Anxious about Anxiety? 20 Natural Remedies to Help You Chillax
Anxious About Anxiety? Discover 20 Natural Remedies to Help You Chillax!
How I Learned to Prevent and Reduce Anxiety Naturally
By Jessica Lambert (Follow IG @JessicaVibez) Article Source Jessie’s World Podcast Eps. 29
“Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength.”
Anxiety, that neurological and physical response to danger that keeps us safe from lions, tigers, and bears… and that holds us hostage to fear around uncertainty, inadequacies, health concerns, financial strain, and social issues to name a few. We are still primitive in our fight and flight response, but no matter where we run, we can not hide from ourselves… or our anxious thoughts.
You Are Not Alone
A 2021 study found that 47% of North Americans struggle with anxiety.
In Canada people 18 to 39 years old experience the most anxiety.
An estimated 275 Million people world-wide suffer from anxiety daily.
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is the state of extreme worry, fear, and panic that some people feel for a few minutes and some people feel for most of the day. Even trivial situations or the anticipation of a situation that may not have happened will trigger these feelings in someone with sever anxiety.
I have lived with this experience for as long as I can remember, and managing it is an important part of seeing clearly in life, connecting with myself, serving my purpose on earth, and nurturing and growing quality relationships. When you have anxiety, it can be easy to shut everyone out. For me, anxiety is like a hungry beast, the more you feed it, the hungrier it gets. It’s insatiable, so at some point it eats you alive or you figure out how to take control.
This article is not in any way medical advice, I am not a doctor or Mental Health expert, what I do have is some lived and learned experience – that is what I am sharing here.
Anxiety, Cautious Friend or Boogie Man?
I went from being ruled by my anxiety, to being curious about it. I built a relationship with my anxiety. When it shows up I say “Oh, there you are. What’s going on, is something bothering you?”
Anxiety can often be so uncomfortable that the first thing you want to do is SHUT IT UP. It makes you panic. It makes you stressed. It can make you irrational and desperate in an attempt to just end this horrid feeling. Yet, at the end of the day it is just a feeling, and like all feelings, it is likely there to tell you something.
What I like to do is pause and listen. I ask myself, what is my anxiety trying to tell me?
Once I understand WHAT my anxiety is trying to communicate, I can then validate it and respond accordingly, or I can invalidate it and say – sorry anxiety not today! If my reason for feeling anxious is valid – like it’s icy out so I should not drive, I validate it and thank my old friend anxiety for doing its job and protecting me; if it’s invalid – sunny day but says I may slip on ice, I let my anxiety know thanks for the concern, but I am okay. I reinforce that I am safe, happy, I am good, and anxiety can take a break today. I have found this works; anxiety can be reasonable if you take the time to reason with it.
This dialog with my anxiety changes it from a scary monster to somewhat cautious friend who sometimes has points and sometimes doesn’t. That’s something I can deal with, and it’s a lot better that the former.
How To Know If You Have Anxiety
Some signs that may indicate you have anxiety could include:
- Constant Worrying
- Obsessive Thoughts
- Chest Pain
- Feeling Pancaked for Unexplained Reasons
- Tense Muscles
- Sweating or Flush
- Nausea
- Churning Feeling in Stomach
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Diarrhea
- Heart Palpitations
- Shortness of Breath and more…
- *If you feel any of these symptoms check with your doctor.
Bosses, Celebrities, and Leaders Get Anxiety Too!
Anxiety in business can hit different, and it can be layered on top of all the other forms of anxiety we just discussed.
As a CEO and Executive Consultant I am often the one people come to for answers, and the truth is I often have those answers. Anxiety is not comment on skill, knowledge, or ability, it is just something people tend to deal with in silence, especially when they are bosses.
Popular artist Coi Leray breaks the silence about the anxiety that young ambitious people can face – with the lyrics from her song Anxiety
“I been going through it, yeah Got my mind racing And they gon' have to face it I'm destined for greatness, yeah I'm in first place They keep tryna take it (Yeah, yeah, yeah)”
The truth is, we often thing of Anxiety as something that shows up when you are down on your luck, but some of the most successful business people in the world cope with anxiety, and it is important you know that, because that means that even if you are dealing with anxiety, it does not mean that it will hold you back from success.
“I just think that nothing’s ever gone horrifically wrong. Also, when I get nervous, I try and bust jokes. It does work.”
There is so much power in knowing and trusting that we can survive even if we face real difficult realities; and in knowing others have survived too.
The unique challenge of being a business owner and having anxiety is often your role is to give others confidence, in the product, in the situation, in the future. If your confidence is wavering that can be difficult.
While understanding others face anxiety too, what are some unique solutions that professionals and entrepreneurs can use so that they can remain calm in the storm.
The reality is, Anxiety is the Enemy of Progress – and in business, progress is everything.
“It gets easier. My fears came true, people called me fat and hideous and I lived. And now, I keep living!”
Why Do We Experience Anxiety?
Some of the reasons people experience anxiety can include:
- Genetics
- Learned Behavior
- Chemical Disorder in Brain
- Abuse, Neglect, Violence, Rejection, & Other Trauma
- Job Stress
- Financial Issues
- Relationship Problems
- Racial Descrimination
- Housing Issues
My 5 Step Approach to Managing Anxiety
Created by Jessica Lambert (IG @JessicaVibez)
You Can Move From Stressed...
To Blessed in 5 Simple Steps!
Step 1. Acknowledge that you are feeling anxiety. Treat it like an old friend. “Hi Anxiety, I see you.”
Step 2. Listen to Anxiety – like you would an old friend. “Hey Anxiety, what’s up. What brings you around today?”
Step 3. Consider Anxiety’s concerns. “I hear that you do not want me to drive today.”
Step 4. Validate OR Invalidate Anxiety’s Concerns (through critical thinking) and State the Reasons for Your Conclusion. For Example – I hear that you do not want me to drive because it’s slippery out. We did just have very big snow storm and everything is cancelled. I will stay home, thanks for protecting me Anxiety. OR I hear that you don’t want me to drive, however it’s a lovely day and there really is no reason to go beyond normal daily risk and if I avoided normal every day risks I would be locked in the house with you all day Anxiety, and while you are an old friend, I have other friends I need to see too… see ya wouldn’t wanna be ya!
Step 5. Move Forward with your decision and TRUST your chosen course of action.
This simple was created by Jessica Lambert aka Jessica Vibez as a way to manage her own anxiety. I hope it helps you too.
20 Natural Ways To Relive Anxiety
20 Natural Anxiety Busters:
- Breathe – this calms your nervous system and gives you the space to think clearly.
- Be Proactive and be organized – try to organize your life so you are not behind on bills, deadlines, projects etc. By making it a point to improve your organizational skills you can reduce the number of triggers to your anxiety
- Drink water – much like breathing, and even paired with deep intentional breathing, drinking water in a meditative state is very important.
- Meditate
- Yoga
- Stretching
- Exercise
- Weight Lifting – I just started this and I am loving it
- Walking – I am loving this too
- Fellowship – time with loved ones and friends GET SOCIAL
- Sex – let’s talk about sex baby
- Planning your day – focus helps! If you know you are busy, you can park your anxiety for later. Often, when you go back to your parked items, they have resolved themselves or are no longer important to you.
- Build a parking lot – yes in this situation putting up a parking lot will help create a life of paradise. By parking a situation you gain the space needed for perspective, critical thinking and solutions to enter.
- Eat healthy – sugar and an Americano is delicious, but it can also cause you increased anxiety and that’s just not worth it!
- SLEEP – when your body says rest, rest. Also plan your sleep. Go to bed at a decent hour.
- Share Your Feelings with Others – It’s important to talk about how you feel, not to complain, but to learn and grow from your feelings. Have a trusted friend, even a peer who is experiencing the same feelings of anxiety, share with each other’s, and be accountability partners as you work to see what works to reduce your anxiety.
- Listen to music and lively up yourself – music helps changes your mood and mindset, put on songs that make you feel good and give you a dose of serotonin it is a calorie free, totally natural and healthy pick me up.
- Take care of your health – a healthy body and a healthy mind go together.
- Listen to a sleep meditation at night, pour good thoughts into you all night long.
- Find a healthy hobby, say no to drugs and alcohol and yes to swimming, golfing, hiking in nature or any other healthy hobbies that will take your mind off worries and have you feeling on top of the world.
Each person’s journey with anxiety is different. The important thing is that you are actively seeking answers – I am proud of you for that.
“Just when the caterpillar thought the world was ending, he turned into a butterfly.”
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