Today everyone is discussing viruses and pandemics, vaccines and investments, or about a settled life with a plan to buy a beach house.
But why isn’t anyone taking note of the anxiety associated with it?
The World Health Organization figures say that around 40 million US adults are affected by an anxiety disorder, which mostly remains untreated or considered “as a part of growing up and facing life.”
Well, I know how uneasy it sounds to most to even consider it as a health issue. But it is a bitter reality for many.
I am sure that many would relate to a scenario where you get up in the middle of the night, sweating and breathing heavily, thinking about your presentation speech due tomorrow. In such cases, we usually turn to our cooling appliance stocked with food and slide out that favorite ice-cream tub to feel relaxed.
However convenient it may seem, it offers a momentary solution that often increases anxious emotions further. Therefore, it is a must to educate yourself about the right food choices and habits that will help you feel at ease for a longer time, naturally, and that too in the comfort of your home.
Slide into the blog and laen about healthier food choices!
Stock the Natural Essentials
It is now a well-established fact that eating junk or drinking a lot of caffeine during the day releases hormones that hamper your emotional system. It increases feelings of depression and anxiety, providing temporary relief, only to resurface again in a few hours.
A good alternative to these food choices is to opt for a well-balanced meal with the right number of calories and unadulterated meals.
Here is a list of foods that can be consumed instead of popping open a packet of chips. These are as follows:
- Increase intake of Omega3
Omega3 is believed to decrease the inflammation of neurotransmitters that translate into healthy brain activity. Sources could include sea foods like salmon, Merckel, and others. Vegetarians can choose from chia seeds to walnuts or flax seeds.
They act as an immediate mood booster and in the long term regulate emotions naturally.
- Dark Chocolate
Everybody surely loves chocolates and what could be better than knowing that it is an effective remedy in dealing with anxiety at home. These are good sources of flavonoids and magnesium that prevent cell death and reduce inflammation, improving mood and promoting healthy thoughts.
- For the Tea lovers
It is found that intake of warm green tea or chamomile tea can soothe you and halt the negative chain of thoughts. It is the most natural remedy to treat anxiety at home. Some warm water and a tea bag, you are all set for the day!
- Frooty Treat
Fruits like banana boost potassium and energy levels, giving a refreshed feeling and keeping anxiety at bay. Along with this, you can consume citrus fruits, almonds, yogurt bowls, or berries to cheer you up.
Apart from altered food choices, you can adopt certain small but effective measures to keep your anxiety in check and respond to challenging situations effectively.
These will help you track your emotional responses during the day, helping you introspect the underlying cause of the reaction. It will gradually make you emotionally aware because of which you can self-regulate your feelings and let anxiety take a back seat in routine operations.
The following are certain habits that you can include in your ongoing life and reduce anxiety by yourself in your home environment.
Write it Down
Penning down emotions is the best way to get rid of them, advice many. Studies show that journaling for 12 weeks has helped reduce anxiety in patients to a greater extent.
If you are thinking about how to begin and what to incorporate, a good suggestion would be to get the diary, hold the pen and initiate the writing task. Jot down whatever you have felt during the day, what affected you, how you responded and what caused your anxiety. Also, write about the possibilities where you could have prevented feeling that way, and if yes, note how you could have done so.
The constant journaling process will aid in identifying the root cause of your behavior; the possible solutions put forth by you can be incorporated while dealing with a similar situation next time – leading to self-growth and easing anxious emotions.
To add to this, you can engage yourself in any sort of physical activity you like.
Release it all
If writing is not your forte and you feel better when you move your body, then that’s fine too. Exercise or any form of movement – like dancing, hiking, Pilates, gymnastics and many more can help you calm your worries.
The performance of these acts releases happy hormones associated with decreasing negative emotions, uplifting mood, and equipping the body to fight stress effectively.
Along with physical activity, you can also incorporate certain habits to reduce your electronic device usage by at least an hour a day.
Keep Devices Locked
One of the major contributors to anxiety these days is social media. It has also heightened feelings of low self-confidence, body image issues, and bad body posture.
As a first step to remedy these challenges, it is essential for you to disconnect from the virtual world and enjoy the happenings of the real world with your family and friends. Spending more time with them or your pet, if you have one, can help you reassess your responses, educate yourself about additional ways to tackle anxiety, and express gratitude for what you already have.
This practice will also assist you in inculcating healthy sleeping patterns that act as a mood regulator, per various studies.
Get More Sleep
After incorporating all the habits mentioned above, you should prioritize correcting your sleeping schedule. A sleep cycle of 7-8 hours would do wonders for you and help you alleviate your anxious mood. Good sleep gives rest to your prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is associated with overthinking, giving your brain the necessary rest.
With this, ensure you eat your last meal for the day 2-3 hours before getting to your bed. It enables adequate digestion that enhances the process of effective mood regulation. You can also practice taking a hot shower. This helps the body relax and is a medicine for all your worries.
Also, you can try essential oils or lighting aroma candles in your room; these act as mood boosters, calm the environment and reduce inflammation. They stimulate certain parts of the brain that relieve stress and channel positive thoughts.
Talk and Connect
Lastly, to complement the positive effect of these healthy habits and home remedies to treat anxiety, one can seek professional help too.
You can connect with a counselor via personal or telephonic sessions. This will help you introspect deeper, gradually eliminating factors that cause anxiety. It will also guide you in connecting with yourself, which might help you respond better, as you would know what you desire and how you want the flow of things in your life.
Wrapping it up
In the current chaos of supplying the said demands, one needs to pay attention to themselves first and their mental health. The ways to ensure a good mental state would be different for many but what ultimately matters is – YOU and YOUR WELLBEING.
Make sure to embark on a new journey of life with minimized anxiety by including these healthy habits and food choices in your daily routine and making yourself the first priority.
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