Try These 6 Tips to Reduce Anxiety

Most Americans experience stress and anxiety, but when it accumulates and becomes a persistent, lasting state, it can seriously interfere with your quality of life. Your experience with anxiety may range from mild panic to a full-blown episode characterized by shaking, sweating, shallow breathing and intense fear. Regardless of how severe anxiety is for you, it’s an unwelcome presence in your otherwise balanced life. 

Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to relieve anxiety and promote a stress-free life for yourself. 

1. Supplement

Your body has internal mechanisms designed to combat stress, but when stress overpowers those mechanisms, you can become consumed with intense panic. Elevated stress levels, over time, can lead to a variety of health problems, including heart palpitations, disrupted sleep, illness and mental health struggles. 

There are many supplements available over the counter to help your body deal with the effects of stress and anxiety. Adaptogens, such as ashwagandha, maca root, medicinal mushrooms and holy basil, are available in powdered or capsule form. Other calming, anti-inflammatory supplements such as chewable CBD gummies, chamomile tea and valerian root promote relaxation and soothe the body’s response to stress, making it easier to handle bouts of anxiety when they crop up. 

2. Exercise

Regularly getting your heart rate up encourages the release of mood-boosting endorphins that help to fight off anxiety and depression. Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week, but even low-impact exercise has beneficial effects. Physical activities like yoga and stretching improve the brain-body connection, which can help you to relieve anxiety and counteract any elevated cortisol, the hormone released during times of stress. 

3. Meditate

No longer thought to be just for fringe wellness gurus, meditation helps to strengthen the neural pathways in your brain that help you to stay calm and present. Meditation is a practice that encourages a dedicated focus on the present moment, which can help you to cope with negative thinking spirals and direct your focus to things that are in your control rather than things that are not. 

To start or strengthen a current meditation practice, check out podcasts or guides designed for beginners. It may help to start small, with only a few minutes a day, to build a more sustainable practice.

4. Practice Mindfulness

Intense anxiety can be a very physical experience, but reigning it in is often possible through mindful thinking. Mindfulness therapy focuses on empowerment by emphasizing your own role in controlling your thoughts. Rather than be consumed by the scary, fearful thoughts, position yourself as the one who is witnessing those thoughts pop into your head. 

The less consumed you are by your anxiety, the greater distance you can create between your thoughts and you as the observer. It will take time, but the more you try to slow your thoughts, observe your reactions and regain control, the easier it will be to manage anxiety in the future. 

5. Breathe

Primitively, shallow breaths tell your body that you are in danger, and the stress response is the same whether you are being chased by a predator or have a stressful work deadline. When you take large, deep breaths, you’re giving your body the powerful message that you’re safe and that there is nothing to worry about. 

Simply taking slow, deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth can go a long way in calming your body down. For greater relief, look into structured breathing exercises that you can add to your anti-anxiety toolbox the next time you need to take a pause to center yourself. 

6. Distract

It can be challenging, especially when your anxiety makes you feel like you have to deal with whatever is stressful right away, but it’s helpful to step away to do something else long enough to clear your head and get your bearings. Distractions can be in the form of soothing music, exercise, talking to a friend, switching tasks or doing something to care for yourself. Whatever it is, make it intentional. Anything you can do for yourself to relieve the pressure you’re feeling will not only make your acute experience with anxiety a lot easier to deal with, but it will set you up with potential rituals you can turn to if it happens again.