Are you struggling with anxiety? A lot of my clients with Lyme disease and other tick borne infections are.

I dealt with anxiety when I was sick with chronic infections. In fact, my life was so consumed with anxiety that I didn’t even know that I had anxiety—I basically WAS anxiety.

In fact, I clearly remember my Lyme literate doctor reviewing my test results (like the various genetic mutations that affected my methylation pathways), looking right at me and saying, “Are you SURE you’re not feeling anxious??”

Anxiety was where I lived ALL THE TIME. So, even though I am a health care provider, trained to recognize symptoms in patients, I didn’t recognize my own anxiety.

The fight or flight process was ongoing in my body at all times. I had multiple bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections that had taken a hold of my body and it was like I was in a constant war, fighting off these bugs so much so that I no longer felt like myself.

Like a lot of my clients, my anxiety affected my career and my interactions with other people. I avoided driving to new places as that stressed me to the point of giving me extreme diarrhea. I frequently had a feeling of doom looming over me. I was constantly in my head and not in the present moment.

How was I able to manage this anxiety and get to the other side? To a place where I feel at peace, present in the moment and in my body, without anxious thoughts racing through my head?

It involved a lot of lifestyle changes and discovering mindfulness and breathing techniques. Cannabis medicine helped calm my gut and allowed me to be in the present moment. I realized how important activities that got me in the parasympathetic nervous state were, and added those to my routine. I used a Functional Medicine approach to get to the root causes of my symptoms and healed my gut before I even worried about killing off the organisms that had taken me over.

Let me tell you—it was a process. It was not easy to make these lifestyle changes, and even harder to do without the proper support. I attribute my success towards my willingness to get the support that I needed to succeed, and my drive to seek healing wherever I might find it. The massive amount of relief and restoration of quality of life that I experienced in my healing journey led me to become the functional medicine health coach that I am today. In this position, I coach clients on how to make changes in their lives. 

So, today I want to ask you…

• What happens if you don’t make changes in your life? 
• If you continue to let your anxiety rule your world? 
• Will it cost you your career, your relationship with a significant other?

Think about the answers to those questions. I would love to hear from you on your answers if you want to share. Email me at Christine@lymesupport.com.

Also, before you go, I wanted to share with you one technique that you can use right now when you are feeling anxious and overwhelmed.

It is the Makarasana pose which allows you to have deep diaphragmatic breathing so you can get into a state of relaxation and calm your anxiety immediately.

Check out this video and get into this pose when you are feeling anxious and stressed to find some immediate relief. Concentrating on your breath brings you back to the present moment, and back to yourself.