Five Ways to Manage Anxiety Naturally this Christmas

It seems a good time of year to discuss the feeling of anxiety . For multiple reasons anxiety levels in people can escalates at this time of year and Pre-Christmas Anxiety is very common.

We are told that Christmas is meant to be a time of joy, love and giving yet for many it represents and feels like stress, worry and even emotional disconnect (usually in order to protect oneself).

I’m not sure why there is so much pressure on Christmas except that in recent years there is a lot on social media, movies about the “perfect Christmas” and other media platforms platforms portraying the “ideal Christmas”. For many this is unachievable.

In fact, many people I consult between now and Christmas are experiencing anxiety. Anxiety over many things – the present buying, the social commitments (how they will be perceived, how they will feel, what to expect), the day itself; the aftermath (will I have the energy to enjoy this Christmas)!

It’s a massive buildup and a day of mixed emotions for many people.

I really believe anxiety is common and possibly a feeling that can be managed.

Let’s explore anxiety a little closer and maybe one of the suggestions here will help you feel less anxious if you suffer with anxiety.

Behind the scenes anxiety might arise from a few weeks of high pressure and a build up of cortisol. High estrogen, high cortisol levels, incongruent jobs/partners, poor food selections, over drinking and lots more may lead to these hormone imbalances but usually it starts with a thought.

I think the birthplace of anxiety is a thought.

Sam Beau Patrick

Once we have a glimse of how things may go side ways we elaborate….

We generate an emotion around it which usually is not a pleasurable one. 

Usually anxiety is experienced as a punishing, difficult thought to encounter or master an event happening in the future which we may have little to no control over.

In fact for many it feels like a round-a-bout of  self-doubt, worry and sleeplessness trying to work out how to gain this control of a situation. 

Worrying about something that hasn’t even happened yet ie worrying about our performance or how someone will perceive us at a certain time, or scenario in the future is limitless and very much out of our predictability.

I think anxiety may be a few benefits such as it may enhance your performance or make you consider things you may not have considered. But most anxiety, especially anxiety that becomes cyclical, it is tiring and excruciating.

Recognising Good Anxiety from Bad Anxiety

So how do you recognise good anxiety versus negative anxiety?

Good anxiety, if there is such a thing, may have the benefit of making us more diligent. It may help augment one’s awareness about a potential hazard.

Most anxiety though, especially if it is experienced as a physical issue (flighty chest, self doubt, racing heart beat, shallow breathing) based on a thought is not beneficial. 

Five Ways to Manage Anxiety Naturally

1. Practice Meditation

Meditation is a daily rehearsal to practice lowering your thoughts into the now and present moment. Understand that the future hasn’t occurred and whilst daunting at first can be broken down into smaller manager pieces.

I invite you to try meditation on a daily basis. Try the free Ap called Headspace.

See your thoughts initially as run-away wild horses that just need a little rope to feel confident and kept. Then slowly rein your thoughts in by asking “what is the evidence, the probability that this belief is true”.

It is a rehearsal and I personally have found meditation instrumental in helping relax the anxiety about the future.

2. Balance Your Hormones

Mastering anxiety requires happy hormones. 

Balanced estrogen is not to be taken for granted. There are many influences on estrogen levels in people including exposure to hormones, lack of vegetables, slower bowel movements and more. I have many blogs here on how to manage high or low estrogen levels.

The other hormones that may lead to anxiety include low gaba, high cortisol and high testosterone.

All of these are best measured by a saliva hormone test. You can order a saliva test and consult here. (Use the code hormones and receive $100 off before 15th December 2019).

3. Let go of what is out of your control

Sometimes we want the best for everyone in our life. That is a beautiful thing. Unfortunately so much of that is out of our control. Call it life, call is fate, call it the future…

Honestly we (you and I ) usually have very little to do with the outcome.

Accepting what is in your control and what isn’t is a game changer.

Time frames, outcomes, interactions, love/hate are often out of one’s direct control. Let it go. Don’t harbour angst. Life is too short.

If you suffer with Burn Out, read my book in the store called Chill Out or Burn Out. It is a brilliant Christmas present!

4. Connect with the planet every day

This sound a little “out there” but one of the best things you can do it walk sole to soul on the planet every day. This means taking your shoes off and walking on the earth.

It may mean standing on the grass, walking on the beach or lying in a rice paddock. Whatever it means to you can I encourage you to connect to the planet earth every day?

It’s not just because these Nobel Peace Prize Winning scientists have proven that connection on planet earth improves sleep, stress and blood pressure, but because it’s an awesome experience.

Eat a clean diet

I am not sure that this simple explanation of clean eating means much now days. But this is how I would explain it.

Shop at the organic markets, get to know your farmers, chat to them.

Only eat what is in season, make salads around the produce. Let the produce speak for itself. Eat rainbow coloured meals.

Green leafy organics, red and orange organics and even yellows add phytonutrients to your life, help you detoxify acquired chemicals from your day and remove them. Unless you are eating organic, walking on the planet daily and meditating I believe you are behind the eight ball and subject to anxiety.

Implement the above changes today!

If you want to measure your hormones or do a hair test to measure you nutrient levels do so here.

I am offering a Christmas special until 15th Dec for Australian citizens wanting to measure their hormones and receiving $100 off. They need to use the code “hormones” and they will receive the $100 off. Click here.

You can use the massive discount for yourself if you haven’t measured your hormones for awhile as well. Just note that it is a thirty minute consult not the full 60 mins.

Let’s help our loved ones manage the anxieties of Christmas and help them turn it in to the festive season it is designed to be, 

Sam xx