A Tauranga health practice is hosting a free event this month for anyone who finds themselves feeling wired, worried or worn-out and unsure where to turn for support.
Bay Functional Health is hosting Anxiety-Free: Tools, Talk + Understanding – an informative, community event at C3 Church, 252 Otūmoetai Rd from 6.30pm on Thursday, August 14.
“The event is designed to cut through the overwhelm that often surrounds anxiety,” said Lisa Pomare, a registered naturopath, medical herbalist and nutritionist, who co-founded Bay Functional Health (BFH) with functional gastrointestinal practitioner and nutritionist Paige Dunlop.
“In both of our clinics, one of the biggest things we see regularly is anxiety, low mood, poor sleep – and people really on the edge, just looking for something to help them,” said Pomare, who with Dunlop run BFH in-person from their home-based clinics and remotely across New Zealand. Their one-on-one support aims to make sustainable change to an individual’s long-term health via functional testing, naturopathic medicine and clinical nutrition.
“While medication and supplements can absolutely play an important role in managing anxiety, there are also simple, practical changes people can make in their daily lives that can make a real difference to how they feel,” said Pomare.
Information to people
“I see people on a daily basis struggling with worry, overwhelm and even panic,” said Pomare, who also works two days weekly at Brookfield Pharmacy as a naturopath.
“So I wanted to take the information to the people, so they can start to feel better and not just be living with this this lingering ‘something’s about to go wrong’ feeling which is quite often felt by people with anxiety. It’s like overthinking, busy brain, the world’s about to end.”
The pair teamed up with Dr Trish Zingel, a Tauranga GP with more than 30 years’ experience, who focuses on lifestyle and nutrition as well as medication in her work.
Dr Trish Zingel, a Tauranga GP with more than 30 years’ experience, will speak at the event. Photo / John Borren
Pomare said Zingel will talk on how the brain works, and why it has us feeling anxious. She will cover how understanding its mechanisms can aid in keeping anxiety in its place and still connect with what is important – to learn to allow difficult thoughts and feelings to be there and not get hooked by them.
“This talk will highlight the science behind stress and offer hope to those who feel stuck.”
Pomare will speak on nutrition. “Often people think anxiety is just because there’s something wrong in your life. But it can be the body’s way of screaming for nutrients or an imbalance; that it’s struggling to do everyday chemical reactions because it doesn’t have all blocks it needs to make the foundation.
“I will also talk on things you can do in everyday life to help calm your system down, and things that have been successful with my clients.”
All ages
Pomare said the talk would be aimed at all ages. “Anxiety touches every age group – from teens navigating school and social pressures to older adults, who may be missing key nutrients like protein, and everyone in between. People going through perimenopause often feel it very acutely.”
Dunlop, a functional gut practitioner, will speak about leaky gut and leaky brain; constipation and the impact it has on neurotransmitters or how your brain’s functioning; and how getting your gut right can impact feelings of anxiety.
Pomare said the event will be in-depth but fun. “We’ll try to make it light-hearted – but really, we want people to have things they can do – that are simple – that if you build them into a daily routine can certainly make you feel a lot better.”
Pomare said handouts will be provided and advice on where to go if people need further help will be offered.