Were you aware that anxiety can lead to physical health problems? That’s right: anxiety can, and often does, lead to complications outside of just the brain, affecting other parts of our bodies, and quite drastically so.
People can develop all sorts of physical ailments, some of them very serious, as a result of anxiety disorders that are left untreated.
Thankfully, this article has a list of the best tools for anxiety relief, all of them natural and risk-free. First, however, let’s take a look at just how anxiety happens, and why.
Why Does Anxiety Happen?
There are a ton of possible answers to the question above, ranging from common to incredibly rare. In fact, there are so many possible causes for anxiety, it’d be impossible to list all of them in anything shorter than a medical academic journal.
I can, however, list the three most common causes behind anxiety disorders, in a broadly defined way, to give you a better understanding of why anxiety occurs in the first place.
The first most common cause for anxiety disorders are genetics. Certain genes, inherited or otherwise, can lead to an individual being predisposed to developing an anxiety disorder at some point in their lifetime.
Having these genes does not guarantee you’ll develop anxiety disorders, though. It just makes it more likely to happen for you than for people without these genes.
The second most common cause for anxiety is a chemical imbalance in the brain. When the brain’s chemicals are out of sync, so to speak, things tend to go a bit haywire.
Two things that can be affected are the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. I’ll go a bit into what they are later in the article. For now, just know that they’re responsible for how your body and mind deals with anxiety.
The third most common cause behind anxiety is trauma. Being traumatized by experiencing or witnessing a certain event or series of events, such as a near-death experience, a recurring health problem, or anything else that could have traumatized you, can lead to developing an anxiety disorder.
In anxiety caused by trauma, the anxiety attacks tend to happen mostly when triggered by being in a situation that reminds the sufferer of the trauma. That’s not always the case, though, and anxiety attacks can occur randomly even when a specific trauma is what caused the issue.
How Does Anxiety Happen?
Anxiety happens when one or both of the following are not working properly: the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
Typically, it’s the former that is most commonly the culprit, but it often happens that the latter is also playing a role in worsening the severity of anxiety attacks.
The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for triggering the fight or flight mode our bodies and minds have evolved to have. The normal purpose of the fight or flight response is to help us, during dangerous times, function at a higher than normal capacity, by releasing adrenaline and other things into our bloodstream.
When fighting bears or running from packs of wolves, our ancestors found this very useful, and the fight or flight response may be the reason some of us are here today.
In the modern world, especially in the west, the fight or flight mode is not really needed as often, though. It’s definitely useful when you need it, but when it gets triggered while you’re attending a zoom work meeting, or visiting the corner store for a bottle of grape juice, it’s the opposite of helpful.
That’s essentially what anxiety does: it messes with the sympathetic nervous system, causing it to activate the fight or flight, panic mode during times in which it is completely unneeded.
The parasympathetic nervous system, on the other hand, is responsible for triggering the rest and digest response. Under regular circumstances, this would happen on its own, after the danger that caused the fight or flight mode has been escaped from or dealt with.
In anxiety disorders, in some cases, the parasympathetic nervous system is also affected, which causes a delayed or non-existent rest and digest response, which in turn prolongs the anxiety attack’s duration.
Leaving anxiety untreated can, over time, lead to severe mental and physical health complications, due to the combination of mental anguish and harmful in large quantities stress hormones being released into the body.
Some issues that can develop as a result of untreated anxiety include, but are not limited to: heart disease, high blood pressure, major depressive disorder, gastrointestinal problems.
There have been cases of people suffering heart attacks as a result of anxiety attacks.
Without further ado, we’re moving on to the best tools for anxiety relief.
Best Tools For Anxiety Relief
#1 - Deep Breathing Techniques
Deep breathing techniques are a highly effective, yet simple, way to combat anxiety.
They involve breathing in deeply, through your belly, for a number of seconds you’re comfortable with, holding your breath in for a few more seconds, and lastly exhaling slowly for several seconds more.
This is repeated as much as needed.
What these exercises do is they engage the parasympathetic nervous system manually, allowing you to trigger the rest and digest response on command, which makes you no longer have to wait for it to trigger on its own.
This is especially useful if your parasympathetic nervous system is affected by anxiety and its response delayed.
The main downsides of this method are that it is hard to do while on the move, and doing the breathing exercises in public may attract unwanted attention.
#2 - Meditation
Meditation is another powerful tool to use against anxiety.
It involves achieving a relaxed state, both physically and mentally, and grounding yourself in the moment, focusing on the here and now, instead of on your worries and anxiety.
You’ll need a comfortable piece of furniture, such as a bed, sofa or something similar, to sit or lay on comfortably. Additionally, you’ll need the room you’re doing it in to be quiet, and for you to be alone.
You can combine this with breathing exercises to achieve a meditative state of calm faster.
The main issue with this method is its very specific requirements, which may make it not available as an option unless you’re at home or another place you can meditate undisturbed and comfortably.
#3 - The Best Tool For Anxiety Relief, The Bliss Eden
Here we have it, the very best of the best tools for anxiety relief: The Bliss Eden.
Masterfully fabricated out of medical-grade 316 stainless steel, this pendant-shaped tool combines both methods listed above into a portable, discreet and highly efficient tool that can be used anywhere, anytime.
The Bliss Eden comes with a beautiful necklace, to be worn around your neck. Feather-light, it’s very easy to keep it on your person at all times.
The interior and mouthpiece are shaped in such a way as to mimic the effects of both meditation, as well as deep breathing exercises, when breathing through them deeply.
Whisper-silent, it will not draw unwanted attention. In combination with its pendant-like shape, this means that people around you won’t be able to tell what it is, and you can discreetly use it anywhere you need to.
It combines meditation and deep breathing exercises’ deep, calming effects while removing their drawbacks and hindrances.
As an added bonus, the shape of the interior and mouthpiece allows for easier deep breathing techniques, even for beginners.
The Bliss Eden also comes packaged with a cleaning cloth and brush, some stickers, and a chakra bracelet to get you started properly on your spiritual journey.
When ordering the Bliss Eden, you get to choose from four stylish colors for the pendant: gold, silver, rose gold and matte black.
The customer support is excellent, and the Bliss Eden offers a money-back guarantee should you be left unsatisfied, alongside 3-day US-wide shipping.
All of these factors make the Bliss Eden the best choice of a tool to get rid of anxiety.
Conclusion
Anxiety is no joke, as left untreated, it can lead to serious health complications and a vastly diminished quality of life.
The good news is that great tools like the Bliss Eden can be just the ally you need in order to win against anxiety.
Best of luck to everyone reading this and currently dealing with anxiety, I hope and know that you’ll manage to overcome it!
