When I asked what you guys would like me to write about, I heard ‘ADHD’ and ‘anxiety’ from my FB friends. I think the 2 are very much related – some of the same symptoms, and anxiety seems to be a key piece of ADHD. Since I know a little more about anxiety, I thought we could start there. It’s not a small subject and seems to be appearing more and more in patient charts that I see – especially for younger people.

The definition I found of anxiety seems about right: excessive worry, fear, or dread that interferes with daily living. It can manifest in physical symptoms like increased heart rate, chest pain, shortness of breath, restlessness, insomnia, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating (this is not an exhaustive list). If you are having some of these symptoms for the first time – please PLEASE first get all physical causes eliminated. Get checked out by your doctor. If other illnesses have been ruled out, I highly suggest counseling for long-term or persistent anxiety. I will give other suggestions, including herbs and flower essences in part 2, but counseling should teach you to deal with the root cause of your anxiety, whatever it is. My suggested therapeutics are more for acute anxiety than chronic.

In my opinion, some anxiety is normal. Feeling nervous walking down a dark street in the not-so-safe area of town? Normal. Watching where you step when you are in rattlesnake territory? Normal. Not leaving your house because you are terrified of being mugged or bitten by a snake? Probably not normal.

So, if you have the ‘not normal, interfering with daily life, I need to do something about this’ type, what are some things you can do while you are waiting to see a counselor or physician?

• Mindfulness, meditation, prayer. Acknowledging there is a problem is the first step to solving it, and naming something gives you some amount of power over it. Praying is always good – again, giving it over to a higher power. If you are not a religious person, meditation or mindfulness practices are easy to google. Set a short time limit of 5-10 minutes (which I know seems like eternity when you are stressing) and focus on your breathing. I like the practice of naming 1 thing you can taste, 2 things you can smell, 3 things you can hear, 4 things you can feel, and 5 things you can see to help break the panicking mindset. Another is to look up at all the corners of the ceiling and focus on each one for several seconds. I’ve been told this helps the primitive areas of the brain realize that there is no danger sneaking up on you.
• Cut back on stimulants. If you are doing cocaine or meth, stop if possible. It’s very unhealthy. Legal stimulants can exacerbate anxiety as well – caffeine, taurine, guarana, other things found in energy drinks. Marijuana can also contribute to anxiety. It’s a bit of conundrum – what you started using marijuana for becomes the symptom of both withdrawal and excess. While marijuana is not considered a stimulant, it can provoke anxiety.
• Look at your diet. There is a huge link between our gut microbiota and health and our mental health. If you have a known food allergy/sensitivity/intolerance, it can be contributing to your anxiety. It’s kind of a chicken or egg thing: Does the food intolerance cause the anxiety (due to social situations or concern about being dosed) or does the anxiety exacerbate food allergy symptoms (nausea, itching, brain fog, restlessness, increased heart rate, dizziness, etc)? Inflammation in the gut can affect production of serotonin (the hormone that helps to regulate mood, sleep, cognitive functions, and contentment) and nothing will irritate your gut more than eating what you know you should avoid.
• Slow down if you can. I think we sometimes feel we are judged on how busy we are and how much we accomplish. Getting things done on time and correctly puts a big weight on us mentally. See if taking some things off your plate lessens the amount of anxiety you feel.
• And now – to totally just add something to your plate (!) – think about doing a food and symptom diary. Most people I know do not correlate what they eat to how they feel unless they are eating something new or in unusually large amounts. It doesn’t take much to have a reaction to a food your body does not like, and sometimes it will not show up immediately as your body can react to allergens by releasing endorphins as well. We humans are quite complicated, you know.

I’ll be back next week with herbs and flower essences for anxiety. In the meantime, breathe, pray, eat good food, and try not to be so hard on yourself. Love you, my friends!