Diet to reduce anxiety?

I suffer from a mental health disorder that includes overwhelming anxiety at times, to where I can't even leave the house. Diet and exercise do help. (I also take medication but I find it works much better when I'm working on being physically healthy as well.)

I don't know the science of it, but foods with protein help make me feel calmer. Maybe because it fills you up more. Eggs, chicken, beans. When I include those regularly into my diet, life gets a little easier.

I also generally focus on home workouts. (I do use my apartment complex's gym, but only at times when I know it won't be crowded.) Not having to get dressed, drive, deal with strangers and loud music that's out of my control helps ALOT. I use Youtube videos.

I found that once I started running my anxiety and stress started to lessen making me feel like a much normal person. Something about setting a good pace and the rhythm of it is calming.

I have anxiety/panic disorder. I don't need a diet plan or anything, I just find working out (especially cardio) helps me as well as the feeling of control I get by eating clean. In fact, the start of my journey began at a time where I was severely in a life-rut because of anxiety/depression. These days I feel entirely normal, and I credit it all to a new healthy lifestyle.

I have a lot more little tips, but I just thought I'd share my experience in hopes it inspires you and lets you know you can do it.

I don't have any other suggestions but just wanted to say that I'm impressed that you are courageous enough to step and ask for help. Praying you are able to work through your aniexty in a healthy, lasting way.

Dealt with anxiety my entire life. I find that exercise definitely helps. Also since starting a more natural diet (i.e. avoiding additives, lots o' veggies) my anxiety has been better. I'm a calmer and less depressed.

I tried to use natural methods to treat my anxiety up until about 2 years ago (I'm 29). Depending on how severe your anxiety is, diet and exercise can help. But nothing compares to the right medication. I recommend going to a psych, it changed my life.

Hey. Im new here and am looking for anybody who has dealt with anxiety in anyway. Im hoping that if I start working out and eating better my anxiety will lessen or hopefully be gone for good. Does anybody have experience with this and have some good tips and maybe a diet plan. Im 21, 6'' and weigh 220. My goal is to drop down to 180, but most of all my biggest concern is removing the anxiety. Any tips, diet plans or even workouts that possibly focus on anxiety would be immensly appreciated. Thanks and best of luck to you all on MFP.

eliminate caffeine and nicotine. you may have to cut out green tea as well (known to cause anxiety in some people). eat more carbs and do more cardio.

One of the keys to dealing with Anxiety Disorders is to find the root cause rather than simply be symptomatic. Meds do help as well as exercise and a proper diet oriented toward the various degree of the disorder and the makeup of the person. It can be as simple as a chemical imbalance or as complex as negative experiences...or both in most cases.

I would suggest having a full blood workup done and if that is an anxiety trigger, just med up and have someone take you. It can be very revealing to see if you are missing some "key ingredients" to your overall diet.

For some of my patients, getting them to a lower carb diet with the proper proteins was part of the solution. For others, the opposite. In all cases, many had suffered some or several life events that we dealt with for a healthier mind. The mind can indeed feel happiness, sadness, grief, joy, fear, etc. all at once and at times that can indeed be overwhelming in the TMI department and trigger a panic attack (one example).

Panic and Anxiety are a form of pain and any pain is a symptom, not the cause. Finding the cause can take awhile, but treating the immediate symptoms for you will be unique as to diet. I have to stay away from vitamin B in general as it can make me anxious, but for others, it calms them down. I have one client that smokes a cigarette when having anxiety and it calms them down as does caffeine. All to say, you are you and your life is unique.

See a professional if you can that specialized in anxiety, stress, and panic and find one that is out for the cure...not just to string you out on various SSRIs and benzodiapines...both which can be very helpful.

I wish you well and if I may be of service to you, let me know. I'm not just a counselor, but someone who is now panic free via diet, exercise, meditation, and surrounding myself with wonderful people. I keep the toxic peeps at a distance. Life is to short to live in any form of anxiety hell. I also have a very loving and supportive wife and a deep faith.

Peace,

Dr. Dave

I have PTSD, and I've found that diet, exercise and sufficient sunlight really helps, AFTER therapy/counselling. i.e. like the poster above said, other things only treat the symptoms, but IMO they do that well.

Here's what I've found:

1. really strenuous exercise really helps to get rid of stress hormones from the system and replace them with endorphins. With anxiety disorders, a lot of the symptoms are caused by having too much of the stress hormones constantly circulating in your system. this then causes a whole range of physical and mental symptoms. Getting rid of them really helps you to feel better. Personally I do heavy lifting (currently doing stronglifts 5x5) and have found this to be extremely effective... but I think any kind of very strenuous exercise would have the same effect, and less strenuous exercise, even just going for a walk, does help too, although I find that the more intense the exercise the better it works.

2. I find that low blood sugar makes it a lot worse, i.e. more likely to get triggered, and generally feeling more anxious. I don't skip meals, and while eating programmes like intermittent fasting can work very well for some people, they are *not* for me at all!! I also don't do low carb, for the same reason. But I do try to ensure that I eat healthy carbs, because the wrong kind of carbs can get you in a cycle of blood sugar highs and lows which is just as bad as not having enough carbs.

3. lack of healthy fat has been linked in some studies to an increased risk of suicide... the brain is an organ in the body, it won't function right if it doesn't get the right nutrients. The brain needs a lot of the right kind of fat (i.e. essential fatty acids) to function right (amongst many other nutrients, including carbs). Also, insufficient vitamin D has been shown to worsen depression and even cause depression in some cases. Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin, so it's found in foods that contain healthy fat, e.g. full fat dairy, egg yolks, fish oil. I aim for balanced macros, i.e. 40% carb, 30% fat, 30% protein. this ensures I'm getting enough healthy fat and enough healthy carbs for my brain to run well, and my brain running well = coping with an anxiety disorder a LOT better. Also, vitamin D supplements may be necessary if your levels are really low.

4. Vitamin D also comes from sunlight. We evolved outdoors getting plenty of exposure to sun, nature, and fresh air. Lack of sunlight has been proven to be detrimental to mental health, maybe nature and fresh air just make you feel good, but in any case, i find it essential to get out during daylight hours on a regular basis, preferably somewhere green rather than in the city.

5. All of these things are just treating the symptoms not the cause, so definitely do whatever kind of therapy/counselling is effective for the anxiety disorder that you have. In some cases, this can completely cure the anxiety disorder, in other cases it never goes away completely, but counselling/therapy by someone who knows what they're doing (check their qualifications and experience) can go a long way to stopping it from messing up your entire life.

I find running very effective. Even long distance hiking and lifting weights help, but there seems to be something about running.