After living with anxiety for as long as I have, you become a big fan of researching ways and tips or anything to help you alleviate the number of attacks you have in a day.

It has proven to be fruitful a lot of times and every time I realize that some of my habits are contributing to my feelings of anxiety being worse.

I know many of you like myself have a sweet tooth and can’t stay away from the little guilty pleasures and reaching for that candy bowl every time we feel a little stressed or what I like to call “off balance”.

Now think about how you’d feel if you were about to reach for your favourite piece of chocolate and you can almost feel the texture of it in your mouth with your taste buds bursting with flavour. And then someone hits your hand stopping you from taking it. Pathetic right? That is exactly how I felt when I was told consuming excessive amount of sugar is adding onto to why I am forever in a permanent state of worry.

I thought one or two sweets a day won’t do much harm, but it was never all I ate, as I’d always reach for more. I probably do go overboard with wine gums and chocolate.

This clarifies why you’d feel even more tense and find yourself shaking a lot. Excessive intake of sugar does not cause anxiety, but it is known to worsen the symptoms.

It impairs your body’s response to stress and how you cope with stress. Increases fatigue and difficulty thinking which is why you are always tired, and your mind is wandering all over the place.

What a bummer, I know but if I were to choose between a truck load full of candy and my mental health.

As much as I’d love to have the candy, I’ll have to choose the latter. It is taking a bit of practice cutting down on sweet treats, since I am a “stress-eater” nonetheless I am making progress.

I used to find comfort in chocolate, candy and gum but lately I am friends with yogurt and grapes. Turns out I do love something else besides KitKat and Smarties. Go figure!

For as long as I had little sugar or no sugar at all my symptoms were not that bad in a day. Along side Chai tea, Relicalm, breathing exercises and meditation this has been helpful.

I can concentrate for a moment and think a little more clearly which we all know how important it is for us writers.

If you are a chocoholic and love sweets like myself, you better take it easy the next time you reach for that jar or try eating some fruits for a change. A clear mind means clearer thoughts and less panic. Which we can all do with some times. It will not make your anxiety go away but it will at least lessen how bad your attacks are.

These are the little gems of knowledge you collect in the journey of fighting mental health and I hope it helps you too.

Like they say “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”, they never said candy for a reason *winks*.

Written by Sarah Banda

Blogger @Poemstellium

Instagram @sarah.banda_

Twitter @iam_sarahb_