It’s no secret that both myself and Eve have been longtime sufferers of anxiety, which is defined as a feeling of unease, such as worry or fear, that can be mild or severe. When severe, some people find it hard to control their worries and their feelings of anxiety are more constant and can often affect their daily lives. Since I was very small, I’d always lived my life cautiously and aware that the world could implode at any moment, rather than my biggest worry at the time being what colour pen to scribble in like it should’ve been.
But recently, things have been different for me. I haven’t felt anxious. Not for about two months, and for someone who once cried at work and had to go home worrying about getting a lash extension appointment, this is a pretty huge deal.
Typically, as a seasoned anxious wreck, I have been waiting (somewhat anxiously) for the crippling anxiety to creep back into my life at any moment, spoiling my mental health holiday. To feel calm and happy for a long stretch of time is unusual for me…but I can’t say I’m not enjoying it thoroughly.
Of course, as someone who has battled with anxiety throughout my life, you can excuse me for getting irate after reading on Twitter that Sarah Wilson – the journalist and former Australian Masterchef presenter, who created the “I Quit Sugar” brand – has a new book, First, We Make the Beast Beautiful, focused on anxiety, detailing her struggles with the condition and outlining strategies for fellow sufferers. To accompany the launch, she has released a brand-new “anti-anxiety diet”, a two-week detox plan that she claims will tackle anxiety “for good”.
I have no idea what exactly has cooled me down recently. Whether it’s job satisfaction, moving to a quieter city or having a partner I care about deeply – but it certainly isn’t because I’ve cut out sugar. (I know this for sure because I have before cut out sugar and still remained a mental mess.)
In response to this irresponsible spouting of nutribollocks, which obviously trying to cure a mental illness through adjusting your diet is, the Angry Chef in an article for The Pool wrote: “The role of food in mental health is a growing field of study, and there is little doubt that a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables is a beneficial approach for many conditions. But, although a number of relationships between diet, depression and anxiety have been observed, it is very hard to determine what causes what. Mental health can have a large impact on food choices and in many cases a poor diet is the result of anxiety and depression, rather than the other way round.”
Adding to the piece, Kimberley Wilson, chartered psychologist, writer and former chair of the British Psychological Society’s training committee in counselling psychology, explained: “Anxiety is a multifaceted illness. For some people it may have links to lifestyle, for others it may be a painful loss in early life, bullying at school or a traumatic event as an adult that has left them with PTSD and panic attacks. To suggest that cutting out sweets for two weeks will cure these people is, frankly, insulting.”
Had “curing” anxiety been as simple as cutting out sugar, I wouldn’t have suffered with it for as long as I have. The truth is that there is no clear-cut way to get rid of anxiety, but there are things you can do to manage it better.
1. TALK TO SOMEONE
Mind the mental health charity say: “Talking to someone you trust about what’s making you anxious could be a relief. It may be that just having someone listen to you and show they care can help in itself. If you aren’t able to open up to someone close to you, the Samaritans and Anxiety UK both run helplines that you can call to talk to someone.”
2. BREATHE
When you on the verge of a panic attack, it can feel like your heart is beating out your chest and it will become harder to breathe. It’s therefore useful to be armed with techniques to calm yourself down during these states.
Videos like this on YouTube can help:
3. EXERCISE
I’m not talking about squatting in a gym necessarily, if you hate doing that. It could be anything as simple as a walk through a park that could help soothe your thoughts.
Mind say that “our physical health and mental health are closely linked – so physical activity can be very beneficial for our mental health and wellbeing too.”
4. SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP
If your anxiety is severe, and preventing you from doing what you want in your life – go and book an appointment with your GP. There you can discuss possible treatments, like cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) – this focuses on how your thoughts, beliefs and attitudes affect your feelings and behaviour, and teaches you coping skills for dealing with different problems, applied relaxation therapy – this involves learning how to relax your muscles in situations where you normally experience anxiety, or perhaps even medication.
5. EAT SUGAR
While many people in the UK have too many high-sugar foods and drinks in their diet too often, which is a risk to their dental health and has also been linked to diabetes and heart disease…both the NHS and BDA believe it is unrealistic and unnecessary to cut sugar out of your diet. Instead, the government recommends that free sugars – sugars added to food or drinks, and sugars found naturally in honey, syrups, and unsweetened fruit and vegetable juices, smoothies and purées – should not make up more than 5% of the energy (calories) you get from food and drink each day. This means that adults should have no more than 30g of free sugars a day, (roughly equivalent to 7 sugar cubes).
In my own experience, sometimes when I have been terribly anxious, there’s been nothing quite like sugar to make me feel better. Whether that involves tea and cake with a friend, or eating Haribo in bed while watching Netflix. If sugary foods are something you enjoy eating, please don’t cut it out your diet in order to “cure” your anxiety. It doesn’t work, and might actually end up making you more miserable.