How to Prevent & Manage your Anxiety Naturally
One of the most common reasons people seek out Acupuncture and Functional Medicine is for Anxiety Management and Prevention. Anxiety is on the rise, as one of the most commonly diagnosed mental health disorders. It’s no surprise given the fast pace, work-first lifestyle of Western society, that people are having a hard time adjusting to circumstances we haven’t evolved to deal with!
Anxiety is our body expressing emotional feedback. It’s not just overwhelm or worrying– anxiety is a real, physical experience. When our nervous system becomes dysregulated, we need to find ways to down-regulate and maintain a calmer state.
Here are our top five recommendations for Anxiety Prevention:
- Getting regular sleep. Sleeping 7-8 hours every night is essential for good overall health and mental health. This keeps your nervous system regulated and calm.
- Staying physically active. Regularly working out is a great way to stay healthy and keep your nervous system in tip-top shape. Often, vigorous cardio is a great way to let off steam and get rid of stress that if built up, could cause anxiety.
- Meditate regularly. Meditation apps like Calm teach you how to meditate and debunk myths about what meditation “is” or “should” look like. Meditation encourages more mindfulness, keeping the bigger picture in perspective.
- Schedule acupuncture. Acupuncture can be very helpful for people with anxiety! Coming in for regular treatments, even when you’re feeling calm, is a great way to maintain your energy levels. It helps you relax, take a mindful moment for your body, and allows your acupuncturist to rebalance your body’s energy channels by placing strategically placed points around your body.
- Schedule a medical review. By testing your blood, stool and hormones, we’re able to use the power of Functional Medicine to check under the hood and see what’s out of balance on a more holistic level. Through targeted supplementation and health coaching, we can help get your hormones and body in balance again.
Once you have anxiety, there are intervention tools that can help too. Anxiety can manifest emotionally or as different types of physical symptoms, like nausea, headache, racing thoughts, feeling air starved, tingling and even numbness in hands and feet.
If you suspect you’re having anxiety, try some of these Anxiety Management techniques:
- Try a breathing exercise. Such as alternate nostril breathing, boxed or timed breathing, or taking deep, slow breaths to slow down your heart rate.
- Get outside and take a walk. Your body is in fight or flight mode, so let yourself out of your current surroundings and move.
- Focus on an object nearby you. Look at it carefully and start describing with detail everything you notice about that object. Keep repeating with everything around you.
- Call a friend or family member and talk it out. Express your emotion with someone who is safe, can listen and offer you reassurance and safety.
- Practice some self care. This could be taking a hot shower, a bubble bath, making a cup of herbal tea, or putting on your favourite movie or television show.
Remember– nothing is permanent and every emotion is temporary. It will pass. It is not forever.
When looking at anxiety, it’s important to have someone you trust who can help you work through your emotions. We can work with your therapist or health coach, or refer you to one of our recommended partners. But it’s also important to look at your physical behaviors as well, and make changes to your lifestyle that promote a healthy, regulated nervous system.
At Deep Roots Natural Medicine, we’re here to support you with your natural health needs. To work on anxiety prevention or management, visit our website and schedule a In-Office or Virtual Consultation today!
