ISSUE #78 cont'd -- Anti-Anxiety Medications continued

Photo: Caer Weber

To continue with my posts on anti-anxiety medications and what else you can do to help relieve your anxiety and stress ...

Diet

While our diet may not cause our stress or anxiety too much caffeine and/or sugar can make us more “hyper” and restless and can possibly contribute to anxiety or make us feel more stressed. The important thing is that eating well can actually be soothing. Taking care of ourself can be comforting. I know that when I’m stressed out or very anxious good self care can help a lot. It’s like having a kind and loving parent take care of me – you know giving me chicken soup or something. And comforting ourself can reduce our anxiety and stress. So ... eating well, giving ourself nourishing food can be just like comforting ourself.

And then there are “comfort” foods which boost our levels of serotonin, a chemical in our brain that makes us feel good. Soup, a bowl of warm oatmeal, whatever it is and something that is healthy, not junk can help us deal with anxiety or stress. Some foods can reduce levels of cortisol and adrenaline which are stress hormones. And some foods boost our immune system and lower our blood pressure – again helping us better cope with anxiety and stress.

And guess what. A small amount of something sweet can be helpful in the short-term. A small hit of sugar can help with a mood swing or reduce stress-induced irritability. The bit of simple sugar is digested quickly and causes a spike in serotonin helping us to feel better for a short while.

Here’s some links with different opinions about diet so take your pick ...

http://psychcentral.com/lib/2006/stress-and-diet-you-arent-what-you-eat/

http://www.webmd.com/diet/slideshow-diet-for-stress-management

http://www.holisticonline.com/stress/stress_diet.htm

And if all else fails you could always try the following plan ...

Instructions for Stress Diet
BREAKFAST:
1/2 grapefruit
1 slice whole wheat toast
8 oz. skim milk

LUNCH:
4 oz. lean broiled chicken breast
1 cup steamed spinach
1 cup herb tea
1 Oreo cookie

MID-AFTERNOON SNACK:
The rest of Oreos in the package
2 pints Rocky Road ice cream, nuts, cherries and whipped cream
1 jar hot fudge sauce

DINNER:
2 loaves garlic bread
4 cans or 1 large pitcher Coke
1 large sausage, mushroom and cheese pizza
3 Snickers bars

LATE EVENING NEWS:
Entire frozen Sara Lee cheesecake (eaten directly from freezer)

RULES FOR THIS DIET:

1. If you eat something and no one sees you eat it, it has no calories.

2. If you drink a diet soda with a candy bar, the diet soda cancels out the calories in the candy bar.

3. When you eat with someone else, calories don't count if you do not eat more than they do.

4. Food used for medicinal purposes NEVER counts, such as hot chocolate, brandy, toast and Sara Lee Cheesecake.

5. If you fatten up everyone else around you, then you look thinner.

6. Movie related foods do not have additional calories because they are part of the entertainment package and not part of one's personal fuel. (Examples: Milk Duds, buttered popcorn, Junior Mints, Red Hots and Tootsie Rolls.)

7. Cookie pieces contain no calories. The process of breaking causes calorie leakage.

8. Things licked off knives and spoons have no calories if you are in the process of preparing something.

9. Foods that have the same color have the same number of calories. (Examples: spinach and pistachio ice cream; mushrooms and mashed potatoes.)

10. Chocolate is a universal color and may be substituted for any other food color.

11. Anything consumed while standing has no calories. This is due to gravity and the density of the caloric mass.

12. Anything consumed from someone else's plate has no calories since the calories rightfully belong to the other person and will cling to his/her plate. (We ALL know how calories like to cling!)

Remember, "stressed" spelled backwards is "desserts."

This is just a joke, folks!