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How to Reduce Anxiety: 4 Tips and Tricks

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To understand how to reduce anxiety, it’s important to first understand what it is. The condition of anxiety is described in medicine as a feeling of nervousness, extreme worrying, or a feeling of unease; it is usually felt when an imminent event with a doubtful outcome for you is on the horizon.

Anxiety has been found to be the most common mental illness in the United States, with 40 million adults being affected. Anxiety does not only affect a person mentally, but it also has physical symptoms, which can include a rapid heartbeat, muscle tension, and an upset stomach.

The word well-being came into popularity around the year 2012. Before the 21st century, psychology revolved around diagnosing disorders without necessarily looking at a person holistically. What we’ve learned over time is that our bodies and minds are connected and that in order to improve our well-being, we need to look at ourselves and our lifestyle as a whole.

Keep reading for 4 tips on how to reduce anxiety and begin your journey to wellness.

1. Get out of your comfort zone

Curiosity may be the key factor to a happy life. Todd Kashdan, professor of psychology at George Mason University and author of “Curious?” has spent 20 years putting this virtue under the microscope. He says that excessive anxiety impedes human lust for the new, and the natural counterbalance to this is curiosity. 

Positive psychology supports this claim. The VIA-IS Institute at UPenn has ranked Curiosity as the fourth most important Character Strength for life satisfaction. For context, this is a ranking out of the 24 virtues that have been defined by modern psychology.

One of the findings of Kashdan’s team was that curiosity is made of five different dimensions. 

Joyous Exploration

It is the first aspect of curiosity. Out of the five dimensions of curiosity, this one has the strongest relationship with willingness to be seen as weird, the intellectual humility to revise your position in light of new information, and general workplace curiosity. 

Stress Tolerance

It is the second aspect of curiosity. Out of the five dimensions of curiosity, this one has the strongest relationship with dedication, mindfulness, and low levels of work burnout.

Overt Social Curiosity

It is the third aspect of curiosity. Out of the five dimensions of curiosity, this one has the strongest relationship with wisdom — specifically, being good at searching for compromise and valuing the good in people

Covert Social Curiosity

It is the fourth aspect of curiosity. Out of the five dimensions of curiosity, this one has the strongest relationship with valuing achievement. It has an inverse relationship with mindfulness.

Deprivation Sensitivity

It is the fifth aspect of curiosity. Out of the five dimensions of curiosity, this one has the strongest relationship with valuing security

2. Practice altruism

For some reason, every conversation about altruism turns into a debate about whether or not it is possible in its purest form. In other words, the conversation always becomes about people’s motivations rather than the total outcome of the situation. If you put aside mankind’s questionable motivations for a second, a different picture emerges. 

Research has found pretty conclusive evidence that volunteering consistently lowers depression and boosts well-being.

According to the former president of the American Psychological Association, Martin Seligman, there are three “lives” you must lead to increase your subjective well-being.

The Pleasant Life: This life is about feeling pleasure. It relates to what you can feel with your senses. This covers good food, appreciating nature, and feeling vital.

The Good Life: This life is about knowing yourself and doing what you are good at. It covers healthy routines at work and with your family, lifelong learning, and feeling competent.

The Meaningful Life: This life is about feeling connected to something greater than yourself. It covers religions, giving to charity, and starting a family. 

One of the quickest and surest ways to feel better when you are in a funk is to help somebody else because altruism connects you with the rest of the world. 

3. Consume less sugar

Eating processed and high-in-sugar foods may not seem to have a large effect on the body and mind, but it actually does. Not only does heavy sugar intake make depression and other mental health issues worse, but it also worsens inflammation.

While sugar does not cause anxiety, it can make it more difficult to manage and deal with. The increase in energy and subsequent crash can result in symptoms of anxiety (shaking, sweating, and rapid heartbeat).

You may not even be aware of how much sugar you’re actually consuming. Many everyday foods like bread, yogurt, sauces, juices, and granola can have large amounts of sugar. 

When you go grocery shopping, we recommend looking at the nutritional labels. This can be very beneficial in having a perspective on how much sugar you consume every meal. It will also help you switch out unhealthy foods for healthier options.

4. Incorporate CBD into your daily routine

Researchers in the 90s discovered a strange new system in the body that helps regulate your homeostasis called the Endocannabinoid system. It is in there whether you consume cannabis or not. This complex network of cells and receptors plays an advisor role in your body’s board of directors. You can call it the Chief Sleepiness Officer. 

Specifically, your endocannabinoid system alerts you when you are sleepy or hungry.

As you might be aware if you are looking for ways to relieve anxiety, sleep and diet get severely affected when you are going through something with a difficult and uncertain outcome. CBD is beneficial because it tackles anxiety from many angles. Not only does the endocannabinoid system “talk” directly with your nervous system (which is responsible for emitting the stress molecule that has you down), it also smooths out your sleep and diet rhythms. 

Check out the gummies, oils, power shots, bath bombs, cosmetics, and more CBD-infused products that we offer at The Hemp Philosophy.

Conclusion on How to Reduce Anxiety

If you are chronically anxious, you can apply psychology and a little modern science to flip your day. We recommend checking out our wide selection of CBD-based products that are tailored to various needs. Explore our site and find the right solution for you!