Natural Ways to Manage Anxiety

No matter who you are or what you do, no one is immune to bouts of stress or anxiety. With the daily stressors of our day-to-day life and busy schedules, it's natural to occasionally feel overwhelmed and anxious. However, it's important to learn the right ways to cope with anxiety or it could cause lasting damage to your mental and even physical health. While all coping skills won't work for everyone, there are some generally accepted ways to manage anxiety.

Natural Remedies

Have you ever been offered tea by a loved one when stressed out? There's a reason for that. Many ingredients found in tea have calming properties. Chamomile is one of the most popular calming ingredients due to the antioxidant apigenin, which binds to brain receptors to help calm you down and make you sleepy.

CBD is another popular remedy for anxiety. CBD is used for anything from stress to pain relief and experts believe it may work by altering serotonin signals in the brain. CBD comes in many forms and usually does not contain large amounts of THC, so you can buy CBD gummies, creams or sprays online.

Deep Breathing

Deep breathing is scientifically shown to decrease stress. There are many different techniques that you can use, but a popular one is the 4-7-8 technique. To do this, you simply breathe in through your nose for four seconds, hold for seven and breathe out through your mouth for eight. This works by calming down your central nervous system and allowing your brain to release relaxing chemicals. However, any type of deep breathing can help calm your mind and body.

Meditation

Meditation is similar to deep breathing and can also lower anxiety. Trying mindfulness-based meditation can help you feel centered and grounded when anxious. The key to mindful meditation is to accept anxious thoughts from a non-judgemental standpoint and let them come and go. Meditation can help you detach yourself from your anxious thoughts.

Get Better Sleep

Getting adequate has a multitude of mental and physical benefits, and it has a big effect on your anxiety. Studies have shown connections between anxiety and insomnia, but studies also show that sleep loss increases anxiety.

There are many things you can do to try and get better sleep. Creating a bedtime routine can help your body understand when it's time to wind down and put it in a relaxed state so you can fall asleep faster. Avoiding blue lights, such as the lights on your phone or computer, can also help you fall asleep faster. Blue lights can block melatonin, which is your body's sleep hormone. Most phones have a "night mode" feature that can reduce the amount of blue light on your screen, but it may be a good idea to choose a non-electronic activity to do before bed. Natural sleep aids like melatonin are another option. Melatonin tablets or gummies can help you on particularly difficult nights, but it's important not to take them regularly or it can cause negative effects.

Limit Caffeine

Caffeine can cause an increase in anxiety because it is a stimulant. Many experience jitters and nervousness after a few cups of coffee, and these symptoms can mimic those of anxiety. If you're already suffering from anxiety, it only makes it worse. In addition, coffee can activate your fight or flight response and too much may even trigger an anxiety attack.

These effects are mainly seen in coffee-drinkers due to coffee's high amount of caffeine. If you're worried about your daily cup of coffee exacerbating anxiety symptoms, try opting for a caffeinated tea or limit yourself to one cup of coffee to lessen your caffeine intake.

Whether you have an anxiety disorder or just suffer from everyday stress, learning how to manage anxiety in a healthy way can improve your mind and your body. These simple tips are easy to incorporate into your life and can help you reduce your anxiety in your day-to-day life.