Are you highly anxious right now? Do you feel trapped in your own mind? Do have fears about the future? I'm here to tell that you that you are not alone. A lot of the times when we are anxious, we feel as if the world is against us. It feels like you've got tightness in your whole body. I've been there, and I've been through it all. I want to show you ways that I have learned on my journey to overcome anxiety.
#1. Deep Breathing
A lot of us on the planet are not breathing the right way. A lot of us are breathing with our chest.
In order to better our breathing, we have to start breathing from our diaphragm. Breathing through the diaphragm is so important because the blood in the lowest part of the lungs is the richest in oxygen.
If we breathe through the chest however, we will put a lot of stress into our bodies, and it can lead to a lot of difficulties that could cause to have a lot of issues with our lungs.
So It's best that we first start breathing through our diaphragm, so we can start receiving some good quality air into our system.
A good way to start breathing from the diaphragm is by putting one hand on your stomach, and one hand your chest. Then you sit down with a nice straight posture. Finally, inhale for four seconds, exhale for four seconds, make sure that you stomach is expanding as you inhale, and make sure that your stomach starts to shrink back down as you exhale.
That is a great exercise to start breathing from the diaphragm, and you will nice and relaxed once you start doing it more.
#2. Love Yourself
When I had anxiety on my early journey, I would worry about what would people think about me, how I looked, if people would make fun of me. I've dealt with people who have bullied me, and verbally abuse me for a long time when I was much younger.
I've realized that self love is so important. I always live by the saying, "If I don't love me, who will"? I've learned that another person's opinion about me is nothing compared to my opinion that I have about myself.
I have a blog post I made about how to love yourself, and I highly recommend checking it out.
So being able to love yourself, is probably one of the greatest skills you can ever have.
I've also learned that when it comes to self love, we have to start becoming our greatest fans. You can either be your greatest friend, or your greatest enemy.
So once we can start loving ourselves more, no one will be able to change are opinions about ourselves, and we will be powerful beyond measure.
#3 Be Mindful
I love this picture above, because it shows how we are always caught in our minds. The dog doesn't care about what happened yesterday, or the fear of tomorrow. The dog's mind is only focusing on what it sees in the moment.
That's what we need to start doing more of, and we need to stop worrying about the past, and the future. "You are not your mind", the great Eckhart Tolle is the genius behind that quote.
We let our minds define us and we let our minds control our life. We can't do that no longer.
We have to realize that the mind doesn't control your thoughts, you are in control of your thoughts, and we have to stop being a slave to our minds.
Check out my blog post I did about how to be more present.
#4. Change Your Diet
I've realized after being a vegan for two years, is that we are what we eat. When a animal is being murdered, we absorb the fear and anxiety from the animal being killed.
I always tell people that once we start changing our diet to a more plant based diet, your life will change for the better.
Once we start eating a more plant based diet, we will start to absorb the vitamins and minerals that is needed for the body.
One vitamin that's good for anxiety is magnesium, which will help you be more relaxed. A good source for magnesium is spinach, and green tea is a good source of magnesium. Any green vegetable, or drink will help with anxiety.
#5. Change The People, Places, and Things You Surround Yourself With
That quote pretty much says it all. We have start changing those three variables in order to overcome our anxiety.
Hang out with people who love and support you. Go to places that make you feel calm and welcomed. Do things that make you happy.
It's that simple, and once we start changing the people, places and things we do, we will be more relaxed, happier, and less anxious.
Thank you for reading this blog. I hope you have a blessed day, and remember that life doesn't have to suck! :)