My social anxiety came back.
But this time, it was different. I wasn’t experiencing it most of the time, it was just becoming a problem with one specific situation.. acroyoga.
It was this situation where you’re one-on-one with a stranger and you feel like it’s your responsibility to create positive and upbeat conversations.
But I also had to make sure my acro partner has a fun time (and making sure I don’t drop her on the floor ).
Since I know that pretty much all mood issues can be fixed, I decided to do exactly that. And now, I’m going to tell you about my new secret weapon for facing even the most challenging social situations.
Getting To The Root Cause Of Social Anxiety
It’s somewhat fascinating – and relieving – to learn that our responses in these situations are heavily influenced by our genetics.
I know that while you’re in it, there is a feeling of helplessness.
Like you’ll never be able to feel comfortable in these social settings.
But with a single supplement, you could experience a complete 180 in your comfort and confidence in social situations.
When I started experiencing some social anxiety while going to acro yoga, I decided to add this symptom in SelfDecode and change my goals to focus on my mood again.
With the new Recommendations Engine, the SelfDecode AI algorithm analyzes your DNA, labs, lifestyle, symptoms and conditions, and goals, to give you prioritized and personalized recommendations.
Once I made these changes in the platform, I filtered my recommendations to look at supplements, and chromium was near the top of my list.
I started taking chromium and it immediately went away.
I don’t have that awkwardness of meeting someone new anymore.
This has been continuing for over 3 weeks now and the changes are remarkable.
Will Chromium help with your anxiety? That depends on all of the factors that I listed above.
Is Chromium For You? Unlock your personalized recommendations!
How did chromium, normally known to help with blood sugar control, help with my social anxiety?
Chromium & The SLC6A4 Gene
5HTTLPR is the most well-researched polymorphism of the SLC6A4 gene, which encodes a serotonin transporter protein.
Once serotonin has been released by brain cells, SLC6A4 becomes active and moves the serotonin back into those cells to reduce the length of serotonin signals.
The negative variant of this gene reduces the rate at which serotonin is recycled after a signal, ultimately lowering the circulating levels of this chemical.
And of course, I carry the negative variant:
While chromium doesn’t directly modify the genetic expression of SLC6A4, its influence on insulin and blood sugar levels could indirectly affect the brain’s serotonin levels.
Stable blood sugar levels can help maintain a balanced mood, and since serotonin levels are sensitive to overall metabolic status, nutrients that affect metabolism, like chromium, also impact mood through this pathway.
I used to have a lot of nutritional yeast in my diet, which was my source of chromium. But I recently stopped adding it to my diet, not aware of the significant impact it had on my chromium levels.
That’s why I felt my social anxiety come back, and it’s how chromium solved it almost instantly.
What’s Your Chromium?
Understanding the complex interplay between our genetics, labs, lifestyle, symptoms and goals opens up new avenues for managing health issues that seem overwhelming.
My journey with chromium is just one example of how fine-tuning our approach based on genetic insights can lead to significant improvements in our lives.
While chromium did drastically improve my social anxiety, I can’t really say that it will help you.
But you can take the same approach I took, and get the same results.
With SelfDecode, you can discover your one supplement that will help with your anxiety and make you feel comfortable in your own skin.
