Try An Herbal Remedy To Relieve Tension
How To Ease Anxiety: 5 Ways To Feel Calmer Right Now
When we’re anxious, our breath becomes rapid and shallow. Deep belly breathing helps decrease anxiety by stimulating the bodyâs relaxation response, lowering our heart rate and blood pressure. Itâs a powerful technique that works because we canât breathe deeply and be anxious at the same time. There are many variations to try, including this simple exercise:
Inhale deeply for a count of 4. Hold your breath for a count of 4. Exhale for a count of 4. Repeat several times.
Exercise is one of the best anxiety remedies, immediately and long term. Going for a walk creates a diversion from worries and releases muscle tension. Grab your headphones or earbuds on the way out:studies show that listening to music brings its own calming effects.
Long term, regular exercise triggers the release of feel-good neurochemicals in the brain, building up resilience against stormy emotions. It boosts confidence and mood, and we donât need to run a marathon to feel the benefits. Washing the car, hiking, gardening, a pick-up game â anything that gets us moving counts. Research shows that 30 minutes, 3 to 5 days a week can help to significantly improve anxiety symptoms, but even 10 minutes can make a difference.
Green tea, long used in Chinese medicine to treat depression, contains the amino acid L-theanine, which relieves stress, and reduces blood pressure and muscle tension.
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.
Read Also: How To Keep Mind Calm And Stress Free
Add Greenery To Your Home Or Office
You may also find it helpful to add indoor plants to your home or office environment. Natural settings are associated with improved mental well-being, so it makes sense that “bringing the outdoors in” might help improve your mood.
Studies have shown that adding indoor plants to your home or office can help in a variety of ways, including:
- Improving the workplace: Research has shown that office spaces enhanced with indoor plants improve worker concentration and workplace satisfaction.
- Reducing stress levels: Another study found that actively interacting with indoor plans by caring for them can reduce both physiological and psychological stress.
- : Research has found that students who spent most of their time at home during the COVID-19 pandemic had better mental health if they were exposed to more green plants. While about a third of the participants reported symptoms of moderate depression, those exposed to more greenery had lower levels of depression and anxiety.
Choosing certain plants may provide additional benefits. For example, research suggests that the scent of a lavender plant can help people feel calmer and more relaxed. No matter what type of plants you choose, greenery can be a great way to beautify your surroundings and potentially improve your mood.
Tips For Managing Anxiety Without Medication
Occasional anxiety is a normal and expected part of life. The butterflies-in-the-stomach, anxious feeling often precedes things like giving a presentation at work, taking a final exam or making an important decision. Thankfully, the uneasy feeling quickly subsides, and life goes on as usual.
However, for someone with an anxiety disorder, the constant nagging feelings of worry and fear dont go away, are hard to control, and can even grow worse over time. In fact, these feelings are usually so intense and overwhelming, it becomes hard to function at work, at school and in social settings.
Approximately 40 million American adults, or about 18.1 percent of people in this age group, have an anxiety disorder, according to the American Psychological Association. Thankfully, anxiety is highly treatable and generally involves psychotherapy, medication, or both. People should work closely with their physician to choose the best treatment option.
For those looking to address their anxiety without medication, the following are several mind-body approaches that may be effective:
1. Talk/Psychotherapy: This type of treatment involves working with a therapist to reduce anxiety symptoms. According to Harvard Medical School, behavioral cognitive therapy focuses on teaching specific skills to directly manage fear and worries, with the goal of gradually returning to the activities avoided because of anxiety. Joining a support group also could be helpful.
You May Like: How To Fix Hair Loss From Stress
Balance Your Work And Life
If you find yourself working too hard or being unable to meet your goals, then you need to reassess your objectives. Working hard is a good thing but only if it should not be hampering your other activities. Giving time for your hobbies and spending some time with your family and friends is also important. This boosts the energy and help in revitalizing.
In fact, the majority of people using drugs to relieve stress do so because they do not maintain a work-life balance. Though they think they will get a performance boost from a drug, it soon turns into a habit and becomes more important than the work itself.
Also, unequal work-life balance easily leads to burnout and professional exhaustion. That is why the most successful people in the world always keep a strong personal life and also fulfill their professional commitments diligently.
Maintain Good Posture To Reduce Tension
Also Check: Why Am I So Stressed Out
Break Up With Caffeine
A cup of coffee, chocolate, or an ice-cold Coke might help you feel better. But if caffeine is your go-to drug of choice, your anxiety could worsen.
Caffeine gives the nervous system a jolt, which can boost energy levels. But when under pressure, this nervous energy can induce an anxiety attack. Now, the idea of giving up your favorite caffeinated beverage might raise your heart rate and induce anxiety as you read this, but you dont have to stop cold turkey or give up caffeine completely. Its all about moderation.
Rather than four cups of coffee a day, scale back to one or two normal-sized cups a day normal as in 8 ounces, not 16 or 32 ounces. Give it a test run and see how you feel. As you wean yourself, slowly introduce other beverages into your diet such as decaffeinated herbal tea, which can calm your mind and nerves.
Take A Nap To Release Tension
Recommended Reading: How To Get Rid Of Stress Pimples On Face
Take A Break From Electronics To Rest Your Eyes
Proper Diet And Exercise Lead To Quality Life
A good diet is very important to maintain long-term working potential and output. People who eat a lot of junk food are bound to develop a number of health problems that will hamper their productivity sooner or later. Maintaining a healthy diet as per your bodily requirements and taste preferences is one of the best ways of staying stress-free.
Just as eating right helps you maintain decent energy exercising also helps you regulate your energy levels. Aside from the obvious physical improvement from regular exercise, having a good workout routine will also give you lots of self-confidence. This will naturally translate into your daily life as well and help you become efficient at work and cordial in relationships.
Recommended Reading: Does Stress Cause Ulcerative Colitis
Ways To Relieve Anxiety Without Medication
Anxiety is a common struggle, and medication isn’t the only route to finding some relief.
Reviewed by:
Vivian Sun
Dr. Vivian Sun is a child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She received her medical degree from University of Maryland and psychiatry training at University of Pennsylvania and Stanford. She is board certified in general and child/adolescent psychiatry and specializes in the treatment of conditions such as ADHD, autism, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and PTSD.
Joshua Cox-Steib
Joshua Cox-Steib is a sociologist and freelance writer. He lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with his wife and their menagerie of pets. Joshua holds a degree in sociology from the University of Tulsa and worked as a behavioral analyst before becoming a professional writer.
Anxiety is a natural human emotion, but when it gets severe enough to interfere with daily life, it can be debilitating. According to the American Psychiatric Association, roughly 30% of people experience anxiety disorders. This more recent estimate is significantly higher than the 19% reported in the early 2000s by the US National Institute for Mental Health. Thankfully, anxiety is treatable, and there is a wide array of treatment options.
Medications and therapy are two of the most common treatments for anxiety, and they’re highly effective. But there are also natural anxiety remedies like exercise, meditation and breathing exercises that may be able to address your symptoms.
How To Fight Depression Without Medication
Verywell / Bailey Mariner
For many people living with depression, prescription medications can be life-saving drugs. Antidepressants, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors like Prozac and Zoloft , are the most widely prescribed medication for depression, and while they are often effective, they can have side effects and be expensive depending on your health insurance coverage.
There are many ways to counter some of the symptoms of depression that don’t involve prescription medications. If you have depression, you might like to try managing it naturally without medication or supplement your antidepressant with other options. If so, check out these natural alternatives and then talk to your doctor about which might make sense as part of your treatment regimen.
This article discusses some natural treatments that may help fight depression including lifestyle changes and supplements. It also covers other strategies you might try such as practicing mindfulness or enhancing your home environment.
Recommended Reading: How To Not Stress About Acne
Tap Into Your Spirituality
Religion can be an impactful source of support for many people dealing with depression, but there is no need to join a church, synagogue, or mosque unless you wish to. Simple daily practices such as meditation or adding to a list of things you’re grateful can help boost mood and overall well-being.
Meditation can have a range of beneficial effects such as lowering stress levels and helping people to become more aware of their thoughts and reactions.
Research indicates that an intervention called mindfulness-based cognitive therapy , which combines elements of cognitive behavioral therapy with mindfulness meditation, can be helpful in treating depression and preventing future relapses of symptoms.
Studies also suggest that different types of mindfulness meditative practices can also be effective in the treatment of depression.
There are many different types of meditation, but you can get started with a simple meditative exercise with these steps:
When You May Need More Anxiety Treatment
Though these natural ways to relieve anxiety are powerful for many, sometimes the anxiety reducing benefits of these tactics are not enough to manage anxiety without medication, which is when anxiety treatment may be called for.
For instance, an anxious child whose anxiety is affecting their ability to develop normally at the same pace as their peers or someone whose anxiety begins to take over their life may want to consult a doctor or healthcare provider about medication for their symptoms.
Someone showing symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder or another serious anxiety related condition may also need to be on anti anxiety medications, which can fight anxiety disorders more effectively than other treatments alone and may be a necessary measure for someone suffering from severe anxiety.
You May Like: How To Let Go Of Stress
Easy Ways On How To Relieve Anxiety Naturally Without Medication
Anxiety can be relieved to a great extent even without medication. Here are some ways in which you can do it.
Anxiety can be relieved to a great extent even without medication. Here are some ways in which you can do it.
It had been so long since Emily walked through the doors of her classroom. She had experienced several panic attacks since childhood. And they only got worse as the years progressed. She had tried everything. Her prescription drugs were helping, but she was so afraid that she would choke on the pills, that she stopped taking those too. Then one day, her parents took her to visit a home, meant especially for people with anxiety disorders. She saw young and old people there. Some sitting listless and staring away into nothingness. And some were hyperactive, jumping at every small sound or movement they saw or felt. It was at that moment that Emily decided what she had to do. She had to take matters into her own hands. She had to learn to relieve her anxiety without medication, because she really could not bear to pop another pill. Lets help her with some tips on managing anxiety without drugs.
*Disclaimer: Though these methods can be used by people experiencing anxiety symptoms, it in no way means that they must abandon any medical treatment that they are undergoing for the same. They can definitely be used as complementary ways to relieve stress and anxiety, but not as the only one.
Consider Reducing Alcohol & Caffeine
What you put into your body can play a pretty big role in how you feel, so it might be a good idea to be mindful of your intake of anxiety-inducing beverages like coffee and alcohol. To help reduce anxiety, consider eliminating alcohol, or limiting the amount of alcohol you drink to around three drinks per week, Axe says. Doing so might keep your anxiety in check.
And same goes for caffeine. “Research also shows that consuming too much caffeine can induce anxiety symptoms, and people with panic disorder and social anxiety seem to be particularly sensitive to the effects of caffeine,” he says. Keeping caffeine drinks to about one cup of day can help.
Recommended Reading: Where To Get Help For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Ways To Manage Stress Without Drugs Or Alcohol
Effective stress management is central to lasting freedom from substance abuse, but many dont know where or how to begin in managing stress without drugs or alcohol. Discover 10 invaluable tips for coping with workplace and other stress:
There is a clear connection between work-related and other forms of stress and substance abuse, according to a large body of research. Addiction experts now know that most substance use disorders first develop as a way of coping with physical, mental and emotional stress . Stress, in the words of one study, is a well-known risk factor in the development of addiction and in addiction relapse vulnerability.
Effective stress management skills are thus crucial to finding lasting freedom from drugs and/or alcoholand an important focus during the treatment experience at Beach House Center for Recovery. But for many in recovery, the very notion of self-soothing in times of stress without the help of drugs or alcohol can be daunting and can seem like a foreign, counter-intuitive concept.
For that reason, weve compiled some tips below on sober stress management strategies that are proven to work.
Here are 10 ways to manage stress more generally, without drugs or alcohol:
We accept insurance policies from over 20 major providers.
