Whether you’re in need of some serious stress relief or you’re worried about the state of the world, the below anxiety hacks are not just helpful, but they’re also practical. For a longer, more detailed version of our favorite hacks for functional anxiety relief (including more extensive links to peer-reviewed scientific research,) please consult our […]
anxiety relief
How To Use Glimmers (The Opposite of Triggers) to Relieve Stress
I first heard about glimmers and the concept of a “glimmers list” when somatic coach Sarah Baldwin mentioned them both in a tutorial about how anxious people can learn to understand and regulate their nervous system. After 10 years of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and about ~3 years of Somatic Therapy, I was surprised that this […]
How to Get Better at Overcoming Rumination (aka Obsessive Thoughts)
Rumination is the phenomenon of continuously, obsessively thinking about negative or unpleasant thoughts in a way that makes it hard to let go. By definition, it is a repetitive thought process that has a negative tone because it is focused on negative experiences, which often get replayed over and over. Many people struggle with excessive […]
The 9 Best Snacks for Flight Anxiety
Let’s be honest: most people are nervous flyers. No one likes turbulence– some of us are just better at coping with it than others. Finding healthy travel snacks for plane rides isn’t exactly hard, but finding snacks that also help fight flight anxiety can be. The best airport snacks for nervous travelers are fruits, nuts, […]
This is “The Most Calming Song in the World” According to Neuroscientists
Hunting for relaxation music and want to get really clinical about it? Marconi Union’s “Weightless” is literally the most calming song in the world– at least according to neuroscientists. Allow me to explain further. In 2011, British ambient band Marconi Union worked with sound therapists and researchers from Mindlab International to specifically design an 8-minute […]
Read This If You’re Having a Panic Attack
Ok, here we are. Panic attacks are things that happen to people sometimes, and they are terrible. But you are going to be okay. Stay with me here and just breathe. First, stand up. Walk around slowly if you have to (assuming you are in a safe place to do so). You’re having a panic […]
Try This Genius Hack for Calming Spiraling Thoughts
Spiraling thoughts are easily identifiable as any obsessive, repeating, or circuitous thoughts that grip your attention in a negative way. You become obsessed, and can’t stop thinking about that thing. This is a thought spiral, and they usually weigh you down. Spiraling thoughts make it so that it’s hard to focus on anything else, and […]
Gut Health Strongly Linked To Anxiety, Research Finds
Gut health and mental health may be more strongly associated than scientists previously suspected, new research suggests. According to recent meta-analyses published in the medical journal General Psychiatry, anxiety might be alleviated by regulating gut bacteria. This is a massive finding considering that as much as a third of the global population experiences anxiety, and […]
How Mental Health Became Pop Music’s Unlikely Muse
Maybe you’ve noticed that some of the biggest songs on the radio in recent years have dealt with themes of depression, anxiety, suicide, and other aspects of mental health. Or maybe you saw Lady Gaga‘s 2019 speech at the Grammy Awards in which she mentioned, perhaps unsurprisingly, that many artists deal with mental health issues. […]
3 Helpful Tools & Insights From Dr. Michele Kambolis’ Stress-Focused Book, “When Women Rise”
For the last 25 years, Vancouver-based Dr. Michele Kambolis has worked in private practice treating women with various degrees of stress, anxiety, and trauma in their lives. Accordingly, her new book on women and stress, When Women Rise: Everyday Practices to Strengthen Your Mind, Body, and Soul is both a primer and masterclass on […]