Insights

  It is human nature to have anxious thoughts. We’ve all experienced moments where we feel stuck in a rut of negative feelings and emotions. Anxiety is the most common mental health condition in Australia, being more prevalent than ever before. I am aware that for many their only relief is pharmeceutical medications. However, I wanted to share some ways I manage moments of anxiousness that come into my life. I really love the image that Gabor Maté speaks of when he talks about anxiety. He says that if a gardener noticed his plants weren’t well, he would look at the soil and the nature. We need to do the same with humans.   1. Stop eating processed foods Since I started my nutrition course I have become really aware of the impact of blood sugar spikes on our overall health. Symptoms of poor glycemic regulation has been shown to mirror mental health symptoms such as anxiety. My rule of thumb is only eating snacks and meals that could be prepared in a kitchen. An easy indicator is if you don’t understand the ingredients list on a product, don’t eat it! I highly recommend following @glucosegoddess for more information on this. Life is too short to be strict 100% of the time, but I really recommend if you’re feeling more anxious than usual to eat nutritious and whole-food meals. We really need to change our bad habit of resorting to junk food to comfort ourselves. 2. Swap coffee to matcha It is human nature to wake up with higher cortisol levels in the morning. If you are feeling anxious, the last thing your body needs is caffeine to add to this cortisol spike. I used to drink triple shot coffee in the morning and always wondered why I couldn’t sleep at night, I would lie awake thinking about everything I said and did that day. I eventually swapped to matcha and became addicted to the positive effects of this antioxidant-rich drink. Although matcha still has caffeine, it slowly releases in the body over 6-8 hours compared to coffee where your caffeine spikes after 15-45 minutes. If I am having an anxious period in my life, I will wait at least 90 minutes after rising before consuming my first cup. 3. Limit Alcohol consumption I can be the first one to admit that I used to use wine as a relief for my anxiety. When I first started modelling, I had to get used to travelling to new places, and working with new people every day. I would drink 2-3 glasses of red wine every night to “help me sleep” and “relax me”. Little did I know that this was actually making it worse. I built a reliance on this routine to fall asleep, which eventually left me with worsened anxiety and fatigue. I now only drink on special occasions and it has turned my life around. To not have a dependence on a substance and to feel full of energy most days has allowed me to show up as my best to my loved ones, to work and to myself. I really suggest limiting your alcohol to 2-3 glasses per week, and save your blow outs for special occasions! 4. Mindfulness and Breathwork I used to be such a go-go person, I didn’t want to sit still. I would go from a workout, to a social arrangement, to a another social arrangement and stay out until it was time for bed. This constant moving around wasn’t helping with my anxious feelings because in reality I was just distracting myself from my thoughts. In the evenings when I finally stopped, the thoughts would rush in and it would leave me wide-eyed in bed. Introducing journalling, meditation and breathwork into my life has allowed me to go inwards. I accept the thoughts that enter my mind, but I now have a way to let them go. Research has found that 85% of what people worry about never happens! The sooner we can let go of thoughts that don’t serve us, the sooner we can find inner-peace. 5. Move your body Nothing beats the feel good feeling after a workout. It’s energising and inspiring. However, I know that when I’m feeling anxious and stressed it can be the last thing I feel like doing. Often after I have done my mindfulness exercises, I feel a sense of gratitude for the ability to move my body. In these moments i’ll opt for a walk and swim in the ocean or a boxing class to let out some of that anxious energy.

  I am constantly talking about gut health, but it truely is at the centre of our mental and physical health. I live a very fast pace life, travelling a lot, working late hours with early call times. A lack of sleep, stress and other factors have been hurdles I’ve had to overcome. I’ve experienced first hand their impact on my gut even with a healthy diet and adequate supplement regime. I wanted to share what disruptors may be impacting your gut health. Sometimes it’s about more than just what you put in your body. 1. Lack of sleep Rest really is the best medicine! Sleep is time for our body to reset and recharge. A lack of sleep can negatively impact the quality of the microbiome. Similarly to sleep, the gut microbiome works off a circadian rhythm. This means when our sleeping patterns aren’t optimal, the health of our microbiome is disrupted, impacting our overall health and immunity. A nighttime routine helps the body get into deep rest. Reading before bed, no phone after 8pm and a chamomile tea are my non-negotiables. I also aim to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day. 2. Stress As soon as I feel stressed, I can feel my entire digestion change. I can’t eat a thing and if I do I can't keep it in (sorry if that’s too much information!). This is a signal that your microbiome isn’t working optimally and absorbing the nutrients in the food. Managing stress is a crucial aspect to our gut health. A relaxed state is best for our digestive system. I focus on daily meditation, breath-work and slower movement. I also focus on mindful eating, I am not distracted by my phone and stay as present as I can. 3. Lack of movement We all know the importance of exercise, but I have recently discovered how important it is for our gut health. Moving our body allows proper blood flow, keeping your muscles healthy and strong. Their are muscles in our digestive system as well. Research has found a significant improvement to gut health after 6 weeks of regular physical exercise. From my own experience, it really doesn’t need to be vigorous exercise. Walking is incredible for digestion, even just 30 minutes in the morning makes such a big difference. 4. Environmental Toxins Our gut is highly sensitive to everything we put in and on our bodies. Environmental toxins can be found in plastic, the air we breathe, and beauty and household products. These toxins have a negative effect on our gut microbiome. I recently discovered the app Yuka, and it has helped so much at determining what products are safe to use. To improve your gut health, I recommend swapping to more natural alternatives when you can. Deodorant and cleaning products are two big culprits, with lots of nasty toxins! 5. Poor Diet Last but not least, I had to mention diet. The saying “We are What we Eat” couldn’t be more true. Highly processed food has become such a staple in the average persons diet. These foods are high in sugar, causing inflammation and damaging our gut walls. A diet rich in whole foods, full of fibre and probiotics is so nourishing for our gut. My rule of thumb is that if I wouldn’t be able to make the meal in the kitchen, I’m not eating it. My favourite gut health foods include fish, avocado, seeds and nuts, kimchi and lots of garlic and onion. It’s crucial that we aim to eat foods in their most natural form.

In the western world, it has become the norm to run at 100 miles an hour all the time! I am guilty of living this way for the majority of my 20s. I have always tried to squeeze the maximum output in a day, running around on empty, neglecting all the signs to slow down. Stress is inevitable in anyones life, it is natural, and part of being human. Our body is incredible and was built in a way to best survive when in danger. When we feel stress it affects the sympathetic nervous system and prepares the body to fight any perceived threat. However, our bodies are not meant to feel stress as often as we do. It is unlikely that we are being chased by a lion or a bear, however our body reacts in the same way from a stressful email from a colleague or a triggering post on social media. With this in mind, it is so important that we prioritise our mental health. We need to be able to shift our narrative and not let our thoughts take over the show. An effective way to boost your mental health and manage stress is by incorporating self-care into your weekly schedule. What is self-care? I wanted to start off by defining self-care. I think TV shows and Instagram have glamorised it to eating ice cream on the couch, watching television or to be honest just being lazy! Self-care is defined as the deliberate and intentional use of activities and habits that relieve stress. Self-care when done correctly stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system. This returns the body to a recovery state and eases fear and anxiety in that moment. Self-care practices prevent you from building too much stress, and better prepares you for challenges that come your way. Why we need to schedule self-care into our lives As I mentioned before we are in this “hustle” culture environment. This comes with a lot more stress which is detrimental to our body. It creates inflammation, impacts our mood, can mess with our hormones, reduce our ability to recover from infection, causes digestive issues, aches and pains in the body to just say a few! Just like we book our pilates classes in for the week, we need to schedule in self-care. Self-care doesn’t have to take all day, it can be just 10 minutes. From my own experience, if we don’t pencil this in we never seem to get it done. What self-care looks like to me I am the self proclaimed self-care queen now! Once you start getting into the routine of it, it is just second nature. I personally love saunas, daily meditation, drinking 3L of water, journalling, feeding my body with home-cooked meals and walking in nature. When my work schedule is extremely demanding, I still find time for a few of these rituals every week. I show up better not only to myself, but to everyone around me. We all enjoy being surrounded by stress free people, so let it be a goal to live a more calm and present life by adopting these practices. Find what works best for you When we don’t manage our stress it gets stuck in our bodies, we bottle it up until we eventually explode. We feel fatigued, are irritable and honestly are just not enjoyable to be around. We need to all find what works for us. Self-care is bio-individual. I’ve created a 30- day self care check list with many options for you to try. Schedule it in everyday, and I promise you will feel a lot calmer, be more productive and an all around happier person.