Living Mindfully Part 2: Four Tips to Neutralize Anxiety
Everyone can feel a bit anxious sometimes. Anxiety is a normal reaction to the more stressful events of our lives. Practicing mindfulness is one of the most valuable (and free) tools you can utilize to condition your mind to unwind, build inner strength, and cultivate mental peace.
If you’re new to living mindfully, check out our tips in part one, where we discuss techniques to encourage mindfulness in daily life, such as minimizing distractions, listening to your body, and practicing acceptance. These are natural tips and methods that you can put into practice today to start living more mindfully. Further your mindfulness practice with our tips below to help neutralize anxiety.
Focus on the Things You Can Control
- Diet: avoid stimulating foods such as caffeine and refined sugars as they tend to exacerbate symptoms of anxiety.
- Movement: prioritize daily movement. Yoga, stretching, hiking, walking around the neighborhood or public green spaces, biking or jogging are easy ways to keep your body healthy and moving while still practicing social distancing.
- Emotions: healthy thinking can help prevent and control anxiety. In a moment of anxiety, ask yourself whether your thoughts are helpful or unhelpful. The next step is to choose a helpful thought to replace the unhelpful one.
Take Time to Breathe and Be Still
- Meditation and breathwork: YouTube, Insight Timer, HeadSpace, Breathe2Relax, Anxiety Coach, Happify, Calm are some apps and sites that are very useful for guided meditation and breathwork.
- Make time for prayer or quiet contemplation.
Soak in Nature and the Sun
- Spend time in nature.
- Aim for daily sun exposure: Sunlight activates areas in the retina, which stimulates serotonin production. Serotonin helps regulate mood, appetite, digestion, sleep, and memory.
Establish Healthy Sleep Hygiene
- Bathe or shower with essential oils to de-stress at the end of the day.
- Herbal Tea: chamomile, holy basil, kava kava help aid in sleep.
- Avoid interacting with electronic devices 1 hour before bed, which can keep your mind alert.
Check out Our Free Sleep Hygiene Guide for More Tips on Establishing Healthy Sleep Hygiene and Improving Your Sleep Quality
Start putting these tips in practice today to help reduce anxiety and feel more at peace. If you’re looking for more recommendations to naturally reduce stress and anxiety, call 480-588-6856 to schedule a FREE brief meet and greet with a naturopathic doctor.
