clean living// natural ways to manage anxiety

NATURAL WAYS TO MANAGE ANXIETY

clean living// products and practices

unfortunately, ANXIETY is such a common emotion that many face today. whether it’s from internal circumstances like strife in your family, a broken relationship, insecurity, or fear of the future; to external circumstances like losing a job, social anxiety, and a big decision needing to be made – there are so many reasons, especially after this last year that many of us are feeling anxious and pressured by anxiety. while this feeling is ENTIRELY NORMAL, we shouldn’t normalize the feeling itself. anxiety is not a place that you should make your home, and anxious thoughts are entirely ok, but should still be dealt with using methods that are healthy and make you better–mentally, physically, and emotionally.

i myself have traveled the anxiety path and have had my own journey with finding ways to manage anxious thoughts, fear, nervousness, and the list goes on. while there are always times for modern medicine, i also have found many clean living practices and products on this journey that i love and have helped me manage anxiety. my hope is that as you continue your own clean living journey, you would be able to implement some of these and find what works best for you. as always, when it comes to our health and well being, routines and regimens are not one size fits all. i talk about this a lot in THE CLEAN SWEEP but what works for me, is not always going to work for you. find a routine that works best, try products and see how they feel, and adapt to what you feel like your body and your mind is telling you.

if you’ve been following along for a while, you know this is a go-to product for me. i use EQUILIBRIA CBD every day without fail for its incredible health benefits, including managing stress, improved mood, better sleep quality, and more. while there are many CBD brands out there on the market, it’s important to find one that uses premium ingredients that are safe and trustworthy. that is why i love EQUILIBRIA CBD so much, and will truly be a lifetime customer for their products.

did you know that anxiety can also stem from improper GUT HEALTH? your gut is responsible for so many important bodily functions–from the absorption of nutrients, energy production, the management of your hormones, your skin health, emotional health, and mental health, just to name a few. the health of your gut is regulated by the many factors you incorporate into your lifestyle, from the food you eat to the products you use, and the practices you implement. any and all of the above have a major impact on the function of your gut, which in turn is responsible for just about every function of your body. odds are if you haven’t intentionally been living a lifestyle caring for your gut, the health of your gut isn’t very great. some of the feelings you may be experiencing, from everyday tiredness to headaches, consistent acne-prone skin, and feelings of anxiety can be stemming from your gut health. resetting your gut is a process, and knowing where to start can often be the hardest part. this is why i created my programs THE CLEAN SWEEP to guide you through a day by day transition to greater health, clean living, and improved gut health.

apart from the many products and practices i include in both volume one and volume two of the programs, a go-to product for me right now is THE BEAUTY CHEF. there is an entire list of bio fermented products from here that are incredibly beneficial to health of your gut, but the one that i use specifically to help with my overall mood is ADAPTOGENS inner beauty boost. i also regularly use GLOW inner beauty essentials daily too. a good thing to remember, as with any supplement, is that daily use is key. your body has to adjust to the increased nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that you are supplying it with through taking a supplement, and then adapt to pull from those added benefits to yield real results. practice taking supplements daily, and see how you have improved in a few weeks.

another product i use to help manage stress and care for my mental health comes from another one of my supplement favorites PURE SYNERGY. while again, there is not one product with them that you can go wrong with, i specifically use STRESS REMEDY for it’s natural adaptogenic purposes–all of which are incredibly beneficial to your mental health.

other products i use for their anxiety-reducing benefits include peppermint tea, which is known for its calm-inducing benefits, and chamomile tea. essential oils can be such a win too when it comes to calming practices by either diffusing them in your room, applying them to your wrists, the bottom of your feet, or the back of your neck throughout the day. i consistently use REVIVE ESSENTIAL OILS as a go-to for any and every blend, but lavender is the most rewarding scent for reducing anxiousness and promoting a calming environment.

PRACTICES –

there are many practices that you can implement on the journey to reducing your anxiety. my best advice when it comes to any practice is to exercise them all with a TRIAL and ERROR approach. don’t be discouraged when one doesn’t work for you, or if it doesn’t work right away. in some cases, you may just need to try again, in others, it might just not be the practice for you–and that’s ok.

change your routine// try something different for a change. work different hours. take different breaks at different times of the day. change the time you eat your meals or run your errands. wake up earlier. work out more frequently or less. go to sleep earlier or maybe sleep in. whatever the case, take account of your daily routine and highlight the areas of your life that might be red flags for anxiety-prone feelings. maybe you are going too fast. if you are afraid to SLOW DOWN and be left with your thoughts, this is often a sign that you are doing too much as means to avoid how you really feel. AS A PRACTICE, try intentionally making space in your day to slow down and really tune in with your emotions. dialogue with yourself about why you are feeling the way you are feeling, identify triggers and unhealthy routines and regimens, and then actively record intentional ways you can combat these blind spots. this practice of slowing down can be practiced once a week, or even once a day. but whatever the case, find a time to pause and INTENTIONALLY CHANGE YOUR ROUTINE. when it comes to anxiety, busy is not your friend but your enemy. while it may seem easier and even momentarily effective to avoid feelings altogether, they will return to the surface once again–the goal is to get to the root of the problem the first time, and this takes the one thing you might be avoiding, time

practice gratitude for nature// notice the beautiful things around you, even if it’s the sound of birds or a pretty plant. this gives the soul a kind reminder of HOW BIG LIFE IS. sometimes we can feel like we’re being crushed under the weight of our problems. while your problems may be big, so is the world, and the earth, and everything within it. god gives us nature to remind us how big he is, and how much he is capable of, especially when it comes to facing our problems on our behalf.

get a pet or a plant to nurture// CARING for others can oftentimes teach you a lot about how to care for yourself

help someone else or check in on the people you love// the same is applied here as above, with an additional thought – caring for others can also help you take so much of the focus off of yourself

get some vitamin d// try to go on a small walk, even if it’s for five minutes during the day. studies have shown the incredible benefits that just a little bit of sunlight and exercise can do for your mood

read fiction// exercise the creative parts of your mind without overstimulating it and entirely unplugging, a practice we often unknowingly do when we turn to an evening show or movie binge.

seek counseling// counseling and therapy is monumental for your mental health. this is not just something that “sick people” do. i am a firm believer that anyone and everyone, can and should go to counseling or seek a mentor to talk through their thoughts, emotions, pain, or trauma from the past or present

journal// an incredible exercise for self-reflection and teaching yourself to identify emotions. while you can’t always carry a journal around with you at every point of the day, taking time to journal each day teaches your brain the rhythms of digging up emotion, identifying it, and dealing with it so that when you are going throughout your day and an emotional event happens to you, your brain remembers the muscle to properly identify what you are feeling and how to respond in a way that is healthy

speak your anxieties out loud rather than keeping them inside// our WORDS have so much power. don’t be afraid to make an emotion real by saying it out loud. this will help you confront the fear wrapped around your emotions and deal with them

meditate and pray// there is so much to be said about this practice, but the gist is–YOU ARE NOT ALONE. god is working on your behalf, and there for you when you need him

connect with people// again, you’re not alone. find friends you trust and hold them close

if you are in the middle of an anxiety attack, go back to the basics// recognize the color of your shirt or the objects around you, touch your skin, notice the textures on the walls or the things in your environment. teach your brain the channel ways out of your emotional overload and back into reality

practice deep breathing techniques// inhale for 4, hold for 4, exhale for 4, no breath for 4. bring your body back to your breath