Bust anxiety before it leads to depression

I vividly remember a time in my life when I was alone. 

I don’t mean simply that I missed my friends and family – although I did. I mean I was desolate – solitary and aching with loneliness inside. 

I was in the UAE, beating myself up everyday trying to earn a penny or two. My new boss was younger than me, a challenge to my ego. The pressure of my having to ‘make it’, the intense loneliness and utter lack of self-esteem crippled me with anxiety. 

I virtually lived in my little car as I scuttled through each shimmering road mirage to the next appointment, a smile forced onto my face.

I did what seventy-five per cent of us in this country do. I ignored it. I ended up nearly leaping from the world’s tallest building – a sorry tale you’ll find in my book, “Suicide To Success”.  

According to recent figures, more than 40% of disability worldwide is due to depression or anxiety. 

Shocking, isn’t it? Only a quarter of us seek treatment for anxiety when it snaps at our ankles. 

Anxiety has a nasty habit of mutating into full blown depression when it’s left untreated. And depression’s biggest serial murderer of men under the age of fifty in the UK. 

ANXIETY BUSTING

Talking about what’s happening to you on that deep, lonely level is the first step to your avoiding the onset of depression. There are things you can do for yourself to nip it in the bud – like therapy, meditation, exercise and medication. 

But there’s a popular routine that many of us fall into when we’re feeling anxious that could be perpetuating your suffering. You can break this cycle and feel a lot brighter. 

1)     BOOZY NIGHTS

Remember the old quip, “If you booze, you lose”? Well, it turns out to be true.

Sure, everything in moderation … but if you’re feeling anywhere near as down now as I was in sunny Dubai then you’re probably using it to self-medicate. “Moderation” is likely to fly out of the window. Alcohol dehydrates you, disturbs your serotonin levels and sleep patterns – all of which heighten anxiety. 

2)   CAFFEINATED MORNINGS

Because you boozed, you snoozed badly. So, you reach for the coffee throughout the morning – adding creamer to it. Both of them interfere with your serotonin levels – decreasing it to make you feel depressed. The caffeine gives you the jitters and an anxious knot in your stomach where breakfast should have gone instead.

The creamer? Well, that’s a source of trans fats, now linked to mental health imbalance. If you’re sure that you need to try to get off dairy at this point in your life, rather opt for almond or soy milk. And don’t get me started on sugar. 

This is a start that you can make to help yourself right now if you’re suffering with anxiety and haven’t told anyone about it yet. The best thing you can do though, is to start talking. 

Don’t wait. You’re destined to be a great man – not another statistic.