Do you know this feeling?
Your stomach and chest are tightening, your brain is working at full speed, the unpleasant feeling that you are not quite sure what to do next, but it is clear, you have to do something now to not attract attention, so that no one notices what is happening in your body right now. Anxiety.
Sometimes you get it under control with a few deep breaths, sometimes you have to chase it away with rocks or send it fleeing with a few little white pills.
Today, we're talking about the thyroid gland. The little thyroid organ and what a big impact it can have on anxiety and panic attacks.
On us, our body, our psyche and just the balance of the human being.
In fact the sense of balance it can influence enormously.
Both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, are coupled with psychological and physical symptoms. And both dysfunctions lead to an impairment of the quality of life.
There are many symptoms associated with thyroid dysfunction and if you're dealing with anxiety and panic, an important tip is to get your thyroid levels checked.
With hypothyroidism it is common for people to experience depressed moods, apathy, rapid exhaustion, panic attacks, dizziness, fatigue and difficulty concentrating are symptomatic. The emotional state can be very fluctuating and in extreme cases, delusions can even occur.
With hyperthyroidism simply put, there are too many hormones in the circulation. Often people are nervous or even aggressive, anxious or jumpy. It is difficult for them to relax, they sweat quickly, have insomnia or heart palpitations.
A 'not-being-there' and mental imbalance occur in both hypofunction and hyperfunction.
Even if you have only a mild thyroid dysfunction you may experience higher anxiety levels, as about 50 to 60 percent of people who suffer from anxiety also have a thyroid disorder.
A good thyroid hormone adjustment can reduce anxiety, but even when levels are restored, it's possible that your immune system and nervous system are so overwhelmed that you continue to experience symptoms. And this has mostly to do with the stress levels in your body that trigger anxiety, mood swings and overwhelm.
The cause of panic attacks, anxiety or burnout is essentially that the stress system in your body has gone way up and that you - more specifically your body - is in a constant state of alarm because of it.
If you are diagnosed with hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, you will be prescribed hormones to restore the hormone balance.
It is important to understand that you can rebalance your hormones on different levels. You can re-regulate anxiety, panic attacks, dizziness, fatigue, mood swings and weight gain also on the physical level as well, at least as an additional alternative.
For example, you can make sure you keep your blood sugar levels stable. You can regulate this with a certain diet. You can make sure that you eat regularly, don't take too long breaks in between. Eat mostly fresh foods, lots of fruits and vegetables and anti-inflammatory foods like red and blue berries, salmon, ginger, coconut, green leafy vegetables (kale, spinach), walnuts. Or probiotic foods such as yogurt, miso soups or sauerkraut strengthen the intestinal flora and thus the immune system.
Make sure to drink plenty of fluids. Water, tea and vegetable juices.
You can also take a coffee break. Due to panic attacks and the thyroid disorder you can feel a great inner restlessness, so it's a good idea to go without coffee for the time being.
You can also try the nightshade plant Ashwaghanda, which you can drink as a ground powder. Ashwagandha comes from Ayurveda and has calming and relaxing benefits. This medicinal plant can be a natural alternative for treating panic attacks and anxiety.
Make sure to get enough sleep.
Find a method that helps you relax. It's important that you consciously set aside periods of relaxation and rest. Maybe meditation works for you; Maybe breathing exercises will help you. It's important to relax the body so you minimize internal tension.
I have often talked about how TRE® was the key for me to get rid of my panic attacks.
The profound physical relaxation provided by TRE® (Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises), the 'shaking away' of anxious feelings and stress tension in the body, profoundly regulates your nervous system and hormonal balance.
What if we think of anxiety not just as fear and something unbearable or a failure, but as a delivery service, or messenger of inner truth.
That we don't think of the body as broken or incapable when it doesn't want to go on, but every time anxiety comes up, our psyche says:
"Knock knock, I need to show you something about yourself that you really need to see. Something is not working well here anymore. You're making yourself weak and are burning out right now and you need to make a change. I'm here to tell you that."