Anxiety is a natural response to the world around us, shaped by our own past experiences. Think of it as a self-defense mechanism—a security system triggered by worry and tension. For those who are struggling with anxiety, it’s important to understand that it’s more than a state of mind—it is an expression of our body’s chemistry.
In today’s post, we’ll explore how our hormones can influence our emotions and take a look at 4 ways to reduce your anxiety.
Environment
Our environment plays a critical role in determining our stress levels and anxiety on a day-to-day basis. A cluttered space with bills and other items everywhere keeps us worrying about deadlines and forgotten tasks. Noisy spaces with little privacy make it difficult to focus. One of the best ways to reduce anxiety naturally is to tame the spaces in our lives.
Eliminate clutter
Organize papers/tasks
Keep trash clear
Add plants to your space
Get fresh air & natural lighting
Focus on your five senses as you think about organizing the environments you spend your day in. Give your eyes patterns, colors, and artwork that you like to look at. Incorporate smells and textures that you find soothing. Give your day a soundtrack that helps you relax rather than one that amps you up.
Healthy Habits
Because anxiety is closely linked to our body’s internal chemistry & hormonal balance, another natural way to reduce anxiety is to use exercise to game the system. Exercise gobbles up stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, producing endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine in its place.
Consider incorporating the following into your daily routine:
Brisk, regular exercise in the form of a walk.
Aerobic breaks include jumping jacks, sit-ups, or a 5-minute dance break.
Yoga and Pilates: mindful exercise that gets us in touch with our bodies.
Rather than focus on getting an intense workout, think of these as mood elevators that function like a snack break. You don’t need to set aside an hour for a workout: you can get many of the same benefits in 5 - 10 minutes without even breaking a sweat.
In addition to exercise, consider limiting your intake of alcohol and caffeine. Both of these actually exacerbate anxiety rather than helping to bring it under control.
Expression
Anxiety and worry go hand-in-hand, but those worries are often most easily tamed when we’re able to express them safely. Our worries get louder when we try to suppress them. As a result, it’s important to establish friendships, social outlets, or other avenues to express our fear and worry in a way that makes us feel heard.
Some of the following options may be helpful:
Writing in a worry journal to help release these thoughts.
Joining a support group.
Regular calls with friends.
Embrace Routine
Because anxiety is often rooted in uncertainty, establishing routines that work for you can help you naturally reduce your anxiety. Create a calendar of events to help you map out your days, but as you do so, remember to block out time to rest, recharge, and tend to your own needs. As with your environment, keep your calendar clutter-free.
Here are a few key tips while building your routines:
Prioritize tasks by breaking them up into need-to-do and want-to-do categories.
Schedule breaks and recovery time by reducing screen time, etc.
Block out ‘transition’ time between tasks; don’t rush from one thing to the next.
Counseling
Many people struggle to manage anxiety on their own. Sometimes, we need to dig deeper to understand the origins of our anxiety and the role it’s playing in our lives. If you’re struggling with anxiety, consider reaching out for anxiety therapy. We can work together to unpack where that anxiousness is coming from and make a plan to let it go.