January 25, 2021. Can you believe it? It has been a year since the first case of COVID-19 showed up in Canada. With unpredictable times like these, many of us feel anxious. If this is you, you are not alone. According to a recent poll done by Mental Health Research Canada (MHR), 23% of Canadians are reporting their highest ever levels of anxiety.

While you may need to seek additional help, here are some tips to help you manage your anxiety before it overwhelms you.

How anxiety affects your body

Feelings of anxiety deliver a rush of hormones into your bloodstream to help you handle the pressures of real and perceived dangers—the “fight or flight” response. Once the anxiety-producing situation has passed, your stress levels should return to normal. If you are in a constant state of unease, nervousness, or fear, however, ongoing production of adrenaline and cortisol can dramatically impact your health.

While it’s normal to experience the occasional worry, chronic anxiety can cause:

• nervousness, restlessness
• feelings of danger, panic, or dread
• rapid heartrate
• rapid breathing or hyperventilation
• increased or heavy sweating
• trembling or muscle twitching
• weakness, lethargy, and fatigue
• difficulty focusing, feeling foggy-headed, forgetfulness
• muscle tension or pain
• insomnia
• digestive or gastrointestinal problems such as gas, constipation, or diarrhea

Things you can do to help fend off anxiety

Though you can try any of these methods to address your anxiety in the moment, you’ll find they work best if you practice them regularly, when you are not feeling at the peak of anxiety, so that when you are anxious, you are proficient and prepared.

Deep breathing. Anxiety can cause you to breathe shallow and quickly, while breathing deeply can help re-centre your mind and lower your heartrate. To do this, slowly inhale through the nose for a slow count of four, then exhale for the same amount of time. Continue to take deep breaths, allowing your belly to expand and release. This can be done several times a day.

Self-talk. Our inner voices can say the most awful things—things we wouldn’t even say to a person we don’t like. It can help to first recognize when we are berating ourselves or creating the most agonizing potential scenarios in our heads. Call out those thoughts and learn ways to challenge them. “Is that really true?” “What if that’s not true?” “What is based on fears and what is based on facts?” You might even say to yourself what you would say to your best friend if they came to you with those negative words.

Visualization. Guided imagery is effective at promoting a state of relaxation. This method comprises of visualizing detailed, peaceful images. When you are experiencing anxiety, visualize your body as healthy and free of fear, worry, and doubt. If that’s hard to imagine, you could simply try to visualize yourself in your favourite, most relaxing place.

Meditation. Because anxiety is often caused by focusing on what might happen in the future, mindful meditation that brings your awareness to the present moment can help you feel calmer. Another option is the use of a mantra—a repeated word or phrase—to help you focus and quiet your overworked mind. With progressive muscle relaxation, another method, you tense and then release your muscles, starting from your feet or head and moving up or down the body, one muscle group at a time.

Yoga. Combining physical postures, breathing techniques, mindfulness, and meditation, yoga helps harmonize the mind with the body. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced yogi, yoga is a wonderful practice to help stave off anxiety. Yoga techniques can be adjusted to suit your level of ability, making it a healthy anxiety-busting activity for just about anyone.

Other.

• One of the most common things I hear my patients do to help them manage anxiety is exercise. A good hit of feelgood endorphins is one way to stop anxiety in its tracks.
• Temporarily escaping reality and diving into a good book or movie is another method I commonly hear.
• Snuggling with an animal is a great stress buster, as your body releases oxytocin, the “love hormone.”
• Creativity, through a craft, art, music, dance, or other, can bring you into a state of “flow,” breaking you out of a place of worry.
• Getting some vitamin N—nature—can work like magic, especially if you allow yourself to feel that blissful sense of awe.

Ask for Help.

You don’t need to go it alone. Managing anxiety is tough. Your brain sending all your thoughts, senses, and bodily functions to focus on survival means that it’s difficult to think clearly and find solutions.

Talk to your friends and family, a counsellor, or a support group—online options are available. Support can go a long way to helping you feel more balanced.

Anxiety isn’t a new challenge. For as long as we’ve existed, we’ve struggled with it, so it’s no surprise that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has treatment options. I would guess that at least half of my patients have mentioned anxiety as one of the issues (or the main issue) they want to address.

Believe it or not, acupuncture can help you wind down and shake off feeling anxious and stressed. You’ll likely believe this if you’ve had an acupuncture session before. Even those who are nervous about needles find they can let go and relax during a treatment. One of the benefits of acupuncture is that it causes a release of endorphins—your body’s own feelgood hormones.

I may prescribe a customized or pre-made Chinese herbal formula, with herbs like yuan zhi (polygala root), suan zao ren (sour jujube seeds), ling zhi (reishi mushroom), or wu jia shen (Siberian ginseng) to help calm your mind without making you drowsy—though they may also help improve your sleep.

I may also recommend other natural supplements like magnesium bisglycinate to help relax tight muscles and settle the nervous system or a sleep or stress tincture to help you manage those difficult times. Omega-3 essential fatty acids are important for proper function of all our cells, and brain membranes are rich in these fats. A 2018 JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) study found that those taking a high dose of omega-3s seem to have a greater reduction in anxiety symptoms. Make sure you get high-quality supplements, particularly when it comes to things like herbs and oils.

Finally, I almost always make nutrition and lifestyle recommendations to my patients, and treating and managing anxiety is no exception.

If you’re feeling anxious and are looking for ways to manage it, give me a shout or book in your own time with me. You do not need to suffer.