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Ever been told you seem stuck-up, rude or a bit of a bitch… when really, you're just trying to work out where you fit in?

Sometimes what looks like judgement on the outside is actually anxiety working overtime on the inside!

In this episode of The Anxiety Compass, Sammy and Nat unpack the misunderstood side of social anxiety. Why do some of us walk into a room and immediately start scanning the people, the atmosphere and the nearest exit? And why can being quiet or observant make others think we're unfriendly?

We're talking first impressions, fear of judgement, our nervous system's need for safety and the exhausting mental gymnastics of trying to fit in.

Of course, there's plenty of laughter along the way, because sometimes our resting bitch face has absolutely no idea what our anxious brain is doing!

Because sometimes the person who looks the least approachable is the one who wants to feel included the most.

Support the show

👉 Grab your free Anxiety Compass download here

👉 Grab a copy of Sammy's Book, Anxiety, The Best Teacher You Never Asked For here

Follow us @theanxietycompass

Connect with Sammy @nutritionwithsammy or website

Connect with Natalie @nataliemarieinbalance or book discovery call here

Send us Fan Mail

What does zinc have to do with anxiety? Turns out… quite a lot.

Most of us think of zinc as the thing you reach for when you feel a cold coming on, but this little mineral has its hands in a surprising number of jobs throughout the body.

In this episode of The Anxiety Compass, Sammy and Nat head East to the Chemical/Nutritional point of the Compass to unpack zinc and its role in brain and nervous-system function, taste and smell, appetite, growth and repair, immune health and digestion.

We also explore something particularly relevant for anxious humans: what happens to our nutrition when anxiety changes the way we eat? If nausea, butterflies, food aversions or a disappearing appetite leave you eating less or relying on the same handful of “safe” foods are you still getting what your body needs?

We chat about signs that may warrant looking at zinc status, why fussy eaters and restricted diets deserve a little more nutritional curiosity, zinc-rich foods, absorption, blood testing, and why simply taking a supplement isn't always the answer.

Plus: which forms of zinc are commonly used, what “elemental zinc” actually means, why men need more zinc than women, and what copper has to do with all of this.

And because this is The Anxiety Compass, the message isn't:

“You're anxious. Go take zinc.”

It's about asking better questions, looking at the whole picture and remembering that symptoms are clues, not diagnoses.

Because anxiety affects appetite, appetite affects nutrition, digestion affects absorption and your body doesn't operate in separate little boxes.

You are what you absorb.

Support the show

👉 Grab your free Anxiety Compass download here

👉 Grab a copy of Sammy's Book, Anxiety, The Best Teacher You Never Asked For here

Follow us @theanxietycompass

Connect with Sammy @nutritionwithsammy or website

Connect with Natalie @nataliemarieinbalance or book discovery call here

Send us Fan Mail

What if anxiety isn’t “just anxiety”?

One year ago, we launched The Anxiety Compass with one big idea: anxiety isn’t always the enemy, sometimes it’s a messenger pointing us towards something that needs our attention.

So, one year (and a LOT of conversations and laughs 😂) later, we’re going back around the Compass.

In this anniversary episode, Sammy and Nat revisit the different areas that can contribute to how we experience anxiety, from nutrition and body chemistry to emotions, hormones, our environment, physical health, the nervous system and even our sense of connection and purpose.

We look back at some of the biggest lessons from the past year, the connections that surprised us, and why two people can experience the same word anxiety for completely different reasons.

Because the goal was never to give you another list of things to fear or “fix.” It was to help you become curious about your own body and ask:

“What direction is anxiety pointing me?”

Plus, we reflect on a year of The Anxiety Compass, what started as two friends having conversations about anxiety and mental wellbeing, and the incredible community that has come along for the ride. 🩵

Here’s to another lap around the Compass, learning, laughing and finding our way back to true north. 🧭

Support the show

👉 Grab your free Anxiety Compass download here

👉 Grab a copy of Sammy's Book, Anxiety, The Best Teacher You Never Asked For here

Follow us @theanxietycompass

Connect with Sammy @nutritionwithsammy or website

Connect with Natalie @nataliemarieinbalance or book discovery call here