-
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
This anxiety contributes to our feeling stressed out and is made worse by
the consumption of coffee and sugar, stimulants that increase our edgy
feelings and, ultimately, our physical fatigue.
For many people, feelings of stress and anxiety peak between Thanks-
giving and Christmas because of family and shopping pressures, long
lines in stores, and traffic jams (combined with dietary lapses). The
result is that the Christmas season brings out the worst in our behavior
irritability, rudeness, and pushiness not the cherished qualities of giv-
ing and tolerance.
In this chapter, I describe a variety of anxiety-related mood and
behavior problems, as well as nutrition and lifestyle changes to lessen
them.
183
184 THE FOOD-MOOD SOLUTI ON
Feelings of Anxiety, Panic, and
Obsessive-Compulsiveness
Feelings of anxiety range from simple nervousness to being stressed out,
to sudden and overwhelming panic attacks. We express the type and
intensity of anxiety with a variety of words, including impatience, ten-
sion, jumpiness, agitation, nervousness, worry, apprehension, dread,
fear, and panic. High-strung and jittery people are typically so anxious
that they seem like stretched-out rubber bands that are about to snap.
The now-antiquated term nervous breakdown referred to physical and
mental exhaustion after prolonged, intense anxiety. Furthermore, when
we re anxious, random thoughts and worries seem to enter our mind and
we may have trouble getting rid of them, which in some people con-
tributes to obsessive-compulsive behavior.
What You Should Know
It s normal to occasionally have situation-dependent anxieties and jitters,
such as when we re on a first date, on a job interview, or speaking in
front of a group. Anxieties become problematic when they are chronic
and they interfere with normal daily activities and relationships with
other people. Of special concern are two types of anxieties: those that
develop without specific, recognizable, or rational causes; and mild or
occasional feelings of anxiety that intensify into either acute or chronic
feelings.
Anxieties take a toll on our physical health. They are driven by stress,
and they also fuel feelings of stress. When you re anxious, your body s
levels of the stress hormone cortisol remain high, with long-term phys-
ical and mental consequences. Chronically high cortisol levels kill off
brain cells.
An estimated 19 million people in the United States are affected by
anxiety disorders; this statistic generally reflects cases identified by
health care professionals, such as counselors and doctors. The more
fuzzy or anonymous anxieties those without obvious causes tend to
fall under the medical radar. The most common signs of these anxieties
are tension, irritability, and worry all rampant in today s stress-filled
lifestyles.
REDUCING ANXIETY, PANIC ATTACKS, AND OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE BEHAVIOR 185
Phobias, such as a fear of heights or spiders, are probably the most
prevalent form of anxiety and, for many people, are relatively innocuous.
Mild phobias (such as a fear of heights) are little more than personality
quirks. People who have them typically avoid anxiety-triggering expo-
sures or quickly retreat from them; however, more severe phobias that
interfere with day-to-day activities warrant professional treatment.
Some research has found that abdominal obesity belly fat is
strongly associated with feelings of anxiety. The specific relationship
between obesity and anxiety is not entirely clear, but it s likely that the
poor eating habits that cause obesity also result in a deficiency of neu-
ronutrients.
General Feelings
When you re anxious, you worry about big and little things, everything
and anything, nearly all of the time, and you can t shake your concerns.
Some people call you a worrywart. You may be jumpy, jittery, or impa-
tient, or switch rapidly between many different activities at work, at
home, or in the car. You may be irritable because no one else seems to do
things the right way or fast enough to suit you. Your breathing is often
tight and shallow, you have difficulty relaxing, and you can t get a good
night s sleep because you fret so much.
Many people experience this low-grade but persistent level of anxiety,
which is not easily noticed during cursory medical exams. This anxiety
results from feelings of being stressed, although the stress can just as
easily come from within a person. The anxiety doesn t disappear after
work or chores are completed.
Some people multitask in order to get jobs done and reduce anxiety,
but multitasking often fuels anxiety instead of relieving it. Multitasking
prevents the mind from clearly focusing on individual tasks; the mind is
so anxious that it jumps from one task to the next. Because the mind is
not focused, anxiety may trigger impulsive and rash actions. I ll come
back to this in the next chapter when I discuss impulsive and distractible
behavior.
As with stress, anxiety often derails eating habits. When you feel wor-
ried, you might forget to eat until your blood sugar level falls and your
stomach aches. At that point, the fastest food is fast food not the type
186 THE FOOD-MOOD SOLUTI ON
of nourishment that supports your neuronutrients and good-mood neu-
rotransmitters.
The medical term for sustained and relatively intense feelings of anx-
iety is generalized anxiety disorder. It s characterized by experiencing
excessive worry (defined as apprehensive expectation ) and anxiety on
most days over a six-month period. Generalized anxiety disorder is com-
monly associated with physical symptoms, such as fatigue, restlessness,
heart palpitations, and dizziness.
Psychological Tips
It s important to adopt behavioral changes that reduce stress and anxiety
and also to block anxious feelings when you feel them increasing. Here
are some tips. Refer back to chapter 7 for more suggestions.
" First and foremost, if certain people or situations trigger your anx-
iety, avoid your exposure to them at least, until you are better able
to control your anxiety. If a stressful situation develops unexpect-
edly, try to calmly remove yourself from it.
" Take three or four slow, deep breaths.
" Make a cup of hot green tea and sip it slowly.
" Lie on the floor and do some stretching exercises with your arms
and legs for five minutes.
" If you have a pet, spend a few minutes petting and talking to it.
" Visualize (or daydream for a few minutes about) a calmer, more
relaxing place, such as the beach or a forest.
Eating Habits
We ply ourselves with stimulants to help us wake up in the morning and
to keep us going during the day, and these same stimulants can cause
edgy feelings. In light of that, my dietary recommendations are straight-
forward: greatly reduce or avoid all caffeine, eliminate sugars and
refined carbohydrates, and eat more protein, healthy fats, and high-fiber
nonstarchy vegetables.
Drinking too many caffeine beverages increases our jittery, anxious
feelings. One way it does this is by raising levels of lactate in the body,
REDUCING ANXIETY, PANIC ATTACKS, AND OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE BEHAVIOR 187 [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] - zanotowane.pl
- doc.pisz.pl
- pdf.pisz.pl
- zambezia2013.opx.pl