Overcoming anxiety can feel like climbing a huge mountain. Emotional wellbeing is a fundamental element of overall health and should be prioritized. Using various methods to manage your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors can provide you with greater resilience to face life’s challenges. Holistic practices involve aligning mind, body, social, and spiritual elements to create a healthy overall wellbeing balance. There are various holistic ways to treat anxiety and improve emotional health. Today, we discuss natural strategies to help you maintain your physical, spiritual, and mental wellness. How Does Emotional Wellbeing Affect Your Health? Emotional wellbeing plays a crucial role in your overall health. When your emotional health is balanced, you have a clearer mindset, higher resilience, and the ability to face life’s challenges more effectively. Things like anxiety can control our emotions, leaving us in the passenger’s seat while it takes the wheel. Of course, feeling anxious can affect your day-to-day interactions with others. Unfortunately, anxiety also affects our physical bodies. Research has shown that people with a poor level of mental health often experience physical health problems, such as heart disease and an increased risk of cancer. Holistic Tips to Conquer Anxious Emotions 1.) Use Mindfulness To Raise Your Awareness Being emotionally healthy doesn’t require you to feel happy all of the time. Rather, it means that you bring awareness to your thoughts and emotions and possess the necessary skills to bring them into balance. If you are just getting started with mindfulness, begin with a simple meditation. The purpose is not to clear your mind and have zero trailing thoughts. Instead, the main objective is to become aware of your thoughts, learning to challenge them or let them pass in their own time. If you find meditation difficult, you can try a physical form of awareness such as yoga or Tai Chi. 2.) Enjoy The Present Moment One of the greatest sources of negative thinking lies in the inability to remain in the present moment. Anxiety is often derived from too much fear or worry about the future. We overwhelm ourselves worrying about all the things that could happen or go wrong. Being present is difficult when you are feeling anxious. A holistic tip to deal with these negative emotions is to keep a gratitude journal. This can remind you of everything you have to be grateful for and will help combat negative thoughts. Write down 5 to 10 things that you are thankful for when you first wake up in the morning. This practice increases your focus on the positives and brings your thoughts into balance. 3.) Improve Your Physical Health Exercise in any form is good for the body and the mind. When you exercise, your body releases natural feel-good hormones. The positive effects can last long after your workout is complete. Additionally, taking time to get outside exposes us to sunlight. Time spent in the sunshine releases natural endorphins or “happy hormones” into our bodies, which can help trounce anxiety. 4.) Proper Sleep & Diet The average adult requires between 6 and 7 hours of sleep per night. Allowing for sufficient sleep allows the body to heal physically and mentally while regulating hormones that directly relate to our overall mood and emotions. Sleep is not only natural, but it is free! To improve your sleep, try going to bed and waking at the same time every day, including weekends. You also have to limit the use of electronic devices before bed. Instead, try a relaxing practice such as a hot shower. Avoid stimulants and make sure your sleeping environment is dark and comfortable. Looking after your body means being selective about what you put into it. A balanced diet is a key determinant of overall health, ensuring that you have the correct levels of vitamins and minerals for your body to perform optimally. 5.) Connect With Others We must build meaningful connections with others to experience optimum levels of emotional wellness. Find the people who allow you to be yourself, who you can talk to, and who bring out the best in you. Simply talking about how you feel with others can naturally relieve anxiety. Don’t be afraid to open up to people when you need to. Knowing that you are not alone makes life’s challenges much easier to face, and having people you can turn to during times of crisis is crucial for emotional wellbeing. If you’re looking for ways to meet new people, try participating in a local group, take up a new hobby, or volunteer. 6.) Self-Care Self-care is a crucial element of dealing with anxiety. Find what relaxes you: it could be a hot bath, a gentle massage, or listening to your favorite music. Once you identify the things that bring you joy, ensure you include them in your routine, particularly at times of increased stress. Additionally, learn how to show compassion for yourself. Most of us are way more critical of ourselves than we are of others. Next time you get mad with yourself, take a step back and imagine you are talking to a loved one who is in the same situation; you may discover that you have an entirely different reaction. 7.) Question Your Thoughts Next time you have a negative thought, try to be curious about it. Ask yourself, is this a fact? What evidence do I have that it’s true? What evidence do I have that it’s false? How would I react differently if the opposite were true? Maintaining an open mind to our thoughts prevents us from building negative thoughts into stories that influence our interaction with the world around us. 8.) Learn How To Say No Taking on more than you can handle inevitably leads to overwhelm and stress. It’s okay to say no now and again. Enforcing boundaries with others is a great way to protect both yourself and them. Figure out what works for you and where your boundaries lie, then be clear in your communication to others about what you can and cannot do. Final Thoughts Emotional wellbeing is key to overall health, and increased resilience allows us to cope with life’s challenges in more effective ways. By learning to recognize your thoughts and staying curious, you can change the way you perceive both yourself and the world. Build your support group and learn how to treat yourself with love and compassion.
