From eating food that fuels to moving your body daily, there are so many benefits to creating physical self-care routines. Physical self-care is such an important part of caring for yourself, especially if you’re someone who is feeling all sorts of those anxious feelings.
I chatted with Holistic Anxiety Coach, Khrystle Rea, about the forms of physical self-care she leans on to help manage her anxiety. Read her suggestions, and her story, below.
Growing up, I always felt that I was different than everyone else around me.
Most days I lived in an oversized sweatshirt because I was embarrassed of my pit stains from sweating because I was constantly nervous. I was shy, but attempted to hide it from kids at school. I was very emotional, fluctuating from really angry to super happy in one day. The emotional rollercoaster I was on was so real, and I didn’t know how to hop off it.
Luckily, my mother was very aware and knew I needed help that she couldn’t provide. My journey of therapists, functional medicine doctors, homeopathist, psychiatrists, energy healers, chiropractors, and more started at the age of eight.
It wasn’t until college when I started experiencing full-blown panic attacks that left me frozen did I realize I was suffering from anxiety. I tried taking medicine at times but never wanted to keep it up for long. I am all about natural healing and recently I learned my anxiety is actually more physical than emotional.
Imagine that – my body is messed up, not my emotions!
Learning this has been the biggest relief. I can heal my body and change my anxiety by eating in a certain way and exercising. During my journey, I have figured out how to naturally calm my anxiety.
You want to eat foods in their natural state aka you want to eat foods that are not processed and filled with a ton of chemicals. When you look at a tomato, you want to be able to recognize it. You want to have a variety of vegetables, fruits, legumes, protein, etc. so you take in more micro-nutrients (think of a plate with every color of the rainbow on it at every meal). Micronutrients make a difference, ie. when your B12 level is under 400 you are more prone to anxiety and depression.
Another trick is to use foods that have calming properties to help you feel more relaxed (ie. chamomile tea or Organifi Gold (use KHRYSTLE15 to get 15% off). What you eat impacts your gut bacteria, which plays a role in your serotonin levels and mood regulation.
Sugar can make your anxiety worse and put you on the emotional rollercoaster. It also inflames the body and causes so much more harm than good. Work on cutting out sodas, candies, cakes, cookies, muffins, alcohol, etc. If you need help quitting sugar, check out my free guide on how to cut the sugar in 5 days.
Find a workout that you enjoy and will stick to. You want to get your heart rate up and body moving. As humans, we are made to move and when we sit for too long the anxiety is able to build up in our body. If you feel like you don’t have much time, do a quick 10 minute home workout, go for a walk, dance around your living room, or jump rope. Find what you love to do and exercise 3-5x a week. Consistency is key here!
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