How to Battle Anxiety When Your World Seems Upside Down

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Whether you are finding this post during the global Coronavirus outbreak or after, it all applies. Today is currently the start of week #3 of quarantine and to say I’m hearing more and more about the word anxiety would be an understatement.

Everywhere I turn more and more people are trying to figure out how to deal with this pandemic and the effects of it.

So I decided to compile all the things I’ve learned and done over my adult life to control myself through the times of worries, fear, disappointment, and anxiety.

I pray there is something on this list that will help you through any tough times you face.

HEALTHY FOODS

• Nuts and Nut Butters
• Fatty fish like Tuna, Salmon
• Eggs
• Pumpkin Seeds
• Dark Chocolate
• Yogurt

LIMIT SUGAR.

Focus on whole foods.

Do your best to stay away from packaged, canned, or processed foods.

Here are some great ideas for low carb, low sugar foods.

Don’t know where to start when it comes to “eating healthy”?

Then look no further! We’ve got a great program to get you started on the right track!

SUPPLEMENTS

VITAMINS A, C, and E

These are some of the most common vitamins recommended for us to take. These three are well-known antioxidants, they may also help with anxiety symptoms.

You will find these three vitamins in skin care products to battle the signs of aging and in most multi vitamins.

They are vitally important to the protection of your cells. When your cells are protected and happy, your body is too.

VITAMIN D

Vitamin D does so many things. Not only is it a fantastic immunity booster but for me personally, I call it my boost of “sunshine”.

I am one that suffers from seasonal depression. For years I always wondered what happened to me each winter. The older I got, the worse it got… until one winter I literally couldn’t get myself out of bed for days. As a mom of many, this just did not work.

I started researching and boom, it all made sense. I was deficient in Vitamin D. Not only from the lack of sunshine but also from my diet.

That fall I decided to really boost up my Vitamin D intake to prepare for the upcoming winter. I was taking no less than 10,000 IU’s a day.

And guess what… not only did I NOT suffer from depression that winter but I had more pep and energy than I could ever remember.

Want options other than a vitamin or supplement you need to swallow?

Here’s a brand new product on the market that I’m in love with!

RAYS FOR DAYS!

Lets the sunshine in!

Find your sun! With vitamin D and saffron, these watermelon-orange gummies help offset the negative effects due to lack of sunshine.  

Free from artificial colors, flavors, and sweeteners, these gummies are made with vitamin D – the sunshine vitamin – and saffron an ancient mood-boosting spice^.

• Vegetarian.
• Gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free.
• Free from peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, high-fructose corn syrup, shellfish,
  fish and crustaceans.

What is Saffron?
Saffron is an ancient mood-boosting spice known for its yellow color.^†

What is Vitamin D?
Vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin because a diet with sufficient vitamin D, in conjunction with adequate sun exposure, is needed for many people to get their vitamin D requirements. Vitamin D plays an important role in calcium absorption and supports the immune system.^†

MAGNESIUM

Your body doesn’t need much of it, but when you are deficient in Magnesium it could lead to anxiety symptoms.

MEGA MULTIVITAMIN: The #1 supplement I personally use is Double X by Nutrilite. This mega multivitamin covers so many of the necessary daily nutrients. Including the ones mentioned above.

• 12 essential vitamins
• 10 essential minerals
• 22 plant concentrates

Check out the ingredient list here… WOW!

RHODIOLA

This is one of my most favorite supplements! I actually call it my “productivity pill”. Not only does it give me a pep in my step but it lifts the fog. It clears my mind and allows me to get work done. As a busy mom of 4 who runs 2 businesses, I cannot recommend this supplement enough.

Rhodiola is a well known supplement for mood.

VITAMIN B

Having a vitamin B deficiency can cause symptoms of anxiety and stress; increasing Vitamin B levels through proper diet or nutritional supplements may alleviate mental fatigue and depressive tendencies more quickly, to achieve the balance you need to regain control of your life and happiness.

COMBO PACK:

Focus + Energy Pack combines Rhodiola, Vitamin B, and Memory Builder all in one convenient pack!

FISH OIL

If you do not eat a diet high in nuts, nut butter, seeds, or fatty fish then you are missing out on the amazing benefits of Omega-3s.

Your body does not make omega-3s, you must get it from an outside source.

L-THEANINE AND LEMON BALM

What is L-theanine?
L-theanine is an amino acid known to help reduce occasional stress.

What is Lemon Balm?
Lemon balm is an herb used traditionally as a calming botanical.

A new fantastic product that just hit the market!

Feeling stressed? A couple of mango lemon-flavored gummies can help you chill – without artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. L-Theanine, a natural amino acid known to help reduce occasional stress, and lemon balm, a calming botanical, team up to get you in your zone.

• Vegetarian.
• Gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free.
• Free from peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, high-fructose corn syrup, shellfish
  and crustaceans.

DRINKS

• Green Tea
• Ginger
• Matcha
• Chamomile Tea
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• XS Energy Drink
  • 4900% of Vitamin B12!

This brand new “Take a Sec” tea has just hit the market and is absolutely delish!

Calms you and helps you relax

Not today, stress. Take a second to chill and sip this relaxing tea.

Savor the naturally delicious hibiscus-lavender-chamomile blend. The botanicals bring out your calm. You deserve it!

• Contains a custom blend of hibiscus, lavender, and chamomile.
• Caffeine-free.
• Vegetarian.

STRESS PRO TIPS:

LIMIT CAFFEINE AND ALCOHOL.

Alcohol is a depressant. If you are dealing with anxiety and depression, stay away from things that bring you down.

OILS

• Lavender
• Ylang Ylang
• Frankincense
• Lemon Balm
• Orange

SWEET DREAMS

This roller is marketed as a sleep aid but I think it is perfect for super stressful times totally based on the ingredients it contains.

This perfect combination of lavender, ylang-ylang and orange oils helps calm and relax you. 

RAYS FOR DAYS

Breathe deeply and find your sun! Brighten your day with this essential oil blend uniquely designed to help support a healthy mood.

This perfectly balanced, exclusive blend of bergamot, orange, and lemon oils brings you joy-filled days, bliss, and balance.

EPSOM SALT

Over the years I’ve discovered the wonderful benefits of Epsom Salts. From relieving muscle soreness, to reducing pain and swelling, to helping with constipation, but most of I all I turn to these little guys for relaxation and calmness.

When Epsom salt is dissolved in water, it releases magnesium and sulfate ions.

The idea is that these particles can be absorbed through your skin, providing you with magnesium and sulfates.

As we discussed above, Magnesium is important part of keeping anxiety at bay.

ESTABLISH A ROUTINE

Human beings thrive on predictability. We love to know what to expect and what’s coming next. I don’t know about you but I’m not a fan of surprises, especially ones that stress me out.

This is something I learned early on after I had my first baby. I didn’t know what to do or how to plan my day. Do I just wait for him to tell me what to do? On-demand or scheduled was the hot topic within the parenting community. Still is.

I needed a schedule to know what to expect and so did he… even as a newborn. I learned first hand how much easier he was to work with when he was on a schedule. And when he was happy, so was I.

My point is, whether you are home full time due to the quarantine or an essential employee that are literally working the front lines, things have changed.

It is going to be vitally important right now to establish some kind of normalcy even when things seem upside down.

My morning routine is vitally important to me… it sets the tone for the entire day.

NOTE: I am NOT a morning person, not even close, but getting up before everyone else brings me peace and clarity before the busy day ahead starts.

Please read this on my top time management tips and morning routine.

MEDITATE and PRAY

This is where I get the main source of my peace and joy. I have to remind myself daily that EVERYTHING is going to be ok… and at the end of the day, we win!

I have found in my own life that anxiety has no room in a peaceful heart. It’s just not even allowed in.

Therefore my personal pursuit is for peace. This is how I do it.

Find yourself a good devotional. Here’s what I use:

As long as I start each day in The Word, it sets the tone of peace throughout the rest of my day. And if I feel worried, scared, anxious feelings rise up, this is the first place I turn.

BREATHE

As a busy mom of 4 who runs 2 businesses, it’s amazing how often I forget to just stop and breathe. The benefits that come along with literally just taking a few minutes to stop, close your eyes, and take a few breaths in and out are amazing.

For those that own an Apple Watch know this is an important part of the day. I often get reminders to stop and breathe.

Deep breathing is an important part of your schedule, I highly recommend including it in your plans. Then it will become a habit.

You schedule time to breathe?

Yes, I do and you should too!

It can be included in your morning routine, mid afternoon, or bedtime.

GRATITUDE JOURNAL

It’s hard to focus on what’s wrong when you’re in a grateful state of mind.

I have found it vitally important to my peace and focus that I start each day writing down what I’m grateful for. This is done during my “quiet time”.

Some days it was as simple as air conditioning. Yes, there were days when that was all I could find but I wrote it down and thought about that. That usually spurred onto more things because I was like “really, that’s all your thankful for? Come on, let’s think.”

Even during the toughest times of my life, when I didn’t even feel like getting out of bed and things were so unknown and scary… I think made myself search for things I was grateful for.

READ

Keeping your mind engaged in an uplifting and encouraging book will also help keep you in a positive state of mind.

It is hard to be fearful or anxious when you are constantly feeding yourself positive.

Find authors that have done something you admire or something you would want to do. A good biography or self-help books are always good to read. Why? Because they’re usually loaded with stories and examples of trials and overcoming.

When I read what others have faced and how they overcame it, it gives me the energy and determination to do the same.

Head here for a list of some of my favorite books that have helped me transform my life from the inside out.

LISTEN

If you don’t already have a “Positive Podcast List” then it’s time!

Who are your favorite positive and encouraging authors? They most likely have a podcast.

Here are a few of my personal recommendations:

• Terri Savelle Foy
• Joyce Meyer
• Joel Osteen

My motto? PRESS PLAY EVERY DAY!

Start your day with something positive. I always have a positive podcast message playing when I’m getting read in the morning.

CONNECT

Whether it’s face to face or it’s on FaceTime… human interaction is vitally important to our health and happiness.

I think everyone has their categories of people in their lives that they know they can go to for certain things.

There are different roles for different people.

• So who is it that you can talk to about deep stuff? Not someone who let’s you just complain and feel sorry for yourself, but someone who you trust but also helps you look for the bright side?
• Who’s good at challenging your current state or mindset to shake you out of a funk?
• And who is that person that simply makes you laugh?

I believe God sends you the right people to help you get through things and to help you fulfill your mission here.

You need to keep these people close. Thank goodness for technology that we can hop on a face call any time.

FOLLOW or UNFOLLOW

Oh social media… it’s so wonderful and terrible all at the same time.

Once I discovered how much following certain people messed with my mind, mood, and emotions I had to take control of it.

I was in control of who I followed and who I let influence me. I WAS in control of that.

If my peace was more important than who I “liked” then I had to make some tough decisions.

I decided that I could ONLY follow people who were speaking about positive things and good outcomes. Period.

Unfollow the rest.

Won’t unfollowing them hurt their feelings?

I DON’T CARE! Following them was hurting my PEACE… which was much more important than a “follow” on Instagram or Facebook.

If you are having a hard time unfollowing then it sounds like you may need a Social Media Detox!

START SOMETHING

Create, pour yourself into something you’ve been wanting to do. If you are stuck at home then now is the time to do something!

We were designed to create and thrive! There’s only so much Netflix binging we can do before we feel enough’s enough.

• Take an online course in a specific field?
• Get back into drawing or painting?
• Sewing?
• Designing?
• Crafting?
• Start your own business?

Though right now may seem like an awful time to start a business, but to be honest, I think it’s a great time to start!

I’m a huge believer that the world needs what you have to offer. You are doing no good hiding the gift that only YOU can bring us.

YOU WERE MADE TO CREATE!

Not sure how to live a life you LOVE? Then take the 5-day challenge!

EXERCISE

Move your body! It doesn’t matter at what level or intensity… just MOVE!

Physical activity stimulates the release of endorphins, dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. These brain chemicals play an important part in regulating your mood.

If you don’t know where to start head here. I put together 6 ways to stay active while stuck at home. This covers exercises and movements for all levels and stages.

TURN THE NEWS… OFF!!

For the love of everything that is good… PLEASE turn. it. off!

This is so so important.

My family does not watch the news. We hardly watch TV at all.

If the TV is on it’s usually at night after our day is complete. We only watch the Hallmark Channel or maybe something on HGTV. Oh, and we like Shark Tank and Under Cover Boss… but that’s really about it.

I can easily find out what’s happening in the world by opening up my Facebook.

If you feel you MUST watch the news to find out what’s going on, then schedule it.

This recommendation should not surprise you by this point.

• Set a specific time of the day and put it in your calendar.
• Set a start and stop time.
• Watch what you need to watch and then turn it off.

And can I beg you to NOT schedule your news time before you go to bed?

When you go to sleep your mind works on the last thing it was fed. If you are filling it with fear, death, and destruction before you fall asleep then what does it have to work with?

Exactly.

If you are having trouble sleeping, then it’s time to assess what you are filling your mind with prior to going to bed.

(Bed time is a great time to read your uplifting and positive book.)

The news is full of FEAR! Fear creates anxiety.

The news literally burns my ears when it’s on. Even before the coronavirus hit, all I would hear on the news was about deaths or just terrible things happening to people.

Friend, I need to ask you… WHY do you feel the need to watch that?

TURN IT OFF!

GET OUTSIDE!

I’m a huge believer that God made this earth for us to enjoy.

Have you ever stood at the edge of a lake or ocean and said “wow… this is so beautiful”.

Ever stood looking at a mountain range and thought “only God”?

Have you gone for a walk through a park or the forest and just look at everything around you? All of the different trees, plants, rocks, streams, and little creatures?

Or how about just looking up on a beautiful spring or summer day and letting the sun bring warmth to your face. You actually allow yourself to stand there for a second, close your eyes and bask in the peace.

I have.

There’s something incredibly beautiful and absolutely healing about just being outside.

For 2 years, 13-year-old Anne Frank and her family lived in confinement, quarantined from life. Hidden in a secret attic above her father’s business, the family lived in constant fear of being exposed. Yet even in the midst of her social isolation, Anne found hope in the natural world, a world she could no longer personally enjoy. In her diary, she wrote:

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely, or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature, and God. For then and only then can you feel that everything is as it should be and that God wants people to be happy amid nature’s beauty and simplicity…I firmly believe that nature can bring comfort to all who suffer.”

I hope these things help you battle anxiety and get back to the peaceful and fulfilling life we were made to have.

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR THOSE BATTLING ANXIETY:

Please know, that if you are dealing with major anxiety and depression, then please get help! Don’t ever feel you should be able to deal or get through things on your own. There are people who WANT to help you… it’s their calling, it’s what they were made to do. Use their expertise and love to help you heal.

So tell me, friends, what did I miss? What do you do to battle anxiety? I’d love to hear!

xoxo, Mo

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