19 Natural Ways to Help Anxiety and Ease Your Mind
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Feeling anxious can be overwhelming, especially if you don’t know how to reduce those feelings. But there are plenty of natural ways to help anxiety and this post is going to walk you through 19 of them.
Treatment through medication is a big step and can sound scary when you are new to researching ways to reduce your anxiety. Even in combination with medication, these tips can help you manage your anxiety. As always, if you are feeling anxious be sure to talk with a mental health professional to get advice more specific to your situation on ways to reduce anxiety.
Use these natural ways to reduce anxiety and establish a lifestyle that works for you.
Symptoms of anxiety
According to the Mayo Clinic, there are a lot of anxiety symptoms that you may notice when experiencing anxiety or from an anxiety disorder:
- Feeling nervous, restless, or tense
- Sense of impending danger, panic or doom
- Increased heart rate
- Hyperventilation
- Sweating
- Trembling
- Feeling weak or tired
- Having trouble concentrating or thinking about anything other than the present worry
- Having difficulty sleeping
- Experiencing gastrointestinal (GI) distress
- Having difficulty controlling worrisome thoughts
- Having the urge to avoid things that trigger anxiety
Try to be in tune with your body and mind so you can notice if you are experiencing any of these symptoms. If so, be sure to work with a health professional to evaluate these symptoms to determine if they are a result of anxiety.
Now let’s talk about the 19 natural ways to help anxiety.
1. Reduce your caffeine intake
Caffeine can negatively impact anxiety and lead you to feel even more anxious.
It can raise your heart rate and make you feel jittery, increasing any physical symptoms you are feeling from anxiety. Reducing your caffeine intake can help you reduce some of your anxiety.
I know, as a former caffeine addict myself, this can be difficult to achieve, but don’t think of it as an all or nothing thing.
Cutting your daily consumption in half or switching from coffee to a less caffeinated option like tea are also good options.
Breaking a caffeine addiction is difficult, but it’s possible to break your caffeine addiction without experiencing too many withdrawal symptoms.
A good rule of thumb is to reduce your caffeine intake by small amounts each day until you reach zero or whatever amount you decide is where you would like your daily consumption to fall.
2. Meditation
Another one of the best natural ways to reduce anxiety is meditation.
Research shows that meditation can help reduce anxiety. It’s a great tool to help you learn to be more present and a way to identify anxious thought patterns so you can better address those issues.
Set aside a few minutes of your day to focus on meditation. Start small with just a few minutes and work your way up to longer meditation sessions.
You can also use guided mediation apps to help track your progress and keep yourself accountable.
For more information, read this post on Mindfulness Meditation for Beginners.
3. Limit the amount of news you consume
In today’s world we can be overwhelmed by news and negative information.
Because we are able to be in constant contact with news updates through our phones it can feel like we are continuously bombarded with negative news stories.
Turn off push notifications for your news apps or limit how often you decide to read the news. Set a goal to only look at social media accounts once or a couple of times per day instead of all throughout the day.
This small action can help you feel less overwhelmed and more positive as you go throughout your day.
4. Talk to someone
Another one of the best natural ways to help anxiety is talking to someone about how you are feeling. Talking to someone about your anxiety or worries can be a great way to find relief.
Choose someone you can trust or talk to a therapist in your area.
Another great alternative to traditional in-person therapy, you can chat with a counselor online from the comfort of your home.
I recommend the Sanity and Self app that allows you 24/7 access to chat with a counselor online.
Sanity and Self can be a more affordable option to in-person therapy since those bills can add up and health insurance does not always cover therapy.
Click here to read more about Sanity and Self that you can use to chat 1:1 with a counselor online.
5. Lavender oil
Lavender oil can have really calming effects on your mind and body. Use this essential oil to help yourself relax when you’re feeling particularly anxious.
Put a couple of drops on your wrist or temples. Take a few deep breaths to reset your mind and take in the calming scent.
Lavender oil is especially effective for when you feel panicked or overwhelmed because it can help calm you in that moment.
6. Journal
Writing down and reflecting on your thoughts can be really beneficial to anxiety. It can allow you to pinpoint the specific thoughts that are causing you anxiety so you can develop a plan to address those thoughts.
Journaling also helps you reflect on your experiences and express your feelings in a safe environment.
New to journaling or unsure of how to start? There are different journaling styles, so it’s important to find the right fit for you. Read my post below to start a journal!
Click here to learn about how to start a journal.
7. Limit your alcohol consumption
Similar to caffeine, alcohol can exacerbate anxiety and anxious thoughts. Reducing your alcohol consumption – even by a small amount – can help reduce some of your anxiety.
Do your best to find other ways of coping with anxious or depressed thoughts rather than turning to alcohol.
Social settings are often the environment where this will be the most tricky. Substitute alcoholic beverages with a non-alcoholic alternative and come prepared with other coping mechanisms.
Nervous talking to people? Think of some conversation topics you can pull out when an awkward silence hits rather than using alcohol to ease that tension.
8. Don’t skip meals
Another one of the best natural ways to reduce anxiety is to avoid skipping meals.
When anxiety spikes, it can sometimes result in skipping meals or a lack of appetite. However, being hungry can worsen anxious thoughts.
Additionally, even when you’re anxious, it is important to consume a healthy amount of food and take care of your body.
If you really don’t feel up to eating, try to at least get something in your stomach. Rather than skip a meal entirely, try to eat something small.
For a healthy breakfast idea, read this post on an easy to make Green Smoothie Recipe.
9. Say no
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, learn to say no to commitments and establish boundaries when you don’t feel like you can mentally handle something.
If you need to cancel plans with friends because of your mental health, they will understand. True friends will support you and your needs.
Society places an unfair expectation that “being busy” is a good thing. But when you overextend yourself you’ll be left feeling stressed rather than accomplished.
10. Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy can be a really effective way to reduce anxiety. Use a stress relief candle to fill your room with a calming scent to help yourself relax.
Sit back and relax, taking deep breaths while you enjoy the scent. Or bring the candles into the bathroom and take a relaxing bubble bath.
New to aromatherapy? Read more here to get started.
11. Make your living environment calming
Another one of the best natural ways to help anxiety is to create a really calming living environment.
Your living space can greatly impact your anxiety or mood. No matter how much self development or self care you do, you will always end up feeling stressed if your living environment isn’t relaxing.
A cluttered space or vibrant colors are just examples of things that can negatively impact anxiety in your living space.
Decorate with calming colors and textures that put you at ease.
12. Unfollow toxic people on social media
Spending a lot of time on social media can cause anxiety or the feeling of being overwhelmed.
Go through your social media accounts and consider if any of the people you follow contribute to anxiety or negative self-talk, then think about unfollowing them.
It can feel really freeing to maintain only positive influences on your accounts.
13. Spend time with animals
Another one of the natural ways to reduce anxiety that you can implement is spending time with animals.
Research shows that taking care of an animal helps reduce anxiety.
If you don’t have a pet, think about getting one.
If that doesn’t fit into your current lifestyle, consider offering to watch someone else’s pet, sign up to be a dog walker, or volunteer at a local animal shelter.
14. Improve your time management skills
Time management and disorganization can contribute to anxious thoughts. Put your mind at ease through planning, organization, and time management.
When tackling a to-do list, prioritize your tasks, and then take things one step at a time to keep from getting too overwhelmed.
Use the form below to download my free daily planner and weekly self care schedule printables.
They will help you organize your to-do list, plan for self care, and develop healthy habits!
As a bonus, you will also get a stress management checklist and monthly journal prompts which will also help you make your mental health a priority.
15. Exercise
Exercise is so important for your physical health, but it can have great benefits on your mental health as well. And it is one of the best natural ways to help anxiety.
It is a good way to get nervous energy out and leads to a release of endorphins that can help you feel good. I notice a huge difference in my mood on the days when I exercise and the days when I don’t.
Even just a daily 15 minute walk can positively impact your anxiety.
For a full body at home workout, click here.
16. Establish daily routines that bring you peace
Establishing a calming morning routine and night routine can help reduce anxiety.
Leave time during these routines for proper self care such as a skin care routine, taking a shower, eating a healthy breakfast, meditating, etc.
To avoid further overwhelming yourself further, don’t try to add too many activities to your daily routines and be sure to give yourself plenty of time to complete each item.
Also try to make sure that they are activities you actually find benefits from – everyone is different so figure out what works best for you!
17. Stay hydrated
Just as it’s really important to eat healthy meals, it is equally important to stay hydrated.
Improper hydration can make you feel weak or sick, leading to increased anxiety.
Carry a water bottle with you to remind yourself to drink water throughout the day. If you struggle with hydrating during a busy schedule, set a timer on your phone to go off every 30 minutes to remind you to drink some water.
It can also help to add some variety to your hydration routine and try mixing in other hydrating beverages like flavored or carbonated water as well.
18. Get outdoors
Spending time outdoors can do wonders for your anxiety.
Feeling connected to nature can reduce stress and anxiety, plus spending more time in the sun will help you soak in Vitamin D which can help to reduce anxiety and depression.
Spending time outside is also a good way to encourage increased physical activity through activities like hiking, biking, etc.
To learn more about the mental health benefits of spending time outside, read more here.
19. Avoid catastrophizing
The last of the 19 ways to help anxiety is to avoid catastrophizing. When anxious thoughts start to creep in, it an be easy to jump to the worst conclusion. Rather than letting thoughts run rampant, try to think about the worst possible scenario that could realistically happen.
While you may be tempted to catastrophize and think “This could ruin my life”, but realistically there may not be quite as much at stake. Because of that, it can be comforting to reflect and realize things may not be so scary.
Those are the 19 natural ways to help anxiety.
Anxiety can be overwhelming, and feeling unsure of how to tackle it can lead to even more anxiety.
Medication can feel like a drastic step when first looking to reduce anxiety, so natural remedies are important to consider as well either on their own or in combination with other treatment plans.
As I always recommend, if you are feeling anxious or depressed, definitely consider talking to your health care provider or a therapist in addition to trying these natural ways to reduce those thoughts.
