7 Natural Ways to Treat Anxiety
If you struggle with anxiety, you're not alone. The fear and worry over the pandemic, and all the unknowns that have come with it, work, money, families, health, and so much more cause people anxiety during the best times. Our world is crazy, and sometimes, it's all we can do to just get through the day without breaking down. Anxiety is a huge health concern for many, and that's why it's so important to know healthy natural ways to treat it.
Natural is Best
The trouble with the anxiety of any kind is that it can be truly debilitating. If you haven't tried anything to help ease your symptoms, then starting with natural methods is the best place to start for many reasons, but for many, because they won't be stuck to a prescription drug forever.
1. Proactive Coping
It's new and might sound crazy, but recent studies have found that proactively addressing stress and anxiety can go a long way toward helping beat it. When you make sure to plan and even develop a "Plan B," for potential situations that can go wrong, you might find that many of the situations that can cause feelings of anxiety just don't arise as often as they would if you hadn't created a plan.
2. Mindfulness and Meditation
If you haven't tried being in the moment, it's a great way to calm yourself and ease anxious feelings naturally. Meditation can help with stress and worries that build up throughout the day, and it's easier to do than you might know. You can find mindfulness and meditation apps to help you remember to breathe and be in the moment now and meditate your way to a calmer when you have a few extra minutes to devote to this practice.
3. Get Enough of the Right Kind of Sleep
There has been a lot of focus on sleep, and not just how much is enough. If you can help your body to sink into deep sleep more often, you're likely to feel rejuvenated, less stressed, and better all around. Aim for between 7 and 9 hours each night, and your body should naturally fall into a steady deep sleep pattern.
4. Consider CBD Oil
If you haven't tried it, it might be a good idea to look into the science behind CBD oil. It doesn't contain the chemical THC, so you won't get "high" or have it show on drug tests, but CBD oil has been shown to help soothe anxiety for many. Some suggest that it may help reduce rebound anxiety that is often caused by other types of prescription medications meant to treat this very problem. Also, if you're wondering, "Can CBD cause anxiety?" The short answer is no. A minimal number of people may notice no improvement in their anxiety symptoms alone with CBD oil, but it does not cause stress or worry.
5. Keep a Journal
These days, it can be hard to get any time to yourself. Still, if you take just a few moments at the end of your day to write down the things you're worried about and why they make you anxious, you're getting them out of your mind, which reduces their power, and that can make a difference in how you sleep, as well as how you feel.
6. Explore Nature
Study after study has shown that even just looking at pictures of nature when you're feeling stressed can bring down your heart rate and help you take on worrisome situations more easily. So, why not make getting outside and into nature part of a daily anxiety-fighting routine?
7. Incorporate Exercise
A regular exercise routine is not just great for your overall health and fitness; it’s also great to burn off some of that anxious energy that so many of us experience. When you get regular exercise, you're getting rid of excess adrenaline, boosting your "feel-good hormones," like dopamine, and even giving yourself a sleep-well boost.
Before you seek prescription medications, why not try a couple or even all of these natural ways to fight anxiety? You might be surprised at how effective they are at helping you to live calm, happy, and free.