Easing Stress & Preventing Anxiety 

If you struggle with anxiety, you’re far from alone. Anxiety is the most common mental health disorder in the United States, impacting nearly 20% of the population. Many of these people also experience anxiety attacks. Unlike panic attacks which come on suddenly and sometimes without any triggers, anxiety attacks often build over long periods of stress, culminating in anxious thinking and a general sense of doom.

Thankfully, there are many steps you can take to reduce day-to-day anxiety and prevent these overwhelming attacks. Try natural anxiety-reduction strategies before turning to anxiety medication—which can be habit-forming and cause dangerous side effects. Here are some tips that may offer some relief!

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Find a New Job

The first step in preventing anxiety attacks is to reduce the sources of stress in your life. What better place to start than with your job? After all, work is the biggest cause of stress in most people’s lives. While a little work stress is normal, it’s time for a career change if your job is causing crippling anxiety.

Quitting your job can be scary in itself. Lining up your next career move will help address some of those unknowns and settle any fears you may have about leaving your current job behind. For example, consider going back to school and earning a degree in a new field, like business, education, or information technology. Enrolling in an online program will allow you to hold onto your current job until you finish school, so you don’t have to make any big decisions right away.

Exercise Daily

Exercising is one of the most effective ways to relieve stress quickly. Studies show that bouts of physical activity work to reduce levels of stress hormones such as cortisol and epinephrine. Exercising also stimulates the production of mood-enhancing endorphins. Besides these immediate effects, regular exercise can change your brain chemistry to increase the availability of anxiety-moderating neurochemicals like serotonin and GABA.

Find a type of exercise you enjoy and try to make time for it as often as possible. There is no one perfect exercise for everyone, so it’s important to find what works best for you. For some people, it’s running. For others, it’s weightlifting. Try different exercises until you find one that clicks!

Quit Your Unhealthy Habits

In the same way that healthy habits like exercising can help you reduce stress, unhealthy habits will increase your anxiety levels. Bustle describes a number of bad habits that can make your anxiety worse. Over-scheduling yourself, rushing through the day, saying yes to everything, staying up too late, and engaging in negative self-talk are just a few unhealthy habits to work out of your life if you want to overcome anxiety. Habits like smoking and drinking can also contribute to anxiety. Since quitting habits can be challenging, pick just one to work on at a time.

Steer Clear of Caffeine

Drinking a cup of coffee in the morning isn’t necessarily a bad habit. In fact, coffee contains many beneficial antioxidants and nutrients! But for people with anxiety disorders, consuming caffeine may not be the best way to start your day. According to Everyday Health, caffeine stimulates your body’s fight or flight response to increase alertness and attention, but it can also increase anxiety. The anxiety-inducing effects of caffeine are particularly strong in people struggling with anxiety disorders. Consider cutting back on caffeine and see if it helps!

Stop Sleep Deprivation

Sleep and anxiety are closely linked. Insufficient sleep can raise anxiety significantly while deep sleep seems to have a protective effect against stress. But getting enough high-quality sleep can be tough when you have an anxiety disorder. Winding down in the evening with a relaxing routine may help. Make your bedroom as inviting as possible by keeping it clean and clutter-free, investing in comfortable bedding, and adding soft lighting for evening reading. Relaxation techniques like meditation and progressive muscle relaxation can also make it easier to calm anxiety before bed.

Practice Meditation

If you have an anxiety disorder, you’re likely familiar with feelings of nervousness, frequent worrying, and negative thinking. This is where relaxation techniques can offer relief. Mindfulness meditation, for example, can help you learn to acknowledge and accept your thoughts instead of trying to fight against them. Many people find that this practice helps them detach from negative thinking by forming a new response to feelings of anxiety. To get started, sit down in a quiet place and close your eyes. Allow thoughts to enter your mind, acknowledge them, then gently direct your attention back to your breath. Most importantly, don’t judge any of the thoughts that pop into your head. Simply notice that they’re there and let them pass.

Try Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is another relaxation strategy that can offer relief from anxiety and is a great grounding technique to try when your anxiety begins to spiral out of control. PMR involves tensing and relaxing your muscle groups one by one, triggering the brain to relax as well. Practicing PMR over time can help you learn to differentiate between the feeling of a tensed muscle and a relaxed one, so you can cue a relaxed state whenever you begin to feel anxious.

Explore Natural Anxiety Remedies

Medication can also offer relief from anxiety, but no prescription anxiety medication is free from side effects. Consider exploring some natural alternatives first! For example, you could try some natural supplements that have shown promise in promoting relaxation, including chamomile, skullcap, valerian root, ashwagandha, theanine, and magnesium. Many people have also found anxiety relief by taking CBD, a non-psychoactive compound derived from the hemp plant.

There is nothing easy about living with anxiety. The good news is that anxiety disorders respond well to healthy habits, lifestyle changes, and relaxation techniques like meditation and progressive muscle relaxation. Make mental self-care a priority in your life so you can enjoy some relief!