5 ways to manage your anxiety symptoms

If you don’t think your anxiety, depression, sadness and stress impact your physical health, think again. All of these emotions trigger chemical reactions in your body, which can lead to inflammation and a weakened immune system. Learn how to cope, sweet friend. There will always be dark days. ~ Kris Carr

Did you know that 40 million people are suffering from anxiety in the US alone? That means that 18% of the society is suffering from some type of anxiety. Anxiety can be crippling, make one feel out of control and powerless. It is possible to get relief. Here are 5 ways to help you to reduce your anxiety symptoms:

1) Learn breathing exercises

Most people who have anxiety symptoms do not know how to breathe properly. The problem is that people who are anxious only seem to breathe from the top part of their chest, which signals to your body that you are in the stress response. If you mainly breathe this way, it can produce long term stress on your body and cause you to have an array of stress related illnesses.

Learning to breath past your diaphragm is very important to help you to stop only breathing into your chest.

Here is an exercise of how to diagphramatically breathe.

A great breathing exercise to use is alternate nostril breathing a type of Pranayama to help curb anxiety:

2)Use EFT to tap away your anxiety and reduce stress

EFT is an energy medicine that helps you to move stagnant energy in you body. It uses 14 acupressure/ acupuncture points to facilitate reducing stress, anxiety and limiting beliefs. Before watching the video please rate how you are feeling on the SUE scale or the subjective units of experience scale:

Now watch the video:

After completing the video rate how you are feeling on the scale again.

3)Learn about more about anxiety so that you are taking control of it

Much of the time anxiety symptoms get worse because we ignore it or we feed it by focusing on it. By learning more about what troubles  you are self advocating which will help you feel like less of a victim to it. Knowledge is power. By learning about what is happening to you you can feel better because you have words that describe what you are feeling.

Check out this anxiety fact sheet:

4) Practice good self care

Self care includes:

Sleeping enough

Eating healthfully and plenty of protein.

Reduce Sugar Intake. Sugar spikes your insulin levels which can induce anxiety. Learn more here.

Reducing Caffeine Intake. I know that this one seems like a feat. But it is important so that your body is not in the stress response which causes you more anxiety.

Use art artwork to help you to manage your symptoms. Coloring mandalas is highly helpful!! Download a Mandala here.

5) Make friends with anxiety and give it the attention it deserves

Anxiety symptoms are actually quite helpful and signals to us something that we need to pay attention to. It shows us where are fears lie. They shout out that they need attention and how we need to self soothe. If we listen to our anxiety and treat it like a small child who is throwing a fit we will be able to calm it down. When we avoid our anxiety it gets worse and when we hook into it it spirals out of control. So we must breathe through it and see the situation as a fear. Give it love. Let it know that we are safe and that there is a grater plan we just have to be open to seeing what that is in order to go forward.

Anxiety is about having fear of the future. When we can accept what is right now we have let go, which will free us from worry. Worry does nothing for us but make us feel like there is some sense of control. But what is the price? Try the act of letting go to make friends with your anxiety, don’t see it as your enemy, it is just a messenger. Listen to the message and acknowledge it and let go.

Do you need more help with learning to manage your anxiety symptoms? Check out my new group starting at the end of August.

Best,

Image: Anxiety by Mariana Zanatta