Driving Anxiety

I can remember when I lived for road trips, traveling brought me a sense of peace and adventure. Unfortunately, I had my first bout of driving anxiety several years back and driving has not been the same for me since.

After my first bout of driving anxiety, I stopped travelling for fear of having a panic attack while traveling. I let that one episode of driving anxiety stop me from doing something that brought me so much pleasure for years.

I recently decided that I was going to start traveling again in spite of my anxiety. I started out kind of slow by traveling to the edge of town and then over the course of several months drove further and further. I know this would sound ridiculous for anyone who has never experienced anxiety or panic attacks! :-)

I have some friends that live around 300 miles away and hadn't seen them in several years; that would be my first task driving to see my friends. I decided it was worth being anxious in order to see my friends.

The day of the trip I was extremely anxious. However, I told myself I could handle this, jumped in the car and headed out. I also gave myself permission to turn around at any given moment during the trip if my anxiety became overwhelming. I experienced several panic attacks including one really bad on half way to my destination, but I really wanted to see my friends and I kept going.

Yes I was uncomfortable the entire trip, but I made it! This was a huge victory for me and I realized that I really could live my life and do anything in spite of my anxiety. Take your time, be compassionate with yourself, and realize that you are going to be anxious, but you can handle it. And if you can't, turn around and try again tomorrow!

Anxiety, Depression, and Serotonin

Anxiety, Depression, and Serotonin

If you have suffered from anxiety or depression, chances are you have done some research on the subject and have heard of Serotonin. If not, then listen up.

Though I have a clinical background I am not technical (at least not in terms), so I will define serotonin and its properties as simple as possible. Serotonin is a hormone that our brain produces to help us feel good. Serotonin is partly responsible for regulating mood, curbing anxiety and depression, and relieving stress to name a few of its attributes.  Serotonin can also be found in many foods we eat. Here is a list of foods that have high and moderate amounts of serotonin:

High Serotonin Levels                                               Moderate Level of Serotonin

Tomatoes                                                                     Avocado

Pineapple                                                                     Cauliflower

Plantains                                                                      Broccoli

Banana                                                                       Cantaloupe

Kiwi                                                                            Eggplant

Plums                                                                          Dates

                                                                                    Figs

                                                                                    Grapefruit

                                                                                    Honeydew Melon

                                                                                    Spinach

In many cases, anxiety and depression can be completely eliminated through a simple diet change (implementing the foods above), a regular exercise routine, and proper breathing exercises. The reason why these little changes are so effective goes back to serotonin.

When we take care of our bodies by consuming good fuel and exercise regularly we feel better. This is because our production of serotonin is optimized. If we eat bad and are sedentary, our bodies tend to not function as well thus do not produce optimum levels of serotonin thus the consequence is generally moodiness, anxiety, depression and so forth. If you’re looking for a quick fix to anxiety, get your serotonin production up!