Tips for Anxiety Recovery and Stress Relief
In today’s hectic world, we could all
use some tips for anxiety recovery. Why do we experience so much anxiety,
and why do we need anxiety recovery tips? Stress. It’s a major contributor to
everyday anxieties, so if we want to combat anxiety, we need to combat stress.
The following tips will help you to replace those uneasy, apprehensive feelings
with a calm, cool, collected attitude.
Diet
According to Jean Carper, author of The Food Pharmacy, caffeine can
increase stress and trigger anxiety in susceptible individuals, especially
women. Consider reducing or eliminating caffeine from your diet. Primary
sources include coffee, tea, colas, and chocolate (doh!). Consider substituting
decaffeinated versions of coffee, tea, and soft drinks. Another idea is to
switch to herbal teas and/or grain-based coffee substitutes, like Pero or Roma.
Pure water is the ideal choice.
In addition to common food sources,
hundreds of clinical studies show that vitamins like the B-Complex and natural
herbs like Chamomile, Valerian Root, and Passion Flower help
reduce stress and relieve varying degrees of anxiety. Adding such natural
alternative medicines to your diet can be as simple as making a tea or taking a
supplement, including combination
herbal therapies that blend several active ingredient
together.
Exercise
Almost any kind of exercise is great
for fighting stress and combating anxiety as well. Just avoid those you dislike
or consider too difficult. These would likely lead to frustration and
subsequent feelings of increased stress and anxiety, the very things we are
trying to reduce. Aerobics is a good place to start. Aerobic exercises include
walking, jogging, running, bicycling, swimming, and jumping rope. These types
of exercise increase circulation and improve cardiovascular fitness while
reducing stress and anxiety. Performing these in the outdoors can provide the
added benefits of fresh air and sunshine.
The type of exercise we call strength
training can also be good for stress relief and anxiety reduction. Strength
training is also referred to as resistance training. Weight-lifting is probably
the most common form of strength training, but working with elastic bands is
also very popular. The downside to this type of exercise is that you
do need some guidance to perform the exercises safely and effectively. You
could turn to a knowledgeable friend, your local fitness center, or an
appropriate video for guidance. The upside is that you will tone your muscles
while reducing stress and alleviating anxiety.
Yoga
If you have a resistance to exercising,
try yoga for anxiety recovery. The most common form practiced in this
country is hatha yoga, a holistic discipline that benefits the body, mind, and
spirit. If you are new to yoga, find a beginner’s class in your local
community, or find a good yoga video for beginners, one that is gentle and
easy-going. The benefits of yoga are many. It will improve your range of
motion, posture, and flexibility, while increasing your overall fitness level.
The yoga videos produced by yoga expert Lilias Folan are excellent.
She is like a friend in the room with you gently guiding you from posture to
posture. Typically, one of her video routines will take only 30 minutes.
Tai Chi
Tai Chi shares much in common with the
practice of yoga when it comes to anxiety recovery. While both are holistic
disciplines benefiting the body, mind, and spirit, Tai Chi is considered one of
the martial arts. It has been practiced in China for thousands of years. This
gentle healing art will melt away your stress, alleviate your anxieties, and
make you feel renewed. You can experiment with this practice by signing up for
a Tai Chi class for beginners in your community. There are also many excellent Tai
Chi videos on the market for use in the home; these range from easy
beginner routines to challenging workouts. Tai Chi routines vary in length, but
you can always do as little or as much as you like or need.
Relaxation Techniques
Almost every kind of relaxation
technique is great for fighting stress and combating anxiety. One popular
technique is called progressive relaxation. After lying down or reclining,
tense and then relax each part of the body, starting with the feet and working
your way up to the face. Once you complete the exercise, lie restfully until
you feel like getting up. Many have discovered this technique to be a great way
to prepare for a restful night’s sleep.
Another relaxation technique you may
consider using for anxiety recovery is biofeedback. Biofeedback is a
form of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) that involves
measuring a subject’s bodily processes, such as blood pressure, heart rate,
skin temperature, galvanic skin response (sweating), and muscle tension, and
conveying such information to him or her in real-time in order to raise his or
her awareness and conscious control of the related physiological activities.
While biofeedback is known to be an effective tool for stress relief, it is not
a practical option for most people, since it involves a biofeedback machine as
well as instruction on how to use it.
On the other hand, if you do happen to have
access to such equipment and instruction, if would be tremendously beneficial
to pursue this remedy. Home biofeedback machines are becoming more
widely available; however, these tend to be expensive. Stress and the Art of Biofeedback ,
by Barbara B. Brown, is a good source of information on this subject.
Meditation
Many people also turn to meditation
for anxiety recovery. Meditation has grown in popularity over the decades and
is now looked upon more as a practical tool than an esoteric practice. It is
simple, easy, and effective. Start by finding a quiet, preferably secluded,
place to meditate. Sit in a straight-back chair (or cross-legged on the floor),
close your eyes, and silently repeat a simple word or sound, like “one” or
“heaven.” Continue to do this for 15 to 20 minutes. Then open your eyes, take a
couple of minutes to re-adjust to the room, and get on with your day. You may
decide to meditate on an as-needed basis, or you may decide to become a regular
practitioner; if you choose the latter, it is best to meditate twice each day –
once before breakfast and again just before dinner. Many long-time
practitioners report increased productivity as well as increased serenity.
Breathwork
“There is considerable researchdocumenting the effectiveness of breath work in dealing with many common
psychological issues, including anxiety,” says Gay Hendricks, Ph.D., breath
work expert and author of The Breathing
Box healthy breathing program. He especially recommends conscious
breathing, which involves simply paying attention to your breath. Diaphragmatic
breathing, also known as belly breathing, is a beneficial practice for
maximizing the amount of air that gets inhaled into the lungs, thereby
improving oxygenation of the body. Practicing conscious belly breathing every
day will help to break the bad habit of shallow chest breathing. Deep belly
breathing, as well as other forms of breath work, can be very effective in
reducing stress and combating anxiety. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said
recently in a television interview that she turns to deep breathing for her
stress relief.
The next time you feel uneasy,
apprehensive, or worried, experiment with one or more of the above techniques
for anxiety recovery. You may find that all it takes is a walk around the
block, one less cup of coffee, and a few deep breaths to put you back on track.
Exercise, relaxation, and caffeine reduction may be the keys to maintaining a
healthy state of serenity.
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