Some Lesser Known Triggers for Anxiety & Panic:

☮️ Blood Sugar:

If you tend to skip meals, or go too long between meals, your body responds to the lower blood sugar by triggering to your nervous system and brain that there is an emergency and release stress hormone cortisol in order to raise your blood sugar to normal levels. It does this to protect you, but can lead to symptoms like shakiness, brain fog, dizziness, lightheadedness, increased heart rate, sweating . . . remind you of something or sound familiar? Your brain then can interpret this as anxiety, and trigger full blown panic in some cases. Don’t skip meals, always eat breakfast within the first hour of waking. Another reason for low blood sugar can be meals that are too high in starches or sugar. Blood sugar spikes and then drops quickly in this case, triggering low blood sugar symptoms

☮️ Caffeine:

This one is pretty straightforward. Caffeine is a stimulant and causes your body to go in to fight or flight mode. Individual sensitivity levels vary.

☮️ Sleep:

Disrupted sleep, lack of sleep, dysregulated circadian rhythm… this can affect the body’s stress response and tolerance. If you aren’t getting enough sleep/rest, the body has to rely on adrenaline and cortisol to function which can lead to many issues including anxiety type symptoms: shakiness, sweating, revved up feeling

☮️ Food Sensitivities & Gut Health:

When you ingest a food that your immune system is reacting to, it increases inflammation, and you can get increased heart rate, sweating, dizziness, headache, and gut problems. This is different from a full blown allergy, which causes different symptoms (eg. peanut allergy). You can discover which foods may be problematic for you with an IgG food sensitivity blood test, or an elimination diet. Consult a practitioner.

*** NOTE: MSG and additives can cause similar effects but for different reasons. These can irritate the nervous system in some individuals.

☮️ Chemical Sensitivities:

Similar to food sensitivities, when exposed to certain chemicals, some individuals may have reactions like increased anxiety or fight or flight symptoms. Examples of this might include: cleaning agents, paints, perfumes, gasoline, wood finishing, new carpets or new furniture/car smells.