Holistic tools to overcome anxiety and overwhelm
Anxiety and overwhelm are common experiences in our fast-paced and demanding modern lifestyle. These feelings and physical symptoms can be brought on by different life situations, such as workplace stress, financial pressure, and personal relationships.
While medication and therapy work well for some people, they aren’t a great answer as they only mask or manage the symptoms and the root causes over offering a true solution. The good news is there are more natural and holistic approaches to alleviate these symptoms, and perhaps even help them disappear for good.
In this article, we will explore some holistic ways to manage anxiety and overwhelm from a mind-body-spirit perspective. I’ll also list some valuable tools to treat your anxiety and overwhelm and to always have at hand when you need them.
But first, let's take a closer look at the signs and symptoms of anxiety and why it happens.
Signs and Symptoms of Anxiety
Anxiety can manifest in different ways because everyone's experiences and reactions to it are unique. However, here are some common signs and symptoms people tend to experience when they feel anxious:
Excessive worry and uneasiness about everyday situations
Irritability and restlessness
Feelings of panic or impending doom
Trouble concentrating or focusing
Fatigue or sleep disturbances
Muscle tension, shaking, or sweating
Avoiding situations that trigger anxiety symptoms
Physical symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, and nausea
What Causes Anxiety and Why It Happens?
Several factors can contribute to anxiety, such as genetics, brain chemistry, personality traits, and life events. Chronic stress can also play a significant role. The body's natural stress response that protects us in dangerous situations can become dysfunctional and cause anxiety if it activates too frequently.
Negative thinking patterns can exacerbate anxiety and make it worse. For example, if you interpret a situation as dangerous or threatening, your brain triggers the fight-or-flight response, and your body responds accordingly. So knowing how to manage, negate, and stop those negative thought patterns and spirals is key.
The body’s fight or flight reaction, which is connected with your nervous system is responsible for triggering the responses you experience to anxiety. While the nervous systems response is not something you can control per say, there is a lot you CAN do to improve the health of your nervous system (called the tone), and resuce the things it gets triggered by.
Research has also shown that external factors such as diet and lifestyle choices can contribute to anxiety. For instance, consuming too much caffeine, sugar, or alcohol, lack of sleep, and not exercising/ moving your body enough are all behavior which can worsen anxiety symptoms.
Holistic approaches to managing anxiety and overwhelm focus on treating the person as a whole. Along with tools and practices, addressing underlying causes of anxiety to help improve outcomes.
Here are some holistic ways to manage anxiety and overwhelm and a list of tools that can help.
Holistic Ways to Treat Anxiety and Overwhelm
These approaches focus on treating anxiety and overwhelm from a mind-body-spirit perspective by taking into account the interconnectivity of our entire being.
Mindfulness Meditation:
Mindfulness is a practice which helps bring us back and ground us in the present moment. Helping you to be aware of the present, and what is going on around you here and now. Anxiety is by nature a form of worrying about the past and/or future - things out of your control. By focusing ourselves in the present mindfulness works to reduce stress and anxiety. By becoming aware of our thoughts and feelings without judgment, we can learn to manage stress better.
Exercise:
Regular exercise is not only a way to release excess hormones including adrenaline (which the body releases when we are stressed and or starting to feel anxious) but it also elevates your happy hormones; endorphins. Moving your body doesn’t have to be intense or extreme, it can be walking or yoga too. Any way of moving your body can help to reduce anxiety and stress levels. Exercise also improves mood, promotes better sleep, and increases energy.
Proper Nutrition:
A balanced diet with proper nutrition where you are hitting as many fruits and vegetables as you can, and balancing protein, complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, and plenty of fiber can help manage anxiety by keeping the body and mind healthy.
Fiber especially is good for helping the body to eliminate toxins and excess hormones such as estrogen and adrenaline. Good nutrition also helps to balance your blood sugar level which prevents sugar crashes and elevated blood sugar levels that can lead to anxiety.
Good Sleep:
Good sleep habits that ensure you have enough rest and quality sleep are essential. Sleep is where the body detoxes your cells, repairs and heals, and gives you the ability to function and deal with tough situations. Getting a sufficient amount of sleep is essential for optimal body function, including the regulation of anxiety and stress.
Breathwork:
Simple breathing exercises can help reduce anxiety and promote relaxation. Connecting body and breath is another way to ground, focus and center us in our bodies. Breathwork can also reset your nervous system bringing you back to feeling safe in your body and helping to reduce any anxiety symptoms.
Journaling:
Writing down your thoughts, feelings, and emotions in a journal helps to release tension, clarify your thinking, and provide a new perspective on difficult situations. Understanding your mind and what is triggering your anxiety and panic attacks is part way to being able to overcome them!
Aromatherapy:
Certain natural scents, and essential oils such as lavender and peppermint, have calming properties that can help to reduce anxiety and stress levels on the go. Have a small vial of your favourite relaxing scent in your bag, car, or near your desk that you can use to smell or apply to your wrists and other heat points to help you relieve anxiety when you feel it starting.
Yoga:
Yoga is not only great for your flexibility, balance, strength, and mobility. It’s also a form of exercise that can strengthen the mind-body connection. Yoga practices like asanas (postures), pranayama (breathing exercises), and meditation help to manage anxiety and calm your mind.
Herbal Supplements:
Herbal remedies such as valerian root, chamomile or passionflower are wonderful for helping to calm and relax body and mind, and adaptogens are a group of herbs that work wonders for managing stress and it’s impacts on the body. Of course, always check with a health professional before you use herbal supplements, especially if you are taking other medication.
A herbal tonic you can buy over the counter - Rescue Remedy - is also a wonderful way to support your body herbally.
Meditation:
Meditation is a wonderful tool for improving your life on all fronts. Mentally, emotionally, physically… meditation, even just 10 minutes a day, will give you improvements on all fronts. It can improve focus and clarity, reduce anxiety and how you respond to stress.
There are many ways to meditate; YouTube, or meditation apps available on most mobile devices. If you are beginning your meditation journey guided meditations for relaxation and stress-reduction are a great place to start.
Acupuncture:
A traditional Chinese medicine practice that involves the use of needles to balance the body's energy. We all know that there is a deep connection between mind, body and emotions. Your body holds on to any emotions that aren’t released of healed and they can show up as aches, pains and injuries in your body.
Studies show that acupuncture can help reduce anxiety and stress.
Therapy:
Not everyone is a fan of talking to a stranger. But some individuals may prefer a holistic therapy approach to traditional, modern therapy. Methods like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Talk therapy that prioritise emotional and psychological awareness can help you to explore, manage, and understand your anxiety better.
So as you cna see there are many ways to treat anxiety and overwhelm. The trick is finding which ones work for you. Every person is completely individual in what their body needs and how their minds work, this means that you may try all of these tools and methods and not all of them may work for you.
Incorporating holistic practices into your daily routine can lead to a more balanced and peaceful life. Without the anxiety.
xo Emily
