Anxiety has a bad reputation. To most people, that word evokes images of stress, worry, fear, and dread. In reality, it’s a normal and inevitable emotion that can be mighty helpful. Anxiety is our body’s alarm system. It has the potential to warn and protect you. However, when you feel anxious too often — when danger is not present — it can turn into an unhealthy cycle.
Your body is designed to switch into a stress reaction if you signal that you feel threatened. If this happens often enough, you can feel stuck in this fight-or-flight response. That’s when some natural anxiety-reduction tips can be especially useful.
3 Tips To Reduce Anxiety Naturally
1. Take Care of Yourself
Self-care is a major step toward building resilience and overall well-being. A quality self-help regimen can be unique for each person but several universal themes exist, e.g. staying physically active. Engage in some kind of exercise every day. Extra points for getting outside when you get active.
For starters, exercise offers your mind a time-out. Physical activity time is a time in which you get a break from the onslaught of anxiety. On top of that, exercise increases your heart rate which thus shifts your brain’s chemistry. You enjoy the benefits of anti-anxiety neurochemicals (like serotonin) being released in higher amounts. You have countless options here — from yoga to running ultramarathons — so choose something that increases your sense of calmness.
Other self-care elements include:
Making healthy eating and drinking choices
Maintaining regular sleep patterns
Spending time with trusted friends and loved ones
Cultivating relaxation techniques (see #2 below)
2. Actively Seek Out a Positive Mindset
As with physical exercise, there are so many options available to you. For example, breathing exercises, journaling, and aromatherapy are common and effective choices. But, for the sake of this post, let’s focus on meditation.
So much of anxiety’s power lies in time travel. This means that it transports us to focus on past regrets and/or into the future where fear and apprehension live. A meditation practice is designed to root us in the present moment. Just 30 minutes a day has been found to be enough to alleviate anxiety symptoms.
There are countless ways to meditate but, most commonly, it involves:
Sitting in a quiet place
Closing your eyes
Breathing deeply
Becoming aware of your thoughts without judging them
3. Helping Out in Your Community
Get involved. It may sound like a cliché but some clichés are absolutely true. Helping others, by definition, helps you. You can look for ways to volunteer. But there is nothing stopping you from practicing acts of kindness as part of your daily life, too. Being the source of relief and solace to those in need is proven to lighten your own load in terms of anxiety and stress. You gain a new perspective and build self-esteem in the process. Make helpfulness and generosity a big part of your day.
Anxiety Can Become a Diagnosable Mental Health Disorder
Tips like those above (and so many more) can and should be added to your life in any situation. But if you find that anxiety is hampering your ability to function on a day-to-day basis, ask for help. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health condition in the world. You are not alone and help is available. An experienced therapist can provide many different approaches for managing the anxiety in your life.
If you find that you need more than self-help advice, I invite you to reach out. Let’s begin the conversation that can dramatically improve your quality of life. Emailing me for a free and confidential consultation can be the first step on the road to recovery and healing. Interested in reading more about Anxiety Counseling?