I didn’t know I had anxiety until I was almost thirty.  It sounds kind of silly, because once I look back and identify my symptoms and reactions to situations - it’s glaringly obvious.  Thankfully I was able to escape most situations that triggered my anxiety and retreat back to the safety of my home. But then, my safe space at home started being plagued by a multitude of anxious thoughts: family, health, finances, work, etc. I couldn't escape them. Despite my own coping mechanisms, I knew it was time to seek out help.

I hit rock bottom and needed help with my mental health

I’m a huge advocate for mental health and for talking about things with friends, family (that you feel comfortable with) and professionals.  I’m also a huge hypocrite because I’ve found it hard to follow my own advice over the years.  

After a particularly hard year in 2021, I finally booked a doctor’s appointment with my family doctor to talk about the way I’d been feeling.  At that point, my life felt as if it was flipped up-side down;  My relationship had ended, my older sister and I were now estranged, and my mother’s health wasn’t great and was steadily declining.  In the midst of all of this, we found out my mother’s cancer had returned and I had to find a way to move my belongings home to PEI from across the country. Not to mention the pandemic that was creating havoc across the country (and world)... needless to say, things just felt really out of control for me. 

I remember how anxious I was about the appointment, I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to open up and tell the doctor about everything I’d gone through.  Sometimes words feel like they get stuck in my throat - and I was really nervous that I was going to waste her time, and my own.   

I surprised myself though, and coherently gave her a timeline of the heartache I’d been through recently, and the stress I felt daily.  After going over the preliminary questions, and hearing my story, the doctor confidently stated, “Well, you don’t seem like the type of person who would benefit from being medicated” and I felt my heart sink.  It’s not that I had gone to the doctor hoping for a prescription; I’ve actually never been on any type of antidepressant or mood stabiliser despite my life-long struggles with depression. But I was in a bad place that I felt was pretty close to ‘rock bottom’ for me, and I was desperate for someone to hand me something that would calm the turmoil I currently carried. 

She told me that I was incredibly self-aware and that she’d put me on a waitlist to speak to a mental health counsellor.   

That appointment was over two years ago now and I still haven’t received a phone call for my preliminary meeting with the counsellor.  It’s important to note that this article isn’t about shaming the health care options (that need more mental health support) or the doctor who met with me.  I did present myself fairly well, and I was well-spoken despite the quivering that I felt in my chest. 

But I walked out of that appointment feeling lost. I know my story isn’t unique.  We all go through our own heartaches and the compounding stress from every-day life can sometimes make it feel like it’s just… too much. The worst part for me was finally taking those steps to help myself, just to end up waiting longer and feeling dismissed. 

I should have and could have followed up with my doctor, and I also could have sought out other mental health services. But, as you may know, trying again with anxiety isn’t always possible.  

How I used Nutramin to cope with my anxiety

Fortunately for me, I opted to focus on my health and get back to treating my body right.  You may remember from my  older blogs that I’d lost over a hundred pounds thanks to our protein powder.  I felt so great when I was focusing on myself, I knew that after that doctor’s appointment that I needed to do the same thing.

So... I did it! I lost weight again.  I managed to actually get myself to a new low number on the scale…but the anxious thoughts and feelings were still present. 

Granted, I had some personal life stress - I was in the middle of selling my house. I told myself that once that happened, I’d feel better, but:

• I sold my house! Hooray!I still felt anxious.
• I upgraded my career and took a course on the side at work. I felt SO proud. But I still felt anxious.
• I moved into a new apartment and it was beautiful - I even hosted a New Year’s Eve party.  I was thrilled…and still, I felt like I constantly had to swallow back my anxiety.

I was beginning to think that this ‘new me’ was here to stay.  But then Melanie, our CEO & Founder, announced to the team that our new product would be a  Mood Boost gummy.  I remember wondering how a gummy could possibly help, but I knew our Sleepy Time gummies had already drastically improved my quality of sleep, so I wasn't about to rule these little strawberry bites out before giving them an honest shot.

Throughout testing and sampling, to better arm myself for questions from customers, I learned about the power of ashwagandha and that it’s been used in western medicine for thousands of years. The benefits are truly impressive.  You can learn more about ashwagandha in our article posted here. I also learned about niacin and the correlations between  increasing niacin and relieving depression symptoms.  All in all, our mood boost gummies are packed with a carefully-chosen blend of natural ingredients to help you with the way you process stress.  Naturally, the more I learned, the more I became interested in trying the product.

Finally, launch day was upon us.  We eagerly  announced our new product and I was able to snag my first order.  Thanks to our sugar-free formula, they were an easy addition to my daily routine which already included our adult multivitamin.

Y'all, I'm not even kidding when I say I felt the impact the first time I tried them. It's hard to really explain but I felt a calming sensation come over me in a wave.  I was in a meeting with the rest of the team and actually blurted out in the middle of someone else's explanation, "Guys, I think the mood boost reallywork!!" 

My life since starting to take daily Mood Boost Gummies

Before explaining what my life is like currently, I want to explain a bit about what a typical day felt like before  Mood Boost Gummies were created.  I have a type of breathing problem that's similar to having bronchitis without the cough.  In sharp colds or humid heats, it can feel like I'm breathing through a straw. As a child, there were times where I would wake up throughout the night and would panic feeling like I couldn't breathe, which would trigger something similar to a panic attack and my mother would have to rush me to the hospital.  Those hospital trips are the reason that I currently start to feel anxious when anything impacts my breathing.

Prior to introducing Nutramin's Mood Boost gummies into my regime, I would wake up after tossing and turning most of the night, and immediately feel like I needed to gasp for air to clear my airway.  I spent most days feeling on high-alert, but had put into play many coping mechanisms I learned over the years. I was unfocused and not eating well, and I found myself to be more sensitive than usual.

Now, I wake up after a night of real rest thanks to my routine of Sleepy Time Gummies 30 minutes before bed, and start my day with my Mood Boost gummies.  By the time I'm ready to leave for work, I feel my mind focus on what needs to be done and I don't get as caught up in the spiral of stressful things I used to think about.  I have a bottle of them on my desk at work, some days I wait until my day has started to take them, other times it's just nice to have them on-hand as a 'just in case'.

These are all first-hand experiences and obviously you may read this and think that it's typical of an employee to speak highly of a product, but the only way to test is to try them yourself.  If you are prone to higher anxiety 

If you're having problems getting to sleep at night, try our sleepy time gummies found here.  If you'd like to try our mood boost gummies for adults, you can snag some of those here.

And as a special bonus for getting this far through my blog, use coupon TRACY20 to save 20% on that order (limit: one per customer).

If you have any questions for me or the team, you can reach us at hello@nutracelle.com, we love to hear from you!