Tuesday 7 July 2015

5 Tips For Releasing Anxiety


After having my daughter, thirteen years ago, I haemorrhaged and had to have a blood transfusion.  It was during this time I discovered I was in the A+ blood group.  Over the years that followed, I began to understand how much my blood type impacted on my life. 

According to the research of Dr. Peter J.D’Adamo, for his book Eat Right For Your Type, the ability to reverse stress and its negative effects lies in our blood type.  For me, this means that I react to the first ‘alarm’ stage of stress.  My adrenals become super-charged, producing anxiety, irritability and hyperactivity.  My immune system gets weaker, and my nervous system becomes more sensitive.  I then become unable to fight infections.  As a Type A I have a more tightly wired system – in blunt, I bottle up all my anxiety! 

To balance this, I need to practise soothing relaxation techniques, such as yoga and meditation.  Aerobics, cardio exercises and Zumba only stress my system further, unlike a Type O, who would thrive doing high-intensity workouts.

According to Dr D’Adamo’s work, I should also be a vegetarian.  My ancestors (and I’m talking 20,000 years ago here), changed from being hunter-gatherers when they settled in one place and adopted a more domesticated lifestyle - living off the land.  When eating meat, I feel sluggish and lack energy.  My digestive system processes meat at a much slower rate than a Type O.  A glass of warm water and juice of half a lemon every morning can help with this.

His book is fascinating, and I have recommended it to quite a few of my clients who feel lethargic, run down or struggle with their weight. 

For the purposes of this article, I wanted to set the groundwork for why I taught myself to worry less.  Whether you are a Type O, A, B or even an AB, stress and anxiety can cause damage to our bodies and mind.  I hope the following tips for releasing worries is helpful for everyone:

  • Meditation is my go-to therapy for letting go of anxiety.  Slowing your breathing for just 10 minutes a day can do wonders for your mind, soul, and quality of sleep.  It’s also a great way to problem solve or kick-start your creativity
  • I’ve blogged about using affirmations before, but for releasing anxiety I tend to use just one word, over and over.  ‘Release’.  If I find myself getting worked up over a disagreement with a friend, or being late for a meeting, or even the state of my kids’ bedrooms, I close my eyes, take a deep breath and say, ‘release’.  If it helps, you can imagine the problem floating away in a helium balloon as you say it.  That brief time-out can be just what you need to put everything into perspective.
  • Journals; my other go-to therapy that delights mind and soul.  Ask me to write anything; a blog post, story, article or a journal entry and I’m instantly happy.  Journaling is a wonderful way to calm the brain.  Writing down your problems or worries is like throwing out the rubbish.  I wrote a blog post about using the Drop-Box idea, which is another form of using writing to help with anxiety – you can read that HERE.
  • Get enough sleep.  It’s a simple thing, but if you aren’t sleeping or getting quality sleep once in bed, your worries tend to escalate and become worse.  I use meditation to help me sleep, and I set up an evening ritual that will leave me relaxed.  Remember the three B’s - Bath, Book, Bed!
  • Do something different.  When we worry, it can very often take over our waking thoughts.  Try doing something unique and get your brain working in other ways.  I recently went to the cinema by myself as an experiment on changing my habits.  I had a fabulous time, enjoyed a relaxed coffee, a hilarious film and two hours me-time.  You don’t have to go to those extremes, using a new route to work can be just as beneficial.  Choosing to read a different magazine than your usual choice, or to pick a genre book that you’ve never tried before.  All these can help you to focus on other things and NOT your worries.

I hope these few tips have helped you in some way, feel free to add any other examples you have in the comments below.

Until next time – Let go of the worry and be happy J
 
Image courtesy of Marin at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

5 comments:

  1. As a stress monkey of EPIC proportions, I have found Cognitive Behavoural Hypnotherapy was the only intervention that worked..as it traces the pattern back to its source and eliminates it. I use Alexander Technique to untense and realign my body when things in the present cause stress. Stress is an ineviteable part of human life, so it is important to acknowledge and deal with it. Great post. Thank you.

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    1. I've heard great things about CBH, Carol. Quite a few of my clients use the Alexander Technique and swear by it. As you said, stress comes with the territory, it is vital that we find a way to manage it.

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  2. There's some great advice here, Shelley. I also ask myself 'Will this matter tomorrow?' Sometimes, of course, the answer is still a resounding and irrational 'YES!', but most times it helps me put things in perspective.

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    1. I totally agree, Julia. Deep breathing won't get rid of those 'big' issues, but if we can find a better way to cope then our health will benefit. :-)

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  3. I read eat right for your body type years ago on a kindle & loved it until I got to the end and it said I should eat lots of meat when I was vegetarian! I still remember how annoyed I was! These days meditatio & drinking decaf are the only things that get me thru.

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