Anxious? Stressed?

 

Anxious? Stressed? How can you help yourself to relax, reset and renew?

 With light of recent events most people are anxious, stressed wired and tired. Many people are looking for ways to cope with the new stressors in society. This has also shown up in our children. Many parents are reporting higher anxiety, stress and poor coping skills.

Here are a few ways you can help alleviate anxiety and feel better so you can focus and reset.

1.      Breathe! A simple way to relax your mind and brain is to focus on breathing. An easy exercise is box breathing. You will breath in for 4 counts, hold for 4 counts, breath out for 4 counts and hold for 4 counts. With children do counts of 3.

2.      Meditate, there are many apps such as CALM that will help teach and guide you to slow your mind down and reset

3.      Sleep. Are you sleeping well? 8-9 hours a night? Have you set up good sleeping hygiene with a cool, dark room with no phones or EMF devices in it? Do you have a regular sleeping schedule?

4.      Eating well. Are you eating on the run or taking time to eat and enjoy and chew your food with no distractions? Are you chewing your food for proper digestion? Taking a digestive enzyme, digestive bitters or lemon water after a few bites of your meal with greatly enhance your absorption of key nutrients such as iron, magnesium and zinc which are often depleted in many children and adults. Eat whole foods and refrain from packaged chemical ingredients. JUST EAT REAL FOOD! Avoid sugar and processed foods.

5.      Water intake. Many people are not consuming enough water, out bodes need 3-4 liters per day for healthy cells. Low water intake will make you tired, sore, foggy brained and constipated.

6.      Bowel movements. Are you regular? Meaning 2-3 bowel movements per day within 8 hours after a meal? Refer to the Bristol poop chart to see if your bowel movements are healthy. Many people are depleted in magnesium and other key nutrients and probiotics that affect bowel movements and gut health.

7.      Move your body. Start with a 10 min walk or some form of exercise, put it in your calendar and make it an appointment and build to 30 min per day. Chiropractic care can help you to move your body and help you feel better physically and emotionally. Many patients state they feel emotionally better after an adjustment.

Dr. Joelle Johnson BSc, DC, FICPA is currently talking her certification in childhood and adolescent neurodevelopment and is located at Family First Chiropractic and Wellness, 142 Erickson Drive, Red Deer. T4R2C3 403-347-3261 www.family1stchiro.ca