Taking the Wheel

It often goes unspoken that anxiety rattles the body physically. In January 2024, I found myself sitting in a doctor’s waiting room, paralysed by fear, with a number of physcial ailments that a young man simply shouldn’t have, some of which were indicative of prostate cancer.

I explained to the doctor that I had already been through a number of physical examinations which ruled out anything major, but I was still suffering, and had no idea what to do next. Thankfully, I had enough self awareness to see that anxeity was causing my issues, but no amount of meditation, cold showers, and breath work could help me.

My doctor was incredibly calm, claiming that there was no way that a fit and otherwise healthy 25 year old could actually be suffering with the physical ailments that my symptoms were indicative of, and pointed out that my mental health could very well be the deciding factor. He proceeded to ask me six questions:

1. “How’s your diet?” – I go out of my way to eat well so I can feel good and think clearly
2. “How is your sleep?” – Routine, regular, and enough, roughly 7 hours a night
3. “Do you drink alcohol?” – Between 19 and 23, I was a Smirnoff ambassador (or so it appeared), but I had since pulled the pin on that endeavour
4. “Do you take drugs?” – No (Honestly, how could one afford those in the current cost of living crisis)
5. “How are your stress levels?” – Managed and in order, I enjoy my job, which greatly helps
6. “I can tell by looking at you that you exercise plenty” – No answer required from me on this one
7. “Do you consume a lot of caffeine?” – I’m a coffee fanatic, but nothing dangerous

My doctor pointed out that poor diet, alcohol consumption, a sedentary lifestyle and poor sleepings habits are the most common causes of anxiety in adults, but since I had ticked all of these boxes, my case was cause for deeper investigation. He pointed out that I was doing everything right to look after my mental health, and the fact that I was still feeling anxious was indicative of an anxiety disorder (this is isn’t surprising given the anorexia diagnosis twelve years earlier, one often comes with the other). He kindly suggested that anxiety medication could help me, and it quite frankly changed my life.

Over the next few weeks and months, I noticed a calming in the body, I began to feel more settled, more at ease, and my thoughts seemed to run riot less frequently. A mental health diagnosis had saved my physical health.

Myself and this doctor had many in-depth conversations about my mental health during my visits. He even pointed out that if I wanted to give myself the best chance of keeping my anxiety at bay, that I should “swicth to decaf” as caffeine and anxiety don’t get along very well (trust me, I noticed the difference almost immediately, and to this day I keep caffeine to an absolute minimum). He kept reiterating the few questions that he had asked, pointing out that the fight against anxiety is like a five aside football team:

Diet
Sleep
Stress
Stimulants (Alcohol/Drugs/Caffeine)
Exercise

Weaknesses in any of these five areas can cause anxiety.

What’s the good news here?

So much of this is within our power! With changes to our lifestyle, we can show our anxiety who is boss. It also highlights that anxiety medication is not a magic bullet, you can’t take it and expect miracles to occur if you drink 20 pints and eat two kebabs over the course of a weekend. Our physical and mental selves are far more intertwined than we have ever been lead to believe.

If you can strive to make one positive change in any of those five areas mentioned in the coming week, that would be a great win for your mental health. Your mind will thank you. We have so much more power over our happiness and peace of mind than we ever thought possible.

Look after the heads lads,

Conor