Mental health is a taboo subject. It’s something that many people struggle with and unfortunately, too many struggle silently. For many mild cases of anxiety and depression – they are often chalked off as feeling the same as everyone else around you. However, mild cases of anxiety and depression still need to be addressed and shouldn’t be ignored.
As an Institute for Integrative Nutrition health coach, I make it practice to help individuals understand alternative approaches to mainstream problem areas. Understanding your anxiety is a key component of improving and lessening your anxiety symptoms on a daily basis. There are stressors and triggers for anxiety and depression that are in our control – and then there are those that are out of our control. Once you are able to identify the type of stressor in the current situation – you are one step closer to managing your anxiety and depression. All too often so many of us get tangled in situations we cannot control – and while we cannot control the outcome, we need to be aware and realize we can control our response to the situation.
Mild cases of anxiety and depression can be managed by lifestyle habits – these are cases that you have already spoken with your doctor about. Creating a healthy lifestyle is not all about running and drinking green smoothies every day – but it’s also important to take our mindset into consideration and practice lifestyle habits that can be brought with you throughout your life.
Here are a few ways you can reduce your depression and anxiety symptoms by focusing on a few lifestyle changes:
Create a routine — your body and your mind is designed to know what to expect. Simple routines let our bodies know what to expect and when to expect it which in turn lowers our stress and anxiety levels. In many cases, anxiety comes with the unknown, so the more unknown you can take out of your life – the easier it will be to manage anxiety levels. Creating new routines can be very simple – start by going to bed at the same time each night and waking up each morning at the same time!
4-7-8 breathing — this breathing technique is designed to help you breathe deeper, from your diaphragm. Practicing conscious breathing like this will help you clear your mind, reset your focus and decrease your anxiety. This technique assists to calm the nervous system and helps you get out of the fight-or-flight stage that is triggered by fear and/or worry. How to do 4-7-8 breathing: start by fully exhaling to remove all air from your lungs. Inhale for a count of 4, hold that breath for a count of 7, exhale for a count of 8. Repeat for four cycles.
Move your body — moving your body daily is extremely important to manage mild cases of anxiety and depression. Getting into the practice of moving your body daily can significantly lower your depression and anxiety symptoms and assist with staying in a healthy mental state. Moving your body daily can look different to everyone and it will even look differently for you each day. You don’t have to go to the gym for an hour each day to move your body – some days you can take a group fitness class, some you can workout at home with your favorite strength training program, and some days you can go for a walk with a friend, while you’re on the phone with a loved one, or just you and your dog! However it looks to you is fine, just get in the routine of moving your body each day, see point #1.
Think about what you put into your body — you are what you eat, sort of. While there aren’t any diets that are shown to cure anxiety and depression – there are foods to eat and avoid to help manage symptoms. What you should and shouldn’t eat will vary person to person, however start by looking into what you’re having for breakfast. Starting your day with a protein rich meal will stabilize your blood sugar throughout the day and it will give you more energy throughout the day as well, a common symptom of depression and anxiety. Also, it is believed that carbohydrates increase the amount of serotonin in your brain, which has a calming effect. Don’t reach for that bagel just yet – you’ll want to increase you complex carbohydrates in your diet – such as, quinoa, legumes, oats, potatoes (not the sugary sweets, donuts, white breads). Foods & drinks to avoid: those with caffeine and sugar. Depression and anxiety symptoms thrive on these types of foods.
Always know when to reach out for guidance — you are the only person who truly knows how your depression and anxiety is effecting you. There are so many resources available for every type of depression and anxiety – whether it is a mild case or not. Here is a great resource for how you can get guidance with TRICARE.
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