How to Know if Your Anxiety is More Than Just in Your Head
Anxiety is often considered simply a mental health condition- and treated as such, as if it has nothing to do with the body below the neck.
You’re given therapy, grounding skills, acceptance techniques and maybe medication. But what happens when those things aren’t enough? What if you know something deeper is going on? Is there anything else you can do?
As a functional nutrition practitioner, I view chronic, unrelenting anxiety as a symptom of a deeper issue in the body. It is not the natural state of humans to be anxious, though anxiety occurs at times. When it becomes the norm for someone to experience anxiety more often than not, especially without a clear and justifiable cause for the anxiety, my attention turns to the body.
Anxiety is a common symptom of blood sugar dysregulation, nervous system imbalances, and poor gut health, yet these things are rarely addressed in typical anxiety treatments. In my work, I take clients deeper, looking beyond the surface, to figure out what in their body might be driving symptoms of anxiety.
Disclaimer: I am not anti-therapy for anxiety, in fact I have done it myself for years. It is a CRUCIAL piece to anxiety treatment, and I would recommend it to anyone who is anxious. However, there is more to the story than talk therapy alone.
Here are some ways you may be able to tell if your anxiety is deeper than “just being worried”:
Grounding skills, breath work, or mindfulness have not made much of an impact on your anxiety
You have any gut symptoms at all - gas, bloating, diarrhea or constipation with anxiety. In this case, the gut is likely driving anxiety to some degree
Your anxiety gets worse when your stomach is upset
You know deep down there is a physical cause - I find that a lot of the times when anxiety is being driven by deeper physiological imbalances, clients just know there is something deeper going on
You get anxious after meals, or are more anxious in the mornings
If this is you, you are in the right place. Knowing that your anxiety may be more than just a mental manifestation of worry is an empowering and potentially life-changing realization to make. You have to know what the problem is in order to fix it.
Speaking of fixing it, here are some deeper things I consider when working with chronically anxious clients:
Overall amino acid consumption - amino acids are the building blocks of protein. When you eat protein, it is broken down into individual amino acids, which your body then ships off to different locations to be used in other ways. One of those ways they are used is to produce calming neurotransmitters such as serotonin, GABA, and dopamine. If you do not have enough amino acids, you may not have enough calming neurotransmitters, leading to worsened anxiety
B vitamin levels - B vitamins are required to help convert amino acids into those neurotransmitters I mentioned, and low levels of B vitamins can leave the amino acids unable to produce the calming, regulating effects they are aiming for
Magnesium levels - similar to B vitamins, magnesium is a co-factor for hundreds of processes in the body, including many processes that serve to calm, relax, and balance the body both mentally and physically. When there is a deficiency or a need for magnesium, people lack these calming, relaxing effects, and may experience increased anxiety
Immune functioning/inflammation - one of the main mediators in the body responsible for creating an overactive, anxious, unsettled feeling in the body is histamine, which is one of the main players for your immune system. You may be aware that anti-histamines, particularly histamine blockers, are often used as medication to treat anxiety. Though these can be helpful, if histamine is contributing to your anxiety, you’d be better served addressing why your body is either producing too much or is too sensitive to histamine.
Blood sugar imbalances - this applies to everyone, not just diabetics. When our blood sugar rises and falls too quickly, the body releases stress hormones to try to bring it back up to a normal level. What this feels like in the body is jittery, shaky, irritable anxiety that comes out of nowhere. There are SO MANY seemingly healthy things you may be doing that are sabotaging your blood sugar and worsening anxiety - I’m looking at you, caffeine-aholics!
If this sounds like you, you may be wondering what to do about this. First, it is important to seek out the care of a qualified nutritionist who has experience in navigating the spectrum of potential causes for anxiety. This is my specialty, and something I would love to support you with. Click here to schedule a free strategy call with me.
If you want to get started right away, here are some things you can try:
1g/protein per pound of body weight per day (ex. if you are 150lbs, aim for 150g/protein daily) Think back to the section about amino acids - getting enough protein is key in making sure your body has what it needs to produce proper levels of neurotransmitters and happy hormones
Fiber!! Prioritizing good fiber intake and your gut health will take you far with anxiety. This is a long game though, and the longer you work on it, the better you will feel. Listen to this podcast episode for more on fiber for mental health.
Lemon Balm, Tulsi, or chammomile tea - all are considered nervines, which means they act on the nervous system to help regulate it. These are my go tos for anxiety!
Work with me! :) Let’s get you feeling grounded and peaceful again! Mention this blog post for 10% off a nutrition package!
Much love,
Julia
This blog was written by me- no AI! Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! :)
