What’s causing your anxiety?
Sometimes it feels as though overwhelm, worry and frenetic energy associated with anxiety just drops from the sky and hits, completely out of our own control. Many clients that come into the clinic share this sense that there’s something fundamentally wrong with them, their brain/ cognitive functions.
If you have anxiety or depression, I want you to know that the picture can be complex. There are many factors that influence mental health. In this article, I wanted to present an overview of just a FEW of the contributing factors.
Taking a holistic approach and addressing mental health from multiple angles, is vital for optimum patient outcomes and it seems the research is coming along to support this. So let’s jump in and take a closer.
As a naturopath and strategic hypnotherapist, one of my first priorities when clients come to see me with anxiety, depression, mood fluctuations, low energy is to explore…
Where is the mental health issue coming from?
In this article we’ll take a look at some of the following:
Is there an energy supply issue? nutrient deficiencies?
Is it a food, sleep, movement issue?
Is it a relationships input and output issue? (include here relationship to yourself and others)
Is it a hormonal imbalance? Menopause? Or synthetic hormone issue— from things like the contraceptive pill or other medication?
Is it a challenging childhood— old patterns that make things challenging for you in the present moment?
Is it a combination of the above?
Believe it or not this list actually goes on, and you can start seeing here that when we look at only one area of a persons health we might be missing essential pieces of the puzzle.
So in order to see long term positive mental health changes you might consider addressing the contributing factors for you.
There’s a lot you can do to start improving your mental health.
For example your diet has a direct relationship to your mental health and there are many studies supporting this now.
Potential Physiological causes of depression
Studies conducted by an Aussie scientist, Felice Jacka— found that people who consume largely processed foods are 50% more likely to experience clinical depression.
In a study with 3000 adolescents she found that poor quality diet had a higher rate of mental health problems. Those who had a higher quality diet with more fruits and vegetables had a higher quality of mental health. They looked at several parameters of mental health.
Now just as fascinating was a study on judges who where considering files for parol (Danziger, 2011). Immediately after a meal 65% of people who were applying for parol with these judges were approved for further consideration.
The same judges when assessing cases immediately before a meal, 0% of cases were approved for consideration.
This is significant because it illustrates how much our food influences your choices and thinking process. When your brain is fuelled you’re less likely to fall into prejudices.
Think about the last time you were ‘hangry’ and how it affected your mood, communication and your work? I wanted to give you the direct example from the study above because it’s easy to get into the attitude of thinking that food’s impact on health is limited, but every cell is made up of what you eat.
Macro or micro nutrient deficiencies that limit optimal cellular functioning and neurotransmitter synthesis. We’ll look at this a little further along, but here’s a shortlist of other considerations…
Dehydration or over hydration?
Insufficient physical activity for the day?
Lack of sleep?
A Liver that’s overloaded from constipation, high hormones, medications, or environmental exposure to toxins?
Hormonal dysregulation— Cortisol, PMS?
Drug stimulation or sedation including sugar, caffeine, and medications?
Over stimulating dopamine— (pleasure neurotransmitter) sex, social media and other activities. This one is huge with insta and FB being one of our biggest growing addictions.
To find out more about stress and brain function check out this article.
Are you anxious or Hypoglycemic?
I’m not talking about the medical definition of hypoglycemia— I’m talking about the sugar lows before meals.
If you have something that’s mostly carbohydrate in terms of a meal…
That glucose will lead to a spike of insulin which will take that glucose and store it in different cells. We know that 1.5-2 hours after that heavy carb meal you’ll see a fairly major dip in both glucose and insulin.
Part of why you crave sugar on a crappy day is because when you get a hit of sugar. You also trigger tryptophan and serotonin which sends a lovely “everything is ok” signal to your brain. So, sugar pacifies your anxiety within 20 minutes of eating it.
Another useful point to understand is that as glucose drops you will also see an increase in adrenalin and you will see an increase in your anxiety or stress levels.
When you eat protein your brain is fueled for 3-4 hours.
The risks of weight loss programs... When you lose your muscle mass, you will also see a decrease in your metabolic rate. This often results in losing weight quickly and putting it back on just as quickly. The dieting culture we’re in is a real issue.
Muscle mass is the determinant of both physical and mental health. When you move your body, you make brain fertilizer (brain derived neurotropic factor) and this stabilises your brain. It also makes you more receptive to insulin. So you’re more sensitive to insulin which is a good thing to help avoid metabolic diseases like diabetes, PCOS etc.
Muscle mass also burns fat mass, even when you’re sleeping. If you have enough muscle mass your body will burn calories.
Having enough protein in your diet is very important!
If you have random bouts of anxiety…before you reach out for the snack ask yourself— when was the last time I ate? Was that last meal rich in carbs? and consider making managing your blood sugar levels a priority.
Engage a nutritionist or naturopath to help navigate this process it can make a significant difference in your anxiety levels.
Many of my vegan and vegetarian clients struggle with this one because many of them are largely Carbitarians.
Learning how to manage this with plant based proteins generally requires some counselling and support.
What can your pathology results let you know about your mental health and wellbeing?
Most GPs will look into the following labs for you and can explain some of the factors connected to mental health. You may want to discuss the importance of having these checked yearly. Not everyone requires all of these checked. A thorough health history will help your health practitioner navigate the right pathology for you.
You can have these done through a naturopath. However, it won’t be covered by Medicare, it’s an out of pocket expense.
Fasting blood glucose
Given the discussion above about sugar and carb metabolism this one is somewhat self explanatory.
TSH, T3 & T4
Both hyper and hypothyroid can lead to feelings of anxiety and depression. It’s also key to note that you can have an absolutely normal TSH level and still have an imbalance in T3 and T4.
Protein, total serum
Low protein can be an indicator that you’re either not eating enough protein or not absorbing your protein in your gut. Protein is important for helping to manage your energy levels and glucose levels, we know that anxiety and moodiness can result if you’re on a high carb low protein diet. Also a marker for other health issues.
Calcium serum
Having a high range here can indicate a parathyroid issue.
Lipid panel
There are studies that show if your total cholesterol is below 150 your risk of depression goes up. We’re starting to move out of this fad of the low fat diet. However it’s important to note your hormones are made from cholesterol including steroid hormones (oestrogen, testosterone and cortisol etc). Healthy fats like olive oil, nuts and seeds, fish are essential for healthy mood and brains.
Ferritin
This is the active component of iron in the body. This is important to consider look for fatigue, feeling down or low and restless leg syndrome, more on this in a moment.
Vitamin D—The sunshine vitamin.
This is the vitamin that drops in SAD (seasonal affective disorder) also known as the winter blues. In a sun filled country like Aus, we’re still seeing low vitamin D because we’re spending so much time indoors. You need a half hour of your whole arms or legs exposed at the warmest part of the day to get your daily dose. If you’re struggling with low mood please address this.
CRP
A study (Whitehall study) of 9000 people found there was a connection between high CRP levels and depression. This is a marker of inflammation and when inflammation is up in the body then your cognitive function is also affected. There are some great things you can do to help decrease inflammation in your body. More in a future post.
Serotonin and Melatonin two of the key neurotransmitters in the brain that are involved in regulating mood and energy are important let’s look at how they’re made.
Both of these neurotransmitters are made out of tryptophan (an amino acid) this is found in protein rich foods like:
Milk
Tuna
Cheese
Nuts and seeds
Chicken
Oats
Whole wheat
Some of the nutrients needed to convert tryptophan into these neurotransmitters? Iron, B12. B6, Folate, magnesium, vitamin C, and SAMe.
A deficiency in these can affect the conversion and creation of your amino acids to your healthy brain chemicals.
It’s not always as simple as just eat well! Please work with someone who has experience with eating for optimum mood and brain function!
Copper & anxiety
Copper is an essential nutrient but in excess it has been linked to anxiety.
When you have too much copper in the system it can impact GABA in the brain, known as the calming neurotransmitter when GABA is inhibited it can lead to feelings of wired and emotional dysregulation.
A hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA) is one of the best ways to eliminate copper as a factor in your anxiety.
In fact the HTMA is a fantastic starting point as it looks at the potential toxic metals also linked to mental health like lead and mercury. As well as magnesium and other essential minerals that help to keep us balanced.
Find out more about the HTMA on this post here.
Could A Deficiency be at the core of your anxiety or depression?
It’s vital that you spend the time looking into potential deficiencies that could be contributing to the state of your mental health!
One study conducted in Switzerland looked at 1000 women recently diagnosed with iron deficiency. They followed up with what their diagnosis was before they found the iron deficiency.
35% of the total sample group were given a different initial diagnosis— like chronic fatigue, burn out, depression, anxiety states. They were also provided with pharmacological interventions like anti-depressants and psychotherapy. They continued to feel fatigued and not feel well until the iron deficiency was uncovered.
The study found that this is costing the Swiss economy 100 million Swiss francs a year, in both direct and indirect costs.
But more importantly these women suffered for an extended period of time because they didn’t have enough iron to feel well. This study illustrates the importance of looking at nutrient deficiencies across the board in anyone who has mental health symptoms, especially in women who bleed monthly.
Iron deficiency signs and symptoms can include:
Anxiety
Cognitive decline
Depression
Fatigue
Impairment of memory and new learning
Alopecia
Palpitations
Restless leg syndrome
and other symptoms.
Challenging Childhoods & How They Impact Your Mental Health?
Chronic trauma or complex trauma changes your brain. You can read more about this in this article here.
When you have repeated and consistent trauma experiences like ACE’S (Adverse Childhood Events) or are in an abusive relationship.
Your ability to regulate your stress response may be affected in a negative way. Sending you into a cycle of continuous cortisol and adrenalin secretion.
Or if you’re working in high stress environments where you’re hyper vigilant much of the time (this is one I’m seeing a lot in my clients unfortunately seems to have worsened since COVID).
So what are the ACE’s? Is this an area you might need to look at? If you’ve experienced the following in your childhood, it may or may not be contributing to your current mental health, seeking professional help is useful. I want you to know that there’s a lot you can do to help support your body and mind in processing the trauma and finding a more balanced nervous system:
#1 Emotional abuse
#2 Drinking problem in the household
#3 Separated or divorced parent
#4 Mental illness in the house hold
#5 Physical abuse
#6 Witnessed domestic violence
#7 Drug use problem in the household
#8 Sexual abuse
#9 Incarcerated household member
It’s helpful to note if you’re on adrenaline all the time— the sensory input keeps going to lower part of your brain and your hippocampus shrinks and the wiring to your prefrontal cortex is not so robust. There are brain changes that can and have been measured.
One way to get a more robust hippocampus is exercise— studies have shown if you have a consistent exercise program your hippocampus expands.
If you have a high adverse childhood event?
Sense of self is vulnerable.
Sense of the world is that it’s unsafe.
The future is uncontrollable and unpredictable.
People with history of chronic trauma have a larger brain response to adrenalin.
Chronic Work Stress & Pressure
Or if you’re working in high stress environments where you’re hyper vigilant much of the time (this is one I’m seeing a lot in my clients unfortunately seems to have worsened since COVID).
The Australian government recently extended the number of visits to see your psychologist so you can speak to your GP about this as well as call Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14
If you’re having adrenalin driven events- panic attacks, or complete overwhelm, strategic psychotherapy and hypnotherapy have been found to be very helpful.
This final topic I could speak to for a very long time. There will be more posts on this if you found it useful please let me know your thoughts.
Just know that research into neuroplasticity has shown us that you can change the brain and there are many things that are within your control when it comes to moving beyond trauma and anxiety.
Thanks so much for reading if you’d like to reach out fill out the form below.