Metabolic Syndrome & Severe Anxiety - Lifestyle Interventions + Psychotherapy

Client Background

• Ethnicity: East Asian

• Age/Stats: 5 ft, 70 kg

• Presenting Symptoms: Panic attacks, racing heart, severe anxiety, Type 2 Diabetes (HbA1c = 6.5), high cholesterol (Triglycerides = 440), elevated liver enzymes (ALT/AST), very high ferritin (754 ng/ml).

• Medication: Recently prescribed Xanax (anti-anxiety), Metformin (Diabetes), Statins (Cholesterol).

• Lifestyle: Sedentary. Diet high in fried meats, refined coconut oil, and white rice. No alcohol/smoking.
  

Initial Session

We explored mental root causes behind her anxiety. Hue Shan carried:

• Deep worry about her husband’s health

• Ongoing frustration with her patriarchal father, who lived with her

Using Solution-Focused Therapy, we worked on her ideal future vision, the Miracle Question, and identifying what was truly in her control.

First Health Tweak: Eliminate refined oils, switch to steaming meat & vegetables.

Within 3 days, she felt lighter physically. In subsequent sessions, we integrated Family Systems Therapy (to reframe dynamics with father & husband) and role-play for new communication strategies.

Two Weeks Later

• Reported progress: Anxiety reduced significantly; she had not taken her medications (though I encouraged medical consultation).

• Physical changes: Neuropathy symptoms in her feet eased. Lower toxic oil load reduced insulin resistance.

• Therapeutic tools: Self-compassion tapping (bilateral stimulation), gratitude journaling.

We then built her groundforce plan: nutrition, movement, breath, and sleep.

• Shifted to plant-based diet with occasional fish.

• Reduced (not eliminated) white rice.

• Reintroduced potatoes and fruits (previously restricted by doctor).

• Eliminated refined oils and red meat.
  

Two Months Later

• Weight: -5 kg

• Neuropathy: Gone

• Anxiety: Minimal

• Lifestyle: Ready to begin exercising and socialising again

• Mindset: More self-confident, setting boundaries, reframing her husband’s health situation with acceptance.

Interventions included: nutritional counselling, exercise coaching, breathwork, loving-kindness meditations, and continued bilateral tapping.

Five Months Later

• Weight: -11 kg

• Lifestyle: Regular weight training, daily meditation, breathwork

• Identity shift: From anxious patient to community role model

• Self-perception: “I feel like the sunlight for my community. I walk in and they shine.”

Remarkably, she has stayed off Metformin and Statins (despite my insistence to consult her doctor), relying purely on lifestyle + psychotherapy. Bloodwork results are pending.

Key Learning

Nutrition is the first line of defence.

It is the missing link in today’s medical model — especially when integrated with psychotherapy, breathwork, and self-compassion practices.