Generalized anxiety is the most common mental illness in America, affecting a staggering 40 million adults today.
Let’s face it, life is hard, and society can be tough to take. With today’s technology, social media, and television, it is impossible to not feel overwhelmed and over-stimulated with the constant connection and information overload.
Now onto this past year, we add a pandemic into the mix. As a result, the already rising decline of mental health is exacerbated, and more people than ever before are struggling, trying to find ways to feel better.
The silver lining is that, if you suffer from anxiety, you are not alone and you have resources that provide support. Dive gently into relief with the following methods and ways to ease anxiety.
1. Analyze Your Mind and Emotions
When you notice feelings of anxiety, discovering and understanding the reason will help immensely.
Pinpointing your triggers allows you to avoid them or push through when you cannot because you are at least able to identify the source, giving you power.
Self-reflection and internal observation is possibly your most valuable treatment.
2. Centralize Your Thoughts and Focus
Even if you lessen the daily effects of anxiety effectively, anxiety attacks or panic attacks are still very much possible occurrences.
Effective ways to get through an anxiety attack vary but are largely focused-based activities, such as focusing on one item or items that represent each of your senses, something you can smell, touch, taste, and feel.
The act of focusing is powerful in that you are reminding your body that there is nothing wrong and you can redirect your energy.
3. Be Mindful
Mindfulness comes in many forms and for many people is a lifestyle.
Being mindful looks like acknowledging your thoughts and feelings, making time to take care of yourself mentally and physically, practicing guided meditation, ridding your life of negativity when possible, limiting stressors, among others.
4. Heal Your Gut
The gut-brain connection is one of the most overlooked aspects of mental health. When gut health is disrupted, your mind is not healthy.
You can, in fact, ease your anxiety by healing your gut, and you don’t need to have symptoms to indicate that your gut microbiome is off-balance.
Consuming less processed foods, more colorful whole foods, fermented foods, and healing herbs and spices can help you get back to being yourself before anxiety.
Discover the Ways to Feel Better Yourself
We hope you feel a sense of hope that you can regain control of your life having gained knowledge of how to ease anxiety naturally.
Whatever you do, don’t give up if you try something and it doesn’t work for you. Mental health and physical health is not one-size-fits-all and is not a beginning and an end, but rather a journey.
Start today exploring the aforementioned ways to feel better, giving yourself grace, and being proud of the steps you have taken and the progress you have and will make.
The Center for Health and Wellbeing is here to help. Visit our blog for more health information or contact us today to schedule an appointment with one of our professionals.