3 Natural Ways to Manage Anxiety and Stress

I started battling anxiety when I was in high school and have struggled handling stress ever since. However, I improve greatly as I improve my habits and seek a healthier lifestyle. Here I would like to share three of the most proven ways to manage anxiety and stress which I also utilize in my own life. These are Exercise, Meditation, and Proper Nutrition.

Exercise

When I was suffering from anxiety in high school I quickly realized that exercise was an immediate escape from it all. I participated in soccer, lacrosse, track, and tennis so I was very into sports. There was something about having your whole mind and body invested in something that just made everything else disappear. And this is not just my experience.

Exercise is well documented in too many studies to count as effective stress and depression relief. Some show it to be just as effective as antidepressants and without any expense or side effects. More research shows benefits from aerobic conditioning which are longer slower workouts which get your heart rate up over anaerobic conditioning like weight training though anything will be helpful. Find what you like to do. Forcing yourself to exercise to reduce stress when you don’t enjoy the activity can just be counterproductive by creating additional stress. So if you don’t like a traditional gym for example, there are plenty of other activities you can do. But do something. If you’re not quite sure where to start, you can check out my article on this very subject here. Humans have always moved their bodies and worked physical labor and I believe that much of the poor mental health in our day in age is due to our major shift to a more sedentary lifestyle. 

Meditation

Meditation is something I really admire from eastern culture that is far too overlooked in our western culture. I see it as exercise for your brain. It can train you to react differently to stressful situations and offer immediate relief in the moment as well. If you have never meditated before, it can take getting used to just like when you start exercising. Luckily, there are so many apps that can help if you are interested that are free and guide you through it.

One of the more well-known apps is Headspace though I personally like to use Insight Timer because it has tons of free content. I like guided meditations to help me focus. Find one you like. The important thing is that you are consistent just like with exercise. The more commonly studied form of meditation is mindfulness meditation.

Mindfulness is essentially being hyper aware of your senses which enable you to ground down and be in the present moment. You can only physically sense what is happening right now which is why we focus on our senses. This can really be done anywhere just by taking time to really hear, see, taste, smell, and touch. Do you ever notice your feet on the ground? the air coming into your nose cool and leaving warm? the distant sounds of cars outside your window? I try to meditate every day. Anxiety and stress are brought about by our minds being elsewhere such as the past or future. So if we can learn to be present, we will see much less of it in our lives, and be in a better place emotionally when stressful moments come.

Proper Nutrition

It’s easy to realize how important nutrition is when we remember that our bodies and brains are literally built and fueled by what we put into our bodies. Don’t expect your brain to be stress-free when it is lacking essential nutrients. No one needs to go on a “diet”, however. Diets usually end up being restrictive or solely focused on losing weight and are non-sustainable. Focus on simply eating healthy.

You want a fairly even distribution of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates in your diet. Most American diets are very high in carbs, sugar, fats, and sodium. As someone who also lifts weights, I try to focus mainly on having adequate protein in each meal. Here is my favorite kind of protein. You will want to avoid adding sugar and salt to your diet because in my experience you will get all you need even when you try to avoid them. Drink water, not soda. And keep your carbohydrates complex and not simple, meaning you should have whole grains and not white bread or lots of starchy foods. The enemy to people suffering from anxiety are simple sugars which quickly digest into your blood and create a blood sugar spike. This happens especially after you haven’t eaten in a while and indulge in something sweet. You also would do well to remove caffeine from your diet as stimulants will not help your anxiety and stress either. A good rule is to try and eat natural foods that are either grown, harvested, or are animal products such as meat and dairy. Of course, eat around your allergies as well. 

Supplementation

Lastly I would mention supplementation. You can certainly go overboard with this but I thought I would mention some of the main supplements that have been shown to improve overall health and reduce stress and that I personally use.

Omega-3 Fatty acids such as EPA and DHA are incredibly beneficial to your health and are most commonly found in fish oil. So if you don’t eat a lot of fish already, I would recommend finding a product that can get you at least 500mg of both EPA and DHA. Find a high quality fish oil like this one. They are especially beneficial to the heart and also to the brain and have shown to be beneficial for anxiety and depression as well.

A daily multivitamin is another good idea if you feel you may have gaps in your diet. It is hard to be able to have every vitamin and mineral you need from food so a multivitamin is a good option to ensure you’re getting what you need. Other crucial vitamins and minerals are Vitamin D and Magnesium.

Vitamin D is produced by the body in response to the sun but if you aren’t outside much or live in a cold, dark climate, chances are you are low in it. Seasonal depression or seasonal affect disorder (S.A.D) is partly influenced by these low levels of vitamin D so make sure you have enough.

Magnesium is another. Magnesium has many uses but when it comes to stress it is known as a natural calming agent. It interacts with the nervous system for proper nervous and fear response and even is commonly used as a sleep aid which is why I take magnesium at night. I could really go on for a while when it comes to nutrition so best I leave it at that. 

This only scratches the surface of what can help ease the stress and anxiety in your life but I hope this will give you a good starting point on your journey to greater wellness.

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