can let go of feelings of guilt about food wastage. The most important thing is for you to recover, so if you only want a piece of banana or a spoonful of yoghurt tell yourself it’s okay.

This applies to other meals. Eat what you can, in the quantities you can manage. Try to eat a little something at each mealtime and snack time. The way you eat is also important. Allow time to eat your meals calmly and without rushing.

Your body will gradually adjust to the new regime, your energy levels will rise and the vicious circle will be broken.

Caffeine is a mild stimulant that raises your heart rate and creates a short-lived burst of energy. That is why so many people avoid coffee in the evenings – it keeps them awake. Anxiety uses up a lot of a person’s energy and so caffeine can seem like an absolute boon, but for some people it is a false friend, because they are already over-stimulated. Too much caffeine can also trigger panic attacks or make you more susceptible to them. Also people vary in their sensitivity to caffeine, so that some feel an almost miraculous change when they give it up, whereas others feel there is little difference.

Take a look at the food and drink records you kept for the exercise above, and count up the caffeine based drinks you have in an average day. Caffeine is found in tea, coffee, most cola drinks and energy drinks. If you are having more than two or three caffeine drinks a day it would be worth cutting down, or even better, giving up altogether.

Do it gradually, because stopping suddenly can give you a withdrawal headache and a few days of feeling mildly unwell. (Of course for anyone who does experience this, it is a sure sign that they are sensitive to caffeine and would be better off without it). Try cutting out every other drink, or make your drinks smaller. Make sure you keep your fluid levels up by substituting water, milk or fruit juice. Give yourself at least two weeks to give up caffeine, making small changes each day.

Once you have stopped having caffeine you need to maintain that throughout your Anxiety recovery programme. You may feel some immediate benefit, but the greatest improvements happen quite slowly. Those people who are very sensitive to caffeine would be best to give it up permanently.

It’s time to look at your eating and drinking habits and decide where you might benefit from making changes. Use the checklist to help you focus – any box that you can’t tick is one that you can choose to work on.