Sensitive Buds & Anxiety

Hi friends! Happy Tuesday!!

You’ve probably already noticed, but I’ve been eating a lot of raw food lately. Not only is raw food perfect for HOT days, but it’s also helps me prepare for big events! In my experience, eating a high raw diet helps shed excess weight and bloat, get rid of cravings for junk food, and makes my skin glow! And since I have a bridesmaid dress to squeeze into in less than 6 weeks (yikes!!), it’s CRUNCH TIME!

Another side-effect of eating a high-raw diet (at least for me, anyway) is super-sensitive taste buds! I swear, I made the exact same juice yesterday I always do:

Romaine, Kale, 1/2 apple, 1/2 beet, 1/2 lemon–> and it was SICKENINGLY SWEET to me! What’s the deal?

Same thing happened with my green smoothie for lunch:

Pretty normal combo: Blender full of spinach, 1 cup blueberries, 1 frozen banana, 1 T. cocoa, unsweetened chocolate Almond Breeze, 1 tsp. spirulina. And again, it was WAY TOO SWEET!!

My hyper-sensitive buds are throwing me for a loop! I usually LOVE sweet stuff! I can’t get enough of it!!

So, today, I opted for a less-sweet juice:

Pretty, huh?

Too bad it tasted like DEATH!!

I don’t know WHERE I went wrong, but something was seriously wrong with this juice! I took one sip, and thought I had just drank poison! It’s strange, because all my produce was organic, but my juice had an almost-chemical taste to it! SO BAD. I even tried one more sip… just to see if my taste buds were playing tricks on me. Nope! It was just as disgusting the second-time around.

Down the drain it went.

I really wish I knew WHY my juice was so bad– was it the cucumber I used? Was the lemon not ripe enough? Whatever it was, I’m not willing to repeat it!! I’m going on a shopping trip today to buy all-new produce! I had already run out of romaine and apples, so it’s perfect timing. I’m kinda scared to use those lemons or kale again, too! It was truly THAT bad!! Blech.

Another thing I’m hoping eating a high-raw diet will help me with is my anxiety. I haven’t really talked about my anxiety attacks on the blog before, because they really haven’t been an issue for me lately– at least, they weren’t until the past week. The first time I remember having an anxiety attack was my sophomore year in college, while I was driving to class. All of the sudden, a rush of panic took over my body, and I felt like I was struggling to breath and might pass out! It was terrifying, and I immediately pulled over and took a minute to relax. It didn’t happen every time I drove, but occasionally it happened to me while I was sitting in class, too! I decided it was a good idea to visit my doctor, and tell her about my sympotms–> and she immediately prescribed anti-depressant/anxiety drugs for me. This was long before I knew much about health or diet, so I just assumed that taking pills was the best way to fix it. I was especially stressed at this time about transferring to another college, so I figured it was a temporary thing, anyway.

After a few months, my roommate at the time commented that she was amazed at how calm I was all the time– almost like I was in a trance. I wasn’t as stressed or anxious, but I also wasn’t very happy! It was like the medications numbed ALL of my emotions! I almost immediately decided to quit the medication (which, by the way, isn’t a very good idea without consulting with your doctor!! I’m NOT recommending that!), because I felt like I was missing out on life, and I wasn’t even sure the anxiety attacks were going to happen anymore. And they really haven’t been all that terrible again until recently. The problem is, I don’t know what’s triggering them this time!

Yesterday, when I was driving to pick up my husband from the airport, I experienced my WORST anxiety attack to date! Almost immediately when I got onto the highway, I felt my hands and legs go tingly– the same “pins and needles” feeling you get when your foot falls asleep. I tried to take calm breaths through my nose during the drive, even though I was freaking out, and I managed to talk myself through the whole 45-minute drive. But that’s not to say I wasn’t worried I’d pass out at any minute! It was so scary.

Curious to see if these symptoms were “normal” for an anxiety attack, I decided to do some research last night. Here’s a brief description of what I found:

Anxiety attacks, known as panic attacks in mental health circles, ­are episodes of intense panic or fear. Anxiety attacks usually occur suddenly and without warning. Sometimes there’s an obvious trigger— getting stuck in an elevator, for example, or thinking about the big speech you’re giving in a few hours—but in other cases, the attacks come out of the blue.

Anxiety attacks usually peak within ten minutes, and they rarely last more than a half hour. But during that short time, the terror can be so severe that you feel as if you’re about to die or totally lose control. The physical symptoms are themselves so frightening that many people believe they’re having a heart attack. After an anxiety attack is over, you may be worried about having another one, particularly in a public place where help isn’t available or you can’t easily escape.

Symptoms of an anxiety attack include:

[source]

I have to say, this sounds EXACTLY like what I was experiencing! Now that I’ve identified it, I’m looking into ways to deal with my anxiety– starting with the natural options, of course! I’ve ordered a book on Natural Relief for Anxiety, and I’m wondering if perhaps I’m lacking a vitamin or mineral? (I’ll be asking my doctor for a blood work-up next time I visit, to find out for sure!) I know magnesium is important– so I’m doing everything I can to get an extra dose!

Starting with some Natural Calm:

Here’s hoping I get to the bottom of all this!

And I hope you guys all have a wonderful day!!

Reader Feedback: Have you ever had an anxiety attack? How do you manage stress or anxiety?

P.S. Did anyone watch the Bachelorette last night? I thought it was kinda BORING!! I feel like they give away everything in the previews… so by the time we actually see the “real” footage, it’s nothing new!

P.P.S. We saw Inception last night, and it was AMAZING!! Everything I hoped it would be and more. If you’re only going to see ONE movie this summer, this is the one to see!! Seriously!

Related posts:

1. Drink your veggies!
2. Whole Foods told me to do it…
3. Food Matters
4. Un-sweet Wednesday
5. Motivational Monday