Anxiety attacks’ symptoms differ from one person to another, but they are an experience that one is not likely to forget. In many cases they mimic heart attacks, which is why many panic attack sufferers are rushed to the emergency rooms of the hospitals. In order to reduce the frequency to their occurrences and their severity, apart from consulting a medical professional and acting on his or her recommendations, there is a lot that one can do on his or her own in order to alleviate stress and lessen your worries.
Choosing a healthy and balanced diet is a step in the right direction. When you eat the right food and take care of yourself your body will perform at its best. There are many different foods that you can incorporate into your diet that will help with dealing with anxiety. There are also certain foods and drinks you should try to avoid.
1. Very important is the daily consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. Eating plenty of these high nutrient foods will not only make you feel better mentally, but it will also be good for your physical health as well.
2. Eat complex carbohydrates, such as potatoes, whole-wheat bread and pasta. In order to keep your blood sugar level under control it is important to eat at least three meals per day and two snacks in between meals. Studies have shown that when a person’s blood sugar drops this can actually cause them to feel anxious. One should also never miss breakfast – most dieticians recommend having your meal within one hour of getting out of bed.
3. Drink enough water – the quantity depends on the person’s weight and his physical activities, but as a rule one should drink at least eight glasses of water every day. Even mild dehydration will affect one’s mood.
4. Many people are sensitive to certain types of food, food ingredients or spices, the most common being dairy products, nuts, shellfish, and wheat. If you notice that certain type of food alters your mood then try your best to avoid it.
5. It also very beneficial for a person that is dealing with anxiety to take multi-vitamin supplements! The vitamin that many medical practitioners recommend to the anxiety sufferers is the B vitamin; you can increase its intake either by purchasing supplements, or increase the percentage of B vitamin rich food in your diet.
6. If you are a coffee lover you should consider switching to tea or decaffeinated coffee. The caffeine is a well known stimulant and when taken in large quantities can actually induce anxiety attacks. You should also be aware of the fact that teas and certain sodas contain caffeine as well- make sure that you read the labels before buying your next bottle of fuzzy drink.
7. Avoid drinking alcohol or if you are a social drinker stick to a glass of wine; even though the link between alcohol and illegal substance abuse has not been fully understood, it has been proven that about 20% of the anxiety and depression sufferers in the US also suffer from alcohol or other substance abuse disorder.
By following some of the dieting recommendations in this article you will not only live a healthier life holistically, but you will also be treating your anxiety in a very productive way. Of course, in case of severe and frequent anxiety attacks you should always consult a doctor, seek therapy or medicine treatment, but in conjunction you should also change your diet, exercise, and apply some basic self-management techniques which will help you live a normal life with less stress and worries.
===================================================================
The fear of an anxiety attack by itself can trigger an attack. This is true as reported by many anxiety disorder patients and after resolving the “meta” fear, most reported an immediate cessation of anxiety attacks.