This is Panic 10 - General Health

As I don't have much in the way of an order for how posts come along, I am heavily influenced by the insane amount of news that I take in via papers, tv and the internet. The talk in America about their health reform and all the insanity with swine flu at the moment, I got to thinking a lot this week about health in general.

They say that sometimes you don't see something till it smacks you in the face. A large chunk of my thinking about all this came when I got...well...smacked in the face. I was moving some stuff about at work and as I bent over to put something away, I managed to take an upturned chair leg just above my eye. Luckily there was no concussion, just a large bruise that hurts badly but it set off a familiar chain of events for me.

A lot of my triggers for panic attacks are health related and have been since they began. It was a blemish on my chest that sparked off the first ever panic attack that I had. Now obviously in hindsight there were a lot of other contributing factors but it was seeing that blemish that did it and off I went.

It's always little things like that or little twinges that set me off in some way. If I can rationalise out the issue then it makes it easier to calm myself down. Part of the process for me has become to try and sort out my health and be healthier. If, in the unlikely event that something ever was wrong with me, if I am healthy then I'd know about it right?

I realise now a bit further down the road that the above is not a great attitude to have. I see that now and I have modified my approach somewhat. Being healthy is a good thing full stop. Now I am not at the peak of physical condition but I am in decent condition. I walk 30 minutes a day (thanks to work), I cook with fresh veg and little oil and I try to keep stuff low fat. It doesn't sound like much I know but keeping myself in decent condition has helped somewhat with my anxiety.

From experience of casually meeting other sufferers of anxiety problems, certain lifestyle choices can exacerbate the issue rather than help it. Now I made a lot of changes after I went on to my tablets (see TIP part 5) so these are all since about December 2007 but they were useful to me:

1. Cutting down on alcohol: Admittedly this one was a direct result of my medication but I've kept this one up somewhat since I came off of medication. Those of us with a passing knowledge know that alcohol can be a depressant if you have loads and also (and this is definitely the case for my meds) you can't drink whilst taking them. If you're not on meds then a drink won't kill you but don't go overboard.

2. Cutting down on caffeine: This one was a personal choice. Now we've all had too much caffeine now and then and we know what it does to us; we get twitchy, we get jumpy and your brain rushes a mile a minute. Now personally I find none of these helpful for battling anxiety when I am having a moment. Whilst I know some people and books advise totally removing caffeine, I like the taste of tea and coffee too much. I limit myself to 4 caffeinated drinks a day in total which is normally 1 coffee and 3 teas a day. I spread them over the course of the day and I never have anything like that after about 7or 8pm. After that, hot milky decaff drinks like low fat hot choc or caffeine free herbal teas are your friend and will have a better effect and help

3. Cut down junk food: Sugar like caffeine has the twitchy high energy thing if you have too much of it. I like stuff like chocolate and the odd take away but I always feel slightly sluggish after one for some reason. I always try to use at least some veg in every meal I cook, even if it's tinned. Again, moderation and the world won't end if you have a kebab on a Friday night or a chocolate bar but eating loads of junk food will increase your weight, make you feel sluggish loads and I find it lowers my mood if I have too much of it in too short a space of time.

The other part to all of this as well is trying not to over react if you ever do feel unwell. Now this is the bit I struggle with. That twinge you worry about is an instant worry to me that I am about to drop dead but I am getting better at not going off the deep end.

When I took that whack to the head, I went and got seen by a nurse at work. I made a point of saying "I've done this to myself and also I suffer from an anxiety condition and I'd like some reassurance that I am ok please." The nurse did a good job of giving me a full examination needed for a head injury and took the time to clearly explain what was wrong, what wasn't and what to do when I went home.

Now we all get ill, we all get injured but we need to not instantly associate every injury with instant death. Now a shot to the head is different and do make sure to get yourself checked if you take a half way decent blow to the noggin but you will take a few knocks and they will do next to nothing to you in the long run. If you're worried, get them checked out but rest assured, unlike in the USA at the moment, the only bill you'll get is a clean bill of health.