In this article I will talk about what should be diet under stress, anxiety, anxiety and nervousness, in case of panic attacks and depression.
Food - the most important part of our livelihoods. On average, a person spends more than 2 hours a day on cooking and eating. But very often we do not realize what effect this food has on our mood and well-being.
Modern people attach great importance to pills that stabilize a restless state, sedatives, antidepressants. But they forget that normal food contains a lot of natural “antidepressants”, and that by planning our diet in a certain way, we can reduce the level of anxiety and make it easier to fight anxiety and stress.
There are also harmful eating habits, that is, eating habits in a certain way, which lead to an increase in stress and anxiety. These habits are not uncommon: there is a high probability that you suffer from them, but you don’t even realize it!
There are foods that increase the level of serotonin, improving our mood, but there is food, which, conversely, contributes to anxiety and stress.
And I will start with products that people should be avoiding anxious. But before proceeding to this, allow one warning. Diet is extremely important for a person; nevertheless, even an ideally selected composition of products will not help every person to completely get rid of anxiety, depression or panic attacks. Overcoming these ailments requires constant psychological work. A proper diet can be a reliable help for this work, a necessary condition for it, but not a self-sufficient panacea. In other words, it makes it easier for you to work to eliminate your anxiety, but it cannot completely replace this work.
What should I say no?
What products should be discarded or reduced?
No caffeine (coffee, tea) and other stimulants!
Many have already noticed how coffee increases anxiety and even can cause panic attacks. This happens for several reasons.
Caffeine contained in coffee, provokes an increased release of adrenaline and norepinephrine. These are the very “hormones of fear and panic” that our body produces when faced with a mortal danger or during a panic attack. At the same time, the sympathetic nervous system is activated, which is responsible for the state of nervous excitement, sense of danger.
Caffeine contributes to the fact that vitamins and substances essential for combating stress (for example, calcium and vitamin B1) begin to be rapidly excreted from the body, contributing to an increase in stress levels.
I understand that this is not the most pleasant news for coffee lovers who suffer anxiety. But do not hurry to get upset. As I wrote in the article “how to stop drinking coffee,” systematic drinking of coffee is just a habit. If you give up, you will not lose a source of energy and good mood, but, on the contrary, you will eventually increase your tone, improve sleep and increase strength. How your body goes into a more natural mode of operation and will distribute energy more balancedly throughout the day.
If a complete rejection of coffee is not an option for you, or you are not ready for it yet, consider the following tips. Some of them are based only on personal experience, I cannot confirm their scientific calculations. However, you can experiment and see how they suit you.
How to minimize the harm of coffee?
Drink more water. Caffeine helps to "flush out" the fluid from the body. To compensate for this, it is necessary to drink more ordinary water throughout the day.
Remember, caffeine caffeine is different.
My personal observation is that caffeine acts differently in different drinks. For example, coffee puts me in a state of anxiety and fear. A good green tea (of course, not from a bag), on the contrary, even soothes, despite the fact that it, like coffee, gives strength and energy.
Turn mindless drinking of coffee into a coffee ritual!
There is a great way to reduce the nervous system as a result of drinking coffee or tea. Instead of using a machine to absorb coffee or tea in large sips in front of the monitor, while at the same time doing work, make a small ritual, a kind of coffee or tea ceremony, out of it.
Move away from the computer or from the TV. Let nothing distract you. Hold the cup in your hands, feel it warm. Slowly bring it to your face and inhale the aroma of the drink. Repeat this a couple more times, taking a few deep breaths. Then, slowly, sip a little drink, but do not rush to swallow! Hold it in your mouth, feel its taste, its temperature. What do you feel? Bitterness or sweetness? Or maybe both? Do sensations differ in different parts of the mouth? Just watch. And then swallow and watch as the fluid passes through the esophagus, warming your body, then to be in the stomach. Continue to drink the drink slowly, evaluating the taste of each new sip, noting the differences in taste from sip to sip. Watch how your condition changes, how forces appear, drowsiness shrinks, clarity of consciousness appears ...
Your conscious and calm actions during this “ritual” will balance the natural stimulation of the nervous system due to caffeine entering the body, direct and stabilize this energy.
This exercise is included in the numerous arsenal of awareness development techniques that I teach students in the course of 3 antidotes to panic. It will help not only reduce the harm of coffee, but also teach you to just calm down and relax, to be here and now. These skills are essential in order to get rid of panic and anxiety forever.
Reduce caffeine intake.
This is an alternative to a complete rejection of coffee. You can simply gradually reduce the daily ration of coffee consumed until the coffee stops causing anxiety, interfere with your sleep and provoke nervousness. As for the quantity, this is all very subjective: someone will not notice a pair of cups, and someone will have anxiety from a few sips. In general, watch your body and its response. Based on this, adjust the amount of daily caffeine intake.
No nicotine!
Smoking not only has a devastating effect on the body, but also increases anxiety and anxiety. Yes, that's exactly it, despite the persistent belief of smokers that cigarettes are "soothed". Studies show that smokers are generally more exposed to stress, anxiety, and anxiety than people who do not smoke. This is due to the harmful effects of nicotine, which loads the heart, disrupts the nervous and vascular systems.
I am convinced that the short-term calming effect that a smoker feels after a cigarette is not associated with nicotine (which is a stimulant and stimulates the nervous system, not calming), but with slow breaths and breaths during the drags, which resemble breathing exercises for relaxation, which I also teach my students.
In general, quit smoking!
No alcohol
I think it would be superfluous to write what a devastating effect alcohol has on the nervous system. Alcohol is one of the most dangerous and harmful drugs! I think a much more decisive argument in favor of the rejection of alcoholic beverages will be my personal experience, rather than dry scientific calculations. When I suffered panic attacks, I got into the habit of drinking at night to fall asleep. But the relief was short-lived. The next day, panic attacked me with a new force, fueled by a hangover. These attacks could torment me until the evening!
Many students of my course ask if you can sometimes drink, say, a glass of wine. In principle, in small quantities alcohol is not so bad. The simple fact is that many people do not know how to just drink a "glass of wine", it turns into a booze for them. You can afford it, if you are sure that you have a good control over the amount of alcohol you have drunk.
No stress-eating habits
What I mean? In one wonderful book on fighting with anxiety and panic, it is written that what matters is not only what you eat, but how you eat! The following habits may increase anxiety:
- Eating too fast or on the go
- Do not chew food thoroughly. (It is recommended to do at least 15 chewing movements, after the food has got into the mouth. You must “digest” it in the mouth so that the stomach can digest it easier and faster)
- There are so many before the feeling of glut
- Drink lots of water during meals. Large volumes of fluid "dilute" gastric juices, which makes digestion difficult
Too much haste in eating leads to the fact that many useful elements do not have time to digest, some of the precious food is "idle." And what is needed in order to chew food thoroughly and not rush? Someone probably already guessed. It is consciously! If you do not want to turn lunch into a source of stress, but rather want to calm down and relax, then try to keep all your attention on the process of eating. Take your time to swallow it, focus on its taste, notice how saliva is secreted, how it passes through the esophagus, and then warms the stomach. So you turn the meal into a kind of small meditation. Get rid of the habit of watching TV at dinner or dine in front of the monitor. There is a wonderful Chinese saying: "when I eat, I eat." If you follow it, you will become much calmer!
Less salt!
Excessive salt intake can lead to the depletion of potassium in the body, a mineral that plays an important role in the functioning of the nervous system. In addition, salt increases blood pressure, creating an additional load on the heart system.
Of course, I do not urge to completely abandon salt, but simply to reduce the use of foods with a high content of sodium chloride. In the shops you can find salt, in which part of the sodium salts is replaced by salts of magnesium and potassium.
Less sugar!
Data on the connection of sugar with anxiety and anxiety are very contradictory. There is no proven evidence that sugar can directly cause anxiety symptoms. However, sugar as a "fast carbohydrate" can create an additional load on the body, cause dependence, provoke hypoglycemia (the symptoms of which, by the way, are similar to the symptoms of PA) or diabetes, increased acidity, which in turn can affect anxiety levels.
Protein, more or less?
With proteins all the more difficult. On the one hand, many proteins (especially animals) increase the acidity of the body, which can increase the level of anxiety. Also, animal meat may contain hormones that adversely affect the body's work. On the other hand, protein contains the amino acid tryptophan, which is valuable for “good mood,” which is converted to serotonin, the “neuromediator of happiness,” and an increased amount of carbohydrates in relation to proteins in the diet increases insulin levels, which according to some data also increases anxiety. Meat also contains vitamins of group B, which are valuable for the functioning of the nervous system.
Based on the foregoing, my personal advice: do not bother with protein. Eat as much as you eat. The only thing that is better to do is to monitor the quality of meat that you eat and increase the content of vegetable protein in the diet for the animal (legumes, nuts) in order to avoid an increase in acidity and excessive use of hormones that may be in animal food.
What to say yes?
Yes vitamins!
If you suffer from anxiety, then you are primarily interested in B vitamins, as well as vitamins C and D.
B vitamins play an important role in the functioning of the nervous system, providing the body with the ability to effectively deal with stress. The vitamin B group contains a range of beneficial substances (B6, B12, biotin, thiamine, etc.). These substances are contained in different products, for example, in meat, dairy products, fish. Also, complex vitamins from pharmacies can solve the problem of lack of these substances.
Everyone knows that vitamin C boosts immunity. But not everyone knows that this substance is involved in the work of the adrenal glands, which just throw out the adrenaline familiar to all "alarmists". Therefore, try to take a sufficient amount of vitamin C. This will improve the work of the adrenal glands, which, according to some data, reduces the likelihood of an “untimely” adrenaline rush in the absence of an immediate danger, which is observed during a panic attack. A lot of this vitamin contains fruits, berries, and many vegetables.
Some researchers are convinced that vitamin D deficiency can lead to Seasonal Affective Disorder or the so-called "winter depression" caused by lack of sunlight. To compensate for this deficiency, it is recommended to use more fatty fish, for example, herring or products that contain artificial vitamin D.
Yes to minerals!
Try to use more calcium and magnesium. Calcium ensures the normal functioning of the nervous system. This mineral is involved in the process of signal transmission from one nerve cell to another. Its deficiency can lead to "over-excitation" of cells, which is probably one of the physiological causes of anxiety.
Calcium is abundant in dairy products, fish, and spinach.
Many Western researchers, as well as my students, give positive feedback on the use of magnesium in the prevention of anxiety. Magnesium also appears to help reduce anxiety levels. Magnesium is found in yogurt, kefir, spinach, almonds, bananas, mineral water and dark chocolate. Also available in tablets.
Yes, amino acids!
Amino acids are the structural elements that make up the protein. The lack of one or another amino acid can lead to various unpleasant consequences for the body, including anxiety.
I recommend to pay attention to the adequate use of products containing the following amino acids.
Tryptophan. As I wrote, this amino acid is converted to serotonin. Its sufficient maintenance in an organism is important for maintenance of good state of health. Moreover, some studies have demonstrated that tryptophan is just as effective in alleviating the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and insomnia as some antidepressants. Tryptophan is abundant in eggs, cod, soy, cheese, turkey.
Theanine. This amino acid increases the levels of serotonin, dopamine, gamma-aminobutyric acid and glycine in various areas of the brain, increasing your mood and level of calm. Theanine is found in various teas. Maybe that's why green tea, despite its caffeine content, has a more calming effect than coffee.
Tyrosine. Many studies show the antidepressant effect of this amino acid. Tyrosine is found in algae, soybeans, eggs, fish, and turkey.
Yes Omega 3 Fatty Acids
I did not find the time when it was fashionable to give children fish oil, but imagine what a disgusting taste it can have. Fortunately, now there are more ways to get omega 3 fatty acids that are important for the nervous system and brain. They can be taken both in pills and in the composition of fish oil capsules, and simply by eating more oily fish.
Yes, water!
Doctors recommend drinking 2 - 2.5 liters of clean water per day. Naturally, the hotter the climate in which you live, the more intense the load, the greater will be this figure. I recommend to listen to this advice.
What in general?
I understand that after reading these recommendations, the head can go round: how to plan your diet, because so many different tips? In fact, everything is easier than it seems. Now summarize.
Your food should be as diverse as possible: it should contain not only meat with pasta, but also an abundance of both fresh and cooked vegetables, fresh fish, high-quality dairy products. Do not lose sight of fruits and berries, containing a lot of valuable vitamins. Avoid fast food.
My personal opinion is that homemade food, prepared for yourself and with love, is much better and healthier than a restaurant.
Keep track of how much water you drink: take a habit when you wake up first thing to drink a glass of pure water. Do not abuse the sweet. Avoid excessive drinking. Give up cigarettes. Minimize the use of caffeine, it is preferable to use it in the composition of green tea (just not packaged).
It is clear that you cannot expect from each of you the exact and 100% use of these tips. This is normal, we are all people who sometimes want sweet or something tasty, but harmful. And, of course, fresh fruits and vegetables are not always available all year round. Nothing wrong. Do not treat this with fanaticism, I beg you, fanaticism leads to tension, which, in turn, leads to anxiety. Будет замечательно, если вы интегрируете хотя бы часто этих советов в жизнь. Хотя я, конечно, настаиваю на том, чтобы от курения вы отказались полностью.
Многие из вас, должно быть, заметили, что в этих советах нет ничего волшебного. В принципе, их можно отнести не только к анти-стрессовой диете, но к здоровому питанию вообще! Почему же так? Потому что наш уровень тревожности очень тесно связан с состоянием иммунной, сердечно-сосудистой, нервной систем, работа которых отчасти завязана на питании.
Тем не менее, я не хочу, чтобы у вас после прочтения этой статьи сформировалась фобия в отношении еды, которая будет выражаться в том, что вы начнете жестко избегать каких-то продуктов, а в момент приступа панической атаки судорожно ворошить память на предмет: "что же я сегодня съела, что вызвало панику?" Поэтому, еще раз напоминаю, что диета в большинстве процентов случаев не уберет приступы тревоги и паники. Она их просто может снизить.
Но самое главное это то, что здоровое питание (и, как следствие, здоровое состояние тела, нервной системы) просто облегчит вам психологическую работу с тревогой и паникой. Я имею в виду работу над принятием и отпусканием страха, контролем тревожных мыслей, улучшением концентрации и способностью расслабляться, избавлением от негативных установок, устранением частных фобий и т.д. etc.
Чтобы избавиться от паники и тревоги, одной диеты недостаточно, также как и недостаточно занятий физкультурой. Тем не менее, обе этих вещи облегчат вам путь к окончательному избавлению от тревожности. Нельзя избавиться от психологических недугов в одночасье. Необходимо провести комплексную и последовательную работу, одним из элементов которой является анти-стресс диета. И я желаю вам успехов на этом пути. Надеюсь, эта статья была для вас полезной!
