“How I Deal With My Anxiety in 2021” From Rachel Hollis
“How I Deal With My Anxiety in 2021”
Source: The Rachel Hollis Podcast (Listen 46 min)
Contributor: Selena Garcia
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“Don't be discouraged if you still have anxiety.” - Rachel Hollis
The punches keep on coming. Anxiety is high. These are both understatements.
Here, Rachel Hollis shares her struggles with anxiety and the tools she uses to navigate it successfully—for the past ten years. She'll have you asking yourself, “when did I start to feel this way, what set me off, and what are some tactical things that I can do right now to feel better?'"
Previously, Rachel would self-medicate to sleep and numb out. While she's not on medication today, she reiterates that if you are, embrace it. Having lost an older brother with severe depression and schizophrenia with paranoia because he did not take his meds, Rachel simply hopes that this will encourage you to look beyond the symptoms at the root cause. These are really great, useful tools to try while keeping in mind that we're all different. What works for one does not work for all.
The hope here is that by telling you how Rachel got to a solution for herself, even if it doesn't work for you, hearing about her journey will encourage you to go on one of your own.
Though we list Rachel's tips below, it's HIGHLY recommended you listen to the full podcast! There's so much more to this not listed below that offers context and insight. She's a motivating and inspiring speaker who will leave you feeling encouraged and supported.
“If you’ve had a lifetime of your body going to this place, then you have to guess that it’s gonna take a while to rewire your thoughts, and to rework your nervous system, and to come up with other solutions.” - Rachel Hollis
Start listening at 5:00
Caffeine + Sugar: "Please do not roll your eyes at this because it matters. I cannot tell you how many people I talk to about this tip, and they're like, 'that's not a big deal.' It is! The first thing you need to ask yourself is how much caffeine and sugar are you taking into your body? For real."
Fifty Thousand Feet: "Any time that you are struggling with something in your life, I want you to take a step back. I want you to look at it from fifty thousand feet. I want you to raise up above the problem, above your life, and see what's really going on."
Therapy: "Most of the time, people treat the symptom, they don't treat the root cause…It was incredibly powerful for me to teach myself to take a step back and look at what was really happening…the root causes of why I was having anxiety is not something I was even aware of. It's something I had to work through with a therapist. I needed to talk to someone who wasn't emotionally connected to my pain."
Hormones: "This one's for the ladies, but also, if you're a dude and you're in a relationship with your lady, this could be a powerful thing for you to wonder about as well—what's going on with your hormones? My anxiety is so much more likely to flare up when I'm PMS'ing. Always, always, always. And I haven't still yet figured out how to navigate around that, but if I'm mindful of when that week is happening…I recommend that you just pay attention to your hormones."
Feeling Good by David D. Burns: "This book talks about the idea that all of our feelings are based on our thoughts. All of your—happy, sad, angry, bitter, anxious—it doesn't matter what the feeling is, it's always, always a result of what you think. And if you can do the work to control and focus your mindset and your thoughts, then you can ‘control’ your feelings."
Holy Basil Leaf: "Holy Basil Leaf is an adaptogen—first of all, it's a supplement, you can get it anywhere—so adaptogens, the best way that I can explain this to you is it makes your highs not quite so high. Like it just sort of mellows you out. I can't take anything; I get so groggy, so for me to use this so regularly and love it so much—I swear by it. I take it every single night."
Exercise: "This is really, really, really powerful when it comes to anxiety—move your body. Move your body, move your body, move your body!... When we exercise, when we get our heart rate up, we lower the cortisol levels. Cortisol is the stress hormone in your body…when you're exercising, you naturally have to take deeper breaths, which calms your heart rate, making you feel better."
(38:05) "Here's something else I want to make sure and address when it comes to anxiety. Don't be discouraged if you still have anxiety… it's gonna pop-up just like it did the other day, and I'm going to handle it because I know how to handle it now—instead of drowning inside of it and feeling like I'm stuck and I'm trapped in this body, that's working against me."
(38:59) "If you've had a lifetime of your body going to this place, then you have to guess that it's gonna take a while to rewire your thoughts, and to rework your nervous system, and to come up with other solutions. I just want to encourage you to focus on what's good. Focus on what's getting better. The hard parts are always going to be available."
LISTEN HERE. (46 min)
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