Anxiety

I remember this one time I was pacing back & forth in Coles between the hot chickens* and the roast chicken in the deli. I literally couldn't make a decision.

Each option was too overwhelming. My mouth was dry. My heart was pounding. My mind was racing. My step count was up.

I don't remember what happened that day or week leading up to that episode. But I remember it happening, and getting increasingly anxious because I was clearly having some sort of panic attack.

In hindsight, this is a funny-ish example. But anxiety is real and has become a lot more prevalent recently. It's defined as "intense, excessive and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations."

As the old adage goes, "depression dwells in the past, anxiety worries about the future." Makes sense when there is so much uncertainty at the moment. It's easy to catastrophise and then get caught in ruminating negative thoughts.

Ever been laying awake at night thinking and worrying about work the next day, the thoughts just on repeat?! Yah. It sucks.

There are many causes of anxiety. Stress is one them. As with everything, a little bit of stress is OK. It's actually needed. It's when it becomes chronic and unmanageable that issues arise.

It'd be rare that I see someone in clinic who doesn't report experiencing some stress and anxiety. There are many holistic management tools (both dietary & lifestyle) that I recommend to help alleviate this. In some cases, it also requires working alongside that patient's broader team of medical and allied health providers (GPs, counsellors, psychologists, etc.) to support their specific needs.

This is a far bigger topic than one blog post will allow. So, if you or someone you know is experiencing anxiety, let's talk and go from there.

(*note: this is before I ditched the Coles chickens LOL!)