Author Topic: how to beat anxiety and depression part 6-the foods we eat (Read 287 times)

Nigga_With_An_Additude · « **on:** February 06, 2008, 01:13:41 PM »

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MEGGAN Put an end to debilitating anxiety and depression‏
From: Lucinda Bassett (attackinganxiety@attackinganxiety.com)
Sent: Wed 2/06/08 3:26 AM
Reply-to: attackinganxiety@attackinganxiety.com
To: mm1970@hotmail.com

21-Day Mini-Program: Session 5
How to Starve Your Anxiety & Depression of the Fuel it Needs to Thrive

Hello MEGGAN,
it's Lucinda!
Welcome to session 5 of my free course...

I hope you've been carrying your notebook with you over the last few days and writing down your negative thoughts as they occur. What I learned from participants in our therapy groups over the years is that when asked, nobody could ever remember their negative thoughts. After I suggested this notebook exercise, participants would come in with pages and pages full of negative thoughts.

I guess negative thinking is such a well-ingrained behavior for most of us that we don't even realize we're doing it.

That's why it's so important to write down these thoughts immediately. It will be impossible to change these negative, exhausting thoughts unless you take the time to grab them as they occur and rewrite them in a more honest, realistic, and healthy perspective.

Today we're going to examine the role that diet and nutrition plays in our emotional health and the anxious response. You choose what you eat and what you drink, and it plays such a major role in anxiety and depression. There are substances you will need to limit or eliminate altogether from your diet. There are foods that you can actually turn to for healthy comfort when you're feeling nervous and anxious.

You have no right to whine and complain about how miserable you feel if you choose to fill yourself full of caffeine, sugar, alcohol, cigarettes and high-fatty foods on a daily basis.

Let's take a look at how you might fight this anxiety and depression more effectively through diet, nutrition, and exercise here in session 5 of my free 7-session course titled:

How to Overcome Anxiety and Depression and Start Living Life with Confidence, Joy and Peace of Mind.

Okay, let's begin...

Here's What You Can Expect in My FREE Course:

Session 1: Lucinda's Story: You're Not Losing Your Mind.
Session 2: Where Does Your Anxiety and Depression Come From?
Session 3: How to Stop a Dreaded Attack Before it Starts.
Session 4: Self Sabotage: Are You Destroying Yourself from the Inside Out?
Session 5: How to Starve Your Anxiety & Depression of the Fuel it Needs to Thrive
Session 6: How to Take Control of Anger, Guilt, and other Toxic, Negative Emotions
Session 7: From Victim to Victor - Never Let Stress Rule Your Life Again
MEGGAN, remember to save this in your email folder named: 'Lucinda Bassett's Mini Life Makeover.' Also, print this information right now so you can read it when you are offline.

Session Five: How to Starve Your Anxiety & Depression of the Fuel it Needs to Thrive The two substances you must avoid and the foods that will help you increase your energy, reduce stress, and make you feel alive again.

Does your story sound like this?
"When I first started the diet, exercise, and nutrition portion of the Attacking Anxiety & Depression program, I had the feeling this would be a 'light' lesson. However, I decided to give it the same amount of time and effort that I had put into the previous ones. I'm very glad I did.

I look at it this way. When I made the commitment to purchase this program, and then took the next step and made the commitment to WORK the program, what I did was make a commitment to learn and try new techniques. I made a commitment to change my old way of approaching life in favor of a new and untried way of approaching life. For the first time, I really invested in myself. My thinking was... why take a short-cut at this point?

I did not think I had issues with caffeine or sugar, but this was just a guess. My system hadn't been without either for as long as I could remember. So, when I eliminated caffeine and cut way, way back on the sugar and then used this lesson to help myself work exercise back into being a part of my life, I did noticed the impact and positive changes in my sleep routine, in my anxiety level and body symptoms.

I have remained mostly caffeine free all this time since. I say mostly because, I am back to eating chocolate... and there is caffeine in chocolate. Besides this I am caffeine free and I have plans to lower my chocolate intake once again. By following Session 5 in the program, I do believe I learned that these stimulants do affect my system more than I would have believed they did."

Justin Davis, CO

A woman named Helen came to group one night and told us that her parents were arriving from out of town for Easter. She was having anticipatory anxiety, she was nervous, running around the house trying to clean everything and make it all perfect.

Since they had made the kids Easter baskets, there was lots of chocolate in the house. Helen nibbled on chocolate all day long and by early evening, she was completely wired and driving her husband crazy. She felt anxious about what her parents might think of her house. She was ordering her husband around, assigning chores, and telling him what a slob he was. She was yelling at the kids for every little toy out of place, desperately trying to keep everything immaculate.

Helen has having a stress attack brought on by eating chocolate.

She was already anxious because she was perfectionistic and her parents were coming. She wanted them to think the house, her husband, and her children were perfect. When she started eating chocolate, she was adding fuel to the fire.

I'm convinced that no matter how much you learn about compassionate self-talk, expectations, and scary, obsessive thoughts, you won't be in control of your anxiety until you change your diet. You may be diligent in writing down your negative thoughts, in being compassionate with yourself and taking risks, but there's no getting around it:

What you eat affects the way you feel emotionally and physically.

Some people who are trying to overcome their problems with stress, anxiety, and depression start out their day by consuming two cups of coffee, a couple of sugar donuts, and a few cigarettes and wonder why they end up having a panic attack on their way to work.

Come on? Would you kick start your dog's day off with a breakfast so completely void of nutrition?

Caffeine and refined sugar - two of the most diabolical substances the anxiety sufferer can consume.

Given our anxious personality type, the last thing we need is a little more hitch in our giddy-up. Even in our natural resting state we're zipped and jazzed. These substances only put us over the edge.

Caffeine is one of the most common substances that will trigger the stress response in your body. Consider the following:

• A six-ounce cup of coffee contains 108 milligrams of caffeine.
• A six-ounce cup of tea contains 90 milligrams of caffeine.
• A twelve-ounce glass of cola contains 60 milligrams of caffeine.
• A one-ounce piece of chocolate contains 20 milligrams of caffeine.

Just 250 milligrams of caffeine per day is considered excessive and can result in the following effects:
• Anxiety
• Nervousness
• Irritability
• Diarrhea
• Irregular heart-beat
• Inability to concentrate
• Upset stomach

Caffeine elevates the blood cholesterol in your body, reduces iron in your blood, and flushes the water out of your body, causing lethargy and muscle discomfort.

Although each person is different, the facts are:

Two hundred fifty milligrams is the amount of caffeine considered excessive, and many people are adversely affected by a much smaller amount.

Many medications and foods contain caffeine. People who suffer from anxiety disorder can have a panic attack or feel nervous from the caffeine in a half cup of coffee or, from the trace amounts found in certain headache remedies.

Read the labels and be aware of what you're ingesting. It could mean the difference between a joyful experience and fighting off another panic attack.

Let's talk for a minute about refined sugar.

According to Dr. Phillip Fisher, Medial Director of the Midwest Center for Stress & Anxiety, refined sugar is a major problem for anxious people, children and adults alike. The problem with refined sugar is that it makes blood sugar levels in the body fluctuate. When your levels drop too low, the body produces insulin and sometimes overshoots which can result in shaking and trembling.

Does this sound familiar? Doesn't it remind you of the symptoms of a panic attack? It feels similar because adrenaline is released in an attempt to raise the blood sugar. Both refined sugar and white flour deplete important B vitamins from your system, once again causing body symptoms similar to those caused by caffeine.

Sugar in any form is not necessary and often contradicts good health.

If you are someone who consumes a lot of caffeine and refined sugar, you will want to begin eliminating these substances from your diet. But start gradually. It will be much easier to kick your stimulant habit if you cut back a little at a time.

Now let's look at some foods that have the potential to positively affect your mood.

Foods that Uplift: Protein!

• Lean beef
• Chicken (without the skin)
• Fish
• Peanut butter
• Cottage cheese
• Yogurt
• Cheese (all dairy products should be low-fat)
• Peas
• Beans
• Soy milk
• Tofu

Foods that calm: Carbohydrates!
Whole grain breads
Whole grain crackers
Corn
Pasta/ starches
Potatoes
Brown rice

Low fat, high protein breakfasts give you energy. Fatty breakfasts drain you.

If you get tired or experience a case of the doldrums in the late afternoon, instead of sugar or caffeine, eat some protein.

It's also good to know that when you can't get fresh vegetables, frozen vegetables contain almost as many nutrients. When you eat canned vegetables, be sure to use the liquid in the can as it will have absorbed many of the vitamins.

Do you want to sleep better? Have a banana or some turkey before retiring to bed. They are both high in tryptophane, an amino acid that aids in sleep (Have you ever wondered why your house turns into the 'House of Snore' immediately following Thanksgiving dinner?). Or, try a cup of chamomile tea.

Finally, try and get some moderate exercise daily.

Exercise is an ideal way to reduce tension by burning off anxious energy. Exercise will lift your spirits. Brief periods of moderate aerobic workouts can raise the levels of 'feel good' chemicals in the brain such as endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine.

A study recently published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine concluded that exercise may be more effective than drugs in treating mild to moderate depression.

And scientists at Duke University Medical Center tested exercise against Zoloft, and found the ability of either -- or a combination of the two -- to reduce or eliminate symptoms were about the same. They found that exercise seemed to do a better job of keeping symptoms from coming back after the depression had lifted. The patients in this study had been diagnosed with major depressive disorder.

This report followed earlier research in which 156 adult volunteers had taken part in a four-month comparison of exercise, Zoloft or a combination. The exercise primarily consisted of brisk walking, stationary bike riding, or jogging for 30 minutes, plus a 10-minute warm-up and 5-minute cool-down, three times a week.

About the Author:
Lucinda Bassett
Founder, CEO of the Midwest Center for
Stress & Anxiety.
For more than 1 million anxiety sufferers, Lucinda Bassett is a symbol of hope and strength. Severely affected by anxiety, panic, and depression in her 20s, she found the help she needed to overcome anxiety and depression. Determined to help others do the same, she founded the acclaimed Midwest Center for Stress and Anxiety.

Lucinda is also a nationally renowned motivational speaker and presenter. Her techniques have been shared with a variety of major corporations, professional associations and medical and educational institutions.

She has appeared on hundreds of local and national radio and television programs including Oprah, The View, Montel and Robert Schuller's Hour of Power. Plus, Lucinda and her work have been featured in a variety of high-profile publications, including Health, FamilyCircle®, Cosmopolitan and even the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

Most important, Lucinda is dedicated to helping those who are needlessly suffering from anxiety and depression. It is her life's work and her solemn commitment.

You will do much better at handling anxiety, stress, scary thoughts, depression, tiredness, nervousness, lack of self-esteem - almost everything - if you start an exercise program. There IS one right for you.

By eating less sugar and avoiding caffeine you will feel less anxious. By exercising daily you will feel less stressed and less depressed. These things work! Give yourself four weeks or so to adjust to these new behaviors. Trust me, you will feel better and you'll feel more in control.

Are these changes easy? Heck no! We've heard it said that people will elect to take medications or have surgery rather than change their eating habits.

We deserve to be treated with love and respect. How are YOU treating yourself?

Over the next few days, try to incorporate some of the dietary suggestions we talked about today. Begin limiting your intake of caffeine and sugar. If you have a particularly anxious day, end your day by consuming some turkey, a banana, or chamomile tea.

Talk to your doctor about starting an exercise routine.

In our next session I'm going to show you how you can take control of toxic, negative emotions that can literally make you sick. Anger, guilt, worry, and years of constant stress from these negative emotions can ultimately damage your body, permanently.

Now is the time to learn to release these dangerous emotions... we'll talk in just a few days.

Here's to the new you,

P.S. MEGGAN, if you're looking for a little more on today's session paste the following link into your browser for a quick video presentation: http://www.stresscenter.com/sessionprg/session5.htm

P.S.S If you don't want to wait a few days for my next email you can paste the following link into your browser and go through my step-be-step program revealing all of the secrets to finally taking control and enjoying life again. The complete story is told at: www.stresscenter.com/store

© Midwest Center for Stress and Anxiety, Inc. 2007
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