Reduce Anxiety and Stress Naturally
Anxiety is something that a huge amount of people battle with on a daily basis. Some people turn to medication to help relieve the uneasy feeling that comes along with anxiety. While those methods are good for some, there are others who may be looking for a more natural way to combat the condition.
The good news is that one of the best ways to help reduce anxiety is something that we’re actually supposed to be doing on a regular basis anyway – exercise. While people might not think that expending energy is a great way to reduce anxiety issues, it actually has been proven to help reduce anxiety in a number of different ways.
Here are three ways that exercise helps to reduce anxiety. Are you ready?
Let’s jump right in!
1. It’s a Great Release for Nervous Energy
For some people, anxiety is something that brings with it an uneasy feeling that you just don’t quite know what to do with. Some people let that nervous energy build up and eventually have a full blown panic attack.
One of the many ways in which exercise helps reduce anxiety is by giving you a positive, natural outlet for all of that energy. This is one of the most mindful things you can do to create harmony in your life. The next time you start to feel anxious, or you get into a situation during the day where you feel like you don’t know what to do with yourself, hop on a treadmill or start doing push ups. Exercise can release that tension in a matter of minutes.
2. You Start to Feel Better About Yourself Physically
For some people, a rush of anxiety occurs when you start to think about certain troublesome topics in your life. Your health is just one of the many examples of triggers that certain types of people face. One of the great things about exercising on a regular basis is that you start to feel better physically almost immediately. If you are looking to slim down in addition to reducing stress, exercise may be just what you are looking for!
As you see your body start to transform, anxiety that is directly related to these issues will slowly start to go away. Before you know it your overall anxiety levels will be dramatically reduced – and you’ll have a great new body on top of it.
3. Exercise is a Stimulant
Another one of the many ways in which exercise has been proven to help reduce anxiety has to do with the changes that your body goes through during this process. For starters, exercise has been medically proven to reduce adrenaline and cortisol – two hormones in your body that directly affect your stress levels, which in turn affect the level of anxiety that you’re feeling at any given moment. Did you know exercise helps to reduce stress eating? It does!
As if that wasn’t enough, exercise also directly stimulates the amount of endorphins that your body is producing at the time. Endorphins make you feel great, which many people also refer to as an “exercise high.”
If you have never exercised before or are thinking about returning to a fitness plan, it might help to consider employing the services of a trainer or involve yourself with a wellness coach who can help you get motivated. With the many gyms in Chicago to choose from, there’s likely one close to your home or office.
One great resource to consider is the book, Exercise for Mood and Anxiety. Inside, you will find page after page of mindful approaches to fitness that you can use to reach personal wellness goals for the here and now and the future. This is also a great book if you are looking for a natural way to combat depression.
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