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Never have I dealt with anything more difficult than my own mind.
Anxiety is real. And no matter how many times people or society say it isn’t that bad, it is. It is incredibly hard to deal with anxiety and learn how to live with it. It is a disease, a chemical imbalance in the brain that you cannot just turn off but there are natural remedies for anxiety.
This topic is very important to me as I am an anxiety sufferer. I have anxiety, anxiety does not have me. It has taken me a long time to get to the point I am at now, but I still have my days. And as an advocate for health and wellness, I choose to deal with my anxiety in natural ways rather than medications. Believe it or not, there are plenty of natural supplements for anxiety and depression. This does NOT mean that I am against prescriptions, they just aren’t for me. I want to share my story with you, in brief, so that those out there with similar stories know they are not alone.
It started when I was a Sophomore in high school. My sister was graduating and my friends were leaving and I felt like I was being “left behind” in a way. I couldn’t turn my thoughts off about it, and this wasn’t the day she left for college. This panic and concern started about 4 months before she even graduated. I became obsessed with talking about change and what was happening and what I was going to do. I never had to deal with that kind of change before and I didn’t know what to expect.
Well, as you probably guessed, I survived and it was a distant memory by the time I began Junior year. It was suppressed for awhile until college talk and me leaving all my friends began. I started worrying about what going to college would be like and leaving my friends and what I was going to do. It went on and on until I decided I wanted medication. The summer before college I began taking 20mg of Celexa a day. I feel it definitely helped me transition to college and I got very lucky with my roommate and meeting people that I felt at home right away. But that is when the planning started. I began getting obsessed with making plans and what my friends and I were going to do. Everywhere we went I needed a play by play beforehand so I could be prepared ( I am STILL like this to this day, just ask my friends).
I was medicated for 5 years, and began to take myself off my medication summer of 2016 (I do not recommend this without the help of a doctor) because it was miserable. Celexa is a very strong type of medication, so even weening myself off with ½ pills and every other day, I still had symptoms of dizziness/nausea/tiredness. After taking myself off I had to find ways to deal with my anxiety naturally. And I wasn’t successful right away. I looked to the gym and diet to help any way that I could until I started researching and finding other ways I had never thought of.
Things you already do for yourself or relaxation could actually benefit you and your anxiety relief while allowing you to treat your anxiety without the use of harsh medications. To this day I still suffer from overwhelming feelings/thoughts as well as having to write a million lists just to get things out of my head. And yes, I still plan weeks in advance for things and have to know everything going on, it is definitely not my best feature. I still work myself up about the dumbest things and drive everyone around me crazy while I talk out loud just to re-iterate what I need to get done. But now I know when it happens. I can feel it coming on and that is when I take action to relax and rid myself of these feelings. I know that even though I still suffer with anxiety, I am more aware of it and can tell when things don’t feel right.
This blog today is all about natural ways to relieve anxiety and learning to control it. Anxiety can easily take over and ruin a great day. It can cloud your judgement and run thoughts through your head you wouldn’t normally have.
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Herbal Therapies and Supplements
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Miscellaneous Relief Techniques
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The hot topic of in the realm of personal development, becoming a better person and starting your day off right is….meditation. It is becoming more frequent in recent times that people begin their day with a few minutes of meditation, becoming aware of their surroundings and being present in the moment.
Personally, I find meditation hard. I am someone that overthinks it and assumes you are supposed to sit in silence and have zero thoughts. But the point of it is to actually allow yourself to have thoughts, but to bring your mind back to the current moment. It takes practice, but it has been proven to have amazing benefits. I know if you imagine telling your grandma that you meditate she would probably assume you are into some crazy witch craft..but times have changed and we need to start keeping up! Especially in a world that is so fast paced and “busy” right now, it is important to slow down. Most people also include deep breathing techniques while meditating, to teach themselves to further relax and allow the mind to wonder. Another great resource is lying on an acupressure mat. It helps to simulate the body and even release endorphins! There are all different time frames, techniques, apps, books you can do or follow for meditating. Check out the full blog post about different meditation techniques!
How is bending and twisting and stretching going to relieve anxiety?! You would be surprised! It is an incredible way to truly relax your body while getting your sweat on. I am obviously a huge proponent of sweating (it’s my job) in any way to reduce anxiety, but you have to find what fits for you. Don’t force yourself into yoga if you hate it, and don’t do Crossfit if the idea of a group class makes you anxious. The movement you enjoy doing is the right movement for you!
There are all different types of yoga classes you can do from heated yoga, to power yoga and everything in-between. It has been proven that certain yoga poses can help alleviate the symptoms of anxiety, so even doing a few of these at home could be beneficial for you if a group class isn’t your thing. Something about moving your body, thinking about your breath and flowing really allows people with anxiety to find comfort. Yoga for anxiety might be just what you need!
A lot of people coming off of medications are still looking for that quick fix or spark of energy they got from the prescription medications. Which I get, taking a ill every morning is a lot less time consuming than yoga, walking, meditating etc. But, sometimes our bodies really want out of the prescription cycle. And a great way to give your body the same type of boost without the chemicals is with herbs and adaptogens. They take time for your body to figure out how to use them, but they can be very beneficial in the long run! I suggest speaking with a holistic doctor, functional medicine doctor or acupuncturist before just buying up a bunch of herbs to take.
We are all creatures of habit, whether we want to admit that or not, so the daily act of actually putting a pill or powder into our body makes us feel better. Heck, in some instances if you give people a placebo they will think we cured cancer (obviously that is an extreme, I have been known to exaggerate). So herbs give us that same routine without all the “extras,” not to mention the mind is a powerful tool, so if you believe it works, it just might!
Anyways, there are all kinds of herbs that can be combined to relieve anxiety and depression symptoms. Much like Western Medicine of mixing potions and dosages, except these are natural, came from the earth, and won’t make you addicted!
Maybe more “witch craft” versions of relief if you like to look at it that way, but there have been some amazing results seen by diffusing oils. They have recently come into focus when prescribing ways to help anxiety and depression, but it doesn’t come without a warning label. Oils are ingested through the air, and because they are subtle it doest take time to see the effects. Oils likely aren’t going to cure someone with severe anxiety or depression, but they can definitely help a little. It is the idea that certain scents offer relaxation and an environment in which we feel safe. You do have to be careful though because some oils cannot be near animals, so do your research.
Research over time has showed that oils can be a great technique to help decrease anxiety and create a more relaxed environment. There are all different ways of doing it like diffusing it or placing it on certain parts of your body! Check out the full blog to see if this technique could work for you!
There are a few other things that I have tried, or read about, that also work for relaxation and relief without the orange bottle. Super simple things that you might even already do and don’t think twice about how they could be helping you. I will bring them into light for you and explain them all! Just make sure you keep an open mind. I know how are it is to go from medication to a bathtub for relief, but just bare with me. I was willing to try anything to get rid of medication, and the benefits have paid off! I am a much healthier human because of it, and not to mention the side effects of long term prescription medications…let’s just stay I had more to work through than just anxiety!
So many people put such a dark cloud over anxiety and depression and others tend to think it’s not a big deal. Well I am here to say that there ARE natural ways to find comfort and relax and that it IS a problem. A chemical imbalance in the brain, problem. We cannot control it, we cannot get rid of it, but we can find ways to suppress it. Find ways that work for us as individuals to get through the day to day grind, without 238472 lists and popping pills.
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