Non Medication Treatments For Anxiety
The change in our working environments and daily routines as we navigate the global pandemic has exponentially seen anxiety rates increase across the globe. Increasingly we are hearing and seeing more people impacted by anxiety. Add the impact of us being overstimulated with a constant barrage of notifications, alerts and messages from our phones, desktops and smartwatches, and the already blurred lines between work and life; it’s no wonder we are all looking for ways to reduce anxiety, be that with medication or non medication treatments for anxiety.
The good news is that there are a lot of non-medication treatments we can add to our daily lives to help us balance our anxiety levels. We just need to find the right ones for us.
So what are these Non Medication Treatments for Anxiety?
Getting Enough Sleep – as a non medication treatment for anxiety
Intrinsically we know that sleep is essential; it’s been proven time and time again to be a necessary part of good mental health. However, most of us don’t spend time ensuring we get enough sleep or implementing a routine that supports better sleep behaviours. Research has shown that we should get around 7 to 9 hours of sleep daily. Here are some tips to improve your sleep health:
- Implement a nightly routine that you follow every day (including weekends).
- Keep to the same bedtime and ensure you wake at the same time each day.
- Reduce screen time at least an hour before you head to bed
- Remove all screens from the bedroom. Make it a tranquil and calm space.
- Limit or avoid caffeine, especially in the afternoons and evenings.
- Meditation can help clear the mind of the day’s stresses, allowing you to drift off gently.
Getting Enough Sleep – as a non medication treatment for anxiety
Intrinsically we know that sleep is essential; it’s been proven time and time again to be a necessary part of good mental health, and therefore can be a benefit in non medication treatment for anxiety. However, most of us don’t spend time ensuring we get enough sleep or implementing a routine that supports better sleep behaviours. Research has shown that we should get around 7 to 9 hours of sleep daily. Here are some tips to improve your sleep health:
- Implement a nightly routine that you follow every day (including weekends).
- Keep to the same bedtime and ensure you wake at the same time each day.
- Reduce screen time at least an hour before you head to bed
- Remove all screens from the bedroom. Make it a tranquil and calm space.
- Limit or avoid caffeine, especially in the afternoons and evenings.
- Meditation can help clear the mind of the day’s stresses, allowing you to drift off gently.
Exercise Regularly – as a non medication treatment for anxiety
Exercise is one of those excellent non medication treatments for anxiety, allowing you to burn off anxious energy. It provides a perfect excuse for disconnecting from the world around us, allowing us space to drift off or shift focus to a specific rhythm, movement or task. Exercise also releases endorphins, dopamine and serotonin, which are known to improve mood. Creating a positive change by altering the chemical balance in our brains is just one positive effect of exercise. Depending on what you are doing, you can also reach a mediation-like state as you focus on your body’s movement, enabling you to disconnect from the day’s stresses fully. Furthermore, you have (in most cases) the opportunity to move away from being stimulated by notifications and alerts that typically hound us throughout the day.
A meditation, a moment of mindfulness, or a yoga practice have proven to significantly reduce stress by regulating our nervous system (16). But they also offer so much more. As we breathe, allow our emotions to flow, and observe our body for what it is, we foster self-awareness and acceptance. (17)
Acne scarring might make it hard to love yourself, but practising kindness towards our bodies can have a positive ripple effect on the skin.
No matter the circumstances that push acne to flare up and scar, science has shown that natural approaches are a sustainable and efficient way to heal the skin. And while we always recommend seeking tailored advice about your concerns, tuning into your body and skin’s needs can help reduce acne scarring naturally.
Exercise Regularly – as a non medication treatment for anxiety
Exercise is one of those excellent non medication treatments for anxiety, allowing you to burn off anxious energy. It provides a perfect excuse for disconnecting from the world around us, allowing us space to drift off or shift focus to a specific rhythm, movement or task. Exercise also releases endorphins, dopamine and serotonin, which are known to improve mood. Creating a positive change by altering the chemical balance in our brains is just one positive effect of exercise. Depending on what you are doing, you can also reach a mediation-like state as you focus on your body’s movement, enabling you to disconnect from the day’s stresses fully. Furthermore, you have (in most cases) the opportunity to move away from being stimulated by notifications and alerts that typically hound us throughout the day.
A meditation, a moment of mindfulness, or a yoga practice have proven to significantly reduce stress by regulating our nervous system (16). But they also offer so much more. As we breathe, allow our emotions to flow, and observe our body for what it is, we foster self-awareness and acceptance. (17)
Acne scarring might make it hard to love yourself, but practising kindness towards our bodies can have a positive ripple effect on the skin.
No matter the circumstances that push acne to flare up and scar, science has shown that natural approaches are a sustainable and efficient way to heal the skin. And while we always recommend seeking tailored advice about your concerns, tuning into your body and skin’s needs can help reduce acne scarring naturally.
Avoid Stimulants
It’s not uncommon for us to get moving each morning with a cup of coffee or to reach for a drink after a busy day, believing that this helps reduce stress and anxiety. The reality is we should be doing the exact opposite. Like caffeine, alcohol changes our brain chemistry, impacting our serotonin and cortisol levels and other neurotransmitters in the brain. This chemical change can worsen anxiety, making you feel more anxious after the alcohol wears off.
Sleep is vital for our mental health, so anything that impacts our sleep health should be closely monitored. Caffeine can have a negative impact on both our anxiety levels and sleep health. Caffeine interferes with our circadian melatonin rhythms and blocks the body’s natural buildup of adenosine. Without the circadian melatonin rhythm, sleep onset is delayed.
If you are struggling with anxiety, try reaching for those positive treatments known to support anxiety reduction rather than grabbing a coffee at 2 in the afternoon or an alcoholic drink at the end of the day.
A meditation, a moment of mindfulness, or a yoga practice have proven to significantly reduce stress by regulating our nervous system (16). But they also offer so much more. As we breathe, allow our emotions to flow, and observe our body for what it is, we foster self-awareness and acceptance. (17)
Acne scarring might make it hard to love yourself, but practising kindness towards our bodies can have a positive ripple effect on the skin.
No matter the circumstances that push acne to flare up and scar, science has shown that natural approaches are a sustainable and efficient way to heal the skin. And while we always recommend seeking tailored advice about your concerns, tuning into your body and skin’s needs can help reduce acne scarring naturally.
Avoid Stimulants
It’s not uncommon for us to get moving each morning with a cup of coffee or to reach for a drink after a busy day, believing that this helps reduce stress and anxiety. The reality is we should be doing the exact opposite. Like caffeine, alcohol changes our brain chemistry, impacting our serotonin and cortisol levels and other neurotransmitters in the brain. This chemical change can worsen anxiety, making you feel more anxious after the alcohol wears off.
Sleep is vital for our mental health, so anything that impacts our sleep health should be closely monitored. Caffeine can have a negative impact on both our anxiety levels and sleep health. Caffeine interferes with our circadian melatonin rhythms and blocks the body’s natural buildup of adenosine. Without the circadian melatonin rhythm, sleep onset is delayed.
If you are struggling with anxiety, try reaching for those positive treatments known to support anxiety reduction rather than grabbing a coffee at 2 in the afternoon or an alcoholic drink at the end of the day.
Mindfulness, Breathing And Meditation
Calming the mind is an excellent non-medication treatment that can help reduce and manage anxiety. There are several different practices, all designed to quieten the mind and relax the body.
- Meditation can help slow racing thoughts, produce a deep state of relaxation and support a tranquil mind. Try adding meditation into your daily routine either first thing in the morning or at night.
- Mindfulness helps you learn to stay with complicated or difficult feelings without analysing, suppressing, or encouraging them. Feeling and acknowledging your worries, irritations, painful memories, and other complex thoughts and emotions can help them dissipate.
Breathing or breath work can help lessen stress and anxiety. By breathing slower and more deeply from your stomach, you signal your nervous system to calm down.
Mindfulness, Breathing And Meditation
Calming the mind is an excellent non medication treatment for anxiety that can help reduce and manage anxiety. There are several different practices, all designed to quieten the mind and relax the body.
- Meditation can help slow racing thoughts, produce a deep state of relaxation and support a tranquil mind. Try adding meditation into your daily routine either first thing in the morning or at night.
- Mindfulness helps you learn to stay with complicated or difficult feelings without analysing, suppressing, or encouraging them. Feeling and acknowledging your worries, irritations, painful memories, and other complex thoughts and emotions can help them dissipate.
Breathing or breath work can help lessen stress and anxiety. By breathing slower and more deeply from your stomach, you signal your nervous system to calm down.
Light Brainwave Entrainment
Light Brainwave Entrainment stimulates the brain into entering a specific state by using high-frequency LED light. Brainwave entrainment pushes the entire brain into a particular state, adjusting or interrupting the brain’s response to certain situations. Essentially reprogramming how your brain processes and responds.
Imagine the benefits of mediation multiplied 10-fold, and that’s the benefits you can get from brainwave entrainment. The good news is that you don’t need to be a mediation guru to access these benefits.
Brainwave Entrainment is an excellent natural treatment for stress; furthermore, it can\ help with sleep disorders, eases pain, helps unlock creative expression and increases performance. It is a simple yet effective way to lead your mind into states you might usually find difficult to reach, allowing you to experience what those states feel like.
Light Brainwave Entrainment
Light Brainwave Entrainment stimulates the brain into entering a specific state by using high-frequency LED light. Brainwave entrainment pushes the entire brain into a particular state, adjusting or interrupting the brain’s response to certain situations. Essentially reprogramming how your brain processes and responds.
Imagine the benefits of mediation multiplied 10-fold, and that’s the benefits you can get from brainwave entrainment. The good news is that you don’t need to be a mediation guru to access these benefits.
Brainwave Entrainment is an excellent natural treatment for stress; furthermore, it can
, help with sleep disorders, eases pain, helps unlock creative expression and increases performance. It is a simple yet effective way to lead your mind into states you might usually find difficult to reach, allowing you to experience what those states feel like.
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