What are alternative ways besides medication to deal with the physical symptoms of anxiety?

One alternative way to deal with the physical symptoms of anxiety would be to practice mindfulness. Doing activities like practicing deep breathing exercises and meditation really helps. Also you could try doing something creative and hands on like drawing, painting or knitting. Another way on dealing with the physical symptoms is to go out for a walk and to get some fresh air and refocus your mind. Self care is really important when you are dealing with physical symptoms. You also need to make sure that you are getting enough sleep at night and eating enough healthy foods and exercising. Doing these things can help with the physical symptoms of anxiety.

While I do take medication for anxiety, I found psychological way to deal with it in everyday life. It is as follows: Put all your worries into two categories - 1. Those things which you CAN control. 2. Those things which you CANNOT control. When you have categorized your worries, take the "CANNOT control" list and cast it as far from you as the east is from the west. While it is easier said than done, I think you will agree that it is futile and harmful to worry about that which you CANNOT control. Now, take the list of things in your life that you worry about and can control. The list should be fairly short and made up of things very important to you. Use your time to focus on them and yourself. I think you will find great relief in doing so.

Alternative ways to deal with physical symptoms of anxiety besides medication are finding things that distract you. My experience of having anxiety that's been very physical for me was to always try to help find things that would distract me to the point where I wasn't always focusing on my anxiety. There were times where all I could focus on was my anxiety so the physical symptoms that I was feeling from my anxiety would become 10 times worse than they already were but whenever I were to distract myself I didn't feel the symptoms as much. Medication for me only felt like it made things worse.

From personal experience breathing is the most important part as when panic or anxiety sets in we forget how to breathe and before you know it its out of control. Over time taking deep slow breaths will gradually help but not overnight. I also found standing and breathing fast repeatedly brings on similar feelings to a panic attack but the difference is we are then in control of the feeling and can soon bring it back to normal. Over time this will also work for anxiety and panic attacks. Also exercise is good. Always remember practice makes perfect and we cant change things overnight!

I think for me dealing with anxiety is to sort through my emotions. I take time to reflect, sometimes it worsens it but sometimes it doesn't. I know it needs to be sorted out and dealt with because it accumulates when I don't address the situation. Another thing I do is take some time out of what was causing the anxiety. This helps me reorient to my situation and understand that I can and am able to regain control of the situation. There are days where this is tougher than others, but it generally helps me. I also like going for walks to just take in the fresh air and calm my anxious mind.

Mindfulness - apps such as Calm, when used daily, really helped me to cope with relationship and exam stresses. Taking 15 minutes out of your day to think about absolutely nothing allowed me to clear my head and take my mind off of the bigger picture. Focusing on breathing techniques allows you to regain a sense of control over your life, and that that control has the power to ease stress. I used to meditate an hour or so before I went to bed, leaving me time to wind down and ensure I had a peaceful nights sleep. The breathing techniques taught in Mindfulness also allow you to sleep easier, and provide you with a focus to zoom in on.

There are heaps of different ways to deal with symptoms of anxiety! I personally like to use grounding exercises, these are different strategies/exercises that bring your mind back to the moment. My favourite grounding exercise is 5-4-3-2-1, in this exercise you have to list 5 things you can see around you, 4 things you can feel or touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell and 1 thing you can taste. This allows you to focus on your surroundings rather then what’s on your mind. Another grounding technique is holding ice and concentrating on the pain that you might feel whilst holding it. (This is a great strategy for self harmers too)