If you are like a lot of people, you want to avoid excessive prescription drug use. You want to treat your anxiety, but you are not sure how without medication. You can choose natural remedies for anxiety. When practiced consistently, they have been shown to lower stress levels and anxiety. In some cases, they provide better-quality sleep, reduced blood pressure, and a better resting heart rate.
What Is Anxiety?
Anxiety is a response to fear and worry. Sometimes, this anxiety is subconscious and appears in the form of a panic attack with rapid heart rate, palpitations, excessive sweating, shortness of breath, and chest tightness. Other times, you may be highly aware of your anxiety with feelings of dread, stomach upset, headaches, and trembling.
Anxiety and panic attacks can be terrifying, but you can lower your stress with natural remedies for anxiety.
Four Natural Remedies for Anxiety
Just like with anti-anxiety medications, natural remedies for anxiety must be practiced consistently to make a difference in your daily life. You may see a noticeable difference when you practice a natural remedy daily combined with the others on the list.
For example, people who exercise five days a week, sleep six to eight hours, and drink herbal tea before bed most nights may experience lower levels of stress and anxiety compared to those people who only exercise when the mood strikes and run on caffeine instead of sleep.
Choose a few of the natural remedies for anxiety below and commit to practicing them most days of the week.
Create a Nighttime Routine
A great deal of anxiety could be stopped by being more prepared for the day starting the night before. If you wake up late, search for something to wear, run water through your hair because you don’t have time for a shower, and lose your keys all before 8 AM, you may want to create a nighttime routine.
A nighttime routine takes the guesswork and hassle out of the morning. Spend a few minutes every evening gathering items you need for the next day, like your keys, and set them by the door. Lay an outfit out, complete with shoes. Consider showering at night or removing the snooze feature from your alarm to save time in the morning.
Prioritize Your Sleep
There is a link between sleep deprivation and anxiety. Many people run on four hours of sleep at night, which is insufficient for the body to recover from the day. Your body’s restorative processes require about seven hours of sleep per night. Out of this time, one and a half to two hours of sleep should be a deep sleep.
As tempting as it is to stay awake after your children go to bed or catch a late show, aim for seven hours of sleep nightly. You may need more or less sleep, so assess how you feel. Do you wake up refreshed after seven hours, or do you need eight hours?
Exercise Consistently
Exercising consistently early in the day can lower stress and anxiety levels, decrease blood pressure, reduce resting heart rate, boost immunity, and make you happier. People tend to underestimate the power of exercise, but it is one of the best natural remedies for anxiety that you can do. You do not have to join a gym to gain the benefits of exercise (unless you want to). A simple brisk walk most days will create the heart-pumping movement you need.
Aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, as suggested by the American Heart Association. You could break this up into five 30-minute sessions or six 25-minute sessions. To prevent sleep disruption, try to end your exercise session at least a few hours before bed.
Drink Herbal Tea
Tea has long been used to manage anxiety. Many people choose to brew tea because the process soothes them. Tea also contains flavonoids and amino acids that promote relaxation.
Stores sell herbal teas in various flavors. Black, green, and oolong teas are also excellent, but you may want to choose a caffeine-free or decaffeinated version in the evenings. Chamomile, lavender, rose, peppermint, ginger, valerian root, and hibiscus are a sample of teas touted as helping to relax the drinker.
Need Extra Help for Anxiety?
Christian counseling is another one of the effective natural remedies for anxiety to consider. Counselors will not prescribe medication; rather, they base treatments on evidence-backed therapies and faith-based principles. You can add counseling in combination with practicing the natural remedies for anxiety listed above.
Contact our center today to schedule an appointment with a Christian counselor.
Photo:
“A forest”, Courtesy of Timon Reinhard, Unsplash.com, CC0 License
-
Melissa Plantz: Author
Melissa Plantz is a Christian author and freelance writer. She spent twenty years in the pharmacy industry and has specialized in faith, fitness, nutrition, geriatrics, and mental health since 2015. She writes from the beautiful Lake Marion area in S...
DISCLAIMER: THIS ARTICLE DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE
Articles are intended for informational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice; the content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. All opinions expressed by authors and quoted sources are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, publishers or editorial boards of Stone Oak Christian Counseling. This website does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on the Site. Reliance on any information provided by this website is solely at your own risk.



