Anxiety affects over 2 million Australians per year, unfortunately over 45% of Australians will experience anxiety and a mental health condition this year.
Below are six areas that you can work on in your life if you are dealing with anxiety or are distressed and will reduce the symptoms of anxiety.
“If you cannot find peace within yourself, you will never find it anywhere else”
– Marvin Gaye
Meditation
Did you know that following a daily meditation practice when dealing with anxiety has many positive effects and, in some cases, can alleviate all your symptoms of anxiety? You will experience reduced stress, improved concentration, increased self-awareness and more motivation to lead a healthy lifestyle. Meditation also opens the heart centre to receive love and allows a greater sense of calm and feeling of peace.
A daily practice of meditation will allow your mind to quieten down and the negative thoughts to eventually go away. It will also bring a greater sense of awareness to what is happening in your mind and when there is awareness about what thoughts are arising you will be able to acknowledge these negative thoughts and know they have no benefits, this will then allow you to have a more positive mindset and to focus on positive thoughts.
There are many forms of meditation that you can practice. They include mindfulness meditation, guided visualization, mantra meditation, loving kindness meditation, yoga nidra, inner & outer focus meditation, mandala meditation and alternate nostril breathing meditation.
If you start a practice of just five minutes per day to begin with you will witness many benefits but normally a daily practice of twenty minutes will have the most positive effects.
Diet
You are what you eat and eating a healthy balanced diet (organic and grass-fed meats and free-range chicken and eggs when possible) when experiencing anxiety is extremely important. Many believe that food is medicine. Many foods are grown with pesticides and GMO’s, and this is causing many illnesses in the body. Many people also have intolerance that they are not aware of and these intolerances may be contributing to the feeling of anxiety.
You can start by avoiding artificial and refined sugars, caffeine, gluten, processed foods, alcohol, fried foods, soda and fruit juices this will allow your body to detoxify and your mind to have more clarity. Eliminating these foods from a diet will stop feeding the anxiety and give you more energy.
Try replacing these foods with Omega 3 fatty acids such as avocados, salmon, nuts, chia seeds and olive oils. Food’s high in antioxidants such as carrots, sweet potato, green leafy vegetables, berries and vitamin c rich fruits. Food’s high in magnesium such as eggs, legumes, nuts, seeds and avocados as magnesium has been found to induce relaxation.
You could also see a Nutritionist or dietician to help you with making better food choices.
Exercise/Movement
According to many studies regular exercise can work just as well as medication for some people and will reduce the symptoms of anxiety, stress and depression. Regular exercise will increase happiness and improve your mood. Regular exercise can increase the production of endorphins, which will help you to feel positive.
Yoga is popular as it is calming and relaxing and can relive stress and anxiety. Tai chi is also popular for the calming effects that it has on the body and the mind.
You could also try walking, hiking, running and strength training are also a great option and will create positive changes in your mood and may also have other benefits such as weight loss, it’s good for muscles, bones and skin, reduces health risk and it can help keep your brain healthy. A daily exercise regime of just 30 minutes will have a positive effect.
Attitude of Gratitude
Have an attitude of gratitude, make it a daily habit to express thankfulness and appreciation in all parts of your life, on a regular basis for both the big and small things alike. If you concentrate on what you don’t have you will never have enough and if you concentrate on what you do have, you will always have more.
Wake up every day and express to yourself what you are grateful for. If this is hard to do ask yourself “what could I be grateful for?” and see if it starts to flow into your life.
Everyday won’t be perfect but focusing on what you are grateful for tends to wash away feelings of anger and negativity and will improve your mood which will allow those feelings of anxiety to fade away.
Sleep
Do you toss and turn at night or wake up throughout the night and can’t get back to sleep? A good night’s sleep is vital for your overall health and wellbeing. Sleep needs vary across ages and are impacted by your lifestyle and health. If you are lacking sleep, it can affect your emotional and physical state, for most adults 7-9 hours of sleep is an ideal amount. A sleepless night can affect your mood and mental state. Are you someone who stays awake for many hours to the mere fact that you can’t stop thinking? Disconnect from your phone, iPads and any other technological devices and switch the TV off. Be mindful of your breath and get in touch with what is going on internally, this will take attention off your thoughts, and it will bring your attention back into your body, this will allow you to switch your mind off and to fall asleep. You could also get out of bed and sit in another room for a little while and then go back to bed and try to sleep. Sometimes a change in your sleep pattern allows your mind to relax and to switch of into sleep.
Dealing with your Emotions
Dealing with what is going on emotionally is a huge factor in eliminating stress and anxiety in your life. Are you struggling to cope with raising children and working full time or are constantly busy and can’t get a moment of peace? Do you have an overactive mind and can’t stop thinking and worrying? Have you been through something as a child, teenager or adult that has created anger, fear, guilt, hurt or sadness in you? Often these issues from the past present themselves in feelings of depression, anxiety or stress in order to let you know that there is something going on internally that you are avoiding dealing with. Learning to manage stress and anxiety can eliminate these symptoms and following the above tips will help with feeling balanced, centred and like you again. Alternatively, you can speak to a professional that has experience in dealing with these issues.
Written by Christine Safi
