The Wellness Rebel Podcast

Quick Anxiety Relief with Amino Acids: The 3 Anxiety Types | Ep.19

• Season 2 • Episode 19

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Not all anxiety is the same. In this episode, we break down the 3 main anxiety types—low GABA, low serotonin, and blood sugar–driven anxiety—and the amino acids that help calm each one.

In this episode you'll learn:

  • The 3 main anxiety types (and how learning my own changed everything!)
  • How to use natural amino acids to stop these stubborn false moods 
  • Why anxiety isn’t always psychological
  • How supporting brain chemistry with amino acids can restore calm within 1-3 days


Grab the free ebook 'Quick Anxiety Relief With Amino Acids'

Book with Annika at: nourishedbynature.co
Instagram: @nourished_by_nature_wellness



IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER:
 This podcast episode is for educational and informational purposes only and solely as a self-help tool for your own use. I am not providing medical, psychological, or nutrition therapy advice.

You should not use this information to diagnose or treat any health problems or illnesses without consulting your own medical practitioner.

Always seek the advice of your own medical practitioner and/or mental health provider about your specific health situation. For my full Disclaimer, please go to https://www.nourishedbynature.co/disclaimer



SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to the Wellness Rebel Podcast, your cozy space for all things holistic mental wellness and alternative healing wisdom. I'm your host, Annika, from Nourished by Nature Wellness. Let's dive in. Welcome back to the podcast. Okay, you guys, I'm really excited to share this episode with you today. We are talking about the three most common anxiety types. Now you've probably heard me talk about false moods, false anxiety before, and that is what we are talking about when I say anxiety types. These are biochemical or nutrient imbalances that are going on, just making you feel awful, giving you symptoms. But these specific symptoms are going to match up with different low neurotransmitters. So there are three main types. Low GABA is the first one, low serotonin is the second, and the third one is blood sugar imbalances. Now every type has a different set of traits and symptoms that will point us to what we need to address. So for example, I remember not too long ago, I was trying to address with amino acids my um anxiety that had flared up. And I wasn't sure what was going wrong because I was using GABA, like I used to always, you know, use. That used to always help with the panic and you know, panic attacks, the anxiety. And then I took my neurotransmitter quiz and I was like, oh my gosh, I'm targeting the wrong anxiety type. So as soon as I started addressing low serotonin, which is what I had, I had really, really low serotonin type anxiety. All of a sudden I felt better. And um now I understand like we cannot, you know, treat anxiety all the same. It's not the same. Um, these types are really easy to address with um amino acid and simple food-based interventions, which are all in my new ebook called Quick Anxiety Relief with Amino Acids. So we are gonna be kind of referencing that a lot today. Um, that is on my website, nourished by nature.co. Go under the resources tab, and you can download it for free today. So, okay, I just wanted to kind of give you that intro so you kind of understood where we're starting. Um, and we are gonna just kind of start the episode with what exactly are amino acids? What the heck are amino acids, Anica? Maybe you're joining me for the first time and you've never even heard of amino acid therapy. So I'm gonna give you a little bit of the history um and kind of share a few examples of how I I also have seen success with my clients with amino acid therapy. Then we're gonna dive into what are the three main anxiety types. So you'll be able to figure out which anxiety type is your prominent one and which amino acids you can actually use today to start feeling better, to balance your body and brain. Um, so you probably know amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Um, they are found in protein-rich foods like meat and beans and uh gosh, what else? Anything that has protein in it, right? Eggs. Um, so you can get amino acids from food. But did you know that amino acids are also a type of supplement that we can isolate? For example, we can isolate tryptophan from you know food. And we can take that tryptophan and use that because tryptophan is what we need to create serotonin in the body to synthesize and make serotonin. So we can actually take tryptophan and use that as a natural anti-anxiety or antidepression um supplement. So um amino acid therapy has been used for decades, um, since the 80s and 90s. And my my mentor, Julia Ross, she actually had a clinic in the early to mid-80s when she was first directing her uh counseling program, which specialized in using amino acids. She started just doing counseling psychology, and um then she added on nutritionists, and they started working with amino acids to address specific moods her clients and patients were having. Um, and they were shocked at how well it was working. Significant improvements within just the first week, usually within the first 24 to 48 hours. People were reporting significant improvements, um, more than they were getting with even medications, more than they were getting with counseling or any other type of interventions, just with these simple amino acids. And so that really caught my attention when I started reading her book and Trudy Scott's book, um, The Anti-Anxiety Food Solution. And that's really what got me into doing amino acid therapy. But once I started using it for myself and feeling the effects, you know, I take the quiz and then I take the amino acid to support my low serotonin or low GABA or whatever it was. I was also completely shocked with how fast it worked and how well these amino acids worked. Um, and now I use them with my clients and I'm getting near miraculous results. Um, I just had someone who was really struggling with low moods and low motivation and just feeling like terrible, you know, like, do I need to go on medication? Which is fine. But I said, you know, well, if if you're willing to try the amino acids just for three to four days, let's see if we can get you feeling better. And we did that with this specific client I'm thinking of. And he texted me in three days, I was like, I don't know if it's the 5 HTP, but I've got motivation. I do not feel depressed anymore. And um, mind you, the depression was something he struggled with um since he was a kid. Um, so it wasn't a short-term depression. Um, he said he has the motivation to do projects to, you know, just get out there and live his life, and which was polar opposite of just three, four days before he started the 5 HTP, his friends started noticing a difference, his family started noticing a difference, and he was just on cloud nine, waking up early, just you know, doing all the things that you don't have the motivation to do. You you really can't do when you're in that freeze mode when you're feeling really depressed. So um, this motivates me every day. And that's why I wanted to, yeah, like I said, put something into your hands that you could take home today and use. So I'm just gonna quickly, through this episode, walk you through this um quick anxiety relief with amino acids guide. I'll probably do one that's called quick um, like low mood relief with amino acids, you know, quick depression relief, something like that. Um, because I do, I do want to have one that's focused on that. But if you are having low moods, please read the serotonin low type because that is most likely um highly likely to be something that's going on for you. But there's a couple other ones like low catecholamines, low endorphins that might be causing low moods. So I will make, I will get to that. I will make a guide for that, but this one's focused solely on anxiety. So let's start with what the three main anxiety types are. I'm gonna walk you through anxiety type number one, which is low GABA. And this is really, really common. Um, so let's go over what it feels like to have low GABA. You might be feeling super overwhelmed and really extra worried. This is really like, yeah, just feeling super overwhelmed is a good signal that you don't have enough GABA in your body, and that can just really cause feelings of like, I'm just so overwhelmed, so worried, hamster wheel of worry. And just um, yeah, just feeling super anxious. It can also cause you to feel like panicky as well. But GABA is really interesting because it's the one inhibitory neurotransmitter that's really the main one. It puts the brakes on those excitatory neurotransmitters. It's seriously like it soaks up adrenaline like a sponge, it calms and relaxes and soothes your muscles. It's like um a natural Valium, like it really is. If this is the if this is what you need, if you're low in GABA, it really is going to solve those problems. If you have tight muscles, clenched jaw. If you're holding your shoulders up to your ears, you know, if you're like clenching your muscles all day long, and it's really that physical tension, right? Um, so that's a good sign that you have low GABA. Um what else is there to say about that? Yeah, I mean, it's in the quiz. So you'll read about it in the quiz, but that's really when I'm when I'm hearing those things from a client, that's what I'm thinking. So when you take GABA, um, you should feel, you know, really less overwhelmed, less stressed, less anxious. You should feel calm, grounded, and relaxed. You should feel those muscles relaxing. Um, and if you take GABA before bed, it can just help you sink into a deeper, more relaxing sleep. And you can even pair GABA with L-theanine. L-theanine is from um food, it's food-based. You can find that in matcha. And L-theanine also helps the body um to produce GABA and feel really calm and relaxed. And so I love GABA. In fact, the first time I took it, I remember I was taking a quiz. I was in school taking the quiz um because we were all supposed to take the neurotransmitter quiz. So I took it and then I was like, oh my gosh, I am so, I'm scoring so high in low GABA. And I didn't even think about being low in GABA. Um, so then I bought some. I remember going outside and just, I feel like I can't even think like a like a worried thought. I'm trying to, but I can't. It was like I felt so calm. Um, not in a tipsy sort of way, in a very present, grounded way. And it was so, so nice um to finally feel like I had GABA in my system for the first time, probably ever. That was a huge, huge blessing. And I also would take it. Um, you know, if I felt like I woke up in the middle of the night feeling panicky, I would take the GABA and that would really help calm me down. So that's GABA. All right, let's move on to anxiety type number two. So, anxiety type number two is low serotonin. So, this can apply to people with low moods and depression for sure. This is a big depression type. Um, but here in this context, as far as anxiety, we can see excessive worry or looping thoughts. It's really hard to shut your mind off or stop thinking about something that you said or did. Um, maybe you're really self-critical. Um, but then also just the thoughts that are just like worst-case scenario thoughts, and you're always thinking about, oh my gosh, something bad might happen. And if you're really noticing those thoughts, that can be a good sign of low serotonin. Also, obsessive um thinking, intrusive thoughts, perfectionism. Um, you might feel panic and just feeling really like, yeah, panic attacks, anxiety attacks, fearful, really anxious and fearful. Um, phobias can be common. And then we kind of come to the emotional part where you might feel more irritable here with low serotonin. Um, GABA can be that just like I'm anxious, stressed, and worried. But with low serotonin, you can really notice that irritability, that anger, even sometimes just like rage or like a road rage. Um, just feeling really impatient. And then, especially around um when you are, you know, the week before your cycle, before your period starts, oftentimes our serotonin just will naturally dips a little bit. But if you already have low serotonin, it can dip uh dramatically and you can notice really severe PMS symptoms. So this is where 5 HTP or chyptophan, which are the amino acids to help build serotonin, can really help with PMS. Um, so yeah, irritable and just feeling like everyone is freaking you out and frustrating you. Your family is like, oh my gosh, if you, you know, if you say one more thing, I'm gonna start screaming and you're like, this isn't me. I can just tell that I'm so irritable. That can be low serotonin type anxiety. Um, if you're noticing that you are having, you know, really, like I mentioned before, low self-esteem, low self-confidence, maybe some social anxiety, and just really feeling like um, yeah, like really hard on yourself, I guess. And perfectionism is part of that. Um, that's a really good sign that there is low serotonin, too. 5HTP um and tryptophan both help your body have the raw materials to instantly start building serotonin. So I've had some clients that 5HTP works instantly, works so good for them. They instantly feel so much better. They have, they feel like joy again, they feel motivation, they feel positive, their anxiety goes away, their depression goes away. Um, and then some people have that exact same effect on the tryptophan, but the 5HTP didn't help them so much. When I work with someone in a package, I send them both, I send them all of these amino acids and we do a whole trail run, which is so fun. Um, but we'll try the 5 HTP and we'll see how they feel on that. And if it didn't, you know, work so well, then we'll know that the tryptophan is what they needed. So for you, you can buy one or the other, just small start at a small dose and see how you feel. If one doesn't work, I just want you to know to try the the other one. Okay. So I usually personally start people in 5 HTP. And if that doesn't make them feel better, you can go to tryptophan. Um, the main contraindications with 5 HTP and tryptophan are if you are on mood medications like SSRIs, and if I had someone on mood medications, we would always get the okay from their doctor and then take the um 5 HTP or tryptophan away from the moon medications so as not to interact. All right, so our third and final anxiety type is low blood sugar. Um, low blood sugar, we could do a whole podcast all about balancing blood sugar, but I'm gonna try to keep it just really brief and to the basic points that are important to remember. So when we have low blood sugar between meals, we can feel all of the symptoms of anxiety. When our blood sugar dips too low and we are not in homeostasis anymore, our body starts producing cortisol and adrenaline to try to, you know, get glucose that's stored in the body back into the bloodstream. And so, you know, when your blood sugar crashes, it's not just that you feel hangry, it's that your body is actually putting out the signals that you are in danger. So of course you don't feel good because there's all that extra cortisol and adrenaline, which can make us feel nervous, anxious, panicky, jittery, shaky, or dizzy even. Um, that can make us have mood swings, like sometimes even severe mood swings, like where you're like, I was feeling fine a second ago, but now I'm suddenly so irritable and my friend is bugging me so much, and I just, you know, I'm fatigued, I'm tired. And then you'll feel better after eating most of the time. If this is an issue, um, you know, eating a meal with protein in it will help you feel better when you're feeling, you know, just yucky low blood sugar. You might also notice insomnia or just waking up with, you know, panic, waking up feeling anxious. Sometimes your heart's racing. And that can just be because of blood sugar dips that also happen when you're asleep. So I sometimes will recommend, you know, having a snack right before bed of healthy protein, healthy fat, a handful of nuts, you know, some organic turkey meat with a little bit of avocado, something like that to keep your blood sugar stable at night. So, what we want to focus on to remedy this blood sugar imbalance is making sure we are eating a healthy breakfast, making sure we're eating three meals a day. Um, breakfast is really important because if you stabilize your stress hormones right there at the start of the day, that will help to balance your body for the rest of the day. So, starting with, you know, healthy protein, maybe 20 to 30 grams of healthy protein and one to three tablespoons of healthy fat. So this might look like three eggs cooked in ghee. It can be really simple. You could do some organic sausages with eggs. And if you are really don't have a lot of time, you can do a, you know, organic, healthy protein powder, 20-30 grams of protein mixed with full-fat coconut milk. I even like to add salon cinnamon or even just regular cinnamon, half a teaspoon or one teaspoon, because salon cinnamon really helps the body to be sensitized to insulin again and balances out our hormones and our glucose metabolism. So, other than making sure that you are getting in regularly timed meals, perhaps eating a healthy protein snack between meals, we can also add in an amino acid called L-glutamine. And L-glutamine is really fantastic for helping to stabilize our blood sugar when it is starting to dip too low. The amino acid glutamine, it will help to fuel and energize your brain if your blood sugar is dipping too low. So that's something where at the beginning you might actually want to buy some glutamine. You can use the powder or the capsule. And before breakfast, before lunch, and before dinner, you can take some, you can even empty it out right on your tongue. It will work much faster that way. And that glutamine will start to instantly start stabilizing your blood sugar and prevent any of those symptoms that are associated with the blood sugar swings. We could do a whole podcast about blood sugar, insulin, glucose, how to balance your blood sugar with a whole food, nutrient-dense way of eating. But I did include that in the quick relief for amino acids guide that I've been talking about. So it's there on page 13 actually. So if you download the guide, go to page 13. I have a whole guide and a whole seven-day meal plan that I put together last year. It's something I use with my clients and it has a lot of helpful tips on how to balance your blood sugar so that you can balance your mood. And so if you're interested in that and you want to learn more about that, just go to page 13 in my free guide and you can download that whole other guide, which is full of healthy, simple blood sugar balancing recipes. Okay, so we made it through the three main anxiety types. Now you know what amino acids are, how we use them in amino acid therapy, um, how powerful they are. And now you have everything you need to get started with amino acids for anxiety at home. All right, that's it for today's episode. Thank you so much for joining me today. And if you haven't already, I would be so grateful if you wouldn't mind taking a second and just giving the show a five star review wherever you're listening to it. And that really helps us grow the podcast and get this information out to more and more people. I will see you on the next episode. And until then, stay. Nourished, my friend. If this episode resonated with you and you're ready to stop guessing and start supporting your brain chemistry right at the root, Mood Alchemy is for you. We start at the very beginning with amino acid therapy and assessing your specific neurotransmitters that need support so you can start feeling better within the first month of working together. You can find all the information as well as how to book your intro call with me to get started at nourished by nature.co