Every once in a while, everyone of us experiences anxiety. It is an expected aspect of simply being a human being. Often, anxiety occurs whenever change is happening. On the other hand, anxiety often becomes a problem when it regularly comes up, interfering with your daily happiness.

For some people, medication treatments for anxiety may help, but for others, they prefer not relying on medications primarily because of side effects. If you are looking for natural ways to deal with your anxiety, here are 9 ways to help you manage your anxiety without the use of any medication.

9 Natural Ways to Manage Your Anxiety Without Medication

1. Journal

This is a very simple yet highly effective way to reduce anxiety. Get a journal or simply a notebook, and write every single thing that worries you and the reason why. Don’t hold back and dump all your thoughts and feelings into the journal. This can help purge them all off of your mind.

2. Meditate

Meditation is another scientifically proven method that helps in managing anxiety. Perhaps you’ve heard about it countless times before or have already even tried it, but note that the key to effective meditation for battling anxiety is being consistent.

For one thing, meditation works by gradually increasing the natural levels of gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) hormones in your body. Our bodies naturally produce GABA to help us in feeling calm. If your body doesn’t produce enough GABA hormones, it results to nervousness, racing thoughts, insomnia, and overall anxiety.

According to one study, participants experienced about 27 percent increase in their body’s GABA production after about 60 minutes of meditation. To get help with your anxiety, try meditating every day or night and continue doing it for a few days.

3. Talk

Talking is probably that single most effective breakthrough strategy for dealing with anxiety. The simple act of talking about your worries to someone you really trust helps significantly reduce anxiety by up to 70 percent. You can talk to your family, friends or loved ones or even go to a counselor. Talking it out helps dissipate anxiety and reduce it.

4. Clean Up Your System

Food actually is among the biggest contributing factors to anxiety and most of us don’t even know it. For example, sugar and grains can contribute to anxiety because they are immensely inflammatory. Dairy, too, can often produce inflammatory effects in the body along with other foods that cause intolerance.

It greatly helps to eat healthy foods especially those that are high in multivitamins, protein, and healthy fats. Avoid processed foods, grains, and sugars. You can also try going on a Paleo diet. See: The Paleo Cure by Chris Kresser.

Also, if you’ve been going through a lot of chronic stress lately, an Adrenal Reset Diet may help restore your energy and balance your moods.

5. Label Your Feelings

Also according to experts, simply labeling or naming your feelings (silently or out loud), can help effectively reduce them. For instance, if something is bothering you or making you feel worried, simply say the word “worried” aloud or whisper it to yourself. Recognize the feeling and your body will adjust to it. A great resource is Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach.

6. Breathe

Breathing is a simple yet an incredible strategy for dealing with anxiety. Practice breathing slowly and deeply while paying attention to the feeling of inhaling air into your body then exhaling it to feel calm. You can also try alternate nostril breathing as well as fire breathing strategies.

7. Get Moving

Many studies show that exercise can be just as effective, if not more effective, compared to medicines in diminishing anxiety. Get your body moving and for more information, you can try reading John J. Ratey’s book, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain.

8. Try Visualization Techniques

You can use many different visualization techniques. For instance, try closing your eyes then imagining a white fluffy cloud collecting all your worries. Now, imagine the cloud floating away with all your troubles up into the sky until it’s gone or until you can barely see it.

9. Go Into a Gratitude Mode

Stop every once and awhile to take the moment to realize and reflect on all the positive things you have in your life. Say, “thanks” for all them. This helps counterattack against anxiety as it shifts your mind away from your negative thoughts to your blessings or abundance. Developing a regular gratitude mind-set helps reduce anxiety before it can even get a serious grip on you.

*Note: Make sure to talk with your certified health care provider first before attempting to deal with your anxiety without the use of medications.