How do you decrease anxiety?
I’ve been there. I know how it feels and I would almost take depression over anxiety because it is such a horrible feeling to live in fear. Neither of these conditions is pleasant. Over the years, I have discovered that both anxiety and depression can be relieved in similar ways. There are a few things to consider first.
Anxiety and depression may be caused by a chemical imbalance. This chemical imbalance may stem from thyroid problems, heart problems, not sleeping well, breathing difficulty, and of course, stress which alters all organ functions in the body. In this article, I am going to help with anxiety caused by stress. Please note that these recommendations should never replace your doctor’s guidance and I do not advocate to stop taking a medication without the guidance of your doctor. My hope is to empower you to have tools to decrease your anxiety by lessening your stress. I am sharing with you what has worked for me in the hope that it will help you as well. Stress is a major contributor to offsetting the chemical balance in your body. So, if we can lessen the stress, the organs can function more efficiently, and the chemical balance in your body will level off.
First and foremost, be in the present. There really is no better place to be and when you stop dwelling on the past and fearing the future, you can find peace. Here is a grounding meditation I created for the Voyage to HEAL. Use it daily or find one that fits you just perfectly.
Second, think of whatever stressor you have as a grain of sand. No matter how big they are, view it as a grain of sand. This takes away its power over you. Here’s how it works, this is from Dr. Joe Dispenza’s book Breaking the Habit of Being You. I have modified it to meet my needs.
Take a moment to feel your lips on your face. Now feel your lips on your head. Now feel your lips on your entire body. Feel your body in the room you are in. Now envision this room in the building you are in. Feel the building in the city you are in, the state you are in, the country you are in, the continent you are on, and now in the whole world. Now envision yourself in the whole world with outer space orbiting around you. Now return back to the problem that is weighing heavy on your heart. Picture that as a grain of sand on a beach. Picture all of your other problems as a grain of sand on this beach. Now picture yourself sitting on that beach on top of all your worries. Picture yourself and this beach next to the ocean, in the world, in comparison to outer space. Now once again, look at that grain of sand. See how tiny it is in this whole world. Feel how the power of this worry has diffused. Take away its power over you. Feel its insignificance as if it is just another event in your life that will come and go and in 40 years be a distant memory if at all. Watch the waters roll into shore and take that worry away into the depths of the ocean as you say to yourself I let go. I relinquish the power this grain of sand has had over me. Then sit back on the beach and rest.
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscape, but in having new eyes.” Marcel Proust
Voyage to HEAL Weekly Focus
Stretch: Eyeball releases. With your eyes closed, place your fingers around your eyes and gently lean forward into your fingers. Feel the circular muscles around your eyes soften.
Exercise: Roll your eyes clockwise and counterclockwise. You can turn this into a stretch by stopping at any point that feels tights. Word searches and search and find pictures are also a great exercise for the eyes.
Habitual change: I recently realized that I lean on a lot of things such as the sink handle when I’m waiting for my glass to fill up, cabinet doors as I reach in to grab items and even the refrigerator door. I can support myself, but I rely on these weaker objects to hold me up without even realizing it. Do you lean on things more than you think? This habitual change will increase the longevity of your appliances and hardware while also strengthening you. There’s only one source you should lean on and it is not a cabinet, door, or facet.
Enlightened Perspective: “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscape, but in having new eyes.” Marcel Proust. We all have stressors and ones that are not going to go away for quite a while. We also have the option to change our perspective on the power we give these stressors. Picture them as a grain of sand. Take away their power over you.
Journaling Option: What have I given away my power to? This is how I will reclaim my strength.