Healthy eating/gardening/anxiety

[rainbowninja]

Is anyone interested in joining a thread about the impact of healthy eating on their mental health?

I've suffered from anxiety for years but it's been a lot worse since I became a mum.

With lockdown in the mix I just feel physically and emotionally depleted.

I've had some tests done and I know that I am low in certain vitamins etc. I've been recommended supplements to take and to 'eat the rainbow' (basically eat shed loads of veg). I want to give it a go for my own sake and my daughter because I know I'm not being the best mum to her. I'm anxious and irritable.

It feels quite overwhelming but I am quite interested in learning about nutrition, I also quite like the idea of having a go at growing some of my own veg as I've been enjoying being outside lately and I know it helps me.

I don't want to do it on my own though so I wondered if there were any other anxious mumsnetters out there that would be interested in learning/growing with me. No pressure to change anything overnight, maybe we could just cheer each other on for drinking an extra glass of water or something?

I've had a hectic but good bank holiday weekend. I'm struggling to sleep now because I'm overtired. Need to get up at 5.30am for work tomorrow!

How was your weekend Rainbow? Harissa sounds interesting. I've never had it. I made goujons using basa fillets. I normally stick to salmon and mackerel but they didn't have any with a good date. It wasn't as nice as salmon but it was nice to try something different. I also made shortbread, which my dd decorated with chocolate.

That's an early one @Lokikitty hope you managed to get to sleep ok.

The weekend was good, we're slowly catching up with family we haven't seen in a long time. I did get tempted by a few things food wise but I've mainly stuck to my healthy eating and am really enjoying eating home cooked food rather than processed food or takeaways.

I feel a bit better during the days but still feel a bit low in mood/anxious in the evenings.

How do you make your fish goujons? Are they breadcrumbed?

I got to sleep around 1.00am. Somehow managed to get through the day on 4 hours sleep. My second bus to work takes an hour. I tried to sleep on the bus but couldn't. I'm having a very early night tonight.

Glad you had a good weekend Rainbow. I'm not tempted by takeaways at the moment. I've got out of that habit.

Do you feel better during the day because you are busier?

The fish is dipped in flour and egg. Then a mixture of breadcrumbs, cheese, parsley and seasoning. Love how simple the recipe is.

Hope you've managed to catch up on some sleep @Lokikitty, I don't think I would have been able to sleep on a bus either.

Agree, it's very easy to get into the habit of takeaways but once you haven't had them for a while you don't miss them.

I'm a bit busier and I also seem to recover a little quicker when I have low or anxious moments. I think that's the healthy eating 🤞🏻

I like the sound of the fish goujons, I'm not sure how much difference cutting out gluten and dairy has had for me so when I reintroduce them that's something I can try. Did a roast chicken earlier and got some leftover to do something with tomorrow but haven't decided what yet.

I did manage to catch up on my sleep Rainbow.

I thought about cutting out gluten and dairy to see if it helps with my IBS. I decided against it because cutting out processed food and added sugars and having less meat was enough of a challenge.

Hope you managed to make something nice with the leftover chicken.

I've had a good couple of days doing agency work. I've treated myself to some bargains from charity shops near work. I found some lovely clothes.

I think that sounds really sensible @Lokikitty you can only change so many things at once, has the reduced sugar and less processed food helped with the IBS at all do you think?

I made quinoa salad with the roasted chicken, it wasn't too exciting if I'm honest. I keep going back to quinoa because I'm so convinced it's good for me but I think it needs a lot of flavour adding to it!

Glad you were able to treat yourself and made some good charity shop finds, always rewarding!

It's been raining all day here and I fancy making a veggie chilli tonight, feels like comfort food weather!

It's definitely helped with the IBS. I like veggie chilli. I haven't had it for ages. The weather has been very changeable. It was cold this morning, then quite hot in the afternoon.

I've just found out that my sister has tested positive for covid and I saw her when we went out for a meal. I have to self isolate until Friday. I hate being stuck at home. I have got my DD for company though.

How are you doing Rainbow? I ordered pcr tests for me and my DD, just in case work are okay with me testing instead. Then I could return to work on Tuesday. I'm already struggling being at home. It just feels really strange not being out and about.

I'm getting my food shopping delivered this afternoon. Hoping to do a bbq for a late lunch. My DD's not feeling well. I don't think it's covid, she's been really tired for ages. The bbq will be something nice to do while we're isolating.

Found out something horrible about a family member yesterday. Not really processed it yet but feeling a bit strange at the moment. I process things very slowly.

Hi @Lokikitty sorry to hear you've had some not so great news, take your time in processing it if that's what you need to do.

I hope your sister is ok, that's really bad luck and I get what you are saying about being stuck in. My anxiety means I'm not able to get out much at the moment and it gets pretty tedious, not to mention lonely 😞

How did the bbq go? I did a load of roasted veg in tomato sauce again today, had it with rice at lunchtime and it was delicious.

Will your work accept a negative test result if you get one?

Hi Rainbow, I didn't end up doing a bbq. A friend got me something that was unavailable from my Tesco online shop. When she dropped the food off, I saw a rat about a metre away from my door. So decided to do roast chicken and mash instead. I did omelette wraps for tea.

Work have asked me self isolate. I'll just keep the pcr tests for future use.

Your lunch sounds lovely. I haven't done roasted vegetables for a while.

What do you like to do when you're at home? So far I've decluttered my bedroom, planted some flowers and pulled out a load of weeds. Wish I could relax but I'm constantly reminded of things that need doing.

Fair enough, I wouldn't fancy that either! Not seen a rat in our garden for a while but have seen one quite brazenly eating spilled bird feed 😯

I don't think I've tried an omelette wrap, what did you have inside them?

I'm much the same even though I'm at home most of the time I'm still always finding jobs to do. I have really been
enjoying healthy cooking recently. I sit down with a cookbook or magazine
And bookmark all the recipes
I like the sound of!

I put tomatoes, onions and spices in the omelette.

I got my DD to choose a recipe for lunch. She wanted chicken with lemon, honey and soy sauce. It was really nice.

I've pulled out more weeds today and i've done paint by numbers. Just made some cookies 😋

How are you doing @Lokikitty? I like the sound of the lunch your daughter chose!

Are you still having to isolate?

I'm on tenterhooks a bit today because I'm starting a new therapy this afternoon. It's called compassion focused therapy. I think there is a bit of me that is worried that I am beyond help but I guess that's why I need the therapy!

Hi Rainbow, I'm feeling quite productive today. I've cleaned the kitchen and made fishcakes for lunch.

Work have asked me to isolate until Friday. So 2.5 days to go.

I haven't heard of compassion focused therapy. Let me know how it goes 💐

I used to think that I am broken. It's only lately that I have accepted that I am different and that's okay. My life is quite limiting in some ways but that's just the way it is. Our past shapes us and certain things are out of our control. Which is why I like to focus on healthy eating and exercise. I have control over these things.

How did your counselling go Rainbow? Hope you had a good counsellor.

I attempted to do more decluttering today but it got a bit too much. So decided to do something practical and cleaned all the windows instead. I played a game of badminton with my DD. Well I tried, I'm terrible at all sports! 1 day left of the isolation.

Not long to go now @Lokikitty! You sound like you've made the best of the time off anyway.

I like that - we're just different and that's ok. Yes I think the counselling did go well, it was a youngish man, he was very approachable and it felt like a helpful conversation. Past sessions with therapists have gone like a flash and I didn't really know what the point was but he asked
good questions that showed me he seemed to understand what it was like to live with anxiety.

I'm glad you find the healthy eating empowering, I do too 💪🏻

I'm glad that the counselling went well Rainbow. It's great that you've got someone understanding. It makes a big difference when someone gets it.

I managed to get on with a few more chores this morning. Then lost motivation in the afternoon. Just been watching tv.

I was glad to go back to work today but I'm also annoyed and stressed out. I found out today which class I will be working in next year. I've been told that I'm staying in the same class. I'm really surprised and annoyed. I've been counting down the weeks to the summer, thinking that I will definitely be in a different class next year.
I also got told that I should have asked work what resources needed preparing while I was self isolating. I had no idea this was expected of me and it's pointless telling me today!

Sorry for having a rant. How has your day been?

Hi @Lokikitty, oh no that doesn't sound like what you needed first day back. You're welcome to rant, I miss work but it's easy to forget the many stresses jt causes. Will you be with the same children in September?

I've felt a little bit anxious and down today but one positive thing is that I've started a new training course. It's a distance learning course that I'm doing in functional nutrition. Bit scary but exciting too to think that I might be able to turn this interest in healthy eating into a job!

What work did you do Rainbow?

That's great news about the training course. Sounds really positive. How are you finding it so far?

I won't be with the same children next year. This is one of the things that I am really disappointed about. I love the class I've been with this year and if they had let me move up with them, I could have spent another year with them.

I work in a reception. It's 2 classes and open plan, so pretty chaotic. We've a lot more children next year, so will be even worse.

Thanks @Lokikitty so far so good with the course, I get easily stressed so trying to pace myself

I used to work in social care, did a variety of jobs. My favourite was working as an employment advisor for people with disabilities and helping get them into paid work. I got to go out to workplaces so there was lots of variety and I worked with some lovely people 😊

I'm sorry you're not going to be with the same class next year, that must be a blow especially if you weren't expecting it. From
my own experience I feel like the kids really need some continuity right now. DD will go into year 2 in September but she's missed chunks of reception and year 1 due to the lockdowns and knowing it will change in September is causing her some anxiety.

Glad your course is going okay. It sounds like you really enjoyed your job.

Sorry to hear that your DD is anxious about going into y2. Do school know about this? Maybe they could reassure her.

I've had a good day, despite being mithered about work . Went to Nando's for lunch and a games cafe. Been for a walk with a friend. I'm doing steak for tea 😋. Then making cake pops.

How are you @Lokikitty? What are cake pops? They sound nice!

I've been on a pretty strict regime this week, I'm trying an elimination diet to check for food intolerances. You basically cut out dairy, gluten, soy and sugar for 3 weeks then reintroduce them 1 by 1 to see what impact it has. It feels like it's worth doing although it's pretty restrictive.