THE TOP 6 VITAMINS TO TURN OFF ANXIETY

Anxiety is a nervous system disorder, where your body gets locked into a state of fear.
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This is called "fight or flight".
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Your mind perceives that there is some kind of threat or danger, so your body starts releasing
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more cortisol and adrenaline.
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These raise your blood pressure, make your heart beat faster, rush blood to your muscles
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and cause breathing changes so that you can either escape a situation, or attack the threat
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as a survival instinct.
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Unfortunately your mind can't tell the difference between a real threat , or an imaginary threat.
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So if you're feeling lots of worry, doubt and fear in your life,
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Such as financial concerns,
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Worrying about different people that stress you out,
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Or are listening/reading too much bad news on the internet or the TV,
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Over time you become emotionally involved with these fears,
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And your body and mind perceives a constant danger, so it locks you into this "fight or
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flight state".
Anxiety Symptoms
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Sleeping problems - finding it hard to switch your thoughts of or get into a proper sleep
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cycle.
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Constant Problem Solving - your mind is constantly trying to analyse and fix problems, causing
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a stream of mental chatter
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Memory Problems - The high level of stress can also cause you to find it hard to access
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memories, you may draw a blank and forget things more often, especially when you aren't
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sleeping right.
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Lump in throat - Some people also experience a tightness in their throat, causing a lump
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sensation and the voice sometimes sound higher and softer the more anxious you become.
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Nausea may develop
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Negative Mindset - people with chronic anxiety will find that they fall back into a negative
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mindset, where they see the bad in the world but not the good.
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You can fall in and out of this if you have chronic anxiety.
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Avoidance - You may also start avoiding normal life situations such as social events, because
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you don't feel you can handle the emotions and feelings of it.
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If you suffer with anxiety for many years, it can raise the risk of developing diabetes,
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heart disease and other health problems.
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because of your adrenal glands start wearing out, causing hormonal imbalances in both women
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and men.
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In this video I'm going to share with you the top 6 Vitamins that help to turn off anxiety,
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by calming down the stress response in your body.
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You'll also learn about simple lifestyle changes you can make to fix the root of the problem.
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I use the word "Vitamins" broadly to include phytonutrients, minerals and herbs that you
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can use to ease your anxiety permanently.
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Just a quick reminder this video is for educational purposes only, so do speak to your doctor
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before replacing or supplementing alongside your existing medication.
1. Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)
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1.
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Vitamin B1 (Thiamine): The first item on my list is Vitamin B1
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Most people with anxiety suffer with a Thiamine deficiency (Vitamin B1).
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Parts of your brain like the amygdala and the hippocampus use up your B1 stores to make
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energy whenever you are stressed, emotional or threatened.
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Eating lots of sugar, refined foods or drinking caffeinated drinks can also deplete your Vitamin
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B1.
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Start taking 2-3 tablespoons of unfortified nutritional yeast daily to load up on Vitamin
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B1 and the B-complex.
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You can eat this in yoghurt, soups, stews, or sprinkle it over a salad.
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Within minutes of eating this you will start to feel calmer and more relaxed, because B-vitamins
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are water soluble and absorbed very quickly.
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The B-vitamins help to calm and bring the autonomic nervous system into balance, which
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turns off the "fight/flight" response that's causing your anxiety.
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You'll notice that you're less nervous, less irritable, have less nightmares and less panic
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attacks.
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You can get more B1 by eating sunflower seeds, organic pork, pasture raised eggs and wild
2. Probiotics
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fish.
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2.
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Probiotics
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Inside your large intestine in your gut, there are lots of live friendly microbes.
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These help you to break down and digest foods and maintain a healthy overall body.
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These microbes actually produce B Vitamins, like Vitamin B1, B2, B12 etc… that all help
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to keep your mood stable and prevent prolonged states of anxiety.
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Unfortunately these microbes are very sensitive and can easily be destroyed when we take
antibiotic
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drugs/medications,
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Consume artificial sweeteners such as aspartame.
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(e.g. diet soda drinks)
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Or by eating non-organic produce that are sprayed with chemical weed killers and insecticides.
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Or you may not be eating enough soluble fiber, causing the microbes to become sluggish.
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To boost the health of your friendly bacteria and microbiome, start eating fermented vegetables
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as a side dish at least 3 times per week,
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Such as sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles and also kefir which are all loaded with probiotic
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bacteria.
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And also foods rich in soluble fiber (prebiotic) like chia seeds, avocados, asparagus, cocoa
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powder and pecans.
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If you wish you can also take a probiotic supplement (at least 100 billion CFUS daily)
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As you boost the health of your microbes, they will reward you by producing neurotransmitters
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used by your our brain that calm you down and make you feel happy, like GABA, dopamine
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and serotonin.
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notifications on to stay updated with may latest health and nutrition tips.
3. Vitamin D
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3.
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Vitamin D
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People who have anxiety, struggle to sleep soundly at night or have problems with overthinking
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usually have high levels of cortisol.
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This hormone is part of the fight or flight mechanism, and it keeps the body in an alert,
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responsive state when it perceives a threat.
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However if you're trying to calm down and relax, it's important to find ways to switch
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this off.
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Going outside into nature and getting sunlight on your skin, triggers the production of Vitamin
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D, which counters the high cortisol and makes you feel more relaxed.
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Unfortunately billions of people worldwide are deficient in Vitamin D, because of
living/working
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indoors and other factors, which can make anxiety symptoms much worse.
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So it's recommended to take 10,000iu of Vitamin D3 along with 100mcg of K2 on a daily basis.
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This will help to counter the stress hormone (cortisol) and put your body into a state
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of focus, calmness and balance.
4. Magnesium & Potassium
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(homeostasis)
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4.
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Magnesium & Potassium
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Magnesium and potassium are key minerals and electrolytes that play a role in controlling
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how energy is produced in the mitochondria within your cells.
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These come primarily from vegetables, like leafy greens for example.
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Without enough of these minerals, you are far more likely to have a low tolerance to
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stress (anxiety), depression, sleeping problems (insomnia), and brain fog.
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Magnesium for example is important for building neurotransmitters like serotonin, GABA which
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makes you feel calm, happy and in a state of wellbeing.
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It’s also important for activating and converting Vitamin B1 to the active form.
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This will also help to bring down tension and stress that's locked up in your muscles,
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and its often used to get rid of leg cramps.
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Likewise potassium helps to uplift your mood by improving certain mechanisms in the brain
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and nervous system, in turning off the flight or fight response.
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To boost potassium and magnesium, eat avocados often, and lots of leafy greens like kale,
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broccoli, beet tops, collard greens, brussels sprouts, cabbage and radish.
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You can also get this as an electrolyte powder in the form of potassium citrate (1000mg)
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and magnesium citrate (120mg), which you can drink in a glass of water.
5. Passionflower Tea
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5.
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Passionflower Tea
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If you suffer with anxiety it's important that you cut back on caffeinated drinks like
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coffee and soda as these can raise cortisol and make anxiety worse.
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However, there are certain herbal teas that have been used for thousands of years to soothe
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stress and anxiety.
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Passionflower is a herbal flower which is rich in certain plant compounds that have
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been shown to boost GABA in your brain.
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GABA basically slows down certain signals in your central nervous system, helping the
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calm excited nerves down, in order to relax you.
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Studies show that Passionflower tea is as effective as a tranquilizer drug called Oxazepam
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used for anxiety, without the side effects.
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Drink 1 cup of passionflower tea in the evening, or steep 1 tablespoon of dried passionflower
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in hot water.
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Drinking this will relax you and increase the amount of deep sleep you get per night,
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in order to bring your entire body into a state of balance.
6. Ashwagandha
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6.
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Ashwagandha
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Ashwagandha is a herbal shrub that grows in Asia and Africa, and has been used for over
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3000 years as a natural treatment for stress and anxiety.
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As an adaptogen, it helps various systems in your body adapt to stress, by balancing
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your hormones and improving how your tissue/brain respond to the changes.
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You can take 1200mg of ashwagandha extract in capsule form daily to quickly help soothe
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nervous tension in your body.
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This herb is rich in phytochemicals called withanolides, which have been scientifically
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shown to lower cortisol, and help to balance out the blood sugars.
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This stabilizes your mood, helps you to sleep better at night and works wonders for people
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with chronic anxiety.
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Other ancient adaptogen herbs that have a similar effect include rhodiola, panax ginseng,
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astragalus and holy basil.
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As you can see there are many foods and nutrients that can be used to help turn off the
'fight/flight'
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(sympathetic) response in your body
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And activate the 'rest & digest' (parasympathetic) system to help calm you down and release
built-up
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tension.
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I've personally suffered with anxiety and stress for many many years, and have found
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all of these remedies be very helpful.
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Although certain nutrients are essential for stabilising your mood B1, potassium, and
magnesium,
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You may also want to take extra steps to really fix the other root problems of anxiety in
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your life, so you can unlock a permanent state of peace.
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It's often temping to "push through" anxiety as you have things to do and places to be.
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However eventually this can lead to bouts of depression and major health problems in
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the long term.
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But if you take an hour each day to simply focus on relaxation, and calming down your
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body you will start gaining an enormous amount of mental focus.
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You'll start getting more things done, without the need to "push through", as daily activities
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and work seem to flow more effortlessly, and you become more creative for solving different
How To Overcome Anxiety
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problems.
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Lifestyle Tips To Eliminate Anxiety
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Let's take a look at the additional steps that I've personally used which will help
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to keep anxiety at bay permanently.
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1.
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Cut out stimulants and caffeine from your diet such as coffee, tea, soda drinks, energy
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drinks and sugar.
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The caffeine found in these food raises cortisol, depletes Vitamin B1 and makes your anxiety
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much worse.
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2.
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Drink herbal teas that boost GABA to replace your usual drinks, like valerian root, lemon
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balm, passionflower, lavender, peppermint and rosemary.
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By boosting GABA these inhibit excitement/fear in the nervous system.
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3.
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Get more physical activity OUTSIDE.
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Start taking slow walks in nature for 45 minutes per day in a park or areas with lots of trees
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and plants.
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Essential oils released from trees and a steady stream of oxygen naturally calms down your
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nervous system and turns off fight or flight.
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4.
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Organise your work/living environment and minimalize, throwing away any useless objects
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that are cluttering up your mind.
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We tend to have emotional connections psychologically linked to items around us.
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So when you start throwing junk away and organising, you bring order to your environment,
which
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brings order to your mind.
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5.
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Burn calming essential oils in your home such as ylang ylang, black cherry, lavender, sage
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and jasmine.
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Like trees, these oils release aromatic compounds into the air that you gently breathe in which
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calm your nervous system down.
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6.
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Finally, to truly overcome anxiety you need to start getting at least 8 hours of sleep
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per night consistently.
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Go to bed an hour earlier, turn off your phone and focus on relaxing each muscle in your
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body until you drift off.
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If your overthinking, simply visualise each thought as a bubble floating away into the
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distance.
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Eventually the thoughts will slow down and you'll feel peaceful.
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Don’t try to force sleep, allow it to happen when it's ready.
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Over time this will gradually balance out your cortisol levels, helping you achieve
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a deeper sleep and a healthier overall body.
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Thank you so much for watching my video today, and as always I wish you great health, wealth
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and happiness.