Any suggestions to help anxiety without meds?!
Question: Start with the absolute most obvious: are you keeping yourself in an anxiety-provoking situation unnecessarily, maybe a very high-stress job, for example? If so, reassess the cost/reward of staying in that situation. It may be time to simplify your life a bit. Of course we all have anxiety-provoking circumstances that we can't simply walk away from as well...
There are several relaxation technques like the deep breathing one your first answerer suggested. I've had good luck with "progressive muscle relaxation." Briefly, you get into a neutral seated or prone position, breath deeply and slowly, and then one at a time, deliberately tighten and then relax your body parts, e.g. right foot, then left foot, then right cal, then left...you get the idea. Yoga, medidation, etc. all do the same thing, it's just a matter of finding the one you like best.
Plus never forget the obvious stuff: a good diet (there are some dietary supplements that can help also), adequate sleep, regular exercise, and reducing/eliminating caffiene and alcohol works wonders.
Lastly, don't forget the semi-obvious stuff:
1. Keep a journal. Writing down what's provoking your anxiety can help lower it and put it in perspective; it can also help you identify "triggers" that raise your anxiety level.
2. Consider brief therapy with a behavioral health counselor. It's usually 10-12 sessions and again can help to spot triggers and identify ways of avoiding them.
3. Consider systematic desensitization - the practice of retraining your body and mind as to how they respond to an anxiety provoking stimulus.
4. Give accupunture and/or massage a try.
Lastly-lastly, while I'm sure all of the above will help to lower your anxiety, at the end of the day they may not get you the full results that you want or need. Keep an open mind to test driving an anti-anxiety med if you need that extra boost. Most have minimal side effects, if any.
Answers: Start with the absolute most obvious: are you keeping yourself in an anxiety-provoking situation unnecessarily, maybe a very high-stress job, for example? If so, reassess the cost/reward of staying in that situation. It may be time to simplify your life a bit. Of course we all have anxiety-provoking circumstances that we can't simply walk away from as well...
There are several relaxation technques like the deep breathing one your first answerer suggested. I've had good luck with "progressive muscle relaxation." Briefly, you get into a neutral seated or prone position, breath deeply and slowly, and then one at a time, deliberately tighten and then relax your body parts, e.g. right foot, then left foot, then right cal, then left...you get the idea. Yoga, medidation, etc. all do the same thing, it's just a matter of finding the one you like best.
Plus never forget the obvious stuff: a good diet (there are some dietary supplements that can help also), adequate sleep, regular exercise, and reducing/eliminating caffiene and alcohol works wonders.
Lastly, don't forget the semi-obvious stuff:
1. Keep a journal. Writing down what's provoking your anxiety can help lower it and put it in perspective; it can also help you identify "triggers" that raise your anxiety level.
2. Consider brief therapy with a behavioral health counselor. It's usually 10-12 sessions and again can help to spot triggers and identify ways of avoiding them.
3. Consider systematic desensitization - the practice of retraining your body and mind as to how they respond to an anxiety provoking stimulus.
4. Give accupunture and/or massage a try.
Lastly-lastly, while I'm sure all of the above will help to lower your anxiety, at the end of the day they may not get you the full results that you want or need. Keep an open mind to test driving an anti-anxiety med if you need that extra boost. Most have minimal side effects, if any.
Deep belly breathing. Slowly in through the nose, out through the mouth. When you inhale push out your stomach. It takes time to learn to controll anxiety this way, but I did it. No more panic attacks.
Mind over matter, try to find what is giving you this anxiety and either eliminate it or stay clear of it, think calm thoughts, meditate, listen to favorite music, for me its usually loud rock music that blasts the anxiety right out of me, but for most its quiet calming music. Read books on anxiety, its causes and its remedies, no you don't need medication, tried that and it usually after a while makes you nervous and more anxious. One day at a time, relax and enjoy life. Good luck!