Anxiety...Why Can't I Quit You?

I read somewhere that there are over 75 possible symptoms of perimenopause - yikes! I'm hoping most of them pass me by.  Please keep me in your thoughts :)   Unfortunately, anxiety has not moseyed on down the road.   It has parked itself right on top of me.

I am an anxious person already.  Have been my whole life.  At least I'm aware of it and working to get better.  I've tried meditation, yoga, eliminating certain foods, massages, breathing techniques, and reading LOTS of Oprah magazines.  If there's anyone who won't take any flak from a personal problem, it's Oprah.  But guess what...I'm still anxious.

Then perimenopause hit and my simmering anxiety went though the roof.  Now even my worries had worries.  I stressed out about my kids, my husband, their health, my health, my parents, our business, money.  Well, you get the picture.  The looks I was getting from the males in my house were making me more anxious.

So back to Dr. G I went.  If she was surprised to see me so soon she didn't mention it.  I love that woman!  I told her that I wasn't ready to go on anti-anxiety medication, but I was making myself and my loved ones pretty miserable.  We talked about my options and she gave me the following two suggestions.

Exercise.  I know, I know, exercise gets lots of lip service and we all know we should be doing it for our health and maintaining weight.  It's just so darn hard to get up and do it every day.  But I have found that it really, honestly works for anxiety.  I make sure I get some form of exercise most days.  Even if I just take a walk, I get moving.  About halfway through my workout I can start to feel the anxiety slipping away.

Vitamins and minerals.  I am not a doctor, and I have no medical expertise whatsoever.  I would like to share the vitamins and minerals that I'm taking, because they are helping me.  A lot.  I'm not telling you to start taking them based on my recommendation.  But if you are suffering from anxiety, what I am telling you is to print off this list, get yourself to your doctor, and ask if you can start taking them too.  You can thank me later :)  I call it my "mama's happy place" formula.  I ditched my multivitamin and I take the following amounts of these six vitamins and minerals every day with breakfast.

• Vitamin D (as cholecalciferol)  400IU
• Vitamin B-1 (as thiamine)  50mg
• Vitamin B-2 (as riboflavin)  50mg
• Vitamin B-6 (as pyrodoxine)  50mg
• Folic Acid (as folate) 400mcg
• Selenium (as 1-selenomethionine) 200mcg

Basically, these vitamins and minerals relieve fatigue, support a healthy mood and mental function, reduce anxiety, promote healthy bones and support cardiovascular health.  All things we perimenopausal women need!

I've been taking these for about 3 months.  I'm not saying that I never feel anxious. Anxiety is part of my personality, and until my hormones level out again, I'm going to have lots of worried moments. But my family has stopped cringing when I walk in the room.  Small victories, ladies, small victories.

P.S. On a lighter note, I had to tell my 16 year old son not to eat ALL of the candy in his Easter basket in one day.  Shouldn't common sense tell him this by now?  Sigh...