The Most Underrated Tool for Managing Anxiety

When your like, basic lifestyle stuff is neglected, we have less capacity to handle our shit. Hey there and welcome to let's Talk about it with Laurie Streeter. A space to talk honestly and get real about mental health, therapy and all things wellness. I'm Lori, licensed therapist, speaker and your host. Here to bring you insights, tools and information you can actually use. Whether you're navigating anxiety, healing your relationship with food, or trying to figure out which techniques will work for your life. I'm so glad you're here. Let's dive in and let's talk about it. Welcome back. You're listening to let's Talk about it with Laurie Streeter. I'm Lori and we're going to get right into it today because this is something that has been rolling around my mind all the time. These are like constant thoughts I have and a lot of times I have very similar themes, conversations, patterns that I see with clients. And when things start to come up regularly, I'm like, I gotta talk about this more. I gotta talk about this openly. I have to dig into this more. If I have a few clients struggling with this, I know more people are. So this is something that I've really been thinking about and it's about lifestyle and we're just gonna jump right in. So the most underrated tool you have right now to help you manage your anxiety is your lifestyle. There are countless tips and tools and tricks and techniques and skills and coping mechanisms and books and podcasts and articles and research, like endless amount of things we have at our fingertips, which is amazing. It is a double edged sword of the world we're living in right now, right? Having everything at our fingertips and almost being inundated with information and also, oh my gosh, we could have any information we want at our fingertips and how cool is that? But you have to be discerning about where your resources, where your information's coming from. But what we are forgetting is basic stuff, our lifestyle stuff. So your lifestyle is actually responsible for a huge part of how stress affects you. You can have all the coping skills in the world, but if you are not sleeping, if you're not eating well, if you don't get physical activity and you have a way to like discharge that anxious energy, the stress, the nervousness, whatever it is, you're only going to be so effective, so good at managing stress. When we are stressed and anxious, the first things to go are how we take care of ourselves, right? Especially for women, when you're busy and your kids need you or work is demanding the first thing you do is you wake up earlier or you stay up later. I hear people stay up later more often than I hear they wake up earlier. They're like, oh my God, I can't get up in the morning because I stayed up so late. So the first things to go are basic lifestyle things that literally create the foundation for everything. The times you need a healthy lifestyle the most. Like in a moment of stress or in a moment when life is just lifing, you probably neglect it more. And so now we are coming at stress from a deficit and now we're able to tolerate less, right? But if I'm in a really good place and stress happens, life happens, change happens, something goes on, I'm in a good place to handle it. And if I do my damnedest to take care of myself through that, I'm going to be able to manage more effectively and make it through to the other side. But if you are coming into a season of stress already from a deficit because you don't take care of yourself, and then the ways you do take care of yourself start to fall by the wayside when you are stressed, you're going to have a harder time recovering and being able to cope and manage and all of the things. So the most underrated tool you have is your lifestyle. And I share tips and tools and tricks and breathing and all kinds of stuff. It's all important. I will always drive home the importance of the basics. We're living in a world where what's the next tip or the magic bullet or the next big supplement on TikTok, right? Like things get their time in the sun and they go, go mainstream and they're promoted. Or even things I teach, like I said, I mean I, I teach this stuff and that's great. But we have to recognize what's being neglected when we are looking for that next thing, that big help, the thing that's going to fix it all the stress relieving gummies or whatever it is, right? I'm not saying this stuff doesn't work, but what kind of foundation do you have already that you're layering these tips and tools and supplements and techniques and skill on top of? Are you building a house on a shaky foundation? Do you already have a cracked foundation and shaky walls and you're trying to do all kinds of extra stuff that, like I said, it's helpful, but it really doesn't have anything to get its hooks into and can't fully work because the foundation is cracked, because you haven't set up something solid for it to work from right, for it to grab onto. When your like basic lifestyle stuff is neglected, we have less capacity to handle our shit. Like when I'm not sleeping, I'm less patient, I'm less tolerant, I can't focus, I can't make decisions. Sleep is so imperative. When I'm not eating well, I don't physically feel well. And sugar causes brain fog and all kinds of things. We know sugar's bad for us. And I'm not saying don't eat sugar, but I know when I'm not eating well and I'm not trying to get nutrients and protein and all the things I physically and emotionally feel like crap. Like I don't feel well and I'm mad at myself. So now I'm stressed, I don't feel well and now I'm pissed that I'm not eating well. Like it's this whole really, really, really shitty cycle. So sleep, eating, relationships, when we're stressed and then we isolate ourselves, we're not connected to other people and that's what life is all about. Or that's what some people say. Whether you subscribe to that idea or not, like we still need some kind of social interaction. I really just want you to think about the things in your life that are being neglected, that are creating a very shaky foundation for all the other things you're looking for. And if you are someone who's constantly looking for the next stress relieving gummy or the next tip or this breathing exercise or what did this influencer on TikTok say? Or I should try this thing or use that necklace that you blow into and it helps with anxiety in the moment. Again, all these things are fine. I love that we have all these resources at our fingertips and be discerning about it. But look at your lifestyle first. Because most people who struggle with anxiety and stress there is lifestyle stuff being neglected. I see this in my office day in and day out. This is why I take a very holistic approach to therapy. Because we are not just what we think we are, how we eat, how we move, who we spend our time with, how we spend our free time, how you're sleeping, what all of the things. And so much of that stuff is foundational. Think about building your capacity to tolerate stress and manage anxiety from a place of a solid foundation of a good lifestyle and that's going to look different to everybody. I like to work out every day, maybe a couple times a week does it for you, that's fine. But we're not meant to Be sedentary. So if you're not moving your body at all, it is probably affecting you. So things exist on a spectrum. So this is gonna look different from person to person. But I do want you to think about your lifestyle. I want to promise you, and I hate to make promises, but I can almost make the promise that it is the most underrated tool that we have to manage anxiety. And it is something that I constantly address with my clients and they know that it is super important. And when they start to tend to that stuff and recognize what they've been neglecting, they do start to feel better. And then all the other things they're learning work that much better and that much more effectively because they have like something solid to build from. So just something to think about. If this resonates with you, thinking about your lifestyle, what's being neglected, is it causing things to be out of alignment and is it limiting your capacity to even handle any stress that comes your way? As always, take care of yourself. I will talk to you next time and don't forget to tag me on Instagram and share where you're listening from. I love to see what episodes are resonating and what's helping and I will talk to you soon. Thanks for hanging out with me today on let's Talk about it with Laurie Streeter. If this episode resonated with you, it would mean so much if you'd leave a five star review, share it with a friend, or come say hi on Instagram. Lori Streeter, your support will help this podcast grow and I so appreciate you being here today. I want to help people just like you feel like they're not alone and gain the tools they need to grow. Until next time, take care.