How to Manage Stress and Anxiety Naturally: 3 Simple Steps
Helping clients learn how to manage stress and anxiety naturally has been a core part of my business for over 17 years. I’ve been able to successfully help a lot of people blast through debilitating stress, anxiety and panic attacks using natural approaches. Giving them effective self-management steps and relevant insights that empower them for the rest of their lives.
So many people that I see that have been feeling stressed and anxious for years eventually end up with adrenal fatigue, physical, mental, and emotional burn-out. Or symptoms related to what used to be labelled chronic fatigue. A huge contributing factor to burning out and compromising your immune system is not being grounded and fully in your body. This scatters your vital energy all over the place and depletes you mentally, emotionally and physically.
Not being in your body and grounded often comes from growing up around an anxious parent, or in stressful, chaotic environments where you’ve been wired to be vigilant and outer-oriented in order to survive.
When being centred and grounded isn’t modelled to you growing up, you tend to over-think things. You also tend to not trust your heart’s wisdom and gut-instincts. Taking on too much and constantly putting restorative self-care on the back burner can become your default program for how you do life.
Stress is a natural part of life and something we all have to deal with at various times. It’s when you don’t know how to step out of over-thinking and over-doing to slow down and regroup that you start to pay a price. When this goes on for years it usually leads to burn-out and a vulnerable nervous system.
You can stop this from happening to you by getting in touch with your body’s wisdom. When you learn how to turn down the noise and distractions, you’re also able to tune into your intuition and inner-guidance.
How to Manage Stress and Anxiety Naturally: 3 Simple Steps
Image by Daniel Santalla
# 1 Exercise Mindfully
Activities like yoga, pilates, Qi Gong, or tai chi are perfect for getting you out of constant mind chatter and into your deeper being, and connected to the earth. It just takes one class to feel more relaxed, grounded, and less ‘mind-chatter dominant’. Whilst going to the gym is physical and great exercise, I don’t usually recommend it for grounding and mindfulness.
# 2 Connect with Nature
Spending regular time out in nature is incredibly therapeutic and grounding. Whether that be regular walks in the park, by the ocean, or out bushwalking. It’s a great way to switch off from repetitive stressful thinking, connect with the natural and grounding beauty on our planet – and breathe more deeply and mindfully.
# 3 Relax Deeply
Massage and therapeutic body work are great for pulling you out of your worry-mind. Physical therapies help you mindfully and deeply relax into your whole being. They are a powerful way to switch off and release thoughts and feelings that just don’t serve you, making you feel more centred, calm, and grounded.
Avoid the common trap of anxious over-thinking and overdoing that comes from not being fully grounded. It’s about having daily and weekly regimes in place so that you know how to manage stress and anxiety when it arises. Commit to grounding yourself and your energy on a regular basis. Do this and your nervous system and adrenals will benefit enormously. You’ll also start to enjoy longer stretches of stress and anxiety free periods.
Knowing how to manage stress and anxiety naturally is becoming an increasingly essential life skill in today’s rapidly changing world.
Title image by Mali Maeder
