You can be eating “healthy,” doing everything right—and still feel anxious, wired, and stuck in your head.

If you’ve ever thought, Why can’t I just shut my brain off?
Or Why does my anxiety feel worse even though I’m trying so hard to be healthy?

Here’s the truth that changed everything for me:

Anxiety and overthinking are symptoms of an unbalanced brain.

Once you understand that, you have the power of knowledge to change.

For years, I believed my anxiety, rumination, and sensitivity were just “who I was.” I thought I needed better mindset work or stronger willpower.

But mental struggles are really brain struggles.

Good news - Your brain is a physical organ.
And physical organs can change.

In 2023, I was eating what I thought was the healthiest diet of my life.

All real food.
No sugar.
Low to no carbs.
No processed foods.

But internally, I was struggling more than ever.

My mind constantly worried.
I couldn’t shut off work.
My thoughts raced.
I obsessed over details, mistakes, and conflict.

The rumination was the worst part. I felt trapped inside my own head.

I had no idea my "healthy” diet was actually making things worse.

As I began learning about brain health, two brain systems explained what I was experiencing. This information comes from Amen University, where I’m licensed to teach this material. I share this for education—not medical advice—along with my personal experience so you can make informed decisions for your own brain health.

The first system is the basal ganglia, which plays a role in habits, motivation, and anxiety. When it’s balanced, people feel calm, motivated, and able to relax. When it’s overactive, people often feel anxious, tense, nervous, or like something bad is about to happen.

That explained a lot of my anxiety.

But it didn’t explain why my thoughts felt so stuck.

That’s where the second system comes in—the anterior cingulate gyrus, or ACG.

The ACG is the brain’s gear shifter. It helps you let go of thoughts, shift attention, and mentally move on. When it’s overactive, people experience obsessive thinking, perfectionism, rumination, and difficulty shutting their mind off.

This was me.

I could be playing on the floor with my kids—and my brain was still at work. I journaled. I did mindset work. I googled how to stop thinking about work.

Nothing helped—because none of that addressed the brain system driving the problem.

So why would these brain systems struggle if I was eating so clean?

I wasn’t eating sugar.
I wasn’t eating processed food.
I ate meat, vegetables, and berries.

Here’s what completely changed my understanding of anxiety:

The brain needs carbohydrates to support serotonin production.

Serotonin is a key neurotransmitter that helps calm and stabilize both the basal ganglia and the ACG. When my diet was too low in carbs, these brain systems—especially the ACG—weren’t functioning optimally.

That’s when the anxiety and rumination intensified.

This doesn’t mean sugar or refined carbs are the answer. Blood sugar roller coasters create their own brain problems.

What the brain responds to best are low-glycemic, real carbohydrates, paired with protein and healthy fats. This combination supports the brain without spikes and crashes.

When I gently added these back in, the shift was noticeable.

Here’s a simple experiment you can try—no perfection required.

For the next three days, add one low-glycemic carbohydrate per day, paired with protein or healthy fat. Then notice:

• your anxiety levels

• how stuck your thoughts feel

• how easily your mind lets things go

Notice how your body responds.

If you’re reading this and thinking, This finally makes sense, I want you to know something important:

There is nothing wrong with you.
Your brain just needs to be brought back to balance.

If you’d like help understanding your specific brain patterns and learning how to calm anxiety without forcing yourself to “just relax,” I’d love to support you.

👇 Join my email list below to receive:

• simple brain-based tools for anxiety and overthinking

• realistic strategies for busy moms

• and guidance on how to start loving your brain instead of fighting it

You don’t need to fix yourself.
You need to understand your brain.

And that changes everything.