Virtually everyone, at some point in their lives, suffers from it. Anxiety. It is one of the most common forms of mental stress in the world! I get anxious. I am sure you get anxious. Something triggers us to become anxious. 
Thousands of years ago, when we lived in the wild, we were threatened by the creatures of the wild, so genetically we were programmed for “fight or flight,” where our bodies would make enough adrenaline so that we would have the energy to fight the creatures, or run away from them! Today, other things threaten us, and when this occurs, like our ancestors, our adrenaline is triggered, and we feel the onset of anxiety. When this occurs we
experience the symptoms of anxiety that may include:
feeling frightened
feeling nervous or panicky
having problems sleeping or eating
having difficulties with being able to concentrate
feeling tired or irritable
Physically we may feel the onslaught of symptoms such as :
Dry Mouth
Shakey
Faint
Stomach Cramps or Diarreah
Pins and Needles in your hands and feet
Sweaty
Your Legs Feel Like Jelly
Whatever triggers we experience; stressful life events, moving, tests, bereavement, and whatever pressures we are under; family problems or money issues, can make us feel anxious.
There are many things that trigger anxiety. It could be that life events, moving, tests, bereavement, pressures such as family problems or money issues could be making you feel anxious.
Whatever our triggers are, there are many ways to reduce our Anxiety.
Sometimes when we become anxious, we can feel like we have lost control of our surroundings. We need to use grounding techniques to get our feet back on the ground. The technique is called grounding. Here is one technique that helps me:
Grounding techniques make you focus on something other than your anxiety. It is extremely helpful.
Aside from The Grounding Technique, I think one of the best anti-anxiety measures is Breathing. Anxiety can make you hold your breath or hyperventilate. We can control our own breathing! By breathing in and out deeply, we can become more relaxed. The more we allow our body to be filled with deep breathing, the less stress we will place on our body and our mind.
So, here are 10 steps to become less anxious:
- Breathe
- Breath Deeply
- Breath in through your nose and Breathe out through your mouth
- Breath in for a count of 4 – Hold it for the count of 4 -Breathe out for the count of 4 Do this every day, throughout the day!
- Breathe when you are not inclined to be self-aware
- Breathe when others are not self aware
- Breathe before you say or do anything unkind
- Breathe before you say yes
- Breathe before you say no
- Keep Breathing
Another Breathing Exercise , which I do with my trainer before and after I exercise :
Sit or Lie Down – (I sit)
Breathe in slowly through the nose to the count of 4-(Breathe deeply until the body feels expanded)
Hold the deep breath to the count of 4
Exhale Slowly to the count of 8
Repeat – your tummy expands-hold on to it-then exhale 9 more times
Exercise encourages you to focus on something other than your anxiety. Your body generates endorphins which will burn your nervous energy.
Sunlight is a potent anxiety medicine. Just 15 minutes of fresh air and sunlight will kick start the Body’s Vitamin D production, which reduces anxiety symptoms and improves your mood. To enhance the benefits, go for a walk, surrounding yourself in the quiet, peaceful beauty of nature.
Yoga decreases physiological arousal, reducing your heart rate, lowering your blood pressure, easing respiration, and inducing calmness!
Rosemary and Lavender help calm down and reduce anxiety symptoms…for both Rosemary or Lavender:
bring 2 cups of water to a boil
pour the water into a heat resistant bowl
add 3-4 drops of either Rosemary, or Lavender essential oil
breathe in the scent and let it ruminate throughout the house.
Also, use Lavender as a massage oil by mixing lavender oil with almond essential oil, and use it to massage neck and shoulders.
You can always brew a cup of Chamomile Tea to relax you. You do need about 2-3 cups to curb anxiety’s effects.
If these natural methods are not helping, and on a scale from 1-10 your anxiety is higher than a 5, it is time to consider outside help. You can try CBT Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with a professional Therapist, who deals with how your thoughts affect how you feel, and teaches you new skills for new ways of thinking to reduce anxiety.
Why do we feel anxious? It is about the feeling of uncertainty, with regard to whatever triggers your anxiety in the first place. Do you feel:
Face the physical feeling , drop out of the “story” (the trigger) that is in your head, that keeps repeating itself – and instead-think about how your body feels. What does your anxiety feel like? Where in your body is it? Stay with the physical feeling, and look at it with curiosity. What does it feel like? Does it change? What is your mind’s reaction to the feeling? Now, this is going to sound strange, but stay with it…Develop a feeling of acceptance towards the physical sensation of anxiety. See it as a fundamental reality of your existence. See it as a chance to work with something that is going to be a part of you for the rest of your life. This is an opportunity to get comfortable with this discomfort. If you can do this, you will need your coping mechanisms less and less.
Our normal way of relating to this feeling is to reject it. That is because we like to think inside a small box. But, if you open the box-wide open- you will see that the anxiety is TEMPORARY. IT IS NOT SOLID. IT IS NOT ALL-ENCOMPASSING. IT IS JUST PASSING THROUGH. (This wide open space, outside of the small box, is always available to us!) Face anxiety in small tolerable doses until you begin to realize that you will be o.k. if you face it.
Once you start to touch on this anxiety and face it with courage you will begin to realize that it isn’t so bad. It is just something that comes up and it will go away. So, none of us have to panic, and we don’t have to run from it. We can relax and realize this place of uncertainty is o.k.
You Are AWESOME!
If you have any comments, questions, or would like to give all of us anxiety-ridden readers some advise, please leave us a message in the comments below. Or just say hi!
xoxoxo
Sookie
