How do you reduce anxiety in an anxiety inducing world? The connected world moves fast and takes no prisoners, but with the right skills we can still find peace of mind.
Most of us feel anxious at times. We have a big deadline. Our boss is a jerk. We’ve got ourselves into debt. It’s a natural sensation within our bodies that alerts us for action.
The problems arise when we get stuck in our heads and create an anxiety spiral.
We become nervous, fearful, and emotionally unstable. We feel hopeless and out of control.
Stress is important to keep us alive but suffering from frequent bouts of anxiety is far from desirable. It’s hard to live with and harmful to our health.
What causes anxiety?
Anxiety affects us all in different ways and at different times in our lives. It can accumulate over time, as things get on top of us, or when a major event pushes us over the edge.
It is caused by alarm, fear and an excess of stress. Anytime we feel uncertainty, overwhelm and a lack of control, anxiety can spiral.
Some events in our lives that can trigger the anxiety loop include:
- Getting ill or injured
- Losing a job
- Losing a friend or loved one
- Accumulating debt that we can’t repay
- Having a horrible job, boss or co-worker
- Having a serious accident
- Getting stuck (in a car, in a lift, in life)
- A global pandemic
These things can really knock us for six. They make us emotionally unstable, unsettled and out of control, causing the feelings of anxiety to take over.
Symptoms of anxiety
We all experience a low level of anxiety in our lives. Fear, uncertainty and a general sense of unease often bubble away under the surface. It’s unpleasant and decreases our enjoyment of life.
For some people, though, anxiety can be all-consuming. It keeps them in a state of anguish most of the day and awake most of the night. It causes a level of distress and discomfort that’s a real threat to their quality of life and long-term health.
Anxiety presents itself in a number of ways including shortness of breath, heart palpitations, excessive worry, an upset stomach, or even panic attacks. And for those on the extreme end of the scale, a chronic negative outlook.
If you feel that you are suffering from anxiety there’s a lot you can do to reduce the symptoms and maintain a more stable frame of mind. The key to reducing anxiety is to find balance. Not too much stress and not too little. With subtle lifestyle changes and some easy to learn skills we can better regulate our emotions and regain our peace of mind.
10 ways to reduce anxiety naturally
There are a few effective ways to stop feeling anxious. Some work immediately, like deep breathing, while others are longer term strategies. We want to focus mainly on natural approaches as they are healthier and more sustainable. Give each of them a try, any time you feel anxious or overwhelmed, and find what works best for you:
1) Take a deep breath. Anxiety is a state of activation that can be brought under control by taking a few deep breaths. Whenever you feel anxious simply stop what you are doing and breath, slowly and deeply for a minimum of ten full breaths.
2) Go for a walk. Walking and other forms of exercise bring oxygen into the body and improve circulation. It makes us feel great and the high can last for hours. Hard exercise (sprinting, weight-lifting, sparring) expends a lot of energy but light exercise (walking, Tai Chi, mobility) puts energy back in – and that has a profound effect on our mental state.
3) Identify the main cause. Lots of things can build up in our lives but there’s often one thing that causes the most stress for us. If you can identify what that is, you can work towards reducing your exposure to it or eliminating it completely. That’s not always easy, as it could be a job, a co-worker or an excessive loan repayment, but taking small steps towards remedying the situation will help to lift the burden.
4) Talk to someone about it. Bottling things up inside only increases the pressure so let them out by talking to someone you trust. That could be a family member, a friend or a therapist. Discuss your feelings and the possible causes but don’t worry about finding a fast solution. The simple act of talking it out can reduce anxiety significantly.
5) Keep a journal. Writing down your thoughts and feelings is another great way of getting things out of your system. You can even draw illustrations of what you are feeling. A journal helps you to understand yourself more and find the patterns of where and when you are most anxious.
6) Focus on what you can control. Anxiety spirals when we have too much on our plate and we feel out of control. When we are focussing on all that is happening to us. We can interrupt this feeling and bring ourselves back to the centre by focussing on the present moment and the things that we can control. Clean your desk, make your bed, mow the lawn. Little wins re-balance your energy.
7) Reduce internal stressors. We often think of all the external factors when it comes to anxiety but the food, drink and chemicals we consume can pose an equal threat. Common intolerances such as milk and gluten should be investigated as well as alcohol, medications and other toxins.
8) Reduce caffeine. Caffeine and other stimulants keep us in the anxiety loop. They elevate our heart rate and stimulate the fight-or-flight response every time we ingest them. Then, when the effects wear off we crash. For some people the effects are minimal but for many they can make you feel edgy all day and keep you awake at night.
9) Meditate daily. Meditation has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety. It teaches you to focus on the breath and brings your body and mind together in the present moment. Practice meditation daily and your relationship with yourself and your anxiety will improve greatly.
10) Limit information and tech. The information age has improved our lives in many ways but our brains simply aren’t designed for a constant barrage of data. News, social media, email, message requests – the continuous noise, distraction and demand is incredibly stressful. Take regular breaks, silence notifications, and turn everything off at least 30 minutes before bed.
Reducing anxiety naturally is about spending less time in a heightened state and more time in a healing state. That is, learning how to love and care for yourself. Taking the time and space to enjoy deep waves of recovery each and every day will bring you peace of mind.