Surprising lifestyle factors that can add to anxiety and depression

It’s not all in the mind

Trying to address constant feelings of anxiety or bouts of depression can feel overwhelming and perhaps, at times, a bit hopeless. But what if you were shown new paths to go down that you hadn’t considered before. Perhaps things could then feel a bit more hopeful.

We have a group of neurotransmitters that are integral to our mood, such as serotonin, dopamine and GABA. Serotonin is known as our happy chemical, and is what is affected when we take anti-depressants. Dopamine is known as our reward chemical, and is stimulated by activities such as making an exciting purchase, winning a competition, or ticking things off a list! And GABA is our calming chemical, which counteracts our more stimulating neurotransmitters such as adrenaline and cortisol and so is an important factor in reducing anxiety.

In order for us to feel good, these chemicals need to be produced in the body and nourished.

Things that do not nourish these chemicals, and so can add to anxiety and depression, include:

• Poor diet that lacks vitamins and minerals

• Diet high in refined sugar, saturated fats, preservatives, colourings and pesticides

• Antibiotic and medication use

• Poor gut health

• Lack of quality sleep

• Chronic stress

• Out of sync internal body clock

• Lack of purpose and connection

• Lack of movement

• Environmental toxins

Addressing these lifestyle factors can go a long way to increasing these well-being neurotransmitters and therefore reducing the symptoms associated with anxiety and depression.

Working on improving these areas of your life with a health coach will help you achieve your goals in a realistic and sustainable way and should reduce any potential overwhelm.

The beauty of making positive lifestyle choices is that it pairs extremely well with any other type of therapy such as counselling or herbal therapy and is not restrictive. Start your well-being journey today and make a new path. You’ve got this. X