“There are emotional things driving anxiety, and there’s also physical stuff that drives anxiety.”
– Angela

Angela had always been exceptionally confident and adventurous – living life free of anxiety. But when hit with Lyme disease and irritable bowel syndrome in her 20s, she felt anxious for the first time in her life.

Angela went on to heal her Lyme and IBS with diet and targeted supplements, and her anxiety eased in the process. Because of her experience, she also became a digestive health coach to guide others like her.

Then years later, when health issues arose again, anxiety and depression came roaring back.

Learn how Angela eased her anxiety by mainly treating her physical issues.

Anxiety with Adrenal Fatigue and Elevated Thyroid Antibodies

For Angela, 2020 brought challenges beyond the pandemic. She suffered from mold toxicity from a rental home in Argentina, and stress from the subsequent move.

That’s when anxiety and depression returned for the first time in more than a decade, and changed how she experienced the world.

“I wouldn’t go anywhere without my husband,” she recalls. “I’m a very independent person, so that’s really weird for me. I didn’t know at the time, but there are emotional things driving anxiety, and there’s also physical stuff that drives anxiety.”

Next, after she resettled in Berlin, pandemic-related stress further eroded her health. Soon, she had adrenal fatigue, elevated thyroid antibodies – including a Hashimoto’s disease diagnosis – and was hit with another tick bite. Plus, mold illness symptoms lingered, including dizziness, tingling, low blood pressure and brain fog.

Angela treated the physical causes of anxiety, including adrenal fatigue, elevated thyroid antibodies, mold toxicity and stress, and found anxiety relief.

Angela’s Steps to Heal the Body and Mind

As a health coach, Angela focused on giving her body what it needed to heal:

  • Lowered her thyroid antibodies with selenium and inositol
  • Supported her adrenals with adaptogens and by halving her caffeine intake
  • Avoided foods she tested sensitive to, and ate a clean, nurturing diet
  • Began taking B vitamins
  • Treated H. pylori naturally
  • Took phosphorous for anxiety and depression
  • Calmed her nervous system by seeing a physiotherapist, who worked on her tense jaw and applied mud packs
  • Focused on self-care and self-acceptance
  • Reduced stress with walks and more outdoor time, plus paused social media use
  • Hired a medical psychic for insights
  • Turned to somatic therapy to release trauma in the body

Anxiety and Depression Lifted

Angela’s focus on her body soon extended to her mood. Her anxiety and depression lifted as she felt better physically.

She can’t pinpoint exactly what helped the most in her multi-pronged approach to it all. But she knows that healing her body also boosted her mental health.

“I think when the anxiety and depression were lifted, finally, it just felt like everything else was manageable,” she says. “And just the better I felt emotionally, the less I focused on my symptoms, the better everything got physically too.”

Check out Angela’s previous success story with irritable bowel syndrome: Woman Eliminates 6 Years of IBS with Diet and Lifestyle Changes.