7 Natural Solutions for Anxiety.

After covid and lockdown and with all the stress, trauma and uncertainty in the world today it is not surprising that anxiety levels are at record highs in our society, and especially we hear it is affecting the young.

I don’t believe the answer to pop a pill or just accept it as the new norm. I believe we need to look to natural solutions to help our nervous systems calm down so that our minds can calm down. When that happens the anxiety can reduce and over time become a thing of the past. So how to achieve it with natural solutions?

Firstly it’s good to understand how anxiety comes about in the body. From our ancient ancestors we have kept a system within our bodies to alert us to danger and threat. It is automatic and not under conscious control. So it can get triggered when our nervous system senses a threat. If we can deal with the threat and relax again all is good. However if we can’t and the threat, perceived or real, continues and we cannot escape it, then our bodies get run down with the constant vigilance and heightened alert state. This is anxiety.

Sometimes we know that the stress is, and other times or for other people, the stress is unknown, but there is a general sense of stress, anxiety and fear.

We can however take conscious steps to change how much we expose ourselves to stressors and how much we choose to do things that calm our nervous system. So what natural ways can we start to reduce anxiety? You possibly know a few already. How many of these do you know and how many of them do you actually do? I invite you to choose one or two to start doing today, now.

1. Turn off and away from technology for periods during the day. The energy output from tech devices is detrimental to our mental health on many levels.
2. Step out into nature and take walks in nature. Or just spend time looking at plants, trees and flowers, birds and animals. We are a part of nature and immersing ourselves in nature is soothing to our soul, mind, body and heart. Being outdoors in natural light under the elements is also good for our bodies and minds.
3. Get up and do some exercise or movements, dance as though no one is watching. Sing along to your favourite songs. Our bodies are meant to move and our modern lifestyles mean we spend too long sitting and that can bring us down. Activity gets everything going in our bodies and we naturally feel better as a result.
4. Laugh more and do things that make you smile. Play funny videos, watch comedy programmes. Tell or read jokes. Have fun with friends. Tickle someone you love. Laughing is a great medicine.
5. Garden or cook from scratch. Getting hands on with plants, soil and food is therapeutic. It brings us back to our food source. We benefit from slowing down and preparing food for ourselves.
6. Get to bed earlier. Because a tired mind and body is less able to cope with stress. Tiredness is a stress on your system. Maybe start by going to bed half an hour earlier each night. Build in a calming down bedtime routine if you don’t have one, again start small and build it up, that way the new habit is more likely to succeed and stick.
7. Learn and practise TRE®. TRE® allows your body to gently and safely release tension, stress and trauma which can build up to overwhelming levels. Releasing stress regularly with TRE® sessions, and once learnt and confident you have it as a practice for life!

Was this useful? Let me know how you get on. I’d love to hear from you.