Anxiety is part of life, we all feel it from time to time. But for many of us, the pandemic has increased our anxiety.
Finding ways to pull ourselves through lockdown has taken a lot of our emotional energy and we might have found ways that helped us cope in an environment that’s been relatively quiet and isolated. As lockdown eases, coming back into shops, traffic and work might be a sensory overload.
Dealing with anxiety isn’t easy, but you can take control of it by finding ways to stay calm.
Get outdoors
It’s easy to get caught up in a screen-to-screen routine, starting the workday in front of a computer screen and ending the day in front of another screen, especially when WFH. Getting outside in nature, whether that’s going for a walk or creating a little herb garden at home, can help relieve feelings of time pressure and stress, and help you stay active
Try aromatherapy
Aromatherapy is the practising of inhaling the scent of essential oils to improve your well-being. One theory about how they work is that by stimulating the receptors in your nose, they can send messages to your central nervous system. Here are a few of our favourites:
- Lavender oil is perfect for a relaxing bath. Combine a couple of drops with a teaspoon of carrier oil and stir into the bathwater.
- Sweet basil oil is great for adding to a room diffuser or inhaling through an inhaler tube.
- Bergamot oil is wonderful for on the go! Just place a couple of drops onto a handkerchief and inhale the aroma two to three times a day.
- Rose oil can be diluted with warm water for a gorgeous foot bath. You can also add it to a non-scented moisturiser or shea butter and massage into your skin – perfect for an end of day pick-me-up!
A quick note, you should only use therapeutic-grade oils that don’t contain synthetic fragrances and the essential oils must be diluted with a carrier oil like almond, coconut or jojoba (all readily available plastic-free!) to reduce the risk of irritation.
Get journaling
Journaling can help because it helps you organise your thoughts better and help you identify what’s causing any anxiety and stress. Then once you’ve identified your stressors you can work on a plan to resolve the problems and in turn, reduce stress and anxiety.
Want some tips on how to get started? Check out our Self Isolation Tips for our ideas.
Practice meditation
Meditation is a great way to destress and clear your mind and can help you navigate the many ways that anxiety can disorder your life. It can help you learn to live with difficult feelings without suppressing or encouraging them, safely getting to know the underlying causes of your stress and worry. When you start to understand the underlying causes of what you’re experiencing, your anxiety can start to soften.
If you’ve not tried it before, now is a perfect time to give it a go! Not sure where to get started? We’ve touched on this before, check out our Self Isolation Tips for more information.
Try out weighted blankets
Weighted blankets help ground your body when you sleep by pushing it downwards. This process, known as ‘earthing’ can have a really calming effect. They also stimulate deep pressure touch, a type of therapy that uses firm, hands-on pressure to release chronic stress and high levels of anxiety.
Picking up our social lives
Friendships play a huge part in protecting our mental health. Our friends can help keep us grounded and help us put things in perspective so if it’s safe for you to do so, having that personal contact might help reduce anxiety.
As we move out of lockdown, for lots of us, it’s possible to start picking up our social lives again – with a few changes for the foreseeable future. Some of us have become comfortable in our own space with our own company in lockdown, so we might really have to push ourselves to reconnect with people. Being clear about each other’s boundaries, whether that’s wearing a mask, social distancing or sitting outside, can help alleviate some awkwardness from the start.
*** Please note, the tips above are recommendations from our team’s own experiences with anxiety. While home remedies can help ease anxiety, they don’t replace professional help. Talk to a doctor about your concerns as increased anxiety may require therapy and/or prescription medication. ***