Natural Ways to Relieve Anxiety
Anxiety is unfortunately a very common symptom and can be very debilitating to some. So here are 9 lifestyle strategies that can hopefully offer quick relief while working on more targeted root cause interventions:
1️⃣ Box breathing: there are many variations. Look up Dr. Weil’s 4-7-8 breathing technique (breathe in through the nose for 4 counts, hold breath for 7, and exhale through the mouth for 8)
2️⃣ Emotional freedom technique or tapping, is a self-help technique that involves tapping near the end points of certain energy meridians. Checkout the guided app called “The Tapping Solution”.
3️⃣ Laughter therapy. As the name implies, therapeutic laughing has been proven to help mental states, whether it’s spontaneous (i.e. watching a comedy or listening to babies laugh), physical (i.e. being tickled) or self-induced laughter (i.e. laughter yoga). (1)
4️⃣ Kicking off your shoes and grounding with the Earth floods the body with negative ions to help balance the nervous system and relieve anxiety. (2)
5️⃣ Equally, spending more time outdoors surrounded by trees is proven to improve mental wellbeing. (3)
6️⃣ Reduce stimulants with caffeine (coffee, black tea and yes, chocolate too) and consider taking a social media/news detox for a week or more.
7️⃣ Animal assisted therapy. Yup, petting and playing with our fur babies helps release the “love hormone” oxytocin which promotes happiness and wellbeing.
8️⃣ Vagus nerve activation which connects the brain to other organs involved in breathing, cardiovascular activity, and digestion helps switch the body into a parasympathetic “calm” state. Gargling, humming, grunting and singing out loud can all help. (4)
9️⃣ Vagus nerve icing can also be used to “shock and reset” the mind and body by dunking the face in a bowl of ice water for 10 to 30 seconds. Ice cubes or a bag of frozen veggies on the face can be used instead.
While these 9 lifestyle strategies are extremely effective, sometimes supplementation is warranted.
So now let's get nerdy and look at some specific compounds that can help provide rapid relief for anxiety. These are:
????????GABA, Magnesium Taurate or Threonate, Vitamin B6, Taurine, Inositol, L-Theanine, Glycine, Tyrosine
A mouthful I know, but stay with me and I'll try to explain these in simple terms:
???????????????????? is a neurotransmitter (i.e. a chemical messenger) in the brain that supports a calm mood
???????????????????? is made from glutamate, an excitatory amino acid (made from protein), and needs nutrients to be converted, especially magnesium and vitamin B6
Unfortunately, magnesium is a common insufficiency and vitamin B6 is easily depleted by several types of drugs, especially estrogen-based birth control, so you can begin to see how easily GABA/glutamate imbalances can occur.
???????????????????????????????? is an amino acid (from protein) that acts like a calming neurotransmitter by activating GABA
???????????????????????????????? is found in food and we can also make it from cysteine (another amino acid) but again, only when vitamin B6 is present
???????????????????????????????????? is said to belong to the B-complex family and at higher doses (4 mg 3x/day) is a promising solution for anxiety and panic attacks by supporting central nervous system function (5) (6)
????????-???????????????????????????????? is another amino acid naturally found in green tea leaves that can promote relaxation without feeling drowsy
???????????????????????????????? is another amino acid that also acts like a calming neurotransmitter in the brain. Collagen is rich in glycine and in supplement form, is pleasantly sweet
???????????????????????????????????? is another amino acid protein that gets converted into dopamine, another feel-good neurotransmitter that can ease anxiety in response to stress.
Do you see a common theme here? ????????????????????????????????, ???? ???????????????????????????????? & ???????????? ????????????????????????!! Are you eating quality animal proteins? Are you digesting and absorbing your proteins?
????????????????: The products pictured above are some examples of different formulations with these compounds. Please check with your practitioner to see what’s right for you.
Finally, below are some calming herbs that can be made into herbal teas or stronger infusions if you prefer. To make an infusion, simply boil water, add your preferred herbs and let it steep for 4 hours or overnight to make it more therapeutic.
Hope these tips are helpful and help relieve your anxiety.
Please let me know if you have any comments or questions below.
References:
(1) Akimbekov NS, Razzaque MS. Laughter therapy: A humor-induced hormonal intervention to reduce stress and anxiety. Curr Res Physiol. 2021;4:135-138. doi:10.1016/j.crphys.2021.04.002
(3) Stier-Jarmer M, Throner V, Kirschneck M, Immich G, Frisch D, Schuh A. The Psychological and Physical Effects of Forests on Human Health: A Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(4):1770. Published 2021 Feb 11. doi:10.3390/ijerph18041770
(4) Snow S, Bernardi NF, Sabet-Kassouf N, Moran D, Lehmann A. Exploring the Experience and Effects of Vocal Toning. J Music Ther. 2018 Jun 7;55(2):221-250. doi: 10.1093/jmt/thy003. Erratum in: J Music Ther. 2018 Sep 8;55(3):381. PMID: 29800304
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