This month alone, people Googled the keyword “natural anxiety supplements” 8,100 times. In March and April, at the height of the pandemic lockdowns, related terms for anxiety relief hit over 12,000 monthly searches.
Individuals everywhere are looking at how to reduce anxiety naturally. It’s a safe bet that some of those searches came from yourself or employees, too.
Luckily, anxiety management techniques are available, as are ways to learn how to reduce anxiety naturally. By sharing this post with your team, you’ll give them tools to learn how to reduce anxiety on their own terms.
Here’s a look at how to reduce anxiety naturally. No meds required.
While COVID-19 and related events — like unemployment and business shutdowns — haven’t helped, anxiety isn’t a new phenomenon.
In fact, in the U.S. alone, 40 million people have an anxiety disorder, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. As the most common mental illness, treatments have become readily available for individuals to try — yet only 36.9% get help.
Anxiety is a normal part of life. Our brains are hardwired to think about survival, which meant always being on alert for danger back in prehistoric times. Known as “fight or flight”, that survival mode was code for situations that required some anxiety to get to a safer place.
Yet sometimes it’s hard to turn that hardwired anxious mindset off. When anxiety becomes uncontrollable or involves extreme fear or worries, that’s when it can impact daily life.
Luckily, there are ways to reduce anxious feelings and anxiety attacks.
Best of all, it can be done immediately and without the use of medication. It’s important to note that natural remedies are often safe to use with standard medical therapies, but it’s always best to consult a doctor first.
Here are ways you can start reducing your anxiety naturally right now:
One of the best self-improvement opportunities that can reduce anxiety fast is spending time outdoors. There’s something about fresh air, sunshine, and the overall feel of natural spaces that evokes a sense of calm. Plus, a vitamin D boost (naturally from the sun) may help regulate mood better.
What to Try:
When you are feeling overwhelmed (and maybe too cooped up from remote work), head to the great outdoors for some anxiety relief. Anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes of outdoor time can be enough to improve your mental outlook.
When you’re in a constant state of panic, it’s hard for your body to differentiate between real panic and illusionary panic. Constant anxiety means you always feel like you’re in “fight or flight” mode, which releases stress hormones continuously and harms the body.
To minimize this constant flow of stress through your body, think of ways you can reduce your constant worrying, panic, or thoughts of negativity. That may mean skipping the news when you’re feeling anxious already or maybe even taking a break from social media for a bit. You get to decide.
What to Try:
Sometimes it’s simple to avoid panic or anxiety by minimizing contact with situations or people who stir that emotion up in you. Other times, it’s up to you to make conscious choices to avoid anxiety, like nixing your need to scroll on social media before bed.
You may be asking, “Do I really need to skip caffeine if I have anxiety?” Much to java lovers’ dismay, the answer may be yes. While coffee benefits certainly exist, caffeine may cause issues for anxiety sufferers because of its stimulating effects. The “jitters” you get from caffeine are similar to the “fight or flight” response and can potentially trigger an anxiety attack.
What to Try:
It’s important to note that stopping caffeine abruptly can potentially cause caffeine withdrawal, which may include headaches or worsen depression symptoms. Gradually decrease your caffeine consumption to reduce the negative effects that may occur.
If you’re constantly alone, it’s easy to get into your own head. With the pandemic forcing many into mandatory lockdowns, isolation and loneliness are on the rise. This, in turn, can trigger or worsen feelings of anxiety. Connect with colleagues, close friends, and family members when you can.
What to Try:
We are social beings. No matter how bad your anxiety gets, it’s important to have someone you trust to talk to alleviate the build-up of too many anxious thoughts. Consider investing in friendships where it feels easy to bounce ideas off one another and reduce anxiety through simple connections.
When life gets busy, it’s easy to feel disconnected from others, but especially yourself. When you squash your emotions, bottle them up, and generally ignore how you’re feeling, it puts you in a mindset — consciously or not — that you don’t matter. When you take time to reconnect with yourself and get in touch with your emotions, it gives you an opportunity to learn more about what triggers your anxiety as much as what brings you happiness.
What to Try:
You spend more time with yourself than anyone else. It’s time to learn how to handle your emotions in healthy ways to tackle those emotions day in and day out. Journaling and yoga are just two ways to do it, but there are plenty of other activities worth trying.
Believe it or not, you can stop making worrying a go-to habit. Instead, let go of worse-case scenario thinking. Breathing deeply, working on thinking patterns, meditating, and accepting a current situation are all ways to evoke calmer thinking.
What to Try:
To help yourself or your employees, it’s important to take steps to understand anxiety, its triggers, and what resources are available. Help is available as are resources to teach individuals how to reduce anxiety naturally, through therapy, and even medicine, if needed.
Below are a few professional anxiety organizations with resources and educational materials to further understand anxiety and its impacts.
Get help through these organizations:
Other shareable resources from our blog include:
How do you calm your anxiety when it spikes? What tools, resources, or techniques do you find helpful during anxious times? Share your thoughts in the comments below!