With all that has gone on in the last year it comes as no surprise to me that one of the commonest enquiries I get is about how to cope with anxiety.
In the Daily Telegraph this Saturday one member of the government Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviour (SPI-B) admitted that, “The way we have used fear is dystopian. The use of fear has definitely been ethically questionable. It’s like a weird experiment. Ultimately it backfired because people became too scared.”
To layer such unethical methods on top of our modern way of living has caused enormous distress and deep fear and anxiety. The problem in the modern world is that we have created a way of living and working that is totally at odds with our basic needs.
We are encouraged to be consumers, forever chasing the next purchase rather than sitting, quietly contemplating life, nature, our family and the simple pleasures of just ‘being’.
In everyday life we face so much stress from work, travelling on packed roads and public transport. Demands from work, an incessant bombardment of information from our phones, pressures from social media. Truly we can feel that we are being dragged along by the currents rather than in control of our own destiny.
Such stress causes hormone changes in our body that contribute to ill health, be that physically or mentally.
There are ways to dissipate this stress and the most important one is physical activity. We are moving machines and our body loves movement and responds to movement with an ability to be healthier. This can be vigorous high intensity work outs or more meditative practices such as yoga and pilates.
Limiting intake of sugar, alcohol and processed foods is very important. Our gut is the seat of all emotions with more emotional neurons in it than in our brain, hence the term ‘gut feeling’. Throwing unhealthy food into your digestive system is not only a surefire way to poor physical health but will also have a profound effect on your mental wellbeing. Gluten is also another troublemaker for mental health and anxiety. It sits in your gut and acts as an irritant which then irritates your mind. Stay away from it for a good three months to see a difference.
Many people report that CBD products lift their mood and calm them down. The CBD One Signature Blend oils tend to be nicely calming so are a great starting point whilst the water soluble Absorb range are fast acting and gently energising too.
Many people use the Absorb during the day and a few drops of calming oil in the evening.
Taking a probiotic such as Pro-cognitiv by Nature’s Aid or Mind by Bio Kult is also useful as is eating a fermented food like sauer kraut, kimchi or kefir.
Balance for nerves by Higher Nature is also lovely and quick acting as is rhodiola root. Both can be bought in capsule form.
A Vogel do excellent herbal remedies of which their Passiflora complex is really lovely, safe and effective. They also do Hyperiforce which is superb, just be careful if you are taking the contraceptive pill and using this one.
Magnesium can also help with anxiety.There are many to try out, we currently have Magnesium Citrate on the website though we have many more in store.
Regular meditation using apps like Buddhify with quick, easy meditations that over time can help calm you down and create more mental awareness of destructive or negative thought patterns is also a useful tool.
I heartily recommend the book ‘The power of now’ by Eckhart Tolle and please always hold onto the essential hope that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. I wish you all peace and joy.
