A healthy lifestyle and anxiety

There are three areas of life where we need to be healthy to help us overcome anxiety . They are diet, exercise, mental health.

Firstly diet. I have several tips for a lower anxiety diet:

• Keep your blood sugar levels more constant as insulin spikes and low blood sugar can lead to anxiety, panic and worse.

1. Don’t over do the sugar, satisfy sweet cravings with fruit and a bit of dried fruit.
2. Don’t use artificial sweeteners too much, they are confusing to the body and have a dubious health record.
3. Don’t eat too many simple carbohydrates (white bread, white rice, pasta, pizza), they act like sugars.
4. Instead snack on nuts and wholemeal foods (fruit can be a great alternative to wheat based products if they disagree with you.)

• Avoid caffeine as this aggravates (sometimes even causes) anxiety and panic, disrupts sleep, and affects blood sugar.

1. Drink Decaf coffee
2. If you need a hot drink to replace tea go for roibush, herb or fruit. 
3. Cola’s should be avoided full stop – why not replace them with heavily diluted fruit juice.
4. Eating little and often helps to keep your blood sugar stable and stops you getting that over-full or bloated feeling that is linked to anxiety.
5. Try to snack on something healthy every three hours of your waking day. 

More Info on Overcoming Anxiety – click here

Exercise is unpopular more often than not but the simple fact is that a healthy body is linked to a healthy mind. You will lessen your anxiety by being in better shape, I almost promise that.

• Walk of your stress and excess weight.

1. A brisk walk is excellent exercise but you have to do it often.
2. If your doctor says you are fit enough try briskly walking for 30-60 minutes four times a week.
3. Alternatively, by a pedometer and measure how much you walk during an average day (take measurements over a few days). Then try to increase that amount by ten percent.

• Other stress-busting anxiety relieving exercises.

1. Running
2. Swimming
3. Rowing
4. Cycling

• And four your self esteem, get a better looking body. The best ways are:

1. Weight training
2. Circuit training
3. Palates
4. Gymnastics
5. All of the above should be embarked on only after a medical

Focusing on your mental health and well-being means offering your mind some of the things that we all need, such as space and a time to switch off.

• Your mental health can be greatly increased through relaxation!

1. Learn mindfulness meditation
2. Progressive muscle relaxation
3. Deep Breathing
4. Butyeko Breathing