First we have to understand the Anxiety, why it arises. Anxiety is a natural and often beneficial emotion. However, when a person experiences disproportionate levels of anxiety on a regular basis, it may develop into a medical disorder.
It raises your awareness of danger, motivates you to stay organised and prepared, and assists you in risk calculation. Still, when anxiety becomes a daily occurrence, it’s time to take action before it snowballs out of control.
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is not only normal but also necessary for survival when confronted with potentially harmful or worrying triggers.
Since the dawn of time, the approach of predators and incoming danger has set off alarms in the body, allowing evasive action. These alarms manifest as increased heart rate, sweating, and increased sensitivity to surroundings.
The threat triggers a surge of adrenalin, a hormone and chemical messenger in the brain, which causes these anxious reactions in a process known as the “fight-or-flight” response. This prepares humans to confront or flee any potential threats to their safety.
Running from larger animals and imminent danger is a less pressing concern for many people than it would have been for early humans. Anxiety now revolves around work, money, family life, health, and other critical issues that require a person’s attention without necessitating the ‘fight-or-flight’ response.
The nervous feeling before an important life event or in the midst of a difficult situation is a natural echo of the original ‘fight-or-flight’ response. It can still be necessary for survival; for example, fear of being hit by a car while crossing the street causes a person to look both ways to avoid danger.
Natural way to reduce Anxiety
1.Meditation
Understanding anxiety is the first step toward overcoming it. We can gain a better understanding of triggering situations and how our anxiety operates by understanding its erratic nature — and this is where meditation comes in.
We become acquainted with anxiety-inducing thoughts and storylines through meditation. We learn to see them, sit with them, and then release them. This teaches us two important lessons: thoughts do not define us, and thoughts are not real. We can gradually change our relationship with anxiety within this newfound perspective, distinguishing between what is an irrational episode and what is true.
Some Meditations for Anxiety
- mindfulness meditation
- spiritual meditation
- focused meditation
- movement meditation
- mantra meditation
2. Writing
When you’re stressed about a problem, keeping a journal can help you figure out what’s causing the stress or anxiety. Once you’ve identified your stressors, you can devise a strategy to address the issues and reduce your stress.
Remember that journaling is only one component of a healthy lifestyle for better managing stress, anxiety, and mental health issues.
3. Exercise
Exercise is defined as any planned, structured, and repetitive movement of the body performed to improve or maintain physical fitness.
Running laps around the gym may come to mind when you hear the word “exercise.” However, exercise encompasses a wide range of activities that increase your activity level and help you feel better.
Running, lifting weights, playing basketball, and other heart-pumping fitness activities can all help. Gardening, washing your car, walking around the block, and other less strenuous activities can also be beneficial. Any physical activity that gets you up and moving can help you feel better.
4. Music
Calming music can help you relax if you’re feeling anxious or stressed. Several studies have found that when people undergoing surgery hear calming music, their blood pressure drops and they require less pain medication than those who do not.
But you don’t have to be preparing for surgery to relax with music. Simply listening to music can lower your blood pressure, levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and heart rate.
5. Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils for therapeutic purposes. Aromatherapy has been practised for thousands of years. When essential oils are inhaled, the scent molecules travel directly from the olfactory nerves to the brain, focusing on the amygdala, the brain’s emotional centre.
The skin can also absorb essential oils. To help relax tight muscles during a rubdown, a massage therapist may add a drop or two of wintergreen oil to the oil. To create a soothing soak, a skincare company may add lavender to bath salts.
6. Chamomile Tea
“Chamomile improves anxiety primarily through its effects on the symptoms of the condition, rather than any biochemical response that it may elicit,” Richards explains. “It can improve anxiety symptoms like insomnia and irritability by improving sleep, relaxing muscles, lowering blood pressure, and enabling a state of relaxation.”