6 WAYS TO HEAL ANXIETY
As long as I can remember I’ve been an anxious person, stems right back to childhood; which has set me on the path of exploring various ways of dealing with anxiety and unease in my mind. I can safely say that over the years on my journey into better health, mentally and physically I’ve accumulated some resources that I keep stashed in my Wellness Toolbox.
Here are my 6 Bulletproof ways to heal Anxiety;
1. BREATHWORKK / PRANAYAMA
Whenever I notice the thoughts starting to overwhelm I find a little space to sit alone and start to breath slowly mindfully. Box breathing is a simple one; 4 counts to inhale, then holding breath in for 4 counts, 4 counts to exhale, then holding breath out for 4 counts. I do this for just 3-5minutes and I literally feel my whole nervous system settle and relax.
Anther one I love which is super easy, is Alternate nostril breathing check out here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l11qFpRqhIQ&t=132s
2. MINDFULNESS / MEDITATION
All meditation is mindfulness really. Though the main differing points are that Mindfulness is about a directed focus, like on a mantra (A word you repeat to stay focused) or on a mandala. While meditation is best thought of as pulling away from any focus, withdrawing internally to a higher state of consciousness or Theta brain waves, a state essentially that leaves you deeply relaxed.
My favourite easy way of meditating is again to find a quite space to sit and I allow myself to be the witness of my thoughts, watch them coming and going across the screen of my mid, without attaching to any particular thought, despite the emotional charge it may have. Observing rather than running off with what's observed. Reminding myself that I am not my thoughts, is very very useful.
In time I start to notice space between my thoughts, which I then focus on. So a bit of both mindfulness and meditation.
3. NUTRITION
Important to be checking in and noticing what food you eat daily and how it affects you. For best effect, eliminate sugar, gluten and processed foods as much as you can as these foods do affect our nervous system in huge ways.
Don’t take my word for it either. Keeping a food diary for just a week, can be highly insightful. Recording all meals and snacks throughout the day as well as emotions that ripple out after each meal throughout the day is powerful stuff. Seeing and feeling exactly what foods spike your systems and effect your moods, leaves you nowhere to run really.
You’re in control. Remember the old saying You are what you eat!
4. DEEP SLEEP
Thankfully I don’t have trouble with this one. Have mastered the art of good sleep. However I do have quite a few friends who suffer with disrupted, broken sleep and insomnia, which chronically can affect your health in huge ways.
Here’s what I do on most nights to ensure deep sleep;
*Sleep with a lavender eye mask to soothe tired eyes and block out any light.
*Use wax earplugs to ensure no sounds get in.
*Make sure my room is warm but not too toasty or humid, waking up in a sweat does disrupt sleep.
*No blue screens at least an hour before bed, so I can mentally start to unwind. My phone is my alarm, though so I put it in on airplane mode as there are no notifications or texts urgent enough to wake me up, really!
5. MOVING YOUR BODY; DAILY AND OFTEN
This gets your happy hormones-endorphins flowing while blasting stress hormone cortisol. Minimum 30 minutes daily is ideal, doing whatever you properly enjoy whether its dancing or a morning run before work, yoga, tennis or boxing. Humans were not meant to live such sedentary lives chained to desks without natural light..
Move your body and mind will be grateful
6. JOURNALING
I absolutely love this one, since discovering Julie Cameron's Morning pages in The Artists ways, this has been an almost daily practice since 2012.
Writing uncensored 3 full pages every morning as soon as you get up literally unblocks the sewers of your mind and frees up a lot of mental space that would otherwise be occupied with should -haves, could-haves, would-haves and worst case scenarios.
When you write out that stuff, the mental chatter in your mind, the calm clarity that follows is surprising.
Also allows creativity to flourish and insights that you never saw coming to just drop on your lap.
Journaling daily and ending with some I AM affirmations are powerful..
I can assure you that if you commit to just half this list, consistently on a daily basis, that anxiety will become completely manageable or quite possibly a thing of the past.
Try out and let me know how you go!
Inhale, exhale..