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Thread: Increase in anxiety/panic, when I try to relax!

  1. #21
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    Re: Increase in anxiety/panic, when I try to relax!

    Today, 2 bags of Wotsits! 😂

    I honestly think this is the problem, because I'm not hungry, and eating feels like the last thing I actually want to do, it's hard to fight through the anxiety and generate the effort to bother preparing something. I'm living in a busy house, so someone always prepares an evening meal which I force down, but sometimes that's all I have in a day.

  2. #22
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    Re: Increase in anxiety/panic, when I try to relax!

    Quote Originally Posted by PHR View Post
    Today, 2 bags of Wotsits! 

    I honestly think this is the problem, because I'm not hungry, and eating feels like the last thing I actually want to do, it's hard to fight through the anxiety and generate the effort to bother preparing something. I'm living in a busy house, so someone always prepares an evening meal which I force down, but sometimes that's all I have in a day.
    I'm not going to suggest that your dietary intake is the only reason you feel like sh1t, but it is a considerable source of stress, for sure.

    This is a measurable problem, and sound like the kind of thing you can focus on and work with.

    In some respects you need to learn how to eat again. I have had periods where I could barely scrape 500 calories a day, but that's ok if it only lasts a week or two. When it becomes a chronic problem that lasts for months on end, it can impact your health in many ways, which I think is what you're experiencing.

    I think your goal should be to make sure you get 1500 cals a day for a week. Depending on your evening meal and snacking habit that may already be happening, but empty calories (crisps, chocolate, crap) are meaningless. If you need any help with this let me know as it's something I had to learn and pay attention to for a long time. There are foods you can eat that are both healthy AND allow you to pack easy calories in, and that's where I think you need to start.

    Again, there are more factors at play here, but the fundamental basis of health is good nutrition.

  3. #23
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    Re: Increase in anxiety/panic, when I try to relax!

    Everything is starting to add up a bit here (thanks to you!), I have been smoking more lately, which suppresses your appetite, so I've effectively replaced a decent diet with an increased use of a stimulant, and started running a few km every day, and been pushing my anxiety under instruction from my psychologist, all at the same time.

    Her idea for me is to get up, go for a run pretty much straight away, have a shower, and then eat breakfast. She wants that as my standard start to a day, to set me off on the right foot. I've been struggling with the breakfast bit, so I'm probably just running on bloody empty.

    I started buying breakfast bars to eat, on the days that I really didn't feel like eating anything, to almost take the excuses away. I do however eat lots of empty calories, purely because I am too anxious to prepare and eat proper food.
    My evening meal is always taken care of, so I just need to try and take care of the other 2 meals somehow, and get myself eating.

    Quote Originally Posted by ankietyjoe View Post
    I'm not going to suggest that your dietary intake is the only reason you feel like sh1t, but it is a considerable source of stress, for sure.

    This is a measurable problem, and sound like the kind of thing you can focus on and work with.

    In some respects you need to learn how to eat again. I have had periods where I could barely scrape 500 calories a day, but that's ok if it only lasts a week or two. When it becomes a chronic problem that lasts for months on end, it can impact your health in many ways, which I think is what you're experiencing.

    I think your goal should be to make sure you get 1500 cals a day for a week. Depending on your evening meal and snacking habit that may already be happening, but empty calories (crisps, chocolate, crap) are meaningless. If you need any help with this let me know as it's something I had to learn and pay attention to for a long time. There are foods you can eat that are both healthy AND allow you to pack easy calories in, and that's where I think you need to start.

    Again, there are more factors at play here, but the fundamental basis of health is good nutrition.

  4. #24
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    Re: Increase in anxiety/panic, when I try to relax!

    Without trying to undermine what your psychologist is saying, I would decide for yourself whether running is what you need to do right now. She is correct in suggesting you get up and carry on with your day as normal, but this work output/nutrition input ratio is significant for you right now.

    It's also a bit of a myth that you have to eat breakfast and/or 3 meals a day. If you feel more comfortable eating at a different time, do it. This is more of a holistic bigger picture thing. Your bodily can easily 'run on empty' for a day or two if it has to, it's just far less doable to run on partially empty for weeks or months on end, that's where the damage is done.

    Keep track of what you eat from now on, your diet is a problem right now and this is something you already know. Work out exactly what you're eating, and how much of it. Then you can work out a plan of attack, and do something about it. There are certain foods that are hugely nutritionally dense that will give you well over 500cals in one sitting and you'll barely notice eating them. The junk foods (and we all love them) will take away more than they'll give you. The sugar crash alone can make you feel like crap.

  5. #25
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    Re: Increase in anxiety/panic, when I try to relax!

    To be honest, going for a run is the only thing that brings me any clarity right now, so I wouldn't want to lose that.

    I'm going to try and write a bit of a plan tonight, and stick to it tomorrow, without being too hard on myself (that's my other problem!). I feel like death tonight, my head is all over the place, one of the worst I've been, so I will just try and get through tonight, and give it a proper blast tomorrow, hopefully after a decent nights sleep!

    What foods are they?

  6. #26
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    Re: Increase in anxiety/panic, when I try to relax!

    Quote Originally Posted by PHR View Post
    To be honest, going for a run is the only thing that brings me any clarity right now, so I wouldn't want to lose that.

    I'm going to try and write a bit of a plan tonight, and stick to it tomorrow, without being too hard on myself (that's my other problem!). I feel like death tonight, my head is all over the place, one of the worst I've been, so I will just try and get through tonight, and give it a proper blast tomorrow, hopefully after a decent nights sleep!

    What foods are they?
    Yeah things are just the way they are. Stuff happens, nobody is to blame.

    The foods I think you could add to your diet are -

    Nuts (walnuts, brazil nuts, almonds)
    Seeds (sunflower, chia, pumpkin, hemp)
    Fatty fish (Salmon, Mackerel)
    Avocado
    Potato, Sweet Potato
    Butter

    And as much fresh fruit and veg as you can, preferably veg.

    There are also shakes you might want to try if you have a blender?

    40g oats
    250ml milk (any kind including coconut, almond, cows milk) - just not the low fat variety
    100g frozen berry (any kind, or a mix).
    Scoop of whey protein powder
    5g nutritional yeast
    1 Banana

    This shake alone will give you about 450-500 calories and a ton of nutrition. It's also not a lot of food to 'eat'. If you can stomach this for breakfast, it would be good to have post run and it only takes 5 minutes to prepare.

  7. #27
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    Re: Increase in anxiety/panic, when I try to relax!

    Quote Originally Posted by ankietyjoe View Post
    Yeah things are just the way they are. Stuff happens, nobody is to blame.

    The foods I think you could add to your diet are -

    Nuts (walnuts, brazil nuts, almonds)
    Seeds (sunflower, chia, pumpkin, hemp)
    Fatty fish (Salmon, Mackerel)
    Avocado
    Potato, Sweet Potato
    Butter

    And as much fresh fruit and veg as you can, preferably veg.

    There are also shakes you might want to try if you have a blender?

    40g oats
    250ml milk (any kind including coconut, almond, cows milk) - just not the low fat variety
    100g frozen berry (any kind, or a mix).
    Scoop of whey protein powder
    5g nutritional yeast
    1 Banana

    This shake alone will give you about 450-500 calories and a ton of nutrition. It's also not a lot of food to 'eat'. If you can stomach this for breakfast, it would be good to have post run and it only takes 5 minutes to prepare.
    Sounds good. There's not a lot of that which I like, but again, you have reminded me that I went on a diet a few years ago, was eating more than ever, of the right things. I was also throwing things in a blender, so that could be a good option for me!

    I'm about to have my tea now, mind is racing around trying figure out what's wrong with me, so it will be interesting to see how this goes. These are times when I would avoid eating in the past. I feel like I'm
    scared to stop worrying and thinking about anxiety if that makes any sense.

    I really think you've hit on something with this physical stuff.

  8. #28
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    Re: Increase in anxiety/panic, when I try to relax!

    Let me put this another way.

    You don't want to stop intensive exercising (ok), you don't like the healthy foods that have been suggested to you (ok), you are resistant to the advice that both a psychologist and a recovered anxiety sufferer are giving you (ok).....



    But what you're already doing isn't working is right? Perhaps this is the time to step out of the comfort zone.

    Not a criticism, just a little nudge to hopefully encite a bit of a mental call to arms. A little observation, if you feel fine when your psychologist is about, that's 100% proof that this is something you are bringing on yourself. And that's not a criticism either, I used to do it too, we all did/do.
    Last edited by ankietyjoe; 08-07-20 at 12:48.

  9. #29
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    Re: Increase in anxiety/panic, when I try to relax!

    Quote Originally Posted by ankietyjoe View Post
    Let me put this another way.

    You don't want to stop intensive exercising (ok), you don't like the healthy foods that have been suggested to you (ok), you are resistant to the advice that both a psychologist and a recovered anxiety sufferer are giving you (ok).....



    But what you're already doing isn't working is right? Perhaps this is the time to step out of the comfort zone.

    Not a criticism, just a little nudge to hopefully encite a bit of a mental call to arms. A little observation, if you feel fine when your psychologist is about, that's 100% proof that this is something you are bringing on yourself. And that's not a criticism either, I used to do it too, we all did/do.
    I'm not resistant at all mate, you've raised some very good points which I'm trying to implement.
    I think I need to exercise, eat more, and just get on with it all, regardless of how I feel, which I did last night, and am continuing to do today, even though I'm feeling dreadful.

  10. #30
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    Re: Increase in anxiety/panic, when I try to relax!

    There’s definitely a case for “fake it until you make it”, but sometimes doing that is just avoiding the issue. And I’m not saying that to be patronising because I am a great procrastinator.

    A lot of the things you are doing are good. It takes a while to create new habits, so whilst they might make you feel a little bit uncomfortable at first, they often just need to sink in. Your anxiety didn’t get built in a day either.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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