The stress in your life will not go away, but the way you handle the stress can make a difference. Stress triggers anxiety. General symptoms are fast heart rate, rapid breathing, sweating, and feeling restless. It is a built-in protective mechanism of the human body to flee from danger such as a hungry bear. This process is called the “fight-or-flight” response. Anxieties now revolve around work, finance, family life, health, and other crucial issues that demand a person’s attention. When the body is constantly at the “fight-or-flight” stage, a sense of exhaustion develops mentally and physically, this is the direct or indirect trigger of many diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart diseases, autoimmune disorders….
Before seeking medications and psychotherapy, try these natural remedies first. 1. Exercise. “Runner high” defines a runner’s brain with a high dopamine level, the so-called happy hormone after running. Outdoor exercises are preferred because sun exposure improves vitamin D levels, which helps anxiety. 2. A healthy diet. The Vagus nerve starts from the brain and ends in the colon. A diet high in calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, fibers, and probiotics calms down the vagus nerve. 3. Sleep. During deep sleep, the brain cleans up the waste generated from awake. Sleep deprivation leads to brain inflammation. 4. Meditation. Studies found people who meditated for ten minutes a day and seven days had “brain plasticity”, leading to more compassion and better focus. 5. Laugh. Laughter triggers the relaxing stage, the opposite of “fight-or-flight”. 6. Getting upside down. You can use an inversion table or do a headstand. This activity sends the blood to the heart and slows down the heartbeat. 7. Monotasking. The brain views multitasking as a potential threat. Petting a dog, sipping the tea, and hugging loved ones, all send a sense of safety to the brain, releasing the love hormone oxytocin that lowers blood pressure and heart rate.
