11 Free Anxiety Treatments That Have Completely Changed My Life
11 Free Anxiety Treatments That Have Completely Changed My Life
Plus, I just wrote an ebook!
I’ve had issues with anxiety since I was about 8 years old.
I got my anxiety from this little ole thing called the “genetic lottery”, and as a result, I’ve been battling anxiety for as long as I can remember.
I’ve tried everything when it comes to treating my anxiety.
From weed to booze, socializing to hiding myself away, or writing to screaming into my pillow, I’ve tried it all. Here are 11 natural anxiety remedies that have completely changed my life.
Stop watching the news.
I get it. The world is ending.
I don’t want to think about it. I don’t want to watch it. I check for updates on worldly events through Twitter sometimes, but I never sit down to “watch the news”.
I don’t think too much about the world’s problems because I haven’t mastered my own yet.
Meditation.
I meditate almost every day.
It’s just good for me to decompress. It’s good to sit and think every once in a while because eventually, you run out of things to think about.
When you do that, you actually start meditating.
10–30 minutes per day, every day possible.
Start cutting out people that suck.
I’ve alienated and distanced myself from so many people in the past year. So many people. My inner circle is smaller, but also it’s stronger than it’s ever been.
I have people in my life who actually look out for me. I have friends that love me.
These people have helped me realize that I should never settle for less.
Intense physical exercise.
“Being active” is great for my physical and mental health, but it doesn’t actually make my anxiety go away.
However, going to the gym and pushing myself as hard as I can (while not breaking my body) makes me completely free from anxiety — at least for a while.
Reading.
None of these “remedies” are secrets.
There are no secrets here.
If there was a magical remedy that got rid of anxiety and had no negative consequences, everyone would do it. However, you can always learn more about managing your anxiety.
Reading made me realize that I’m not alone in having anxiety. Studying other people’s thoughts makes me realize that my thoughts are not as weird as I once thought.
I find comfort in books.
Doing scary shit.
I’m not saying that you should start jumping out of airplanes, but seriously, stop holding back in your life because you have anxiety.
Anxiety compounds over time.
The longer you think about stuff, the scarier it gets. Sometimes, you just have to jump off the deep and end and see if you can swim.
Talking to your friends.
People have “friends”, but most of their friends don’t really know them.
One of my friends and I sit in the sauna 3 days a week after Jiu-Jitsu training and talk about life. We’ve shared some pretty personal stuff during those talks. I feel more connected when I talk to people about real shit.
Frequent, unfiltered conversations will change your fucking life.
Writing.
The main reason that I write so damn much is that writing makes my brain feel physically lighter.
The act of putting my words onto a page helps me stop having to think so much. I publish them because sometimes they help people, but I wrote for no one other than myself for nearly a decade.
Private journaling can have the same mental benefits for people struggling with depression/anxiety as public writing.
Eating healthier.
When you eat like shit, you feel like shit.
When you eat better, you feel better.
While there is certainly more to taking care of your mental health than eating vegetables, eating better does help. I only drink alcohol a couple of times per year and I try to limit caffeine intake after my morning cup of coffee.
I don’t smoke or do drugs. If you read my article on derealization, you know why.
Sleeping enough.
Most people do not sleep enough. I don’t understand this.
When I sleep less than 7 hours per night for more than a few days, I feel like I’m on a slippery slope to burnout, depression, anxiety, and losing my bloody mind.
All these other remedies I’ve listed are great, but if you don’t sleep, you’re fighting a losing battle.
Giving my all in everything I do.
This seems like a cop-out, but how many people do you know who actually give their all?
Putting everything I have into everything I deem worthy of my effort makes me feel like I have fewer regrets. It also makes me less anxious about outcomes, because I know I have done everything I can to influence said outcomes.
This gives me a great deal of peace.
Closing Thoughts
These are just a few of my “non-medication” remedies for anxiety and depression.
I’ve also worked with a therapist for my mental health as well, but not everyone has access to a therapist, so I left that out of this list.
These are 11 solo habits that will help you become less anxious, less depressed, and more peaceful. I hope they can help you as much as they’ve helped me.
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Before you go! I just wrote an ebook on anxiety…
One of my biggest projects over the last few months has been working on my first full-length ebook, focused on performance anxiety and stage fright.
Finally, I’ve published my first actual ebook, How to Make Stage Fright Your B*tch: A battle-tested guide to overcoming performance anxiety.
I got so excited about this project that I actually published it with a spelling error on the cover…
Shit happens.
Yes, this did make me super duper anxious.
I fixed it.
Be careful about outsourcing things. Double-check everything!
This ebook details the strategies that I’ve used over the last decade to become someone who is able to perform his best in pressure situations.
I’m proud of this ebook, and I’m excited to share more work with everyone throughout the rest of this year. :)
Thank you for reading this week’s edition of my newsletter. If you’d like to support my work but don’t struggle with stage fright and performance anxiety, you can always purchase a Medium membership using my referral code or you can subscribe to my premium newsletter.
More fun stuff coming soon!
—Chris