5 Sure-Fire Ways to Combat Anxiety

Mariam Masood
3 min readFeb 27, 2022

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Living in this world, you can’t avoid anxiety. It’s ok to feel anxious for some time, but if it persists, it can damage your physical function too.

Do you know 4% of the world population suffers from anxiety along with depression? Out of which 81.4% of people use tranquilizers to deal with anxiety. The good thing is there are many natural ways to combat anxiety. Coping anxiety needs a lifestyle change.

Following are the methods 5 methods to help you with anxiety.

  1. The Workout will Un-stress You

Doing physical effort is a great way to combat anxiety. A survey was conducted that showed 55% of people playing sports was a good solution to combat anxiety. People who exercise more are less prone to depression and anxiety. Making deep breathing, a long walk in nature, and playing different games not only maintain your physical health but also relieve your depression.

Exercise also regulates your sleep that is interrupted by anxiety and relieves the hormones endorphins that act as natural painkillers. Exercise and staying in nature will boost your feeling of well-being and feeling of happiness.

2) Healthy Food is Your Savage

Ever heard this “What’s on your plate”? Surprisingly this plate selection affects your anxiety a lot. Studies are more proving gut-brain connection, so the right selection of food will help you to combat anxiety. Magnesium-rich edibles like leafy greens vegetables, legumes, seeds, nuts, and whole grains give you the feeling of calmness. Meals that are rich in Zinc like meat, eggs, and cashews maintain a healthy nervous system.

Eating complex carbs like whole-grain increases the serotonin level in your brain. While chemicals in processed food, artificial sugar, or simple carbs spike the blood sugar and irregulate the hormones. So, stay hydrated and eat healthy balanced food to combat anxiety.

3) Early to Bed and Early to Rise

One major symptom of anxiety is insomnia. Taking proper sleep at night doesn’t let your body feel overwhelmed and drained. Following natural sleep patterns like sleeping early at night and early to rise with sunrise is the best way to cope with anxiety. Don’t take a nap after 3 p.m. Anxiety releases by not using the screen at night and keeping your room dark.

4) Re-connect with Your Loved Ones

Meeting your friends and family regularly helps to combat anxiety. Being with your loved ones gives you the feeling of worthiness and a sense of belonging. These feelings help you to survive in tough times. Try to enjoy the company of your people and laugh as much you can.

Laugh has a magical reliving effect for anxiety. Laughing dramatically relaxes your muscles and lowers your anxiety. Hugging and cuddling your loved one release oxytocin and lower the level of cortisol. That, in turn, lowers your blood pressure and regulates your heart rate.

5) Cutting Caffeine Could be a Right Choice

Caffeine is a stimulant found in tea, coffee, and energy drinks. Do you wanna take a cup of coffee when feeling anxious? But the fact is caffeine is not your friend in anxiety. It boosts your mood for a specific time but emotionally drains you.

As per research caffeine is found to increase anxiety and depression. Caffeine can also worsen anxiety by creating panic attacks. People reported a drop in anxiety by just reducing the caffeine intake per day.

Less coffee intake < 6cup/day is associated with fewer depressive symptoms.

Take Away Note

Living in this perfectly-imperfect world, you can’t avoid stress and anxiety. But dealing with anxiety is the real art; one must know to survive and grow. So stay close to nature life, fill your plate with less processed food, and healthily fight anxiety.

Which change you are going to make first? Just tell us below

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Mariam Masood

everyone on earth is unique with unique stories and unique lessons.