Prioritize Getting A Good Nights Rest
Sleep has been proven time and time again to be an important part of good mental health.
Even though a 2012 survey found that nearly a third of adults get less than 6 hours of sleep a night, the that adults get 7 to 9 hours of sleep every day.
You can make sleep a priority by:
- only sleeping at night when youre tired
- not reading or watching television in bed
- not using your phone, tablet, or computer in bed
- not tossing and turning in your bed or going to another room if you cant sleep
- avoiding caffeine, large meals, and nicotine before bedtime
- keeping your room dark and cool
- writing down your worries before going to bed
- going to sleep at the same time each night
What Else Can I Do To Help With My Anxiety
Beyond taking herbal supplements, there are other ways herbs and plants are sometimes used including aromatherapy with essential oils. Essential oils are sometimes inhaled from the bottle, diffused throughout the room, and some are applied directly to the skin.
Research suggests that there may be benefits with lavender, rose, or citrus-based scents, like bergamot, for anxiety relief. A small study also suggested that drinking lavender tea could help with anxiety symptoms as well. But its important to keep in mind not all essential oils are meant to be consumed, and some can cause irritation or allergic reactions when applied to the skin.
Just like herbs and other supplements, essential oils arent regulated like prescription medications, and their evidence for safety and effectiveness isnt as robust for anxiety symptoms.
Aside from essential oils, omega-3 fatty acids have also been studied for anxiety. A 2018 systematic review suggested that they may help improve anxiety symptoms. You can find them in a number of foods like certain types of fish, chia seeds, flax seeds, and walnuts.
On the topic of food and drinks, caffeine and alcohol can play a role in bringing on anxiety symptoms and panic attacks. Its recommended to limit your consumption of these when seeking anxiety relief.
How To Calm Anxiety Naturally
If you live with anxiety, there are natural options you can try to lower your stress levels and improve your coping skills.
Some of these natural remedies for anxiety will involve herbs and supplements, but most may include changes in some of your routines and habits.
When it comes to supplements, its highly advisable to check with your healthcare professional for
, that may have limited evidence to back up their purported benefits. They may work for some people, while others wont see any results from taking them.
Here are some options to help relieve anxiety naturally that have worked for many people:
Also Check: How To Explain Anxiety To A Child
Diet And Nutrition Changes
Some people find that changing their diet helps reduce anxiety. Options to consider include:
- Reducing caffeine: Try reducing caffeine intake, especially late in the day or before bed. Caffeine is a stimulant, which means it can speed up activity in the brain and body, making a person feel restless and anxious. Several studies suggest a link between caffeine and anxiety, including a 2015 analysis of schoolchildren that linked high caffeine consumption to higher stress and anxiety.
- Drinking less alcohol: Though few studies have directly assessed the link between alcohol and anxiety, many find that people self-medicate with alcohol. Some drinkers report an improvement in anxiety symptoms when they stop drinking or reduce their alcohol consumption.
- Keeping a food log: Keep a food log to assess whether anxiety is worse after eating certain foods. A 2019 study found a correlation between a high intake of saturated fats and added sugars and higher overall anxiety in adults. The study suggests diet may affect mental health, but it did not establish a causal link.
Many foods may also contain nutrients that could help reduce symptoms of anxiety.
Support groups help people with anxiety feel less alone. They may also offer practical wisdom that can help a person find the right provider, talk to their loved ones about their anxiety, or manage the process of seeking workplace accommodations.
Calming Anxiety With Breath Therapy
People who are suffering from anxiety generally have lack of control on their mind. They generally get negative thoughts and lose their control very easily. People who are suffering from anxiety generally feel the symptoms like increased heart rate, sweating, trembling, shortness of breath, choking sensation, tightness in body, nausea, dizziness etc.
There are various treatments of anxiety and one of the very popular treatments is breath therapy. Breath therapy is very useful to calm your body and provide relieve from the pain.
Breath therapy is a kind of therapy which generally focuses on breathing and notices their effects. This type of therapy directly affects the powerful healing energy of the body, .
It directly connects to chi which generally lost during anxious condition. It also quicker the healing process and provide calm and relaxation. This therapy is also helpful in improving blood circulation, digestion, and provides relief from pain and contributes to a peaceful sleep.
This Breathing therapy can be performed by placing your tongue at above back of front teeth and closed your mouth gently. Now get focus on your breath cycles, i.e. how frequent you breathing in and breathing out. Notice points at which one phase changes into another. Do not force this, just notice for ten cycles. You can performed this therapy by two ways, one way by lying on back and other by sitting straight and comfortable.
Recommended Reading: How Do You Know You Are Suffering From Anxiety
Eat Healthy And Avoid Substances
What you put in your body affects how you feel, for better or for worse. Here’s what to eat and what to avoid to improve your mood:
- Avoid fat, sugar, and carbs:Research has found that a diet high in fat, sugar, and refined carbohydrates may increase the risk of anxiety.
- Eat whole foods: On the other hand, eating a diet rich in natural, wholesome foods like fruits, vegetables, and legumes, while avoiding sugary snacks, can help control anxiety and boost your mood.
- Try fermented foods: Eating fermented foods may also have benefits for people with anxiety. A 2015 study found that people with high neuroticism a tendency to experience negative emotions who ate more fermented foods had fewer symptoms of social anxiety
- Add omega-3s to your diet: Another study found that omega-3 fatty acids, commonly found in fish like salmon and sardines, reduced anxiety in medical students.
- Avoid alcohol: Many people with anxiety get temporary relief from symptoms when they drink, but experience increased symptoms when they stop drinking. That leads some people with anxiety to drink even more. For example, social anxiety disorder is closely linked to alcohol use disorder, according to a 2019 twin study.
Practical Ways On How To Calm Anxiety Naturally
Last Updated on June 3, 2022 by Andrea, author of HWHD
Looking for ways on how to calm anxiety naturally? Here are super practical and easy techniques you can do wherever and whenever you feel anxious.
Living with anxiety and having ZERO coping mechanisms is a disaster. Trust me, I know! And the internal struggle of knowing your anxiety is rising and wanting to stop it, but not knowing how!! Ugh. So, Im giving you the best and most realistic ways on how to calm anxiety naturally.
Having anxiety with no tools or techniques at hand will only increase your anxiety. So, here is a massive list I created thatll help you a ton!! Make sure you write down the techniques you want to try out or bookmark this page. I guarantee youll find a handful thatll work for you!
And the majority of techniques on this list are things Ive actually done and loved! Remember, sticking to only one technique might not be enough to lower your anxiety, so definitely blend a few of them. Whether you have an anxiety disorder or just want to manage your occasional anxiety, this post is for you!!
This post is all about how to calm anxiety naturally.
Also Check: Are There Over The Counter Medications For Anxiety
Natural Remedies For Anxiety And Stress
Natural remedies are generally safe to use alongside more conventional medical therapies.
However, alterations to the diet and some natural supplements can change the way antianxiety medications work, so it is essential to consult a doctor before trying these solutions. The doctor may also be able to recommend other natural remedies.
Seek Individual Or Group Therapy
Therapy can come in all forms and styles and provide you with valuable tools to manage your anxiety. Individual therapy allows you to open up to a professional 1:1, learn more about your anxiety, and practice techniques that will help you cope. On the otherhand, group therapy can be really effective in treating anxiety since youll be with others who understand what youre experiencing.
Human beings were designed to be social and benefit from being in groups. Sharing anxiety-inducing events within a group provides comfort in the fact that youre not going through it alone. There is a natural healing component in connection and shared experience.
Also Check: How To Get Rid Of Anxiety And Depression
How Can I Reduce Anxiety Fast
Ok, lets get one thing clear: theres no easy way out of anxiety. Yes, you can reduce your anxiety fast TEMPORARILY, but if you dont attack the root of the problem, it will come back.
For example, if your workload is making you anxious, you can try to reduce your anxiety naturally and it will work. But, you should work on creating a life balance so you help your anxiety problem in the long term.
Why Do You Get Anxiety At Night
When you lie down at night to unwind, your brain turns to all of the worries it didnt have time for during the day. Frequently, this anxiety revolves around worries you cant solve in the moment.
All the things that have been put on the back burner come to the forefront of your head, Dr. Albers says. Without competing demands for your attention, these worries often get louder and more pronounced.
Chronic daytime stress puts your body into overdrive and taxes your hormones and adrenal system, which are directly linked to sleep so sleep troubles may be a red flag telling you to address stress during your waking hours.
Nighttime anxiety can trigger a vicious cycle: A bad nights sleep leads to exhaustion the next day and disrupts your bodys natural rhythms. This makes you more vulnerable to anxiety during the day that can bleed into the night, Dr. Albers says. And so the cycle repeats.
Read Also: Do Anxiety And Depression Go Together
When To Seek Anxiety Treatment
There is no one size fits all method for anxiety relief and how to treat anxiety. If youre seeking alternative, natural remedies for anxiety that can help reduce your symptoms, know that there are options out there for you. Yes, its true that sometimes you might need the help of a therapist, doctor, or even anti-anxiety medication. That said, there are several things you can do to help complement your online therapy or manage your anxiety on your own.
At the end of the day, living a healthier, productive, rewarding life is everyones goal. Knowing some of these holistic remedies for anxiety can only serve to help you get to that peaceful place you long to live in.*You should talk to your doctor before adding any supplement to your diet.
Talk To Someone Friendly
Another very effective technique is to talk to someone you like and trust, especially on the phone. Don’t be shy about your anxiety – tell them you feel anxious and explain what you’re feeling.
Talking to nice, empathetic people keeps your mind off of your symptoms, and the supportive nature of friends and family gives you an added boost of confidence. If you’re suffering from a panic attack, it also helps you feel more confident that if something were wrong, you’d have someone that can watch over you.
You May Like: Who Can Prescribe Anxiety Meds
Learn How To Calm Your Hyperactive Out Of Control Mind
While the mind is like a spinning top full of different ideas and doesnt stop until it falls over it is fertile ground for anxiety and needs a brake to slow it down. Meditation is a vital tool in the Peace of Mind Pathway.
1. What is meditation?
In a nutshell it is the calming of the mind. Meditation is a means of transforming the mind, using techniques that encourage and develop concentration, clarity, emotional positivity and calm, seeing of the true nature of things.
True meditation occurs when the mind is calm and silent, yet completely alert.
One meditation technique is not necessarily better than another. It is an individualistic process and is what suits you best to achieve the objective of calming and bringing the mind into the present.
2. Why you should try it?
3. Why Meditation is important in reducing anxiety?
Meditation is one of the most effective forms of stress reduction. It is a means of attaining mental peace and tranquillity. It enables one to focus on the present moment rather than dwell on the unchangeable past or unknown future.
Name What Youre Feeling
When youre experiencing an anxious episode, you may not realize whats going on until youre really in the thick of it.
Recognizing anxiety for what it is may help you calm down quicker.
Name that this is anxiety not reality and that it will pass, says Kim Hertz, a psychotherapist at New York Therapy Practice. When you are in a heightened state of anxiety, you want to disrupt that cycle, and for some people, thought-stopping techniques are effective and as simple as saying stop to the internalized messaging that heightens anxiety.
In other words, consider recognizing that what youre feeling is anxiety and talking yourself through it.
Embrace absolute truths, says Steven Sultanoff, clinical psychologist and professor at Pepperdine University. I will get through this one way or another.
Naming your sensations and feelings may help you step away from them. This is anxiety, it is not you and it wont last forever.
Recommended Reading: What Is The Best Magnesium For Anxiety And Depression
Try Some Aerobic Activity
During periods of anxiety, your body is filled with adrenaline. Putting that adrenaline toward aerobic activity can be a great way to improve your anxiety. Exercise has numerous advantages for controlling your anxiety symptoms:
- Exercise burns away stress hormones that create anxiety symptoms.
- Exercise tires your muscles, reducing excess energy and tension.
- Exercise releases endorphins in your brain which can improve overall mood.
- Exercise is linked to healthier breathing.
- Exercise is a healthy distraction.
Aerobic activity, like light jogging or even fast walking, can be extremely effective at reducing the severity of your anxiety symptoms, as well as the anxiety itself.