Building Anxiety Resilience

Let’s face it. It’s hard right now. We’re bombarded daily with all the doom and gloom in the world, we can’t see our family and friends and we definitely can’t hug them! We’re faced with the possibility of illness, financial stress and isolation…fun times heh? It’s no surprise that anxiety rates are rising as we scramble to get a grip on the continually changing rules of lockdown.
These are my 4 foundation blocks to build anxiety resilience. They are not the only things so please reach out for more help if you need it!
Sleep- We need a good 7-8 hours of good quality sleep a night. Without this our stress hormones run rampant. We crave stimulants in the form of coffee, carbs and sugar. And all contribute to energy peaks and troughs that set off our anxiety. Good sleep hygiene includes a dark room, skip the coffee after midday and limit screens an hour before bed. Switch to an old-fashioned bath, book and then bed routine. Waking in the middle of the night? Look after your liver with lots of fresh greens, dandelion tea and plenty of water to flush the toxins out.
Gut health- our gut is the cornerstone of our mental health. Without good gut health our happy hormones just don’t thrive. We need fresh fruit and veg with lots of fibre to keep belly bugs happy and our mental health on track. I know you stocked up on pasta but in the interest of your mental health skip it and have a pile of fresh veg instead! Naturally fermented foods like sauerkraut help too.
Vitamin D- I was a bit sneaky here because while Vit D is uber important for mental health you need to be outside to get it. Breathe the fresh air, listen to the birds and get your body moving! You can just lie in the sun but outdoor activity like walking means you are getting the sunshine vitamin and also exercise which is also awesome for anxiety suffers. Double whammy!  
Alcohol- Alcohol has a lesser known, but huge and real, side effect called anxiety. It also interferes with your sleep and the way you metabolise food. Don’t fall into this trap. Here are some figures. A standard drink is 100ml of red wine or 375ml of a commercial mid-strength beer- roughly. Australian recommendations are 4 standard drinks a day but less than 10 per week in total. How do you stack up?
By building these strong foundations we can keep anxiety at bay and make our time in lockdown a far more pleasant space to be!
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