Does the deadline seem more manageable when you're armed with a bag of cookies? It's true that food soothes. But when life's stresses add up to an anxiety attack, you don't need the food that you eat to make you more anxious. Here's how the Anti-Anxiety Diet can help you choose the right foods to stay calm — even when you're faced with stressful situations:

• Complex carbs act as tranquilizers by increasing your amount of serotonin, the neurotransmitter that calms, in your brain. This meal plan contains lots of fruits and whole-grain foods to increase your complex carb intake.

• Tryptophan — a precursor to seratonin — has a calming effect on the body. This meal plan includes turkey and milk choices, both of which contain tryptophan.

• Caffeine can make you jittery and anxious. This diet substitutes a cup of calming herbal tea, such as St. John's Wort or chamomile, for your morning java.

• Chronic dehydration — however slight — can cause feelings of anxiety. That's why this diet includes plenty of water, often with some lemon or lime added to liven it up.

• Frequent, small meals can help keep blood-sugar levels even. This diet offers a variety of healthy snacks to reduce the jitters that can accompany low blood sugar. Start eating the breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks that will help reduce your anxiety.

BREAKFAST
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whole-wheat English muffin topped with natural peanut butter
calcium-fortified orange juice
chamomile tea
multivitamin and mineral supplement