How To Calm Anxiety

The world is a very anxious place right now. People are afraid, stores are closed, we are told to shelter in place, and the economy is not doing good. I'm a pretty zen person and usually don't let a lot of things rock my boat, but even I am feeling the anxiety and stress of this situation. Both my husband and I are furloughed from our jobs without pay, which by itself is a pretty big stressor - not to mention the overall turmoil across the planet. We do what we can to stay calm and happy and I wanted to share some of our best tips. These work pretty well for us, so I hope they can help you too!

1. Only watch the news once a day, MAYBE twice a day if you have to. For the love of God, DONT keep it on all day. You'll go mad! Especially don't watch it the first thing after waking up or right before going to bed. It'll set a bad tone for your day and it'll mess up your sleep. We typically watch it once in the afternoon and that's it.

2. Watch something funny everyday! Hubby and I are into The Big Bang Theory right now. We laugh so hard we cant breathe! Laughing is a great way to feel better, and according to the Mayo Clinic it has tons of scientifically backed benefits: it calms stress, helps your immune system, relieves pain, stimulates organs, improves mood, and so on. So this is a great time to binge your favorite comedies! A few of my favorites are The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, Friends, and The Office.

3. Get your exercise in! At least go for a walk everyday (make sure to practice social distancing), or do some stretches at home. I'm uploading at-home exercises on my Instagram regularly right now so make sure to check them out.

4. Have lots of sex! If you're in a relationship, this is a great way to spend your time. Not only will sex make you guys feel closer and more in love, it also helps ease anxiety, relieves stress, boosts your immune system, lowers blood pressure, reduces pain, and helps you sleep better.

5. Meditate and write down what you're grateful for. I use an app called Calm, which I love. It has daily 10min mediations on there and I do them before I go to bed. It puts me in a great headspace for restful sleep so I don't toss and turn with a bunch of worries on my mind. IF mediation isn't your jam, at least have a gratitude practice. Every night, writes down 5 things you're grateful for. Do the same thing when you wake up! Be thankful for what you have, vs focusing on what you don't.

6. Try a CBD supplement. CBD is known for helping relieve stress, anxiety, reduce pain and inflammation, and balance your mood. I've been using the Naked Leaf gel caps for the last month, before all this happened - and they've helped me deal with a lot of the stress I've experienced lately (got a new job, traveled like crazy, got furloughed from said job, blogging, blogging, coaching, instagramming...). I swear by them and in combination with my daily yoga and mediation practice, I'm "as calm as a tub of curdled milk" as we say in Swedish ;)

If you want to give them a try, you can use this code: nakedigahjmk3

**this is a paid collaboration with Naked Leaf but as always I only recommend things that I use myself**

What are some of the ways you deal with this new normal we're in?

Much love,

Elina