lime
Member
I started getting anxiety when I was 17/18 through till the age of 24. I don't think I suffered as bad as some but would consider many parts of my life dark and desperate. In particular, eye contact was bad for me and my anxiety was at its worst when I had to look people in the eye.
Throughout the peak of my anxiety I had no friends, no job, no money, no prospects. I was constantly depressed, had no energy and my anxiety went through the roof whenever I had to be around people. I locked myself away and fell asleep every night hoping I wouldn't wake up.
In the last two years of my anxiety I got a girlfriend who helped me. I'm not sure what she saw in me at the time, to be honest she wasn't a great catch but she was kind and helped me as much as she could.
I saw a psychologist for a year, I exercised, I tried many medications, I forced myself to go out, socialise, meet people. I tried hypnotherapy, read self help and anxiety books. I worked so hard to solve my issues.
Using all of the methods I listed above, I would say my anxiety now sat at about 80% of what it was. 20% might not seem a huge amount but it allowed me to function and I got a job and started making a few friends, things looked up but I accepted the fact I would never live a truly fulfilling life.
2 months ago my new boss commented on how bad my diet was. I explained I didn't know what he was talking about, but that people had mentioned it before. I ate a lot of ready meals and prepared food. He showed me on the internet what these foods contained.. all the chemicals from additives and artificial preservatives and colourings and decided maybe this could be another contributing factor to my anxiety.
Overnight I changed my diet and never ate another ready meal and ate only fresh fruit/veg and cooked my own food. Within a week my anxiety dropped to about 30% and after two weeks and now its currently about 5%.
It turns out the food I was eating was in fact completely playing havoc with my stress levels, mood and energy.
Not only was my anxiety gone, I felt so happy and positive, I felt like how I felt when I was a young kid. My energy levels returned and I no longer felt tired all the time, I now feel full of life and energy.
So what happened to me was when I moved out from my parents at 17 and lived on this diet it caused all my problems.
I don't know if any of you are in a similar situation to me, if not I'm sorry this probably won't be much use to you. If I can help a single person with this though it will have been worth it.
Throughout the peak of my anxiety I had no friends, no job, no money, no prospects. I was constantly depressed, had no energy and my anxiety went through the roof whenever I had to be around people. I locked myself away and fell asleep every night hoping I wouldn't wake up.
In the last two years of my anxiety I got a girlfriend who helped me. I'm not sure what she saw in me at the time, to be honest she wasn't a great catch but she was kind and helped me as much as she could.
I saw a psychologist for a year, I exercised, I tried many medications, I forced myself to go out, socialise, meet people. I tried hypnotherapy, read self help and anxiety books. I worked so hard to solve my issues.
Using all of the methods I listed above, I would say my anxiety now sat at about 80% of what it was. 20% might not seem a huge amount but it allowed me to function and I got a job and started making a few friends, things looked up but I accepted the fact I would never live a truly fulfilling life.
2 months ago my new boss commented on how bad my diet was. I explained I didn't know what he was talking about, but that people had mentioned it before. I ate a lot of ready meals and prepared food. He showed me on the internet what these foods contained.. all the chemicals from additives and artificial preservatives and colourings and decided maybe this could be another contributing factor to my anxiety.
Overnight I changed my diet and never ate another ready meal and ate only fresh fruit/veg and cooked my own food. Within a week my anxiety dropped to about 30% and after two weeks and now its currently about 5%.
It turns out the food I was eating was in fact completely playing havoc with my stress levels, mood and energy.
Not only was my anxiety gone, I felt so happy and positive, I felt like how I felt when I was a young kid. My energy levels returned and I no longer felt tired all the time, I now feel full of life and energy.
So what happened to me was when I moved out from my parents at 17 and lived on this diet it caused all my problems.
I don't know if any of you are in a similar situation to me, if not I'm sorry this probably won't be much use to you. If I can help a single person with this though it will have been worth it.
