Anxiety and stress are everyday experiences for many people. Anxiety typically appears in anticipation of a situation, for instance when facing something stressful, risky, or uncertain. This kind of anxiety usually fades once the situation passes.
Here are several approaches you can try to manage anxiety and stress naturally:
Exercise Regularly
Physical activity not only burns calories, it also helps release stress and lift your mood. Regular physical activities can help to get rid of the harmful effects of stress, helping protect the gastrointestinal and immune systems from stress-related health risks.
Meditation
Meditation is one of the long-recognized way since centuries to handle anxiety and stress. Meditation can help you to calm a racing and unsettled mind.
By directing your attention toward steady, reassuring thoughts, it becomes easier to manage stress and anxiety. This practice helps you cultivate a sense of inner peace.
Using Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy may be used to ease anxiety, stress, and sleep difficulties. It utilizes plant extracts known as essential oils. Breathing in or applying essential oils to the skin is thought to promote relaxation and relieve stress.
Experts suggest aromatherapy stimulates smell receptors in the nose. These receptors send signals through the nervous system to specific brain areas involved in emotion, creating a pleasant, soothing effect.
Essential oils often chosen to reduce anxiety include lemon, chamomile, lavender, cedarwood, bergamot, and others.
Drinking Herbal Tea
According to herbal educator Kami McBride, author of The Herbal Kitchen, tea can have a calming and relaxing influence. Herbal options with a gentle effect include chamomile, lemon balm, rose, lavender, ashwagandha, and schisandra teas.
Journaling
Writing in a journal is one simple way to relieve anxiety and stress. Journaling can also support physical health by reducing stress, helping lower blood pressure, and improving overall mood.
It can counter negative thinking by shifting focus toward gratitude. You may also process and manage emotions more effectively, allowing them to be expressed in appropriate and constructive ways.
Owning a Pet
A 2018 study found that having a pet such as a cat, dog, or small mammal can provide companionship, affection, and support, which may benefit people with various mental health concerns, including anxiety. Spending time with animals can also lessen anxiety and stress related to trauma.
When the natural strategies above are not enough to ease your stress and anxiety, consider seeing a doctor for counseling and therapy. If in-person sessions feel uncomfortable, online counseling is another option.
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- dr Hanifa Rahma
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