It’s been a nervous couple of years and the future is of great concern. If you find that you are struggling with anxious thoughts that won’t leave you alone, it may be impacting your sleep, your relationships, your work, and your gut. To get a handle on your anxiety, consider the tips below.
Exercise
Engage in something habitual to free up your brain and move into creative space. This can be as simple as going for a long walk. Your body knows how to walk, and if you take a familiar path, your brain knows the route. Carry a bottle of water and try to take a sip every 100 steps or so.
Engaging in exercise and self-care can help you get ahead of anxious thoughts. During the 99 steps, you’re not drinking, review your constant anxious thoughts for three concerns:
- Is this even likely to happen?
- Is it worth the brain energy to worry about?
- What will you do to overcome it?
Once you have a problem figured out, or at least can see solutions to something that’s even possible, give yourself a mantra. When the thought next crops up, remind yourself that you’ve figured it out and focus on your solutions.
Keep a Journal
It may sound counterintuitive to keep an anxiety journal, but it can be a nice reminder of the catastrophes that didn’t happen. It’s dark humor indeed, but understanding how much creative brainpower you dumped on a problem that never developed can be a nice reminder when current problems won’t leave you alone.
If you enjoy dark humor, take things to a greater degree. If you’re worried about making your new boss unhappy, write yourself a little story about the day someone in the office had a verbal freak-out. You can also write your least favorite co-worker a letter and relieve some stress. Hide the journal. Trying to be relentlessly positive in today’s world is a burden you don’t need to bear, but your darker thoughts are private.
Meditate
In addition to privately expressing your darker thoughts, try clearing your mind for just 10 minutes. Meditating is shockingly difficult. We are prone to overloading our brains. Therefore clearing your mind and letting go of your thought process can feel nearly impossible.
To start, set a timer for 2-3 minutes. Light a candle and sit down somewhere comfortable. Stare at the candle and send away all thoughts, positive or negative. Imagine the light of the candle bathing your brain. If your mind wanders, gently take it by the hand and guide it back into the calm light. To avoid frustration, treat your brain like a two-year-old who has gotten distracted by a dandelion. Be nice to your brain. Adjust your time length as needed.
CBD
Many people use CBD to help with their anxiety. Some people use CBD sublingual oil before bed to fight insomnia. If you find this helpful, but need to avoid sleepiness, you might look for CBD gummies for sale. Start slow and take half a gummy and monitor how your anxiety behaves over the afternoon. If you take your CBD gummy with food the digestion process slows down how CBD enters the bloodstream. It may take up to an hour to have an impact. If you find you need more, take the other half. If you need quicker delivery, consider using a vaping pen to help you focus and reduce the scattered thoughts of anxiety.
Essential Oils and Supplements
Many essential oils claim to calm anxious thoughts. If you are soothed by lavender or valerian, treat yourself to an unscented lotion and add just a few drops of essential oil to it so you can carry the calm with you.
There are also oral herbs that show promise. Because some of these can be hard on your stomach, start with something gentle like chamomile or passion fruit and track your reaction. Look for edible grade products; many essential oils that are good for fragrance are not pure enough to ingest.
You are not alone in dealing with anxious thoughts. Many people are having a rough time. Keep a journal to track the product you’re using, the results, and your long-term reaction to any supplements or CBD you take.
Author: Sheryl Wright
