Natural Anxiety Relief – How To Treat Anxiety Without Drugs
Are you one of the many people who suffer from constant feelings of fear and unease? If so, you’re not alone, as chronic anxiety is a widespread problem these days, thanks in part to today’s stressful lifestyles.
It’s normal to feel anxious when there are things going on in your life that you don’t want and can’t control. However, many people experience anxiety even when there isn’t any obvious cause. Fortunately, there are a number of approaches to treating anxiety (whether it has a clear cause or not), so you don’t have to live with this debilitating problem.
Many people resort to anti-anxiety medications in an effort to feel better. These can provide short-term relief, but they can also create problems of their own, such as addiction and unpleasant side-effects. Anxiety drugs also don’t get part of the problem, but instead just treat the symptoms – and if you really want to be free of anxiety permanently, it may be helpful to take a more holistic approach. In this article we’ll take a look at three natural methods for treating anxiety without drugs.
1. Take Care Of Your Health
If you don’t already exercise regularly, you should do so if at all possible. Regular activity can make an enormous difference in how you feel both physically and mentally. You’ve probably heard of the ‘runners high’, and a similar high can be gained from most forms of exercise. Physical activity changes the chemistry of your brain so you naturally feel happier and more alert afterwards, which makes exercising an effective natural method for anxiety relief.
It’s important to choose a form of exercise you enjoy, since working out shouldn’t be a chore, and try to make time for it at least four or five days every week.
As well as exercise, you should pay attention to your diet and eliminate junky foods such as those containing refined flour, sugar, additives, caffeine and alcohol. Replace these with unprocessed natural alternatives such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds. Just like exercise, the fuel that you feed your body can have a big impact on your mental state, not to mention the state of your health in general.
Thirdly, make sure that you get plenty of sleep, as a sleep-deprived brain is one that is much more prone to anxious thoughts and negative thinking generally. This can be difficult if you find that your worries keep you awake, and if this is the case, try meditating or doing some other form of relaxation practice just before going to bed at night (listening to a meditation recording that incorporates brainwave synchronisation (like this one) can be especially useful – see below for more details). You should also avoid watching the news or other stimulating programs in the evening, as these are generally on the negative side and can prey on your mind for hours afterwards.
Lots of studies show that physically fit and healthy people have less trouble with anxiety, and have higher happiness levels in general – so it’s truly worth making the effort to live more healthily if you don’t already.
2. Manage Your Anxiety Through Self-Awareness
A second step that’s very useful for keeping anxiety under control naturally is to pay consistent attention to your own thought patterns. By becoming aware of your ‘anxiety habits’, you know when you’re most vulnerable to anxious thinking, and are in a better position to take steps to control it. For example, if you know that certain situations trigger your anxiety, you can be prepared, or even take steps to avoid them altogether if possible.
By paying attention to the particular things that you have a tendency to fixate on when feeling anxious, you’re a step closer to bringing it under control. Many people who suffer from anxiety allow their thoughts to run away with them and aren’t always aware of the specific things that are triggering their anxious state. If you know precisely what’s bothering you on the other hand, you’re in a stronger position to find a solution (if that’s possible). And even if there’s nothing you can do about this particular situation, it can still be helpful to take a more detached, logical view of your worries, and recognise that in many cases they have little foundation in reality, and that you’re focusing on worst-case scenarios is are unlikely to ever come to pass.
Another thing you can do is to set aside a specific period each day to indulge in your anxious thoughts – and practice switching your focus elsewhere outside these times, firmly telling yourself that you can think about this later. This might sound counter-productive, but it actually puts you back in control. In most cases, it’s not realistic to expect to eliminate your worrying habits altogether, so you shouldn’t beat yourself up for worrying. Instead, by giving yourself permission to worry at certain times each day, you have an outlet for your feelings, but by restricting it to this time period, you’re not allowing it to take over your entire life.
3. Using Brainwave Entrainment For Anxiety Relief
A third natural method for treating anxiety that can be extremely effective is brainwave entrainment. This involves taking some time each day to listen to a special recording that can help to relax your mind and reduce your anxiety levels.
In case you’re unfamiliar with it, brainwave entrainment (which is also known as brainwave synchronisation) involves listening to repetitive stimuli such as sounds of specific frequencies. Upon exposure to such sounds, your brain has a natural tendency to adjust its own brainwave output to match the frequencies of the sounds that it’s hearing – this is called the ‘frequency following response’.
This is useful because different states of mind are linked with the production of brainwaves of different frequencies. People who suffer from anxiety often produce an excess of beta waves (brainwaves with a frequency greater than 13 Hz). Beta wave production is associated with normal waking consciousness, but if your brain is producing too many beta waves, you may feel overly alert – and anxious. The brain produces slightly slower brainwaves in the alpha state (8 to 12 Hz), and alpha brainwave production is associated with a calm, relaxed feeling, and those who suffer from chronic anxiety often tend to spend less time in the alpha state than those who don’t.
So, by using a brainwave entrainment recording that is designed to help you enter the alpha state more easily, you can counterbalance your brain’s tendency to spend too much time in the beta state, and can achieve a feeling of deep relaxation in which your anxiety dissipates more easily.
You can choose from three different types of brainwave entrainment recording – binaural beats, monaural beats and isochronic tones. All three of these work very well, although many people find isochronic tones to be most effective. The best thing is to experiment for yourself, and if you decide to try brainwave entrainment for reducing anxiety, it’s important to use high-quality recording. I suggest checking out the meditation recordings from The Unexplainable Store. This is a very popular site which fully guarantees its products. You can also get some free downloads as well, so don’t forget to pick them up while you’re there.
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Brainwave entrainment can help you enter a deep meditative state more easily. I really like the alpha and theta isochronic meditation recordings from The Unexplainable Store. Alpha is good for light meditation, and theta for deeper trance states. I prefer the versions without music, but you can preview both to see which suits you.
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