5 Tips to Manage Anxiety Without Medication

If you’re suffering from anxiety, you’re not alone. It’s estimated that more than 40 million adults in the United States alone are living with anxiety. Often, anxiety stems from feeling a lack of safety, security or control over events in one’s life. It can be triggered by a host of concerns including financial insecurity, stress at work, or difficulties in romance and relationships. Some people describe feeling as if something could go wrong or fall apart at any moment, or that it already has while they’re desperately trying to hold the pieces of life together.

While medication can be an effective means of treatment for some people, it isn’t always the first or even best option. Before considering medication it can be helpful to take stock in your personal circumstances. Perhaps you are not interested in medication or are worried about potential side effects. Maybe you’re seeking education, understanding and practical tools to manage your anxiety before considering medical support. Not everyone desires medication, and not everyone responds well to it. If this resonates with you, the good news is that there are lots of ways for people to support their anxiety without medication.

Know Your Triggers

One of the most important things for you to do is to take time to understand the root cause of your anxiety. Are there situations or people that you’re particularly sensitive around? Do you spend all day worrying how you’re being perceived, what a co-worker is thinking, or how your partner is going to respond the next time you speak? Do you have a tendency of overcommitting in life leading to frequent stress and overwhelm? Once you understand your triggers, you can begin communicating them to others or making a commitment to concrete changes in your lifestyle towards supporting them.

Put Yourself First

This is a challenge for a lot of people, though it’s important to learn ways to nurture yourself so you can have enough energy to engage in the world how you most desire. Most importantly making sure you get enough sleep, carving out time for nature and movement, and adding in nutrient dense foods that keep you fueled and ready to go. Your body is a machine, and like any machine, if we don’t take care of it, it won’t be able to keep performing at an optimal level. If you feel like you’re unable to keep up with all the things you’ve committed to, it might be a sign that you’ve overextended yourself.

Make Room for Playtime

How does it sound to take time away from worrying to making more room to play; enjoyable? impossible? Notice your response to this recommendation. As grown-ups, we sometimes forget how important playtime can be. It ends up at the bottom of our priority list, squeezed out in favor of daily to do’s such as doing laundry, taking care of dishes, and running errands—and then, before long, there’s no time for fun at all. Can you give yourself permission to have a messy house and go have a good time? Paint something, get involved with a new hobby, or rekindle a love for an old one.

Practice Mindfulness

It can be so easy to get bogged down worrying about the future and all the things that could go wrong, which is one of the reasons why it’s important to practice being present in the here and now. Taking 5-10 minutes a day to simply ‘be’ has positive effects beyond measure. Enjoying the sensation of being in your own skin (If you’re cringing reading this; fear not - there are mindfulness practices that are actually fun!). Enjoy the sounds, tastes, and smells around you. Focusing on being connected to something refreshing rather than doing.

Making Decisions

Many people with anxiety struggle trying to figure out which decision is the ‘right’ one. Maybe you’re worried about hurting people’s feelings or how you’ll be seen by others. Learning it’s okay to make mistakes is a game changer! More often than not, there is no right or wrong answer to life’s hard questions. It’s impossible to predict every outcome. For many, it’s the desire to control outcomes that leads to increased stress.

Moving Forward

If any of these practices feel daunting, challenging or even impossible there is support waiting for you! If anxiety is impacting your life reaching out sooner than later can be the game changer you’re seeking. Anxiety is very treatable! Don’t let it squeeze all the fun out of life! Please reach out if you’re desiring support managing your anxiety, identifying your triggers and learning manageable practices to support your overall well being. There is so much joy yet to be had!