How To Deal With Anxiety (No Medication Required)
Calm your thoughts.
getty Anxiety affects everyone's mental health at some point in time. It’s that feeling of worry, dread, or nervousness about situations with uncertain outcomes.
Sometimes anxious thoughts can be so intense that the first thing you do is reach for a pill.
There is a time and place for prescription drugs. But learning how to deal with anxiety without medication is completely possible and there are many effective techniques.
High-functioning anxiety, in particular, is not an official medical diagnosis and, therefore, may not even require the aid of medication to calm down.
According to Health, "someone with high-functioning anxiety might experience symptoms like worrying a lot, racing thoughts, and losing sleep some of the time, but she gets through life anyway."
If you’re dealing with anxiety, you can address it, naturally, by focusing on releasing the stress and tension you’re feeling — physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Here are 5 calming ways to deal with anxiety and take care of your mental health without using medication.
1. Physical release via exercise
One of the best ways to combat severe anxiety is with physical exercise. Lengthy or vigorous physical movement releases endorphins, which are natural feel-good hormones released by our brains and nervous systems.
When anxiety hits, go for a run or a brisk walk for at least 20 minutes. Take in the scenery and concentrate on how good it feels to move your body. As your body floods with endorphins, the anxiety will begin to fade.
2. Mental release through deep breathing
Anxious thoughts tend to take over your head and make you lose your focus. So, getting your focus out of your head and into your body will have a calming effect. A good way to do so is through deep breathing.
For this exercise, sit or lie in a comfortable position and then focus all of your attention on breathing in deeply through your nose and exhaling slowly through pursed lips.
With each breath in and each breath out, feel your body relaxing more and more. As you become one with your breath, the anxiety will dissipate.
3. Emotional release through visualization
One of the most powerful techniques for learning how to calm anxiety without medication is doing a visualization exercise anytime you feel stressed.
Begin by sitting quietly and closing your eyes. Next, notice where in your body you feel the anxiety the most. Is it in your head, your throat, your heart, your stomach?
Once you’ve located the specific area in your body, answer the following questions.
- What shape is it? It might be a knot, a ball, a rod, a blob, a knife, anything.
- What material does it feel like it is made of? It may feel like metal, sand, water, foam, goo, or tar, to name a few.
- What color is it?
- What temperature is it?
Once you have it clearly defined in shape, material, color, and temperature, start sending it love and light. Visualize yourself surrounding it with beautiful white, healing light and filling it with all the love you can imagine. Keep sending the love and light until you notice a change.
You may notice that it begins to reduce in size and eventually disappears altogether. If not, it may move to another part of your body, in which case, continue sending the love and light until it is gone. Or, it may change into something beautiful and comfortable, leaving you with a feeling of inner peace.
4. Spiritual release via the Place Mat Exercise
Another strategy for anxiety relief is known as the Place Mat Exercise, created by authors and real-life couple Ester and Jerry Hicks. This exercise requires some level of faith and trust in a higher source such as God, The Universe, or Higher Self.
It is best done on a daily basis, either first thing in the morning or right before you go to bed at night, with the intention of it being for the next day.
To complete the Place Mat Exercise, you will need a piece of paper and a pen or pencil. First, divide the piece of paper into two columns. Title the left column: "Things I Intend To Do". Then, title the right column: "For The Universe To Handle".
In the left column, write a list of things you actually intend to do for the day such as exercise, work, buy groceries, set up an appointment, etc. These are the things you would typically write in your day timer.
In the right column, list all of the things you would typically worry about during the day which would cause you anxiety. For example, you may list things like; my health, my finances, the well-being of my parents, family, friends, my relationship, etc.
The key to this step is to actually give it up to that higher source, completely knowing and trusting that it is handled and you don’t have to worry about it.
The Place Mat Exercise has brought a great deal of inner peace to all who use it.
5. Overall anxiety release via reiki
Reiki is a great technique for calming anxiety without medication. It is a form of energy work which can be done in person or remotely by a Reiki Master. Reiki is very effective because it heals on all levels, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual by balancing all of the energy centers throughout the body.
When energy flows freely through your body, you feel calm, peaceful, and happy.
The next time you are feeling stressed, take a deep breath and try one of these tips. You might just find that calming anxiety without medication is easier than you thought.
Paula Dieck is a certified life coach, hypnotherapist, PSYCH-K facilitator, trainer of Infinite Possibilities and Reiki Master/Teacher. If you'd like personal help in overcoming your struggle with anxiety, reach out to schedule your free consultation.