Anxiety busters

Summer is approaching and brings with it the long-awaited sun, the warm and bright nights and precious time to spend with friends and family. For most people, the thought of summer is like a guiding light through the grey winter months, though for others it’s nothing more than bottled up pressure and expectations, ready to explode. Many struggle with the somewhat self-invented pressure derived from social media, scrolling through feeds of people’s ‘perfect lives’. 

There’s a wide-spread assumption for us to enjoy every moment and to always be Instagram ready, something that amplifies during summer. No wonder the pressure is on and no wonder we are in such great need of anxiety busters such as yoga, gut-boosting foods and clever books on the subject. We also have to remind ourselves that at the end of the day, Instagram is nothing more than a painted perfection picture hub that doesn't reflect the real world nor should be the foundation of purely unjustified summer anxiety.

Researchers have seen that General Anxiety can be provoked by Social Media. This type of anxiety is characterised by feelings of restlessness and worry, trouble sleeping and also affects the ability to concentrate. A study published in ‘The Journal Computers and Human Behaviour’ found that people using 7 or more Social Media platforms were more than three times as likely (compared to people using 0-2 platforms) to have high levels of General Anxiety symptoms. Using social media obsessively causes more than just anxiety. In fact, testing has found that using too much internet can cause depression, ADHD, impulsive disorder, problems with mental functioning, paranoia, and loneliness. What this research is pointing towards is perhaps that we need to disconnect to re-connect.

Studies have highlighted that anxiety can be linked to warmer weather and humidity. This is because when it gets a bit more difficult to breathe, the body acknowledges that as the same feeling you can experience when your chest tightens during an anxiety or panic attack. 

Whatever the reasons for your anxiety, there are a lot of things you can do to calm both mind and body, like getting your gut in optimum health (we love Symprove, the liquid probiotic) as there is great research to say that our gut is our second brain and that the state of our gut health really effects our mood. Eve Kalinik’s book ‘Be Good to Your Gut’ is also brimming with gut friendly delicious recipes. 

Yoga is a great way to connect your mind and body, and to slow down the whirling of the mind and the breath work during a yoga class is fantastic at reducing anxiety. triyoga has an impressive range of classes and teachers to suit anyone whatever their age or ability. They also have studios all across London, from Ealing to Shoreditch, so is perfect for stressed out city dwellers. 

We have recently discovered body work expert Steve Haines series of Anxiety and Pain books. Our favourite is ‘Anxiety is really strange’ which explains all about anxiety in a light hearted and accessible way. It gives researched-based tools that can help to reduce anxiety too.

Perhaps stepping away from social media and disconnect to reconnect with yourself is a great start to reduce anxiety. Then you might add daily stress-reducing tools from yoga to massage, cut out sugar from your diet and surround yourself with people that make you feel good about yourself. Take a breath, be kind to yourself and turn off your social media once in a while to fight un-called for anxiety and believe you are doing what is best for you.