Can anyone tell me about natural ways they've beaten anxiety?

[Shitsandgigglez]

I've been suffering from anxiety for a while now and it's really getting me down. The smallest of things make me worry and I feel my life is shrinking as a result. I really need to get a hold on it and if I look at my lifestyle I can see that some changes would definitely benefit me...

1. my diet is poor. I think I comfort eat and definitely eat a lot of sugar.

2. I do moderate exercise under the guise of the school run and running round after small kids so am a decent weight and fitness level (I mean, I'm not marathon ready but I've probably been worse when I could be lazy pre-kids).

3. I am a stay-at-home mum which I love for the moment but I feel my brain probably isn't challenged in the way it used to be.

4. I don't have any hobbies. Literally just look after kids.

5. I always look a mess. I make little effort with my appearance as am always soooooo knackered and my clothes are just all jeans and a top. I rarely wear make up and hair is just shoved back.

6. I spend too long on my phone. I know this has an adverse effect on my mental health because I will "research" I'm worried about and panic myself more. I'm not one to get stressed about other people on social media because I know that looking at mine people might think I have it all sorted.

7. I have a really bad sleeper and am still breastfeeding at 13 months. I'm tired a lot.

8. I don't drink enough water

9. house is a mess

I think that's possibly it for now...

I'm just wondering if anyone on here has felt that making positive changes to their lifestyle has improved their anxiety at all? I'm reluctant to take medication as I'm worried I will come to rely on it too much. The thought of it makes me anxious 😩

I guess I'd just like to hear how lifestyle changes and certain habits have helped others feel better day to day. Thanks for reading

The Daily Stoic was a game changer for me.

My DD (10) is really suffering with anxiety at the moment - can I ask those of you who found it helpful to reduce your sugar intake, do you mean refined sugar or are you also including natural sugars in fruit?

@Magicpaintbrush I had to lower my cholesterol so lived on a diet of fruit, soups and salads and felt so much better anxiety wise! In my case, giving up refined sugars helped a lot.
Bless her, my anxiety started around her age and it's not nice!

magicpaintbrush sorry about your DDs anxiety. I did Sarah Wilson's I Quit Sugar for 8 weeks once. She's very clear to exclude fruit too. Sounds extreme but I can't believe the difference it made. I was clear headed and a lot less anxious (also clearer skin, more stable moods, hardly any bloating, better sleep, better bowels!) Depends what your DD will eat but worth considering reducing it. Good luck xx

Thanks for all the replies and ideas. Really appreciated and I need to start making BIG changes ASAP

This has been a massive revelation to me at age 52 but a good diet, exercise (preferably out in the countryside) and getting enough sleep has helped enormously.

Mindfulness and meditation.
Lots of apps, pod casts and you tube videos available for a taster

Breathing exercises help ease a panic attack for me. There's one where you breathe in for 7 seconds, hold your breath for 6 seconds then breathe out for 7 seconds (or something like that!) and that can really ease a full scale panic attack.

Thanks so much for your advice. I'm not sure I would be able to cut sugar out of her diet totally without it seeming like some kind of punishment, but my plan is to steathily reduce it as much as I can by swapping things. I wish there were more options for low sugar or sugar free treats out there, seems like sugar free jelly is one of the only things. I did spot some sugar free cookies on tesco website so will give those a try. I also read that gluten may have a link to anxiety/depression too. There is only so much you can actually cut out of your diet and it's harder to do with an unwilling child. I also read that gut bacteria has a link too, and that if your gut bacteria isn't great it can affect your mood/anxiety. I bought my DD some Yakult with that in mind but she woudn't even try it. Lots to think about here.

Finding time for mindfulness in a physical activity where you have to focus - for me as I'm lucky to live near the sea, I go sea swimming.

Cold water swimming focuses the mind and as no-one is particularly keen to join me I get some alone time too which is fab!

Stopping listening to the news really helped me. Switched to Radio 2 from Radio 4 in the morning. Big difference. I still keep up with the news, it's just not the first thing I hear every day. I have a cup of tea outside if possible sitting in our back yard, which is full of plants every morning.

I don't know if this will be of help to anybody but I thought I would write it in case it is, because it's from my own personal experience and something I am trying to convey to my DD and is something which I feel is easier for adults to process than children: when I was about 10 I developed anxiety, and throughout my teens and twenties it was absolutely excruciating, it limited my life in so many ways, and while I was living it I felt that it was ruining my life - however I am now 40 and while I do of course still get nervous and anxious sometimes I am so much better than I used to be, and I would say my anxiety is at a 'normal' level, if you want to put it that way. I know that there are many different types of anxiety and mine was mainly social anxiety and also huge fear of anything unfamiliar, anything new and I was a rabbit in the headlights, constantly avoiding situations where I knew I would feel that terror, always feeling ashamed and embarrassed of my fears. I didn't receive any help for my anxiety because basically my parents didn't notice, they thought I was shy but that was part of my personality and they didn't think about it beyond that, and to be fair I didn't ask them for help because I thought it was my problem and and that I was a failure, which was all my fault.

The way that my anxiety reduced was very gradual but it came about purely because there were times where I couldn't avoid situations and necessity made it impossible to hide away, I had to do things and face things, and each time I did that it was never as awful as I thought it would be - and even if it was I survived it and moved on. I realised - and it took me years and years to realise this - that the more I confronted the situations that terrified me instead of avoiding them the less horror I began to feel at the thought of them. It was a really slow process but I can honestly say I feel so much better now. Forcing yourself to engage with things that cause you stress genuinely does work in terms of building confidence and lowering fear. Driving is one example - I would say I had a genuine phobia of that, the prospect of driving made me physically sick and shake and lose sleep, but when my DD was born and I realised how limited her life would be if I couldn't drive I forced myself to do it and although it did take some years for the anxiety to go the point is that it did go, and now I am fine with it.

I am definitely no expert, I only have my own experience to draw from, and I know this approach may not work for all types of anxiety but I just wanted to tell how it had worked for me in case it helps anyone else. I had terrible anxiety and fear and now I don't - I'm proof you can get better. I hope that is comforting to some of you.

Get the house in order. When my anxiety was at its worst my house was a tip and it made me spiral out of control. I spent a weekend sorting it all out and cleaning everything (hated every second of it but I knew it needed to be done once and for all). I keep everything organised and clean now and it’s amazing what it’s done for my mental health.

Put your phone in a different room sometimes so you can get on with things without distraction.

I agree with lots of the suggestions above...another slightly random thing that has helped me is watching Oprah's super soul Sunday every Sunday (unsurprisingly!) on her Facebook page. I have bad anxiety, particularly on a Sunday evening before the work week starts again and I find it often helps 'reset' my mentality. Another poster mentioned Eckhart Tolle, he was on it last Sunday x

I'm finding this thread very helpful. I'm struggling with anxiety and your Op could have been written by me too. Lots of good suggestions and I will definitely join you in reducing sugar, organizing my tip into a home, exercise and after pp I googled Eckhart Tolle, all seems promising. I've always believed diet effects mood but have sunk into I'm too tired to make the effort so will eat the same easy cook meals.

Find some really quick but healthier meals. A stir fry for example will take just as long to cook as a ready meal in the microwave will. You can buy the kits or veg, chicken, noodles and sauce so you literally just Chuck it in a pan and stir for a few mins.
Make small changes to things like snacking on chocolate too. Don’t buy any to be stored in the house but if you are really craving it then just buy one small bar at the shop. The first two weeks of cutting right back on sugar is always the hardest but then it becomes more of a habit and you don’t crave it quite as much

Running. It's changed my life.

The best thing I ever took for anxiety is Saint John Worts, they are herbal and are a miracle pill for me, Iv been taking them for 8 months and I can tell when I miss a few, my anxiety goes through the roof

Saint johns wort is really good. Just a note - it can’t be taken alongside certain contraceptions like the pill as it interferes it

Start a vegetable patch. It gives you everything-fresh air, excercise, closeness to nature, sunshine and a hobby!
Plus healthy veggies