Photo by: arnold | inuyaki's

Do you wake up in a highly anxious state? Is it hard for you to focus and get control over your thoughts after a meal?

If the answer is yes, one of the critical links related to your anxiety could be traced to your diet and your blood sugar levels throughout the day.

If you have a history of diabetes or other health conditions that cause low blood sugar, you may be more vulnerable to high anxiety, stress and even a panic attack at certain times of the day.

Many people who are suffering from hypoglycemia experience anxiety on a regular basis because their blood sugar levels are too low. Low blood sugar levels can trigger a number of responses in the body including inability to focus, nervousness, trembling, dizziness and racing thoughts.

Sound familiar?

If so, you may need to be tested for hypoglycemia and diabetes, and take a close look at your diet.

Many people get a lot of relief from anxiety simply by changing their daily diet and eating more nutritious, wholesome foods that don’t negatively affect their blood sugar levels. I talk more about this in my book Panic Away. Simple diet modifications such as eating oatmeal with milk for breakfast, eating more protein-rich foods at each meal, and eating smaller meals throughout the day can help keep blood sugar levels in check and keep anxiety levels under control.

If you experience frequent mood swings and anxiety attacks that you can’t trace to any particular source, take a close look at your diet and lifestyle and see if your mood tends to change after a meal. This can be a good indicator that your blood sugar levels are out of balance, so it’s important to have that checked and start making the necessary changes in your diet.

I’ve found that one of the easiest ways to reduce anxiety is to deliberately shift your attention from your head, to your heart. You can do this simply by practicing the “art of gratitude” which I talk about in further detail in my book Panic Away.

Science tells us that regular mental practice of gratitude can change your body’s chemistry and makes it easier to enjoy a peaceful state. Learning how to be grateful is one thing, but making a conscious effort to be in the moment as you express gratitude is what will help to lower stress levels and help you achieve a calmer state of mind.

All it takes is a few minutes to get started. Just close your eyes and take a few deep breathes. Focus on something in your life that you feel a strong sense of appreciation for, whether it’s a person, your friends, your health or your work. Notice how simply thinking about these things or people makes you feel, and start to feel the flow of positive energy throughout your body. You can do this first thing in the morning to start your day off on the right track, practice gratitude when you’re stuck in traffic, or right before you drop off to sleep at night.

The goal is to keep practicing until you get used to feeling gratitude for a positive force in your life.

Practicing the art of gratitude can help to lift that mental fog of anxiety and improve your overall well-being.

Try it!

People stay awake at night for a number of reasons. They may be fearful or worried about an upcoming event, or they might simply be worried that they can’t sleep and won’t be able to perform at their best the next day. It’s a difficult situation to be in, but there are several ways to fall asleep naturally so you don’t have to take sleeping pills or any type of drugs.

One of the most important steps you can take mentally is to simply presume that you won’t sleep. This sounds like the opposite of what you are trying to accomplish, but the goal here is to break out of the pattern of pressuring yourself to fall asleep. A good night’s sleep isn’t guaranteed, but you have to surrender your inability to sleep in order to put your mind at ease. I talk more about this strategy in my book, Panic Away.

There are also several strategies you can use on a nightly basis to wind down and encourage the sleep state. You can:

* Take a hot bath or shower and allow your muscles to relax
* Eat foods that contain tryptophan (try a small turkey sandwich)
* Eliminate TV and time at the computer for at least one to two hours before bed
* Avoid heavy exercise in the late evening
* Eliminate caffeine from your meal plan after 3 p.m.

Just remember that you will fall asleep eventually, and you need to trust that your body will get the sleep it needs each night. Free yourself from the vicious cycle of trying to get asleep and getting frustrated over not getting enough sleep so that you can start getting the quality sleep you need every night.

If you suffer from frequent anxiety attacks and panic attacks, it’s likely that you experience a high level of stress and anxiety shortly after waking. The good news is, you can use this energy in a positive way and clear out those mental blocks before you tackle the day ahead.

Julie Cameron talks about writing “Morning Pages” in her book, The Artists Way. She encourages people to set aside about 30 minutes in the morning and write down the first thing that comes to mind.

I explain how to do this in my book Panic Away, and it’s one of the most effective ways to clear out anxious thoughts and get your day off on a positive start.

Just start each day by writing down the first thing that comes to mind. You don’t have to worry about grammar, spelling or even the format. Just jot down your thoughts, even if you have no specific thing to think about.

The goal is to continue writing and writing until you’ve filled about three pages. You want your mind to be free, to just ‘spill out’ all those disorganized thoughts so you’re not holding them in your head.

Use a pen and paper – the old-fashioned writing style seems to be more cathartic for most people – and keep the pages in a notebook or folder. These are strictly your Morning Pages , so you don’t have to worry about sharing them with anyone.

This is a really great technique from Julie Cameron. Do this regularly, and you’ll soon realize that you have greater mental clarity and can focus and concentrate better throughout the day.

Sometimes people who are making good progress with their anxieties experience a setback when they come down with either a head cold or the flu. The reason for this is because, as the body wards off the cold or flu, it makes the people feel drained and vulnerable.

To people with anxiety, this can feel unnerving because it may remind them of how they felt during an intense spell of anxiety. Colds and flu also come with an almost claustrophobia-like sensation of being congested up in your head.

Try to remember that if you do experience additional anxiety when dealing with either a cold of flu, trust that the renewed anxiety will lift as soon as your body recovers.