Relieve Anxiety 101

What Is Anxiety?
Definition
Anxiety is a word that gets thrown around a lot. I want to preface this with the fact that actual anxiety is a mental illness and there is a difference between anxiety and stress, the same way there is a difference between sadness and depression. That said, even if you don’t have a diagnosed anxiety disorder, many of us will experience bouts of anxiety that goes well beyond stress and you can still benefit from the following video. I also want to state up front that while I do have anxiety disorders myself, a degree in psychology, and worked at a psychiatric rehab center for five years, I am not a doctor. This is general information and opinions I’ve formed based on personal experience. Moving on… So what is anxiety?
Anxiety is a fear and/or worry that can have no stimulus (meaning it doesn’t need to be triggered be something specific, it can just be), and it grows worse and worse with time. It interferes with your life in a distressful way, such as not being able to participate in social activities or being able to leave the house out of fear or worry even if you can identify the worry as “irrational”.
Side Effects
Anxiety can cause physical discomfort such as sweating, shakiness, a pounding heart, dizziness, feeling flushed or faint, muscle or chest pain, acid reflux, headaches, and generally feeling like you’re spinning out of control. This is a result of your body’s sympathetic nervous system going into high alert because you’re in stress mode. It’s bread into us for survival instincts, but when you have recurring anxiety episodes, these physical symptoms get to be too frequent and severe.
It also affects your sleep (meaning it’s way more difficult to fall asleep because you’re up spiraling and worrying), which ultimately affects the rest of your life because you’re running on empty and anxiety. This can lead to additional physical pain, fatigue, headaches, and weight gain.
Triggers
Getting back to what anxiety does and feels like… you can’t control it. It’s just a general signal from your brain that something isn’t right and it needs to go into protection mode without your control. Telling yourself or someone else with anxiety to “calm down” or to “not have a panic attack” is either going to do nothing or make the situation worse. In fact, accepting that you are having anxiety in the moment is one of the best things you can do to get through the episode. Acknowledging that your anxiety is there and a part of you is one of the grandest and advanced acts of self-care you can do, but we’ll get to that later.
Remember when I said the anxiety doesn’t always need a stimulus? That part can really suck and can make you feel crazy. It’s one thing to be like, “I have this irrational fear of clowns, and I saw a clown, so now I’m having a panic attack”, but it’s a totally other thing to have a panic attack out of nowhere. And sometimes it takes a long time to figure out that we were actually triggered by something, and we just didn’t recognize the trigger. We might never figure out the trigger because it’s so deeply rooted in our subconscious. This is where therapy can be helpful in uncovering past traumas that have contributed to our current anxieties. But it can be a painful process, and there are a lot of differing opinions on whether it’s helpful or more harmful to open up Pandora’s box.
Types Of Anxiety Disorders
40 million people in the United States suffer from some anxiety-related disorder, and women are four times more likely to suffer from phobias. To be clear, the specific anxiety disorders are
- Generalized anxiety disorder (in the US specifically, women are 2x as likely)
- Panic disorder
- Phobia-related disorders (specific, social, agoraphobia, selective mutism)
Prior to the DSM IV, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and PTSD were listed in the anxiety section, but they are currently listed in their own sections. It can definitely be argued that there is a large amount of anxiety wrapped up in both of these disorders, though, and I personally believe that anyone with OCD and/or PTSD can benefit from anxiety-related treatment, specifically speaking as someone who has OCD and has undergone Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to treat it.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder - persistent and excessive worry about multiple things that is difficult to control; also experience at least 3 of these (restlessness, easily fatigued, difficulty concentrating/mind going blank, irritability, muscle tension, and/or sleep disturbance)
Panic Disorder - recurring unexpected panic attacks, at least one of these (persistent worry about having another attack, worries about the implications/consequences of an attack, significant change in behavior because of the attack)
Panic Attacks - require four or more of the following symptoms (accelerated heart rate, trembling/shaking, chest pain/discomfort, feeling like you're choking, feeling dizzy/light headed/faint, feeling like you're losing control, fear of dying, numbness or tingling, chills or hot flashes, sweating, shortness of breath, nausea, feelings of being detached from yourself/unreality)
Specific Phobia - intense, extreme, irrational fear when exposed to an object or situation, results in avoidance of that stimulus
Social Anxiety Disorder - persistent fear of social or performance situation where the person is exposed to possible scrutiny of others and/or unfamiliar people, may cause panic attacks, the person recognizes the fear is excessive/unreasonable, the social situations they fear are avoided
Agoraphobia - disproportionate fear of public places, open spaces, public transit (worried the space is too crowded/dangerous), immediate response to the feared stimulus (like a panic attack), the person recognizes the fear is disproportionate, avoids these behaviors which interrupts normal lifestyle
Selective Mutism - inability/consistent failure to speak in specific social situations where there is a natural expectation of speaking; not the result of a trauma
What Causes Anxiety?
Physiology
Genetics, for sure. And that leads to things like a physical chemical imbalance in your brain. That means that there are neurotransmitters that are firing off in your brain, but you just have lower levels of them. Two of them that are common in affecting anxiety are serotonin and norepinephrine. Remember when I said SSRIs are effective medications for treating anxiety? That stands for Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor. They basically block the reabsorption of serotonin at the end of the process, so there’s more leftover floating around in your brain for you to use.
Symptoms + Effects
Beyond the foundation of having a chemical imbalance that causes you to be prone to experience anxiety, there are plenty of things that can be triggers for us as well as behaviors we engage in that create ample opportunities for anxiety-producing situations.
Those kind of behaviors/situations include:
- Stress at work or school, deadlines
- Problems in a relationship/marriage, or process of divorce/break-up
- Financial worries, debt, deadlines, unexpected expenses
- Death
- Children
- Chronic illness or diagnosis of any medical condition
- When a loved one is sick, and/or when we have to be their caretaker
- Trigger from a past emotional/sexual/physical trauma
- Societal/political problems
- Chores, errands
- Drug use
- Side effects of other medications (including ones intended to reduce symptoms of anxiety)
- Overanalyzing situations
- Constant cell-phone/e-mail checking
- Body image issues
- Lack of a support network
How Do We Treat Anxiety?
Therapy
The bulk of this e-course is going over self-care techniques you can do on your own that have been proven to help relieve anxiety. Please note that these are additional coping skills to add to your tool kit, and never intended to fully replace the two main types of treatments for acute or chronic anxiety, which are therapy and medication. I am not a licensed therapist or doctor, and am not able to help you with those specific things, but if you're experiencing anxiety in a consistent way it is highly recommended that you seek the help of a professional or a team of professionals that can best help you with your mental health.
Therapy is an amazing tool, and there are lots of different approaches to therapy.
Talk Therapy is usually done with a psychologist or licensed social worker, and they can work on prompting you to work through your anxieties, fears, and even your past traumas. It's also a great space to free associate (just talk/ramble) and see what comes up!
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an amazing tool that is highly effective in treating anxiety disorders, specifically. An easy explanation of CBT is exposure therapy to your anxiety(s). So if you're anxious about spiders then you would work on talking about a spider, then you would build up to seeing a picture of a spider, being in the same room as a spider, holding a spider, and getting a spider as a pet. You totally immerse yourself in your anxiety, thus giving it less power. Essentially, the longer you sit with an anxiety, the more comfortable you get with the feeling and over time you become less anxious when approached with that same stimulus.
I personally did six months of intensive CBT for my OCD many years ago, and if I'm ever asked if there was one event that turned my life around, I go with that because it absolutely changed my life. It freed up mental space I didn't even know I had!
Don't be fooled, though. As magical as the results are, this type of therapy is not for the faint of heart! Those six months were also the hardest of my life. I was constantly doing homework assignments that made me more anxious (with the end goal of getting less anxious). I was crying, shaking, sweating, and having panic attacks all over the place. It's real (hard) work that taps into the irrational part of your brain that just has been screaming louder than the rational part for all this time.
That said, I 100% recommend it if you are feeling like you are ready to make a change.
Whenever you are getting ready to start therapy, you absolutely need to make sure that the therapist is a good fit for you! The same way a good or bad teacher can make or break a class in school, a therapist can make or break your therapy experience. I recommend using websites like Psychology Today, which have a "Find A Therapist" option. You can select all your requirements (what insurance they take, gender, location, their specialties, etc., and it narrows down your selection.
Never feel badly about terminating a relationship with a therapist because it's not a good fit. It would be like apologizing to a tattoo artist who stenciled on the wrong outline on your skin! This is your life, you are in control, and you need to be 100% happy, comfortable, and (feel) safe with who you are working with to talk about your most intimate mental health issues.
Medication
In addition to therapy, medication is a helpful tool that assists in relieving the symptoms of anxiety. Over longer periods of chronic anxiety, anti-depressants like Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil can actually be very effective in treating anxiety. I remember being very confused when I was prescribed Prozac for my OCD, but general SSRIs are what can be referred to as an “umbrella drug” that can treat many different things. There are also benzodiazepines like Xanax, Ativan, and Clonopin that treat more intense bouts of anxiety and can be used as a PRN (as needed), but unfortunately can be habit forming and sometimes they lose their “zing”, if you will, over time. Meds also have a ton of side effects ranging from things as “mild” as dizziness and dry mouth to rashes, vomiting, and suicidal ideation. You should always work closely with a doctor when taking medication, especially when you’re changing a medication and/or experiencing a change in your symptoms.
What Happens When We Don't Treat Anxiety
There are also a number of medical conditions that can make anxiety pop up out of nowhere, like heart disease, anemia, an overactive thyroid, or specific nutritional deficiencies like not getting enough zinc.
On the other side of the coin, anxiety can also lead to medical conditions like cancer, heart attack, and strokes.
Self-Care
So what do we do about it besides therapy and medication?
There are so many different things we can do to treat anxiety, and next week I’m going to come back with a bunch of tactics for you to tackle your anxiety head on.
I want to stress that self-care is the first step. Taking time for yourself, even five minutes at a time at first makes a huge difference. We are all so busy, and everything on that list of grievances that causes anxiety eats up our schedule. It is absolutely imperative that we schedule time for self-care, and that can manifest in an innumerable amount of ways.
The benefits of self-care are amazing! You’ll enjoy your day, including your work shift, more. And it will “go by” faster when you’re taking little breaks for yourself. You’ll feel healthier and ease physical pains, and you’ll feel more beautiful. It will begin to strengthen your relationships, romantic, platonic, and with yourself. You’ll sleep better. You’ll decrease your risk for medical issues. You’ll build up reserves of goodness to better deal with adversity the next time it comes around.
This e-course is going to go into lessons that deep-dive into 18 different types of self-care tools you can use for relieving your anxiety.
Strategies
In this section, we are going to focus on more physical aspects of self-care that can help relieve your anxiety.
Specifically, we'll be going over:
- Exercise
- Nutrition
- Laughter
- Physical Connection
- Sleep Hygiene
- Vitamins
- Walking
- Yoga
Ready?!
Exercise
Exercise 101
I’m the first one to admit that exercise isn’t my favorite thing. I also have a sorted past with exercise with a history of body dysmorphia and disordered eating that led to excessive exercising in ways I definitely didn’t enjoy. But that’s not what I’m here to talk about today. Exercise doesn’t require running or a gym membership. That said, if that’s your preferred method of exercise, I’m not ragging on it! However you want to get your heart pumping is great, but for those of you who are thinking I’m suggesting you need to start a new life at the gym, lifting weights, etc. I’m definitely not.
Exercise, whether or not we want to admit it, has so many benefits it’s almost aggressive. I remember the last time I was in New York I had walked almost a hundred and fifty city blocks in just the day I was there, and on the bus ride home my feet were sore, I smelled terrible, and I looked like a hot mess, but I had zero anxiety, I was energized, and I definitely just felt happy. I was expecting to feel exhausted, but endorphins are real, babe. Let them work to your advantage.
Benefits Of Exercise
Exercise doesn’t need to be done with the intent of losing weight, either, let me say that. Exercise might have a side effect of losing weight or creating muscle, but the reason you’re exercising in this case is to relieve anxiety, right? So what are the specific benefits of exercising to relieve anxiety?
- It releases endorphins, which are natural pain killers
- Improves your ability to sleep
- Decreases physical tension/tightness
- Elevates and levels out your mood
- Improves self-esteem
- Ease co-occurring conditions like IBS or depression
Physically active people are 25% less likely to be anxious/stressed than their sedentary counterparts. And while medication is still something that should be considered separately, exercise can alleviate symptoms of anxiety for multiple hours at a time, the same way a PRN (as needed) medication could. Let’s not forget that exercise also generally improves your health, which is going to prevent the possibility of future anxiety caused be developing a medical condition caused by poor health!
Your exercise routine doesn’t need to be intensive in terms of length, either. Research suggests that a ten minute walk can be just as helpful as an intensive 45-minute cardio workout at the gym in terms of relieving anxiety.
You don’t have to exercise every day. That would be great, and the more you exercise, the more you’ll see benefits, but a good place to start is three times a week
Motivation For Exercising
Getting motivation to exercise can be difficult.
Some tips for getting motivated:
- Get an exercise buddy who wants to work out with you or go to classes with you, they’ll make it more fun and simultaneously hold you accountable (you’re way more likely to go if you have someone else involved in the plans)
- Buy yourself a new workout outfit, shoes, water bottle, etc.
- Make yourself an awesome pump-up exercise playlist to listen to
- Sign-up for a class or join a group (again, accountability, but also variety and new skills to be learned)
- Don’t overdo it; start small and know 10 minutes at a time at first is completely okay and actually amazing (way better than none at all!)
- Try doing it earlier in the day, so you’re less likely to put it off (maybe incorporate it into your Magical Morning Ritual)
- Create a reward system (if you work out 5 times in a row, you get to treat yourself to a smoothie or something else, etc.; consider making a habit tracker to keep track of how you’re exercising)
- Vary your type of exercise so you don’t get bored
- Put your workout outfit out the night before so it’s waiting for you when you wake up
25 Ways To Exercise
1. Hula hoop
2. Walk your dog
3. Dance around (or use a dancing game on your Wii)
4. Jump on a trampoline
5. Swim
6. Jump rope (extra points for double dutch)
7. Juggle
8. Bike riding (look for themed bike parties in your city or annual naked bike ride events)
9. Climb a rock wall
10. Play laser tag
11. Roller skate (or blade) at a rink (disco lights!)
12. Go bowling
13. Take a hike with friends through nature
14. Go Geocaching
15. Swim in a foam pit
16. Do some gymnastics
17. Play freeze tag on a playground
18. Try LARPING (live action role play)
19. Have sex
20. Play on a group rec team like kickball or frisbee
21. Twirl/wrestle/play with your pet
22. Do Parkour
23. Play capture the flag
24. Play paintball
25. Garden
Nutrition
Nutrition 101
We all know that I’m incredibly body positive and anti-diet, so my intent with this lesson of the course is in no way to tell you to go on a fad diet, or really any kind of diet. Everything in this course is designed to specifically relieve your anxiety, so I’m focusing on creating consciousness about what you’re putting into your body and whether it could potentially add to your anxiety or help to decrease it. There are certain foods, drinks, and other substances that can do both, so it’s up to you to add more or decrease them as you see fit and as coincides with your health (and as recommended by your doctor) to best serve you and your needs.
Hydration
So first off, let’s talk about the most basic and easy thing: water.
Dehydration straight up increases anxiety. So making sure you’re hydrated is key. Drink water! Drink it up, drink it every day. There are a lot of different schools of thought on how much water you should be drinking a day. The baseline seems to be eight glasses a day, but honestly I’ve found the best results when I drink half my body weight in ounces. (Divide your body weight by 2 and that’s how many ounces you should drink daily.)
I strongly recommend getting yourself a re-usable water bottle. Not only is it good for the environment and you can take it everywhere, but most of them have ounces and milliliters marked off on the side, so you can figure out how much you need to drink (okay, I need to drink 80 ounces a day and my water bottle holds 30 ounces at a time, that means I need to basically fill this up three times a day).
Foods That Decrease Anxiety
These foods release serotonin and dopamine!
- Spinach
- Swiss chard
- Legumes
- Nuts (specifically cashews and almonds)
- Chia seeds
- Seeds
- Whole grains
- Egg yolks
- Liver
- Beef
- Oysters
- Salmon (specifically Alaskan)
- Sauerkraut
- Pickles
- Kefir
- Asparagus
- Almonds
- Avocados
- Dark chocolate
- Yogurt
- Green tea
- Blueberries
Supplements/Herbs That Decrease Anxiety
Supplements/Herbs that help decrease anxiety:
- Magnesium
- Zinc
- B vitamins
- Omega-3 Fatty Acid
- Probiotics
- Folate
- Chamomile
- Lavender
- Turmeric
Foods That Actually Increase Anxiety
Things that can actually increase anxiety:
- Caffeine (soda, energy drinks, coffee)
- Sugary snacks and sneaky sugars (watch out for condiments like ketchup, non whole-grain pastas, white bread, fruit juice cocktail, doughnuts)
- Things with Histamine (steak, cheese, wine)
- Alcohol
- Illicit drugs
Miscellaneous Nutrition Tips
Other tips:
- Opt for whole grains instead of white bread
- Include protein at breakfast to balance out glucose
- Complex carbohydrates release serotonin
- Reducing intake of gluten, trans fats, and artificial sweeteners can also have anxiety decreasing benefits
- Make sure you pay attention to your own personal food sensitivities
Recipes For Anti-Anxiety Meals
Laughter
Laughter 101
Laughter might seem like something that only happens when it happens, but there are actually a lot of ways to create laughter in your life in an intentional, purposeful way to get the benefits of it. And laughter has amazing benefits for helping to alleviate your anxiety!
Benefits Of Laughter
Benefits of laughter:
- Stimulates your internal organs (like heart, lungs, and muscles)
- Enhances your oxygen intake
- Stimulates circulation
- Relaxes muscles
- Releases endorphins (natural pain killers)
- Temporarily increases your heart rate and blood pressure, creating a cool, relaxed feeling
- Releases neuropeptides that fight off illnesses on a more long-term basis
- Lessens your anger
Let’s not forget that there’s a huge psychological connection with laughter. You can’t help but bond with people over laughter! You know how you can watch a stand-up special for the first time and you kind of just smile quietly to yourself at jokes you find funny, but then you watch that same special for a second time with a person and you laugh out loud at jokes you’ve already heard? That’s laughter psychology, baby!
Laughter improves our sense of humor, our mood, and personal levels of satisfaction. It even burns calories and works your abs. Oh yeah, and it’s been proven that people who laugh more live longer!
Children laugh about 300 times a day, while adults tend to laugh only around 17 times a day. What a crazy difference that is! What if we just doubled or tripled our amount of laughs a day? We’d still be nowhere what kids are up to, but imagine the benefits!!
20 Ways To Laugh More
20 Ways To Get More Laughter In Your Life:
1. Watch some stand-up comedy
2. Browse the humor section of the bookstore/library
3. Surround yourself with funny people
4. Go see comedians live
5. Hang out with children
6. Watch comedy TV shows or movies
7. Get a pet
8. Try laughter yoga
9. Have a staring/make silly faces contest with a friend
10. Keep a book of quotes of funny things people say
11. Follow hilarious accounts on Twitter
12. Keep a stockpile of memes that make you laugh
13. Read comics
14. Try using voice to text and see what your phone comes up with
15. Ask Siri if you’re awesome
16. Listen to funny podcasts
17. Watch Japanese game shows
18. Follow hilarious personalities on YouTube
19. People watch
20. Do something ridiculous in public
Laughter Yoga
Laughter Yoga is a really great tool to use to practice bringing more laughter into your life. The idea is to schedule time and intentionally create space for you to smile and laugh with purpose.
This can be done on your own, but I’ve found you’re more likely to giggle your butt off if you’re sitting directly across from a partner. The eye contact makes everything much sillier, and you’ll laugh way easier. There are plenty of classes you can take, but you don’t have to pay a cent for this and can do it at home for free!
Laughter Yoga Exercises
1. You can start by just smiling (let me see those teeth!) and holding it for 60 seconds
2. Release some “ha” “ha” “ha”s
3. Do variations of #2 coming from different areas of your body (from your mouth, your throat, your chest, your deep belly)
4. Do more variations of #2 but with “ho ho ho”, “hee hee hee”, “har har har”
5. Set a timer and try to laugh for an entire 30 seconds straight
6. Laugh to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony “ha ha ha haaaaaaaaaaa, ha ha ha haaaaaa”
7. Cheer out loud with your arms raise in the air, imagining you just won a competition
8. Body scan laughter - think about each section of your body and laugh into the crown of your head, your throat, your chest, your shoulders, etc. all the way down
9. Put your hand on your throat and laugh, noticing the vibrations you’re creating
10. Try to laugh out of only one side of your mouth, then switch sides
11. Laugh but in a whisper
12. Laugh in slow motion
13. Do your best evil super villain laugh (bonus points for a pinky to your mouth)
14. Laugh while jumping up and down in excitement
15. Laugh with your mouth closed, only through your nose
16. Laugh while humming at the same time
17. Do your best fake laugh
18. Laugh while dancing/frolicking around the room
19. Laugh the way you imagine a robot would
20. Hug your partner close, and laugh while your chests touch
Funny Resources
Some Of My Favorite Stand-Up Comedians To Check Out
- Pete Holmes
- Russell Howard
- John Mulaney
- Amy Schumer
- Tom Segura
- Iliza Shlesinger
- Russell Brand
- Chelsea Peretti
- Jim Gaffigan
- Jim Jefferies
- Chris Porter
- Hannibal Porter
- Patton Oswalt
- Neal Brennan
- George Carlin
- Sarah Silverman
- Dave Chapelle
- Kathleen Madigan
- Bo Burnham
- Tim Minchin
Some Of My Favorite TV Comedies To Check Out
- Arrested Development
- It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia
- Broad City
- New Girl
- 30 Rock
- Parks And Recreation
- The Office
- You’re The Worst
- Difficult People
- Don’t Trust The B In Apartment 23
- Archer
- Party Down
- Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
- Bob’s Burgers
- Grace And Frankie
- Black Books
- The Mick
- Brooklyn Nine-Nine
- The Mindy Project
- Human Giant
- Mr. Show
- Black Books
- The IT Crowd
- John Benjamin Has A Van
- Children’s Hospital
- Upright Citizens Brigade
- Stella
- The State
- Reno 911!
- Curb Your Enthusiasm
Some Of My Favorite Movie Comedies To Check Out
- Anchorman
- Step Brothers
- Wet Hot American Summer
- Mean Girls
- The Brothers Solomon
- The Birdcage
- Out Cold
- Zoolander
- Hot Rod
- Role Models
- I Love You Man
- Forgetting Sarah Marshall
- Get Him To The Greek
- 40-Year-Old Virgin
- Super Troopers
- Slackers
- Pee Wee’s Big Adventure
- Elf
- Clerks
- Dodgeball
Sleep Hygiene
Physical Connection 101
Physical connection, specifically physical touch, is something that can release anxiety but is also a great proactive step for preparing yourself for future anxiety-producing situations. By this I mean, it’s a great way to build up those happiness/relaxation reserves so when adversity strikes, you’re more at ease and prepared to handle things.
Benefits Of Physical Touch
There are many ways to engage in physical touch, all the way up to sex, and the good news is almost all forms of physical touch release what we call the “love hormone”, or Oxytocin (another neurotransmitter, like serotonin). Oxytocin has a wide variety of physical and psychological effects, and while they can vary for both men and women, we have a pretty good idea of the benefits, which include:
- Reducing anxiety
- Fostering connections with other people (who can become your support system in a crisis)
- Boosting sexual arousal (and sex has all its own benefits, which we’ll get into shortly)
- Reducing cravings for addictions to illicit substances
- Improving social skills (bonus for people dealing with social anxiety)
- Inducing sleep
Ways To Engage In Physical Touch
What are ways you can engage in physical touch?
1. Hugs
2. Holding hands
3. Hand/foot/shoulder rubs
4. Cuddling
5. Sitting on a lap
6. Stroking hair
7. Play footsie
8. High five
9. Tickling
10. Wrestling
11. Physical sports
12. Wash their hair
13. Pat their head or back
14. Stroke their arm
15. Arm around shoulder or waist
16. Forehead to forehead
17. Hands on face
18. Kissing
19. Lap dance
20. Sex
All of these are ways to touch someone else and/or have them touch you, which is an important way to get that love hormone flowing and relieve anxiety.
Sex
Let’s take a moment to specifically talk about sex.
Sex has a bunch of health benefits which can reduce your risk of future medical problems that might cause anxiety, including heart attack, prostate cancer, high blood pressure, incontinence, etc. It also generally improves your immune system and eases aches and pains.
It’s exercise which releases endorphins. It improves your sleep, can enhance your relationships, boost your self-esteem, and obviously decreases your anxiety or we wouldn’t be talking about it!
And that’s just sex in general. What about orgasms? The part of the brain associated with fear and anxiety, the amygdala, is barely activated at all mid-orgasm. Isn’t that crazy? So when you’re climaxing, your body is so relaxed it can’t even fathom being anxious. That’s something to seriously consider!
Sex is obviously a personal topic, and not everyone is a sexual person and not everyone is currently in a situation where they are comfortable/able to have sex on a regular basis. That’s okay. Remember that masturbating still leads to orgasms and orgasms still release Oxytocin, so even though you’re not necessarily getting physical touch through sex, you’re still getting the benefits of the love hormone, and there are a ton of other ways you can engage in physical touch with other humans in non-sexual ways!
Physical Connection
Sleep Hygiene 101
In a lot of the other lessons, benefits of the self-care tools have been “improving sleep”, which is, in turn, a way to relieve anxiety. Well, let’s talk about improving sleep specifically!
First of all, we know that having anxiety can drastically affect our ability to get good sleep. But conversely, getting good sleep can really decrease our anxiety. So if we’re proactive about our sleep hygiene (yes, that’s a thing!), then we’ll work on alleviating our anxiety.
Sleep Disorders
If you are dealing with a sleep disorder like insomnia, sleep apnea, or sleepwalking, you should definitely consult a doctor and get a sleep study done. These types of disorders are often best treated separately from anxiety with medication and sleep aids such as CPAP machines, etc. It can be stressful to address these types of issues, but ultimately getting a one-time sleep study that will lead you to better, actually restful sleep is way more beneficial to you in the long-run than avoiding the problem altogether and hoping it will go away. Plus, by doing so, you’re running the risk of not getting restful sleep and being way more tired during the day than you realize you are because that becomes your new baseline for being awake!
25 Ways To Create Good Sleep Hygiene
That aside, let’s talk about ways to cultivate good sleep hygiene. This is doing everything you can to prepare yourself for getting the best sleep possible, and some of these things are done early on in the day, some you proactively do every six months, some are things you invest in, some you do right before bed.
25 ways to create good sleep hygiene:
1. Set up a Last Call For Caffeine during your day so there’s no lingering stimulants when you’re trying to fall asleep
2. Keep a sleep diary of when you’re sleeping, how much you’re getting, how rested you feel, etc.
3. Make sure that you set the temperature not too hot (comfortable enough for you to use blankets that work for you!)
4. Invest in an essential oil air diffuser and put in scents like lavender and chammomile that will help you to relax
5. Make sure your sheets are clean, soft, attractive, and not distracting (there’s a reason we sleep so well in hotel beds — they’re all white sheets!)
6. Put a fan on (ceiling or otherwise), oscillating if you can, so it moves air around and it doubles as a white noise machine
7. Get yourself the perfect pillow(s) and make sure to change it out as often as every six months (they actually accumulate some really gross stuff)
8. Figure out how much sleep you need and make sure you’re actually heading to bed with enough time to do your nightly routine, actually fall asleep, and then get your eight (or however many) hours (set an alarm on your phone that reminds you it’s time to start your nightly routine)
9. Also set an alarm that means it’s time to turn screens off (looking at screens tricks your brain into thinking it’s daytime all over again, and we need to focus on getting relaxed and keeping that natural circadian rhythm); ideally you need at least an hour sans screens before bed (but don’t worry, there’s plenty of stuff for you to include in your nightly routine that will fill up that hour!)
10. Taking is a step further, put a sheet over the TV in your bedroom (if you have one) and after you set your alarms for the morning, put your phone face down
11. Try to stop eating a few hours before you go to bed, at least large meals (I know if I eat something heavy I can definitely get sleepy, but then I can wake up with heartburn!); it’s best to stick to small snacks and water at night
12. Also try to avoid alcohol before bed (it might make you sleepy, but it messes with your REM cycles)
13. Dedicate your bedroom to sleep and sexy times and nothing else — that includes decorations, crystals, music, everything (work, exercise, etc. should be done in another space if possible)
14. Naps are wonderful, but if you know yourself and taking a giant nap in the middle of the day is going to keep you up, try to limit your naps or at least the length of them during the day
15. Go to the bathroom before you go to sleep so you aren’t woken up more than necessary to have to pee
16. Use black out curtains to get it extra dark in there and/or wear an eye mask
17. Use nasal spray decongestant or stick-on breathing strips to aid in nasal breathing while you sleep (if you still snore, you might need a sleep study)
18. Wear ear plugs if you’re sleeping with a snoring partner or look into aids that will help them not snore and fix the problem
19. Walk your dog late so they don’t disrupt you in the middle of the night
20. Re-consider letting your kids (and/or pets) sleep with you because it can be way more disruptive than you realize
21. Prep for the next day (plan your goals, your outfits, pack your lunch, etc.) so there’s less mental to do lists to run over in your mind as you try to settle down
22. Use a weighted blanket that triggers neurotransmitters that makes you feel like you’re getting hugged (this can help with anxiety)
23. Put your phone on “Night Shift” or “Night Mode” depending on if you’re iPhone or Android so in case you have to use your phone you’re minimizing the amount of blue light coming in
24. Exercise during the day to literally tire yourself out more
25. Get out in the sun during the day (it’s promoting your natural circadian rhythm); so sun during the day, lack of screens at night
25 Ways To Create A Nightly Routine
It’s also extremely beneficial to create a nightly routine. There’s a lot of talk about Magical Morning Routines, but it seems like Nightly Routines are getting skipped over, and there’s a lot of good that can come from those. It ends your day on the right now, winds you down in a relaxing way, and propels you into the next day! It’s really just another, more advanced aspect of sleep hygiene.
25 things you can consider adding to your nightly routine:
1. Take a warm bath or shower before you’re ready to begin your nightly routine (also a cool scalp promotes sleep)
2. Try ASMR videos that tap into sensory meridians in your body that can make you super sleepy
3. Journal (free associate or use a writing prompt)
4. Have an orgasm (releasing serotonin and norepinephrine which will help you get into deeper stages of your REM cycle)
5. Try a meditation specifically geared towards going to sleep
6. Read a chapter or just for fifteen minutes from your current book
7. Do some light stretching or easy yoga poses
8. Take your make-up off, wash your face, put on night cream
9. Rub lotion on your feet, legs, elbows, hands, etc.
10. Cuddle with your pet or partner
11. Take a milligram of Melatonin if you need help falling asleep
12. Have a cup of sleepy time tea
13. Listen to relaxing music, ideally instrumental
14. Do a body scan where you focus on relaxing every part of your body one at a time
15. Focus on your breath and count it in and out, your brain will eventually become bored
16. Have someone tuck you in
17. Write down what you’re grateful for that day in your Happy Journal
18. Eat some snacks that actually promote sleep: milk, nuts, chickpeas, cherries
19. Set out crystals by your night stand or under your pillow that will help you sleep like Amethyst, Clear Quartz, Labrodorite, Rose Quartz, Ammonite
20. Put on comfy pajamas
21. Brush your teeth and floss
22. Put on some extra moisturizing lip balm
23. Snuggle up with a cute, cozy stuffed animal
24. Stick your feet out from the bottom of your blanket
25. Spray your sheets with a linen spray
Vitamins
Vitamins 101
Medication is obviously a great tool for treating anxiety, but some people are interested in supplementing their treatment with vitamins, supplements, herbs, and apothecary. I wanted to make sure you had some information on this topic, too!
Vitamins For Relieving Anxiety
5-HTP - boosts serotonin
Ashwagandha - mood booster; balances body’s reaction to stress; aids in restful sleep
B12/B Complex - lifts/stabilizes mood
Bacopa - reduces cortisol
Chamomile - relaxing feelings
Fish Oil (Omega-3 Fatty Acid) - good cognitive functions
GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) - reduces brain activity, promoting calmness
Kava Kava - calming tonic
Lactium - good for anxiety-related sleep issues (warm milk)
Lavender - sedative effects
Lemon balm - sedative effects
Licorice Root - slows production of adrenaline and cortisol
Magnesium - relaxes muscles, stabilizes mood
Passionflower - general relaxation; also helps with insomnia
Probiotics - healthy response to chronic stress
Rhodiola - positive mental energy and focus
St. John’s Wort - promotes optimism and contentment
Theanine - reduces automatic stress responses (green tea)
Valerian Root - regulates brain neurons related to anxiety
Vitamin E - increases antioxidants
Walking
Walking 101
So we already talked about the benefits of exercise as a whole, and walking is obviously a form of exercise, but I wanted to specifically single out walking because it’s so simple and it can be done in so many ways with so many forms of intent.
Remember when I said that a ten minute walk could actually have more benefits than a rigorous 45 minute cardio workout? I wasn’t just saying that! There’s actually research that supports the theory that walking may decrease anxiety more than rigorous exercise! For one thing, there’s a lack of fatigue that can sometimes follow intense
Wandering
There’s also a lot of different types of ways you can approach walking. Wandering is a really interesting concept. Some of the most insightful people throughout history have been wanderers and have documented that they have made time for walking every single day, or at least as often as possible.
Wandering is defined as “aimless walking or exploring that’s unplanned with openness to the unknown”.
There’s actually an underground movement collective that started around 2011 called The Wander Society, inspired by the romantic time period in the 1800’s. The idea is to not only gather and gain inspiration, but to become more aware of your environment. The “Shower Principle” really comes into play here, where when you’re focused on something else, the answer to a problem might come to you. And I think this can really be applied to us when we’re feeling anxious because we consciously shift our focus.
I also have a video that outlines more about wandering, adventuring, exploring, and living out loud. All ways you can utilize walking to your benefit, depending on your personality and interest level.
Benefits Of Walking
And there’s science to back it up! When we’re walking, the amygdala (the part of our brain that deals with fear and anxiety) basically shuts down. So we’re able to just focus on the task of walking and be relaxed.
There are definitely benefits to walking in certain types of places, too. Walking in nature can be extra relaxing, and guess what? Being in nature can insight our sense of “awe” which produces Oxytocin, that love hormone we get from physical touch! So cool!
Things To Try While Walking
Things to try while walking:
- Meditating
- Listening to music
- Going barefoot in a safe space for grounding (connecting your feet to the earth)
- Creating a scavenger hunt and try to spot things along your walk
- Practicing mindfulness and notice each of your five senses as you walk (what do you see, smell, taste, feel, hear?)
- Walking twice as slow as your normal pace would be
- Taking a friend
- Getting a detailed map of your city and mark off every street you walk down
Yoga
Yoga 101
Yoga is something that’s becoming more and more mainstream and for good reason! People are realizing the amazing benefits that come along with it. And guess what? You don’t have to be new-age-y or “woo” to do it, either. You don’t even have to go to a class or do it with other people. You can do it from the privacy of your own home. That’s one of the great benefits of it becoming more popular -- way more resources for you to utilize!
As with anything physical, you should be aware of your body’s limitations and consult with your doctor. But one of the great things about yoga is there are so many variations and levels that it’s available to almost anyone. And simple breathing and hand motions can count as yoga. It’s pretty great. (PS - I definitely went back and forth of whether to put this on the “physical” or “holistic” list, because it truly is both.)
Benefits Of Yoga
Research suggests that yoga increases GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) (remember that was listed on the vitamin list?), which is something that is found in benzodiazepine medications (like Xanax).
How does yoga help with anxiety?
- Decreases physiological arousal
- Increases heart rate variability/helps body respond to stress more flexibily
- Higher pain tolerance
- Decreases tension and physical pain
- Regulates breathing
- Increases bodily awareness
- Helps you cope with worries/interrupts worry cycles
- Allows you to stay mindful/in the present moment
- Promotes self-acceptance
Yoga Activities To Relieve Anxiety
Basic yoga activities you can do to alleviate anxiety:
1. Legs Up The Wall - Slide your butt up against the wall and put your legs up on the wall and just hang out for like ten minutes or as long as you can. Put your arms at your side, have your palms facing up. Have a small pillow to support your head. If you need a small blanket rolled up to bolster up your hips to make yourself the most comfortable, that’s fine, too. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing.
2. Standing Forward Bend - Stand with your feet hip distance apart and while keeping your spine straight bend at your hips with your head towards the ground. Wrap your arms so you're grabbing your elbows, don’t totally lock your knees. Hang there in a comfortable way. Close your eyes, take deep breaths and feel tension release from your back, shoulders, and the back of your legs.
3. Corpse Pose - Lie down with your arms by your side, palms up, legs slightly separated and relaxed, feet gently pointed out/away from your body. Close your eyes, relax your face, empty your thoughts, do deep breathing.
4. Alternate Nostril Breathing - Close your left nostril with your finger and breathe in through your right nostril. Close your right nostril with your finger and breathe out through your left nostril. Keep your right nostril closed and breathe in through your left nostril. Close your left nostril with your finger and breathe out through your right nostril. Repeat at least three times.
5. Sitali Pranayama - Roll your tongue and stick it out of your mouth so it looks like a straw and breathe in through your mouth. The air will feel cool. Bring your tongue back in your mouth and close your lips. Exhale through your nose. Repeat at least 8 times.
6. (4-7-8) - Completely exhale all your air and make a loud “whoosh sound” as you do. Breathe in through your nose to the count of 1-2-3-4. Hold your breath for the count of 1-2-3-4-5-6-7. Slowly exhale out of your mouth to the count of 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8. Repeat this process at least 8 times.
Holistic Self-Care
Strategies
Woohoo! You made it through the physical section of self-care, go you! Next up, we're going to be focusing on more holistic aspects of self-care.
Specifically, we'll be covering:
- Meditation
- Journaling
- Emotional Freedom Technique
- Baths
- Crystals
- Disconnecting
- Aromatherapy
- Gardening
- Nature
- Mindfulness
Let's get going!
Meditation
Meditation 101
Meditation is becoming recommended more and more frequently as it becomes more popular because people are realizing how powerful of a tool it is. I still see a lot of resistance with using it for a lot of reasons, and a lot of misunderstanding about what exactly it is. So what is it?
Meditation is a specific mindfulness activity, where we focus our minds on a specific concept, feeling, or activity. The idea is to become calm and clear, to observe your thoughts without judgment, and to gain perspective. There are many, many ways to meditate!
Benefits Of Meditation
Benefits of meditation:
- Reduces specific symptoms of anxiety disorders (phobias, panic attacks/panic disorder, social anxiety, etc.)
- Improved self-image
- Improved mental and emotional intelligence
- Increases attention span, focus, and awareness
- Promotes sleep
- Less stress, fear, and loneliness
- Promotes positive thinking and optimism (brain scans prove this!)
- Promotes love and kindness feelings
- Cultivates self-awareness
- Can help curb addictive habits (including drugs, smoking, and emotional eating)
- Increases memory and recall
- Less sensitivity to pain
- Decreased blood pressure
- Improved breathing, asthma, heart rates, and overall immune system
- Lessens inflammation and PMS symptoms
Ways To Meditate
Ways to meditate:
- Guided imagery (listening to a pre-recorded meditation that walks you through a visualization)
- Visualization (like a guided imagery, but you’re in control of the visualization; take yourself to a place you want to go in your mind and explore it)
- Focusing on a single object (breath, mantra, part of the body, symbol, counting beads, staring at the flame of a candle)
- Mindfulness (allowing yourself to think whatever you think, observe your thoughts without judgment, be aware of them, and let them cycle through; monitor all aspects of your experience, including all five senses affected by your environment)
- Body Scan (one by one, go through every part of your body and become aware of how it feels; imagine breathing in healing light into that part of your body, then move on to the next part)
- Deep breathing (there are so many different breathing techniques you can utilize, but just the simple act of deep breathing is considered meditating)
- Walking (choose a serene location, remove shoes if possible; start by just standing there focusing on your breath and “anchoring” for a minute or two, then walk at a slow pace, fold your hands in front of your body, choose whether to focus your eyes on an object in the distance or slightly out and down in front of you, and pay attention to your feet as they come up and off and back down to the ground)
Meditation Tips
Meditation tips:
- Play music (calm, instrumental, repetitive)
- Sit or lie in a comfortable position
- Consider investing in a meditation stool or cushion
- Choose a peaceful environment if possible
- Turn your phone off (autopilot or silent at least)
- Wear comfortable clothes so you’re not focusing on discomfort
- Set a timeline for yourself (2, 5, 10, 30 minutes? You can set a timer, but sometimes that’s jarring; my recommendation is to select music that is the length of time that you want to meditate for so when the music ends you know you’re ready to come back; if you do use a timer, use a gentle noise)
- Two minutes is absolutely amazing for meditating and way better than not doing it at all
- Keep your eyes closed to work on your focus at first
- Be mindful of your foot placement if you’re sitting (keep your feet flat on the floor to stay grounded)
- Be mindful of your hand placement (palms down for grounding energy, palms up for receiving energy)
- Become aware of your breath and how it is naturally at first; as a baseline try to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth unless you are doing a specific type of meditation that calls for another specific type of breathing
- If your mind wanders, always return back to focusing on your breath
- If you can’t concentrate, try counting (just count numbers upwards to five then start again, or try counting your breaths)
- Try meditating the same time every day (great for your Magical Morning Ritual and/or Nightly Routine)
- Try to avoid meditating right after eating
- Check out a meditation class to try doing guided meditations as a group and learning new techniques
- Understand that it’s called a meditation practice because it takes practice! You aren’t going to be amazing at completely clearing your mind or deep breathing immediately, it will get better over time
Be sure to check out the Mindfulness lesson for extra tips on being mindful, as this is a huge part of meditation!
Where To Meditate
Where to meditate:
- Bedroom
- Meditation room
- Parked car
- Park
- On the subway or bus
- Office
- While walking
- In nature
- Garden
- Holy place
- Rooftop, balcony
- Bookstore
- Lobby
- Meditation class
Meditation Mantras
Mantras to try:
- “Om” means “It is” or “To become”
- “Ham-Sah” means “I am that”
- “Sabbe Satta Sukhi Hontu” means “May all beings be well/happy”
- “Sat, Chit, Ananda” means “Existence, Consciousness, Bliss”
- “Aham Prema” means “I am divine love”
- “Be the change you wish to see in the world”
- “Love is the only miracle there is”
- “Every day in every way I’m getting better and better”
- “I change my thoughts, I change my world”
- “I am that I am”
Anxiety Sleep Meditation
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Holistic Self-Care
Journaling 101
Journaling is a way to explore your emotions, including difficult feelings, and process them into more positive and creative solutions. It’s also a creative form of self-expression, all done with just pen and paper!
Benefits Of Journaling
Benefits Of Journaling:
- Promotes Mindfulness
- Improves working memory and cognitive functioning
- Reduces avoidance symptoms
- Boosts your mood/affect
- Enhances creativity, ability to explore your experiences
- Decreases overwhelm, clears your mind
- Increases general sense of well-being
- Lays out your thought processes for you to view, shifts your perspective
- Releases pent-up feelings, negative experiences
- Place for you to track your progress and plan options
- Reduces rumination, promotes action
Types Of Journaling
Types Of Journaling:
- Free-Association
- Dream
- Bullet
- Art
- Gratitude
- Pocket/Ideas
Ways To Kickstart Journaling
Ways To Kickstart Your Journaling:
- Positive affirmations
- Gratitude list
- Describe what happened
- List something (fears, activities you did that day, things you like about yourself)
- Answer pre-written prompts
Journaling Tips
Journaling Tips:
- Buy yourself a new journal and writing utensil
- Journal every day (pick a time to do it, and make it a part of your ritual -- Magical Morning Ritual or Nightly Routine, for example)
- Set a timer and write at least until the timer goes off
- Add in multimedia to your journal for a more visually pleasing experience (photos, printed quotes, ephemera, momentos from your day, washi tape, stickers)
- Write about things that are difficult for you in the third person
- Do a “mind-dump” regularly, where you just sit and write down everything that’s buzzing through your mind until it’s all on the paper
- Allow yourself to be completely honest with yourself in your journal because no one else needs to see it
- Don’t judge yourself for going on a rant/tangent, or “rambling”
- Re-read your entries later to gain additional insight
Happy/Gratitude Journal 101
Here are eight tips for keeping a gratitude journal:
1) Choose a system that works for you, be it digital or paper. I prefer a tangible notebook, but you might be more inclined to participate if you can record it on your laptop or phone. Whatever it is, make it aesthetically pleasing. Buy yourself a beautiful new blank book, or decorate a plain one
. Choose a font and header in your digital document that makes you smile. Make it a place you want to come to.
2) Create a routine and stick to it strongly for two weeks. Ideally, you want to stick to the routine every day for the rest of forever, but the reality of it is that you’re going to miss days. There are going to be some days where you’re too tired or you simply forget. But don’t let that happen in the first two weeks! Build that structure. I personally recommend doing it before you go to bed, but if you feel like doing it when you wake up in the morning, make that work for you. Either way, make it a priority to write every day in the same way for fourteen days. After that, you will be more likely to remember. It will be a part of your lifestyle.
(Yes, a non-daily schedule is an option. Could you think about he past week every Sunday evening? Of course! It might be a little more difficult to build that structure at the beginning, though.)
3) Think about good things. As you go about your day, pay attention to your body chemistry and physical reactions to joy. It will become easier to identify future happy moments. Do your best to find the silver (sparkly) linings, and be that “glass half full” kind of person.
4) Feel free to include everything. Lots of people ask me what I write in my journal. The answer is anything I want. Think of things that happened that day. Maybe it made you smile, laugh, or gave you goosebumps. It can be something you did or accomplished, or something you got relief from not doing. It can be something someone else did for you, or something you witnessed occur outside of yourself. It can be a thought you had, a goal you created, or a general appreciation for an aspect of life.
(Examples: dancing with your friend, finishing your workout, not having to deal with a nasty coworker, your significant other buying you an ice cream cone, a stranger freestyle rapping in the street, the idea that all people are beautiful, deciding to stop smoking, or realizing how easy it is to get a candy bar at 4 in the morning.)
5) Write in a format that appeals to you. It’s your jorunal. Do you want to write a giant list? Do you want to write more of a journal entry, in paragraph form, documenting your day? Do you want to highlight keywords? Do what feels right.
6) Establish a minimum effort. Decide how many things you need to recognize each day. Three? Five? Just one? The reason I say this is because there are going to be days where you feel depressed and hopeless. It’s a natural part of life. This is a test, though. If you feel sad and cynical all day, and can still meet your minimum requirement for listing what you’re grateful for, the journal is working. This may be the most important day of all to document. It pushes you further, and forces positivity.
7) Don’t be afraid. This is a safe space, and you can do what you want with it. Don’t limit yourself. Feel free to include quotes, drawings, and momentos. You could paste in a movie stub ticket or club entry wrist band into your journal from a fun night out, or copy and paste a photo you took of the most gorgeous cotton candy sunset into your file.
8) Get the juices flowing with a general list. It might be hard to jump right in, and even if you’re super confident, I recommend starting this adventure by writing a giant list of things you love and bring you joy. Can you get to 100? Try really hard. After a while, you’re going to tap into a part of your brain that you might not be used to using. To get to 100 things, you’re really going to have to reflect on life. It will be a great preliminary mindset.
10 Ways To Keep A Happy Journal
There are so many ways to keep a journal, including a happy journal. See what appeals to you the most and go for it!
1) Notebook
You can purchase a pre-decorated notebook, either spiral or bound. You can buy a plain book and decorate the cover. You can bind your own book together with blank paper and thread.
You can use ruled or unruled pages. You can write in pen, pencil, marker, crayon, highlighter, permanent marker, colored pencil. You can type your entries on a typewriter and insert them later. You can write in print, cursive, or all caps. You can alternate every word or every line with a different color.
You can paste in ephemera such as pictures, ticket stubs, and things you found that day. You can carry the book with you everywhere you go. You can hide it under your bed and never show it to anyone.
2) Jar
You can use slips of paper to write your happy moments down and stuff them into a jar for safe keeping. You can use a clear jar you can see through, an opaque jar to cultivate mystery, or a container that’s not a jar at all. You can choose an object such as a shoe box, can, bottle, hat box, carved out book, safe, or vase to house your entries.
You can make the slips of paper out of anything you like including recycled materials and brightly colored construction paper. You can hand write or type your entries. You can make them as long or short as you want on each slip of paper. You can fold the pieces of paper into origami before you stick them in the jar.
You can display the jar as decoration or keep it hidden. You can reach in the jar as needed to pull out a random happy memory. You can dump all your entries out onto the floor to see in a tangible way how much joy there is in your life.
3) Digital
You can create a document on your computer where you type up your entries. You can keep a note file in an app on your phone. You can create a Google Doc, write an e-mail to yourself, or create a personal or public blog.
You can use any font you like, in any color text. You can use HTML coding to customize the feel of your entries. You can add visuals and hyperlinks to relevant information.
You can keep these digital files secret or share them with the internet in an easy click of your mouse. You can document your happiness from pretty much anywhere in the world, so as along as you have access to the internet you can update your journal.
4) Paper Chain
You can use paper slips to document happy memories and staple them together in a circle. Every new memory gets linked to the previous circle and stapled together, forming a long chain. You can use colorful staples, washi tape, or hot glitter glue to adhere the slips of paper together.
Just like with the jar, you can make the paper slips out of anything and you can hand write or type your words.
You can hang your paper chain in your room as a decoration and reminder of your happy life. As the chain grows, you can feel comfort in knowing you’ve accumulated all these happy memories. You can choose to write the word on the inner side of the links so no one can read them and just say “it’s decoration” when you’re met with questions, or you can share the concept with people who inquire.
5) Calendar
Get a calendar with extra space to write each day. It can be a wall, daily, or agenda type calendar. You can use the easy scheduled format as a reminder to write down your entries and you’ll have a compact chronicle of your happy moments at the end of the year.
6) Sticky Note Wall
You can write your happy bits on adhesive Sticky Notes and post them on your wall to create an installation. You’ll be able to see the installation grow as you add to it. You can also choose to place the sticky notes around your house in various places that will make you smile and remember things as you go about your chores and day.
You can utilize a variety of novelty Sticky Notes, they come in a wide range of colors, sizes, and shapes– anything from a pink high heel shoe to a speech bubble to a star. You can easily move the Sticky Notes as you desire, and they won’t damage any walls.
7) Videos
You can create a video diary that captures how you look, the inflection of your voice, and how you truly feel with video footage. You can record your face or moments or your feet, with the added value of audio as part of your media.
You can keep your video files on your laptop or phone, or you can share them with the world on a YouTube channel. This is an amazing thing to have to look back on in the future.
8) Dry Erase Board
If you’re not into the idea of having a permanent collection of happy journal entries, you might try a dry erase or chalkboard. You can write your entries down every day and then wipe them away when you’re ready to write another. You can use multi-colored markers or chalk and include drawings as well.
If the idea of a dry erase board appeals to you, but the concept of impermanence does not, consider writing your entries on the board and taking a photo (either digital or instant film) that you can catalog and archive your entries with. Don’t forget that dry erase markers also work on mirrors!
9) Scrapbook
There are many evolving scrapbook-based projects that you can utilize for your happy journal such as Project Life. You can use the slots allocated for photos for your lists as well as ephemera and pictures to create a multimedia project. You can also create your own scrapbook the old fashioned way with square cardstock, glue sticks, and stickers. You can use your love of ephemera and mixed media to create a visually pleasing memory book of your happy life.
10) Instant Film
Although this is probably the most pricey option, it might appeal to the photographer/visual creative in you. You could use instant film to take a picture of yourself every day and on the back of it write the date and your entry of things that made you happy. You could also take a picture of an thing/place/person that made you happy that day and list any additional items on the back. You can keep your film in a photo album or shoebox.
You can do this with digital photos, too! Post a photo to Instagram with the caption being your gratitude/happy list. That way you don’t have to store physical photos if you don’t want.
50 Self-Love Writing Prompts
Finish the thought
- If my body could talk, it would say…
- I feel happiest in my skin when…
- I feel proud of myself when…
- I feel safe when…
- I forgive myself for...
- I no longer need…
- If I could give my teenage self some advice, I would tell her…
- The last positive thing I was a part of…
- Today I accomplished…
- Ten things that bring me peace are…
- I deserve love because…
- Five things I’m grateful for today are…
- My perfect day looks like…
- A beautiful person is…
Questions
- What is the best compliment you’ve ever received?
- What emotions do you feel or associate with confidence?
- What are questions to which you need urgent answers to?
- What qualities do you deserve in a romantic partner?
- What positive character traits do you have?
- What will you accomplish in the next five years?
- Why do you think it’s important to have high self esteem?
- What are things you’d like to say ‘no’ to?
- Who appreciates you?
- What makes you unique?
- What would you do if you could live a day without consequences?
- How do you indulge yourself? How can you indulge yourself more often?
- Who are your role models/idols? How are you already like them?
- What is ‘enough’ for you?
- What would your teenage self love about you now?
- What does your best friend brag about when she talks about you?
- What makes you feel strong or invincible?
- What are times that make it very difficult for you to say “no” and what are some default responses you can come up with for next time?
- What is an area of life you could use help with and what are some resources you could utilize to get assistance?
- What are you good at helping other people at?
- What is something you need to let go of?
- What area of yourself is it hardest to receive a compliment about?
- When was the last time you were a badass?
- What would actually change if your body was “perfect”?
- What do you love about your life?
- When does your physical body feel happy?
- How can having a positive attitude change my life?
Other
- Write a pep talk to give yourself the next time you feel sad, upset, or full of doubt.
- Write a letter to your teenage-self.
- Write a letter to your future-self.
- Write a love letter to your least favorite part of your body.
- Write a short letter to yourself about why getting help is a strength, not a weakness.
- Make a list of inspiring quotes that provide you with encouragement. [start here]
- What are your morals? What is important to you ethically? Think about things that are unbending parts of your value system that you refuse to compromise and then explain why.
- Write a letter to your mental illness and let it know why it doesn’t define you.
- Fill in the blanks: I have the most incredible __________. When I walk into a room people feel __________. It’s very easy for me to __________ because I’m so __________. I will continue to kick ass at __________ because I can’t stop being __________.
100 More Writing Prompts
1. Now that we’re halfway through the year, how are you feeling about 2014? What can you do to make the latter half of this year even greater
2. A diary entry as the coolest cat you’ve ever met in person. Or Maru.
3. List thirty ways to party every day.
4. Start a short story with “We were up all night…”
5. What aspects of living in your country are you grateful for?
6. List very specific events that could be used for greeting cards.
7. Describe the face of your best friend as if you were talking to one of those police sketch artists.
8. Write a letter to yourself in the past, letting yourself know that a situation you’ve found yourself in is going to work out okay.
9. Write an entry titled “The Rainbow Fan”.
10. What are things someone might be jealous of about your life?
11. Describe a time that you left your comfort zone and it didn’t work out well.
12. If you were to become famous for something, what would it be? Write about that hypothetical experience.
13. An acrostic for each of your best friends.
14. List ten cities you want to visit next, in order of priority.
15. You wake up and your legs are growing scales. What do you do next?
16. List ten new things you could call the color “red”.
17. A letter to your Congressman, complaining about how koalas have a stranglehold on the baby changing station industry.
18. Begin a short story with “He was stuck in the sewer, wearing nothing but a trench coat…”
19. Explain the process of taking the public transportation in your town.
20. What do honey badgers think of their YouTube videos?
21. List the weirdest things you’ve seen in public spaces.
22. How are you doing with your goals and resolutions for 2014 now that we’re halfway through the first month?
23. A diary entry as a colorblind clothes salesman.
24. List the things that Clifford The Big Red Dog could be a metaphor for.
25. What was the best concert you’ve ever been to? Think back to the experience in terms of all five senses.
26. Write an entry entitled “Sick On My Birthday”.
27. List phrases that could be written on hotel door knob hangers instead of “Do Not Disturb”.
28. A diary entry as someone who, at the time, suspected that Galileo was wrong about the Earth being the center of the universe.
29. A convincing article about why Creationism or Evolution is true (but use your opposing viewpoint).
30. What aspects of your life could be improved with the help of a A) Ninja B) Ghost C) Zombie and/or D) Pirate?
31. What are all the things you accomplished this year? Don’t hold back with “small” achievements!
32. What are your resolutions and goals for the new year?
33. List patterns you see in nature.
34. Your experiences with magical figures, such as Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny, and The Toothy Fairy.
35. Begin a short story with “Our first snow…”
36. What would you like to know about photography?
37. A diary entry as a frustrated air line stewardess.
38. Describe what a card you’d send into PostSecret would look like.
39. Write an entry entitled “My High School Reunion”.
40. List all the places you might find glitter.
41. Explain how to improvise to someone who has never had to.
42. What do caterpillars in cocoons dream of?
43. List metaphors for not saving everything special for a “later date”.
44. If you could turn the Staples “Easy Button” into a button that let you do anything, what would you have it be?
45. A letter/e-mail to your favorite author or blogger. Bonus points for actually sending it!
46. Write a short story entitled “Miranda’s Week At Computer Camp”
47. What’s the thing in your life that needs the most cleaning and organizing? How can you fix that?
48. List all the animals that would have had a really difficult time on Noah’s Ark.
49. Begin an entry with “I woke up on my raft, but I couldn’t see anything but water…”
50. #XX Reasons To Use Balloons
51. Write a convincing article on body modification from your opposite point of view.
52. What goes on in a shoplifter’s mind during the crime?
53. Write a fictional tale entitled “The Worst Vacation I Ever Had”.
54. Describe the contents of an artist’s trash can.
55. How would life be different if you were Santa Claus?
56. Explain the internet as thoroughly as possible to someone who is seeing a computer for the first time.
57. List all the cars you’ve ever driven and/or been in.
58. What would you like to know about outer space?
59. What was the best interaction you’ve ever had with a stranger?
60. Incorporate all of these words into one entry: “broken” “patterned” “Ferris wheel” “pile” “sweaters”
61. What makes you grateful for being human?
62. Explain how the universe was created that is based neither in Creationism or The Big Bang Theory.
63. What would you want to be able to tell, or instill, in a large group of people?
64. List what would be in an alien’s (equivalent of a) purse.
65. Start an entry with “I woke up, wearing a tuxedo on top of a boulder, at the edge of a cliff. I don’t remember how I got here and I have no…”
66. Write a diary entry as Ke$ha.
67. List as many ways to use a water bottle cap as you can.
68. Write a story entitled “Gerald’s Day At The Button Factory”.
69. How would your week be different if you were temporarily transformed into a bid and couldn’t communicate with humans?
70. Write a list entitled “Ways To Eat A Bar Of Chocolate”.
71. What makes you different from the last person you had a conversation with?
72. Write the stream of consciousness of a dinosaur facing extinction.
73. What are foods you’ve tried but hated, and how much would you have to be paid to eat them again?
74. Describe the environment of your local library.
75. Write an entry entitled “A Cat And His Surfboard”.
76. A biography of someone who does anything and everything they can to collect bar-code labels.
77. A list of things that are neutral.
78. The day that all the traffic lights turned green and no one could change them back.
79. What it would be like to be a miniature person (like Thumbelina).
80. Describe the city of Lartenify.
81. Where have you noticed that there is a significant lack of _____?
82. An entry where every sentence starts with “My first…”
83. A list of the best three letter cat names.
84. A day in the life of a Subway worker.
85. A trip you took to a place you never want to return to.
86. A list of ways that stripes are more useful than polka dots.
87. In what ways would your life change if you could never send or receive a text message again?
88. One thing you assume or (think you) know about each of the 50 US states.
89. Decisions you have made that have drastically changed your life and a fictional parallel universe where you made different ones.
90. An entry entitled “Karl’s Stay At Springdale Medical Hospital”.
91. Write a five sentence recap of the show “Sex And The City”.
92. List amazing things about everyday life, like the fact that “End Road Work” signs look like mini protests on the side of the road.
93. What are all the lies you now realize your parents told you as a child?
94. List the strangest places you could possible make out or have sex.
95. Describe every American football team as if they were literally the name of their team. (Ex: Jaguars would be actual Jaguars, etc.)
96. Write the prologue to a TV show you never got closure on.
97. Make a list of the weirdest things you’ve heard of people collecting.
98. Rank the main characters of Anchorman and Bridesmaids in order of who you’d like to have sex with the most.
99. Make a list of illicit drugs that you’ve tried, the ones that intrigue you, and the ones that horrify you.
100. Catalog the most hilarious, bizarre, and horrifying first date stories you’ve ever heard.
EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) / Tapping
EFT 101
EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Technique, which is also commonly known as Tapping. It is a combination of positive psychology and acupressure that works through issues that boost your emotional health.
It is based on the Chinese concept that we have energy systems flowing through our body called meridians, and there are prime meridian points can be blocked with negative energy. The act of tapping on these meridian points serves to unblock the negative energy. But that’s not all you’re doing with tapping; you’re combining the acupressure of tapping on these meridian points with talking about your issues and saying positive affirmations out loud.
Doing this engages not only your energy system (meridians), but your limbic system, which allows your body to come up with a natural solution to the problem you’re dealing with. It’s very similar in concept to acupuncture, just with no needles.
Skeptical?
Skeptical of tapping?
There are lots of people who are very wary and skeptical of tapping. It definitely seems like a “woo” practice, and frankly seems a little too “easy” to fix the problems it claims to be able to fix. I admit that I was skeptical of EFT for years and years. When I decided to finally try it, I tested it with something that I felt I could measure, nothing very vague or subjective.
At the time I had gone on a new medication that was causing me to be ravenously hungry. I was eating a crazy amount of food; an amount that it didn’t even make sense how I could possibly eat that much! It kind of sucked how much I was eating, how often I was hungry throughout the day, and how I knew I was going to definitely start gaining weight because of it. I decided to tap on how hungry I was and wanting to eat a healthy amount of food despite my medication’s side effect.
The next day, I was only hungry for one breakfast, one lunch, and one dinner. I didn’t have crazy portions, and I wasn’t left starving. It seemed impossible. How did that really work in less than 24 hours?
Some would say the placebo effect. I say, hey - if the placebo effect works, it works. Whatever works, works. If tapping for five minutes a day helps you focus cognitively on the issue you need to work on, then so be it! Who cares what technique you’re using as long as it’s working?
So what about the science? Due to its growing popularity, there are lots of studies going on right now to support the efficacy of tapping. Right now, we can definitely say that tapping effectively “shuts down” the amygdala, which is the fear center of the brain. It also deals with emotions, long-term memory, and that fight-or-flight reaction when faced with perceived danger. So we’ve seen with brain scans that when we’re tapping, the amygdala becomes inactive, disruption our stress response system. This gives us the chance to do some rewiring of our cognition around the issue at hand!
Ways Tapping Has Helped
What has tapping helped?
- All sorts of negative thoughts
- Body image
- Anxieties
- Phobias
- Disordered eating
- Asthma
- Addictive cravings
- Implementing positive goals
Meridian Points
There are specific points you will be tapping on during your tapping session.
You should do your tapping with your dominant hand, or with both hands. The tapping should be done with your index and middle finger, and should have a light pressure to activate the point, but you should never feel hurt or have bruises afterwards.
- Side Of The Hand - you always start here, the fleshy part of your hand flush with your pinky
- Top of the head
- Inner eyebrow
- Outside side of the eye
- Directly under the eye
- Under your nose (use only one hand for this if you’re double handing it)
- Under your mouth/chin (also only one hand)
- Directly under your collarbone
- Under your arm on the side of your body, where a bra strap would hit
- Both of your wrists tapped together
Side Of The Hand Point
The Side Of The Hand Point is where you start every tapping session, and it is not repeated in the cycle that begins with the top of the head and ends with both of your wrists being tapped together. You basically use the Side Of The Hand to hone in on the issue and “tap” in (pun intended) to your feelings on what’s going on. Really just use this time as you tap to free associate speak about what’s going on, why, how you want to feel, etc.
Speech Part Of EFT
Tapping can last as long as you’d like it to. You can do just a few rounds and be done, or you can go for fifteen minutes straight! It’s totally up to you.
My ultimate advice to you is to after you hone in on the Side Of The Hand, to start at the top of the head and start talking first about what the problem is and what you’re scared of. What are you worried, anxious, fearful of in relation to this specific issue? What are your insecurities? What’s holding you back? What worries do you have about succeeding?
Then you move into more optimistic, positive self-talk. You start talking yourself up, saying why you can accomplish this goal, what you will do when it happens, why you deserve it, etc.
A good rule of thumb is to change to a new meridian point every time you naturally pause in a sentence. But you can also do a full sentence or half a phrase at each meridian point, it’s totally up to you. The point is just to get to get the words out.
Here’s the super important part: try your very best to use the structure of speech “Even though I, __________, I still fully love, accept, and forgive myself”. You don’t have to use it for every sentence, although you can. But make sure you continue to sprinkle it in. And definitely end your speaking on your Side Of The Hand with that sentence.
Examples:
- “Even though I am hungry all day and more food than my body needs, I still fully love, accept, and forgive myself.”
- “Even though I am self-conscious about how my body will look in a bathing suit this weekend, I still fully love, accept, and forgive myself.”
- “Even though I am jealous of my boyfriend’s best friend and the time they spend together, I still fully love, accept, and forgive myself.”
- “Even though I am worried about how my meeting with my boss will go tomorrow, I still fully love, accept, and forgive myself.”
- “Even though I panic when I think about clowns, I still fully love, accept, and forgive myself.”
Tapping Videos
There are tons of videos that already exist on a variety of topics you might identify with and want to also work on. You can find them on YouTube, websites/blog. Check out Brad Yates!
There is absolutely nothing wrong with tapping along with someone. It can actually be argued that you’re strengthening/doubling the energy! Either way, it still gets the job done. And watching/tapping along with videos online is a great way to get practice before you venture out to start a tapping session all on your own.
Baths
Baths 101
I realize not everyone has access to a bathtub, so this is a privileged example of self-care. That said, baths have a lot of value and if you have access to one or ever get the opportunity to take advantage of one, I want to urge you to do it!
Benefits Of Baths
Why baths are good for anxiety:
- Promote sleep
- Relieve aches and pains
- Raising your body temperature relaxes muscles and boosts your mood
- Creates an atmosphere of calm
- Potential to utilize multiple tools that also relieve anxiety including Epsom salts, essential oils, and herbs
While we’re usually talking about warm/hot baths, don’t forget about cold water! Cold baths have been shown to activate the sympathetic nervous system which releases more norepinephrine (neurotransmitter associated with anxiety) as well as beta-endorphins (making you feel good all over).
And if you don’t have a bath at home, you can always take someone up on a gym membership day pass and use the hot tub or Jacuzzi. Sometimes a sauna or steam room can have similar effects as a hot bath, too! There are also day spas that have tons of these amenities where you can spend the day for a fee of $25-30 if you feel like splurging on yourself. Just remember to hydrate whenever you’re in a hot environment like this.
Epsom Salts + Essential Oils
If you’re ever taking a bath, Epsom salts need to be a staple for you. They have sulfates and magnesium (remember magnesium from the Vitamins lesson?), which have an enormous amount of benefits. Some of which include:
- Flushing toxins
- Easing migraines and muscle pain
- Promotes relaxation
- Not to mention it smooths your skin, which is a great added bonus
If you’re not sure how much to add to your bath, start with two cups of salt. You can always add more, just realize the effects will be more intense.
And don’t forget to check out the lesson on Essential Oils and Vitamins to take advantage of other things you can add to your bath that will double up on alleviating your anxiety!
50 Ways To Make A Bath Special
Baths have so much potential and it’s great to make them a part of your routine/ritual. I think it’s great to make anything as fun and unique as it possibly can be, which is why I came up with 50 ways to make a bath more special.
1. Go old school with super soapy bubble bath and lather up
2. Get some colors and scents going with an amazing bath bomb from Lush, or my personal favorite, Witch Baby
3. Bring in a great book to get lost in while your fingers get all pringly
4. Get some floating LED lights to make your water like an indoor water rave
5. Make it a happy hour with your favorite cocktail (don’t forget the fruit wedge and mini umbrella!)
6. Fashion a shelf to lay across the tub so you can safely lay your drink, reading materials, etc.
7. Light some candles and set them at the edges of the tub for some mood lighting
8. Make your own bath bomb with a DIY from Pinterest, or do a DIY exchange with a friend and put a little prize inside for each other to find
9. Cut or buy yourself fresh flowers to set around the rim of the tub and enjoy the beautiful scents
10. Add some Epsom salts to the water to help ease sore muscles and tension
11. Invest in a head pillow that suction cups to the edge of the tub to rest your lovely head on and really sink into the relaxation
12. Theme your bath and go all out (ideas: luau, disco, mermaid)
13. Drop in some essential oils in your favorite scent (when diluted in large amounts of water, it’s not bad for the skin — try about 8 drops)
14. Put on a sheet face mask before you get in (that way it will be easy to pull off if you want to stay in the bath longer than it needs to stay on for)
15. Mix fire and water by getting yourself some floating candles
16. Don’t forget to give your tub a good scrubbing before you get in there so you feel nice and clean afterwards and don’t see anything weird floating around that will distract you from relaxing
17. Jam out to good music (I made you a relaxing bath playlist below)
18. Have your bath on every new and full moon and create a ritual out of it
19. Play with bath foam on the walls of the shower, your body, etc.
20. Put herbs into a spice/tea bag so they can soak into your bath water, but not clog up the drain
21. Keep water nearby so you don’t dehydrate/get dizzy (and definitely chug it when you’re done and squeaky clean)
22. Throw in some real flower petals
23. Splash around like a mermaid (we all know you’re moonlighting as one anyway)
24. Have a special kind of bath like a milk or oatmeal bath
25. Add a sailboat (or a dozen) to the mix
26. Get yourself a waterproof speaker
27. Bring along some snacks (who knows how long we’ll be in there, and I haven’t had dinner since yesterday)
28. Invest in fluffy towels that will easily transition your end of bath experience back to reality
29. If your bath bomb smells great but leaves something to be desired color-wise, throw in a Crayola bath dropz for a shock of rainbow
30. Place crystals along the edge of the tub for extra energy
31. Get some water markers to write yourself inspiring notes or draw inappropriate pictures on the wall that will wash right off
32. Shampoo your hair into a mohawk
33. Get a waterproof sex toy and go to town
34. Freeze ice with some colored dye and add it to your water for some sensory fun
35. Bring in one of those towels that are shrunk down into a hard square or any of those toys that you “just add water” to
36. Figure out how many things in your house float, and bring them all with you into the tub
37. Have a photoshoot of you covered in bubbles
38. Bring in a friend (bathing suits allowed, but not required)
39. Buy yourself the comfiest bath robe to slip into once you’re dry (bonus points if it has a hood that turns you into an animal)
40. Turn off the lights and crack some glow sticks *boots and cats and boots and cats*
41. Insist on wearing those arm flotation devices little kids wear at the pool
42. Wear your mermaid fin in (you can wash your legs later if you have them)
43. Get an outdoor bathtub and bathe outdoors or on a roof
44. Turn out the lights, and float around while listening to your favorite guided meditation
45. Brush your hair with a dinglehopper, Ariel style
46. Smudge/Sage your bathroom to cleanse the energy beforehand
47. Scatter seashells around you for a total beach vibe
48. Make use of this time to catch up on the best podcasts you’ve been putting on your queue
49. Blow bubbles on top of bubble bath while chewing bubble gum
50. Don’t forget the rubber ducks (yeah, multiple — be inspired)
Bubble Bath Playlist
Crystals
Crystals 101
Crystals are definitely more on the “woo” scale of my suggestions for self-care in treating anxiety, but my theory is to always try throwing all methods of care at your problem and see what sticks. If something doesn’t feel right, don’t use it again, but it’s always in your favor to try something out because you never really know until you do.
Crystals, gemstones, and fossils have been used for centuries as a medicinal tool to treat all sorts of ailments and to promote other parts of us; we’re talking treating anxiety, increasing fertility, promoting sexuality, easing digestive pain, the works!
Where To Find Crystals
The one thing about crystals is you have to have them, right? So this is another privilege and something you will probably have to work on creating a collection of over time because of the fact that it costs money. That said, when you’re ready to buy crystals, I have a few suggestions.
I personally like to buy crystals in person. Crystals vibrate at different frequencies and there’s something very special about buying a crystal in person. The crystal kind of picks you. You just feel which one feels right and you know. Of course you can buy anything online these days, and that doesn’t mean the crystal is going to have bad energy or anything, but you still didn’t really get to pick it yourself. You selected “Amethyst” from a list, and a seller picked one from a bunch and mailed it to you. It’s just a different process. So if you have the ability to go to a store and pick one out yourself, please do that.
If you’re not sure how to find a place that sells crystals near you, go on Google or Yelp and search in your area for “crystal”, “metaphysical”, “new age”, “witch”, “hippie”, “wiccan”, “pagan” + “store” or “shop”. You can keep your eyes peeled for crystal shows or metaphysical/new age/wiccan events because there will definitely be multiple tents set up selling crystals in person there.
And of course you can check out independent sellers online, Etsy, Amazon, etc.
Tumbled Vs. Raw
When you’re looking up crystals or seeing them in person for the first time, be aware of a few things:
Crystals can be tumbled or raw. Raw is the natural state they are harvested in and are much more rough and earthy looking. Tumbled means the raw crystal was polished into a smaller, more rounded piece and is much smoother.
When a crystal goes from raw to tumbled, it can drastically change appearance!
Also depending on where a crystal was found, it can vary in its color/saturation/general appearance. Sometimes you’ll find a crystal that is in fact the same thing as another crystal, but one looks almost white with a greenish tint, and the other one is very, very green. It’s just a different batch. That’s another reason it’s better to go in person to pick out your crystals so you can get what you want. Every single crystal is unique.
Crystals For Relieving Anxiety
So what crystals are good for relieving anxiety?
We’re talking about using crystals for anxiety, so let’s list out the ones that are specifically known to have grounding properties and alleviate anxiety.
- Shungite
- Blue Lace Agate
- Black Tourmaline
- Lepidolite
- Chrysocolla
- Sodalite
- Rose Quartz
- Kyanite
- Howlite
- Lithium Quartz
- Amethyst
- Danburite
How To Use Crystals For Relieving Anxiety
When you’re feeling anxious, the best ways to use your crystals are:
- Rest it on your third eye while lying down
- Meditate with it in your hand (or one in each hand)
- Place them on your nightstand or under your pillow
- Put them in your pocket or bra as you walk around during the day
- Create a grid of crystals
- Lay down and have someone outline your head with crystals
- Wear a crystal as a necklace
- Place the crystal on the chakra you’re trying to work on and breathe into it
Keep in mind the intent of using crystals is to absorb the negative energy! That’s what they’re there for.
Cleansing Your Crystals
Cleaning your crystals is very important. If they’re constantly absorbing negative energy, they’ve gotta release it, too!
Here are some ways to cleanse your crystals:
- Leave them outside or on your windowsill on the full or new moon
- Leave water outside on the full or new moon and then dip your crystals in that water
- Just run cold water on your crystals until they feel cleansed
- Sage your crystals
- Meditate into them
- Place Selenite around your other crystals, which is always cleansing
50 Other Ways To Use Crystals
Now how else can you use your crystals? I made a list of 50 ways you can use your crystals in general!
1. Meditate while holding one in your hand
2. Make a shrine to/using it on your altar
3. Turn it into a piece of jewelry to wear as a totem
4. Carry it in your pocket (or bra) during the day
5. Grid the floor of your room (or on your yoga mat) to charge your aura
6. Place an intention in the crystal by holding it to your heart and saying your affirmation
7. Soak them in the water you will later use to wash your face
8. Give them as gifts based on the recipient’s needs
9. Actually mine for them, or participate in an activity where you sift through running water and dirt for them
10. Create a specific ritual using your favorite crystal that you repeat every week, month, etc.
11. Learn about which crystals coincide with the upcoming new and full moons
12. Write a list of goals for this week (quarter, year), and place a crystal on top of it
13. Add gem elixirs in your drinking water
14. Cleanse other crystals using Selenite
15. Cleanse crystals with a cloud of lit sage
16. Put water out under the full or new moon and then later cleanse crystals using the water (don’t get Selenite wet!)
17. Put your crystals out under the full or new moon to charge
18. Sleep better – place under your pillow or on your nightstand (suggestions: Amethyst, Clear Quartz, Selenite)
19. Cleanse the air (suggestion: Himalayan Crystal Salt Lamp)
20. Amplify love – place two rose quartz hearts in a bowl in your bedroom
21. Help headaches/migraines (suggestions: Bustamite, Sugilite)
22. Ease anxiety/stress (suggestions: Blue Lace Agate, Black Tourmaline)
23. Motivate yourself (suggestion: Citrine)
24. Protect your home – place them in the four corners of your home (suggestions: Black Tourmaline, Clear Quartz lasers)
25. Help plans grow (suggestions: Green Aventurine)
26. Travel safe (suggestions: Moonstone, Aquamarine)
27. Adventure well (suggestions: Golden Aura Quartz, Sunstone)
28. Manifest abundance – keep a stone in your wallet or coin purse (suggestion: Citrine)
29. Cleanse electronics – leave a crystal on top of your computer, PS4, TV, etc. (suggestion: Fluorite)
30. Enhance sexuality (suggestions: Rose Quartz, Red Jasper)
31. Boost energy in your bathroom (suggestions: Celestite, Blue Calcite)
32. Boost energy in your office (suggestions: Citrine, Malachite)
33. Boost energy in your kitchen (suggestions: Lapis Lazuli, Bloodstone, Hematite)
34. Boost energy in your living room (suggestions: Turquoise, Onyx)
35. Boost energy in your bedroom (suggestions: Amethyst, Lepidolite, Selenite, Clear Quartz)
36. Boost energy in your dining room (suggestion: Red Tiger’s Eye)
37. Boost energy with the North Corner of your home in Feng Shui (suggestions: Sodalite, Angelite, Amazonite)
38. Boost energy with the South Corner of your home in Feng Shui (suggestions: Carnelian, Tiger’s Eye, Goldstone)
39. Boost energy with the East Corner of your home in Feng Shui (suggestions: Rhyolite, Rainforest Jasper, Green Calcite)
40. Boost energy with the West Corner of your home in Feng Shui (suggestions: Amethyst, Labrodorite, Black Tourmaline)
41. Boost energy with the North East Corner of your home in Feng Shui (suggestions: Amazonite, Aquamarine, Yellow Jasper)
42. Boost energy with the South East Corner of your home in Feng Shui (suggestions: Malachite, Pyrite)
43. Boost energy with the South West Corner of your home in Feng Shui (suggestions: Rose Quartz, Pink Aventurine, Jade)
44. Cleanse your Root Chakra (suggestions: Smokey Quartz, Garnet, Ruby)
45. Cleanse your Sacral Chakra (suggestions: Carnelian, Orange Calcite)
46. Cleanse your Solar Plexus Chakra (suggestions: Citrine, Amber, Yellow Jasper)
47. Cleanse your Heart Chakra (suggestions: Aventurine, Rose Quartz, Jade)
48. Cleanse your Throat Chakra (suggestions: Sodalite, Amazonite, Turquoise)
49. Cleanse your Third Eye Chakra (suggestions: Amethyst, Moldavite, Purple Fluorite)
50. Cleanse your Crown Chakra (suggestions: Clear Quartz, Selenite)
Disconnecting
Disconnecting 101
There are more articles and research studies than I could ever link for you done on the correlation of using social media and screens in general and anxiety. It’s intense, it’s pervasive, it’s real. We’ve become slaves to our phones, computers, tablets, apps, inboxes, screens, etc. It’s the first thing we do when we wake up and we fall asleep still scrolling. Most people would be horrified if they found out how many times they open up the same app every single day on their phone. It’s aggressive! Yet we can’t seem to stop. And if we stop, we’re left with this sense of yearning. How did this happen? It’s only been around for so many years and we’ve developed an addiction. The University Of Chicago’s study said it’s more addictive than cigarettes. Holy crap.
Deliberate Disconnection
Disconnecting from screens and social media needs to be a deliberate action. In some cases, it’s not possible in a complete sense because maybe your job makes you use a computer, which honestly is going to make it even harder to resist clicking over to check Facebook if you already have the computer up and going… but if we’re going to disconnect, I repeat, it has to be deliberate.
And this deliberate disconnecting choice needs to be done repeatedly! We need to give ourselves this gift over and over again. It’s an act of self-care we think is selfish or impossible, but really we just need to start doing it and figuring out that it’s totally doable and people, including ourselves, will adjust.
What Happens When We Don't Disconnect
Constant use of social media and screens contributes to anxiety. Usually I tell you how doing the act of self-care will help relieve your anxiety. In this case, I think we all know that disconnecting will relieve your anxiety and ultimately give you a sense of calm once you get over that initial hurdle.
So let’s take a second and look at what happens when we don’t disconnect:
- Withdrawal from social situations, and general connections to friends and family
- Anxiety if you leave your phone at home or can’t find it
- Missing deadlines or neglecting projects for work, school, etc. because you’re spending so much time elsewhere
- Overwhelming need to share
- Anxiety of missing out on what’s going on with friends and internet strangers
- Constant comparison to what people on the internet are doing (even though that’s only the angle of themselves they choose to share with the world)
- Actual withdrawal symptoms if you can’t get to use social media
- Lack of sleep
- Bad social interactions, lack of eye contact, interrupting people to check your phone
- Getting in trouble at work for being on social media
- Eye strain, lower back and shoulder pain
- Links to depression, ADHD, paranoia, and loneliness
That’s pretty terrible, right? So let’s avoid that.
How To Disconnect/Detox
How are you going to disconnect? Well, the first thing is you don’t actually have to go cold turkey to have positive effects.
Here are some tips for beginning your social media detox:
- Track your habits (you can get an app that tells you how often you open apps and how long you’re on them, or you can track things on a habit tracker yourself)
- Use social media blocking sites
- Uninstall apps from your phone
- Have someone change your password
- Create hard limits and boundaries for yourself (tell yourself you’re not going to check your phone until after you do your Magical Morning Ritual, nothing after 10 pm, nothing while you’re at work, only check your inbox twice a day instead of constantly refreshing, things like that)
- Set a timer on your phone when you start to use screens so you know when the timer goes off, you have to get off
- Pick one day a week where you can totally disconnect, like zero social media and zero screens
- Keep your phone on airplane mode, in your pocket or in your purse
- No phones in your bedroom, especially at night
- Actually deactivate your accounts
- Announce that you’re taking a break from social media to hold yourself accountable and also let people know they can reach you through texting, phone calls, etc.
- Get a friend to do the detox with you and meet up in real life to talk about how it’s going
- Keep a gratitude journal so you’re more conscious of the good things in life (and you’re writing it down on paper instead of digitally)
- Take up a non-digital hobby
Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy 101
Aromatherapy is simply inhaling essential oils to improve a particular aspect of your well-being. It can be to energize you, to make you sleepy, to make you more sexually aroused, or in this case, to make you less anxious. The idea is the essential oils stimulate receptors in your nose that connect to your nervous system. Aromatherapy has been used for a long time as a holistic approach to medicine.
In general, be careful with essential oils. They are not FDA regulated, they should never be ingested, and they are extremely strong so if they were to touch your skin they would need to be incredibly diluted. When you’re using them, you’re usually just smelling them from the jar they come in, putting them in an essential oil air diffuser specifically designed for distributing their smells, or dripping just a couple drops in a very large bath (thus, it becoming very diluted).
Remember when I said essential oils can be used in your baths? Well now you know which ones to stock up on for bath time!
Essential Oils To Relieve Anxiety
There are tons of essential oils. So which ones are specific to relieving anxiety? Check out this list:
- Basil (Holy and Sweet)
- Bergamot
- Cedarwood
- Chamomile
- Clary Sage
- Copaiba
- Eucalyptus
- Fennel
- Frankincense
- Geranium
- Grapefruit
- Jasmine
- Jatamansi
- Lavender
- Lemon Balm
- Lemongrass
- Lime
- Marjoram
- Patchouli
- Peppermint
- Rose
- Rosemary
- Sandalwood
- Sweet Orange
- Tea Tree
- Valerian
- Vetiver
- Ylang-Ylang
Gardening
Gardening 101
While gardening is objectively an activity we do with our physical bodies, I wanted to include this in the Holistic section because it can truly be a meditative activity. There are so many different types of gardens, ways to participate in gardening, and benefits of not only the act of gardening but the flowers, plants, and herbs it results in that it’s actually pretty high up on the list of ways to relieve anxiety!
Gardening is a very specific activity. And while this can be said of any of the self-care tips I’ve offered in these sections, I want to reiterate that yes, my initial method is to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks, but if something causes you more misery than joy, chuck it. This is about decreasing anxiety, not causing more! So if you give gardening a good try, and you just can’t wrap your head around getting dirty, etc., maybe it’s not the right tool for you. And apply that to anything you learn in this e-course! Okay? Let’s dive in.
Benefits Of Gardening
Benefits of gardening:
- Provides a way to engage with nature, which has a whole set of positive effects all its own (see Nature lesson), but for example it physiologically affects the area of the brain associated with regulating emotions and rumination
- Creates a safe space to practice mindfulness, which I will spend a little time exploring more deeply in this section as well
- Promotes physical movement (releasing endorphins, reduces fatigue, potentially alleviating aches and pains)
- Reminds us of the cycle of life, helps us feel more nurturing, promotes accountability, makes you feel in control of your outcomes, etc.; generally promoting self-esteem
- Gives you an opportunity to release a little aggression with digging, etc.
- Aromatherapy benefits; certain flowers and herbs will release scents that can help with relieving anxiety (see Aromatherapy lesson)
- Color psychology; you are in control of planting what you want to plant, including what colors of the plants and flowers which can elicit specific emotions
Plants/Flowers/Herbs That Helps Relieve Anxiety
Plants/Flowers/Herbs that help relieve anxiety:
- Aloe Vera
- Areca Palm
- Bamboo
- Bonsai Tree
- Chamomile
- Chives
- Chrysanthemum
- English Ivy
- Fiddle Leaf Fig
- Gerber Daisy
- Golden Pothos
- Holy Basil
- Jasmine
- Lavender
- Lemon Balm
- Licorice Root
- Motherwort
- Passionflower
- Peace Lily
- Peppermint
- Philodendron
- Red-edged Dracena
- Rosemary
- Skullcap
- Snake Plant
- Spider Plant
- St. John’s Wort
- Succulents
- Terrariums
- Tillandsia
- Valerian
- Yarrow
Make sure to check out the Vitamins, Nutrition, and Aromatherapy lessons for more information on things you can put in your garden!
Types Of Gardens You Can Make
Types of gardens you can make:
- Woodland Gardens - the idea is to mimic the environments the flowers/plants you want to plant naturally grow in; woodland plants, wildflowers, tropical themed, desert themed, or things that naturally grow in the shade
- Japanese Gardens - bamboo, paths, raked sand, stones, lanterns
- Water Gardens - streams, fountains, waterfalls, ponds, water features, oxygenating plants
- Butterfly Gardens - (fruit) trees and shrubs that attract butterflies/they can eat out of; rotting fruit/bananas for them to eat
- Rooftop Gardens - usually done in an urban setting in raised beds to take advantage of the space you have
- Edible Gardens - only grow things you can eat
- Imagination/Children Gardens - focus on play and interact with the nature in a fun way with signs, characters, sculptures, etc.
- Rock Gardens - rocks and stones, consider formations, low-drainage plants, mosses, sentimental
- Faerie Garden - whimsical space used to entice magical creatures, if you’re into that
Faerie Gardening 101
There are spirit beings all around us. Two thirds of the world actually believe in fairies (remember, that’s all over the world, not just the US). Faeries are elementals and live in the third dimension; they have very dense vibrations. Faeries are usually orbs of light and sometimes they appear exactly the way we expect them to appear (tip: unfocus your eyes to see them). Sometimes it’s as simple as when you smell a flower and there are no flowers to be found, or when you see a mushroom grow… that’s the presence of a faerie.
Every faerie has a job (protecting trees, colors, roots, etc). There are all different kinds of fae (like Leprachauns who work with abundance and move things around the universe). Faeries scan energy and are pretty judgmental of if you’re being kind to the planet. They can offer sacred soul inspiration. They make flowers more vibrant and grow better, they can allow for Roses and Gerber Daisies to grow in the snow in the winter.
First of all, I don’t want to hear that you can’t have a fairy garden because you live in the city. I live in the city, and even though I live across the street from a park, there is no sign of anything but concrete on my property anywhere. You can have a faerie garden inside if you need to. If you have a place to actually dig into the earth, that’s obviously preferable, but if you need to use raised beds, or get additional beds that you just drill holes into the bottoms of for water drainage and lay on the concrete of your front stoop or back porch, that is entirely okay. I have a car port, so that’s where mine is, but the reality is it’s next to recycling bins and an air conditioning unit. It’s not ideal, but it works. Okay, now that we know it can work anywhere...
Here are ideal things to consider if your conditions allow for it:
- Outdoors
- Semi-shady
- Directly in the ground, lots of grass
- As far away from the house and foot-traffic as possible
- Over-grown/not over-groomed
- Near a tree(s)
How To Be Kind To Faeries
- Don’t use harsh chemicals on your lawn
- Pick up trash
- Read them fairy tales
- Play them music
- Hang up chimes
- Leave around strings of crystal beads or crystals/gemstones and seashells
- Don’t be judgmental
- Put out flat mirrors (lakes)
- Build them furniture (houses, castles, seats, bridges)
- Make a welcome sign
- Feed them raw cacao nips, organic grapes, organic bananas, milk, and raw honey
- Before you cut flowers or herbs from the garden, ask, “Can I please have your life?”
Faerie Garden Tips
- Plan your garden ahead of time in terms of layout
- Plant both plants and flowers
- Dig extra space for the holes of the plants/flowers so the roots can grow
- Water your plants often (but be careful not to over-water! Check to see if the soil is moist)
- Place a bench or some place for you to sit and be with the faeries and sit with them multiple times a week
- Dedicate your faerie garden (do it with a specific intention)
- When your garden is finished, say out loud that you welcome all nature spirits, elementals, and faeries to the space and honor them
- You can purchase all types of furniture, signs, and other whimsical add-ons at your local craft store
- Feel free to make the furniture yourself, though, and don’t forget to make it colorful and decorative!
- Dusk is the best time to observe faeries
Flowers/Plants To Garden With
- Morning Glory – release old habits; cultivate new ones and become fun and spontaneous
- Coleus – new spiritual path; strength, power, beauty
- Geranium – new vitality/happiness; can show you missed opportunities for joy
- Petunias – manifesting joy; connection between higher self and daily personality
- Zinnias – childlike play; hope
- Rose – ties to angels; love, sacred connection
- Forget-Me-Not – past lives; karma
- Chrysanthemum – open up your heart
- Anemone – break through fear; work through melancholic stages
- Peony – inner light; artistic abilities
- Marigolds – intuition; psychic abilities
- Iris – connections to nature
- Dahlia – self-worth and self-love
Places To Garden
You can garden anywhere!
One thing I hear when people complain that they can’t garden is they don’t have the space for it. I live in the city with no grass on my property, but I still have a garden! Anyone can garden.
Consider these options:
- Keeping plants and flowers inside your home or on your window sills
- Joining a community garden
- Building/buying raised beds or window bed boxes if you don’t have access to natural earth, you can add potting soil
- Guerrilla gardening - seed bombing or street art-inspired gardening projects that you gift to the public
Really, if you have a container and the knowledge for how to care for the plant, you can garden anywhere!
Color Psychology 101 (For Calm)
Every color elicits different emotions in us. There’s a reason most fast food chains are red and yellow -- it makes us hungry! So let’s focus on the colors that can promote calm!
Colors that promote calm/relaxation:
- Blue - serenity, reflection, cool, calm, soothing, tranquility
- Green - harmony, universal love, balance, peace, rest, refreshment, healing
- White - clarity, simplicity, cleanliness, purity
This said, we all have colors that make us happy! For example, yellow makes me incredibly happy, and it’s not on that list! Yellow psychologically promotes warmth, energy, and optimism, but it can also be very attention-grabbing and stimulating. At the end of the day, know what makes you happy.
Nature
Nature 101
This lesson is all about spending time in and with nature because it’s been proven to reduce anxiety! There are a ton of ways to do it, and it might just depend on what kind of personality you have/what you like before you figure out the best ways to incorporate nature into your life. It might seem like a simple, intuitive idea that being in nature makes you feel good, but we often forget to prioritize it.
PS - There’s actually a name for it! The benefits of spending time in nature is called Ecotherapy!
Benefits Of Ecotherapy
Benefits of spending time in nature:
- Increased resilience
- Promotes sleep
- Improve immune system
- Lower cortisol levels, blood pressure, and heart rates
Don’t forget that spending time in nature means you’re getting extra Vitamin D, fresh air (often 70X more contaminated than indoor air), and likely some sort of exercise! Not to mention you’re disconnecting from screens and social media, and have an opportunity for practicing mindfulness!
Spending time near beaches, waterfalls, or in a place after it rains means you have access to “nature’s antidepressant’s”, AKA Negative Ions, which are naturally relaxing.
Also, spending time outside (during the daylight) makes you fall asleep at a more “normal” time, promoting a more regular Circadian Rhythm.
Ways To Spend Time In Nature
Ways to spend time in nature:
- Walking/Wandering
- Hiking
- Swimming or wading in the ocean, pond, lake, etc.
- Gardening
- Having a picnic
- Taking up nature photography
- Camping
- Going barefoot in the grass/on the ground (called “Grounding”)
- Playing in the snow
- Dancing in the rain
- Doing a nature scavenger hunt
- Walking a dog
- Napping in the grass
- Playing the cloud game
- Watching the sunset/sunrise
- Surfing
- Looking for shooting stars, find constellations
- Spelunking
- Skiing
- Riding a bike
- Kayaking
- Jumping in a pile of leaves
- Mud wrestling
- Smelling flowers
- Tubing
- Looking for four-leaf-clovers
- Building a sand castle
Grounding 101
Grounding is also called “earthing” and it is literally just the act of putting your bare feet in the grass, on the ground outside, in the sand, etc. The idea is that you’re electrically connecting to the earth.
We wear our shoes everywhere, and in American culture we often even wear them in the house! The rubber soles of our shoes prevent us from having a connection to the earth that has a ton of benefits for us, and can ultimately reduce anxiety.
The ground is full of negatively charged free electrons. We need to balance our positive charge with them.
We are also constantly surrounded by electromagnetic radiation (TV’s, phones, Wifi, etc.), and it increases the voltage in our bodies which ultimately mess up our body’s natural systems (immune, nervous, etc.). Grounding reduces these voltages because of the earth’s huge electrical mass.
Benefits of grounding:
- Decreases inflammation and pain
- Improved circulation, digestion
- Promotes sleep
- Lowered levels of cortisol
- Allows physical injuries to heal faster
- Reduced electrosensitivity
How to ground yourself:
Simply put your bare hands and feet on the ground for as long as you can.
PS - There are also new inventions that assist with grounding activities such as chairs, sheets, mats, body bands, and patches. Check them out online if you’re interested in upping your grounding game!
Nature Hunt Scavenger Hunt
Mindfulness
Identifying My Anxiety
Potential Worries
Worst Possible Case Scenario
Anxiety Vs. Truth
My Triggers
Anxiety Safety Plan
Coping Skills Cheat Sheet
Anti-Anxiety Tool Kit Checklist
Anxiety Calendar Tracker
Positive Affirmations For Anxiety
Inspirational Quotes About Anxiety
50 Ways To Calm Down Right Now
50 Ways To Relax
10 Ways To Decrease Your Anxiety
Worksheets
Mindfulness 101
Lots of the activities I’ve suggested like meditating, walking, gardening, etc. are all things that promote mindfulness, so I figured it was important to make a lesson devoted just to mindfulness all on its own!
Mindfulness was introduced to Western culture by Jon Kabat-Zinn, and he defines it as “Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally”. But we can see the history of mindfulness going back as far to teachers like Buddha!
Benefits Of Mindfulness
Benefits of Mindfulness:
- Regulates emotion, reduces rumination
- Increased awareness, clarity, and perception
- Increased attention, focus, and curiosity
- Boosts working memory
- Increased feelings of calm and connection
- Increased neuroplasticity (ability to adapt and change)
- Improved patience, tolerance, and self-acceptance
- Decreases burnout in the workplace
- Higher satisfaction in relationships
- Increased brain functioning, immune system, and ability to recover from illness
- Lowered blood pressure and heart rate
- Less likely to drink and do drugs
Ways To Practice Mindfulness
Ways To Practice Mindfulness:
- Meditation
- Mindful eating
- Mindful showering
- Mindful dressing
- Mindful teeth brushing
- Focus on your five senses
- Walking/wandering
- Put your phone away, focus on the person you’re with
- Accept the thoughts that come up throughout the day without judgment
- Wait without distraction, but with patience
- Create a gratitude practice
- Observe your breathing
- Before you jump to do something based on a stimulus, pause (when you hear your phone ring, pause before you answer it)
- Journal about your thoughts/emotions
- Gardening
- Yoga
- Set alerts on your phone to remind you to breathe, be mindful, or say an affirmation
- Use certain stimulus as reminders for mindfulness (going to the bathroom, sitting at a red light)
- Get lost in The Flow
The Flow
What is The Flow?
According to Mihály Csíkszentmihályi it’s “…being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost
50 Ways To Live In The Moment
50 Ways To Live In The Moment
1. Don’t check clocks or just get rid of them, at least temporarily (put your phone away, don’t wear your watch, unset the microwave)
2. Blow bubbles out of the window of a car (not the driver’s seat, please!)
3. Take a walk, but move your body/do everything twice as slow as normal
4. Put your phone away, not just to not check the time, but to unplug for a bit
5. Do your activities in color theme, like eat only red foods, wear only green from head to toe, etc.
6. Immerse yourself in water, whether it’s dunking yourself in a lake or pool, running through a sprinkler, standing under one of those mist spray tents, wading in a stream, or just dipping your toes in the ocean as the waves crash on the shore
7. Practice mindful eating
8. Get lost on purpose
9. Meditate or do a guided imagery
10. Go to a fabric store and run your fingers over each type of textile
11. Write this new mantra down and/or say it out loud, “Il bel far niente” which means “The beauty of doing nothing” in Italian
12. Break out into a sing-a-long
13. Savor the feeling of taking off your bra or shoes at the end of a long day
14. Go through all five of your main senses and list as many things as you can of what you’re experiencing with each of them in this present moment
15. “Om”, scream, or wolf howl at the moon
16. Go a day without communicative technology
17. Declutter your living/working space
18. Practice the art of not overanalyzing and when the desire to worry about something arises breathe deeply and distract yourself
19. Get yourself a mindfulness totem or designate something as a reminder/trigger so whenever you see it you know to check in with your body and be mindful in that moment
20. Say something as soon as you wake up, specifically something about what you’re grateful for or a welcome to this new day
21. Lay under the stars
22. Stretch your muscles or practice yoga, even if it’s laying still and breathing deeply and consciously
23. Collect smooth stones and then go to a body of water to skip them
24. Take a different way home
25. Sign up for my free e-course on mindfulness
26. Swing on a swing set or tire swing
27. Watch a sunrise or sunset
28. Stack rocks as high as you can (and let someone know you’ve been there)
29. Participate in a drum circle and feel the vibrations run through your body
30. Read Keri Smith’s book on The Wanderer’s Society (or do your own research on it) and join!
31. Kiss someone with no intent of it leading any further
32. Be weird in public on purpose with no shame
33. Bake creme brulee just to crack the top with a spoon
34. Twirly outside in a billowy skirt/dress
35. Allow yourself to not be busy when you have a break and simply be
36. Sit in a field and tie your own flower crown together
37. Set up a fantastic bubble bath with all the fixins
38. Challenge yourself to be silent for an entire day
39. Dance around a bonfire
40. Mix up a routine, like try doing something backwards
41. Lay on your back in a pool (at night)
42. Slowly blow serpentine out of it’s pack into a giant coil onto the floor
43. Close your eyes to smell the inside of a bakery
44. Say affirmations out loud to yourself
45. Watch LED lights rotate while doing nothing else
46. Be around flowers as much as possible (buy them, go to a meadow, visit a botanical garden)
47. Pop bubble wrap as slowly or as quickly as feels right to you
48. Change your physical perspective
49. Methodically apply lotion all over your skin
50. Wear break-away pants and break them away dramatically in the middle of a conversation
Mindful Eating
Ways To Practice Mindful Eating:
- Chew twenty times before swallowing
- Try to figure out what the ingredients are in your food just by taste
- Play with your food, make faces, feel the textures
- Sit down at a table, not in front of a TV, in your car, or over the sink
- Turn off media (like your phone) and external stimulus so it’s easier to focus– no multi-tasking!
- Appreciate the aesthetics of your meal, but refrain from sharing a photo of it on Instagram
- Try eating (or at least chewing) with your eyes closed
- Use utensils with your non-dominant hand
- Don’t eat out of a bag
- Put your utensils down between bites
- Say thank you for your food (it doesn’t need to be a religious type “grace”, just an acknowledgment that you’re grateful for being able to have this food)
These kinds of techniques can honestly be applied to any activity
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Positive Affirmations