Drug Free Ways To Decrease Anxiety

Anxiety disorders are one of the most common forms of mental illness in the United States, and affect approximately 18% of the adult population. In modern society's hectic, stressed-out, achievement-driven society, many people deal with stress on a regular basis, even if they’re not actively seeking treatment for their condition.

Clearly, there are many different drug free ways to manage anxiety that can be helpful to a lot of people; thus, it's definitely worth trying out a few adjustments in your routine to help drecrease your anxiety levels. The following strategies can easily be incorporated into your daily life, and can make a big difference in your mood, general outlook, and anxiety levels.

Drug Free Ways To Decrease Anxiety

1. Move It

Exercise is well known as a stress-relieving activity.  In fact, most forms of exercise will provide a benefit, and team sports and activities practiced in the outdoors seem to be particularly beneficial for stress reduction.

Yoga can be especially beneficial for people who are dealing with anxiety.  There is ample research backing yaga's efficacy in reducing stress and anxiety; and, because it combines physical movement with attention to the mind-body connection, it's the perfect excersise to reduce anxiety through the encouragement of mindfulness.

2. Talk It Out
Seeking the help of a counselor can be an extremely constructive way to manage your anxiety levels. With the help of a counselor, you will learn coping skills that work for you in the management of your anxiety.

3. Let The Music Play
Kistening to your favorite music when you're anxious can make an immediate difference in your mood.  In fact, studies show that music helps relieve stress, reduce pain, and improve mood for those in health care and other settings including those undergoing surgery, women about to give birth, those with Alzheimer’s disease, abused women living in shelters, those in hospice, cancer patients, those with psychiatric illness, and more. To illustrate how powerful music can be in its effects on the brain, watch this amazing video. 

4. Get Touchy

Speaking of stress-melting, physical touch is another form of therapy that is well-studied for its benefits in reducing anxiety and promoting mental wellbeing. Massage has been shown to reduce anxiety and stress by reducing cortisol and increasing serotonin and dopamine, which are important hormones in the regulation of mood. 

In addition to massage, acupuncture is another form of treatment that uses physical treatment to address mental wellbeing to reduce stress and anxiety. A recent study in rats showed that acupuncture reduced the stress hormone response in an animal model of chronic stress. There is also evidence that acupuncture’s effect on anxiety is comparable to that of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), a type of counseling often used for those with anxiety and depression. 

5. Just Breathe!

This is the easiest, cheapest (it’s free!), and most immediately accessible way to reduce anxiety in any situation, whether at home, at work, in the car, or any other places that seem to trigger your feelings of anxiety. This strategy is used in mindfulness practices such as yoga and meditation, and is an effective tool to have in your arsenal for dealing with stress and anxiety. Deep breathing has been shown to activate the PNS (rest and digest!), decrease blood pressure, reduce cortisol, and slow the heart rate. 

Some yoga practitioners recommend 3 Part Breathing as an effective stress-management strategy; but, simply breathing deeply to slow the respiratory rate can help improve your response to stressful events. If you need a tutorial on deep breathing exercises, you can check out this helpful video.

6. Try Quality Supplements

(Please check with your healthcare provider before taking any supplements. These recommendations are intended as general advice only and should not replace medical advice from your primary care physician or other provider.) 

There are some excellent supplements that may be beneficial in decreasing anxiety and stress, including herbs and nutritive formulas. While there are hundreds of combinations that may be beneficial to you, there are a few more well-studied types that will give you the biggest bang for your buck. Some of the herbs that are generally understood to help with anxiety are: California poppy, hops, verbena, chamomile, lemon balm, valerian, rhodiola, lavender, and passionflower. These herbs are available as supplements, tinctures, and even tea blends for those looking to use evidence-based natural strategies for anxiety management.

Many supplements contain a mixture of these herbs, which can be helpful for those looking for a reduction in anxiety without the side effects that often come with pharmaceutical treatment. 

There are some nutritional supplements that are helpful as well. L-Theanine, an amino acid largely found in tea, has been shown to be effective for its anxiolytic effects, including increased alpha brain wave activity and inhibiting cortical neuron excitation. (5) While you can get L-theanine from drinking tea, it’s far more potent in supplemental form, and if you’re dealing with regular anxiety, you may find that it helps keep you calm and focused during the day without causing drowsiness.

Magnesium is also important to supplement with, as most of us are unable to get adequate amounts of it in our daily diets to replace the losses caused by modern day stressors. And research has shown that magnesium deficiency can lead to anxiety and HPA axis dysregulation.  If you prefer not to take magnesium supplements orally, you can also increase your magnesium levels by taking epsom salt baths or using a topical magnesium oil. Whatever method you prefer, finding a way to boost your magnesium levels if you’re struggling with chronic anxiety can be of great assistance.

8. Cut Down on Caffeine

Cutting down on caffeine doesn’t require total elimination of all caffeinated beverages. In fact, going cold turkey on caffeine can actually lead to an increase in mental distress and symptomatic anxiety.

So instead of going cold turkey with caffeine, try reducing the overall caffeine you consume on a regular basis by half. Maybe that means going from 6 cups of coffee per day to 3; or, perhaps, you could switch out one or two cups of regular for decaf coffee or green tea instead. Caffeine is a well-established anxiogenic (i.e. anxiety producing) stimulant, and if you’re dealing with chronic anxiety, it’s worth at least moderating your caffeine intake and trying to reduce it over time.

Let us know of other drug free anxiety reducing tools that work for you with your comments below!

Time To Take Action!

While nothing can completely obliterate stress and anxiety from our lives, especially in our fast paced modern world, we can use these smart, evidence-based strategies to significantly reduce the overall impact that anxiety has on our wellbeing, and improve our general outlook on life and enjoyment of daily activities. 

Life is way too short to be stressed all the time!

To Your Health!