There is no escaping it. We are surrounded by stressors every day. And these stressors come in many different forms – physical, emotional, mental, environmental, electromagnetic, nutritional, and many others. It is no wonder that you’re looking for tips to help you in managing stress and anxiety.

But let’s be clear about stress. In and of itself, stress isn’t necessarily bad.

In fact, acute stress can help us adjust to challenge and accomplish things we didn’t know we could.

And then there’s chronic stress. This type of stress is omnipresent. Chronic stress is a fact of modern life. You cannot escape it because we’re surrounded by it. The food we eat can cause stress. The entertainment we choose can cause stress. Staying up late, too much cellphone use, our jobs, our kids, our families, our thoughts, traffic, too much exercise – all of these, and so many more, add up and contribute to the chronic stressors present in our lives.

And it is these chronic stressors that can trigger anxiety.

What happens when we do not have the skills for effectively managing stress and anxiety?

Chronic stress is behind 80% of the wear and tear on our bodies, minds, and spirits. This means that chronic stress is at the root of depression, anxiety, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol levels, arthritis, heart disease, cancer and so many, many more of the diseases and mental health challenges facing so many Americans today.

How do you manage stress and anxiety?

Since chronic stress is part of our everyday lives, it is essential that we each know how to manage stress and anxiety in ways that work for us. However, sometimes what we may think works for us is just another stressor.

Many believe that anti-anxiety drugs are the best way to help them cope with their chronic stress. They make an appointment with their physician for the sole purpose of getting a prescription for an anti-anxiety drug.

Unfortunately, although these drugs calm, they also convert anxiety into depression and shrink the brain! With the resulting depression, these people ask their doctor for another prescription to help them feel less depressed. And the bottom line is that pharmaceuticals for chronic stress and anxiety tend to just be other stressors that inhibit the body’s best functioning.

Other people take the route of self-medication to deal with their chronic stress and anxiety. Self-medication often appears as addictions – alcohol, food, street drugs, exercise, shopping, sex, etc.

All self-medicating does is numb the stress and anxiety, so it does not feel as bad – at least in the moment the addiction is being indulged. But addictions are just more stressors added on top of all the others.

Luckily, there are more empowering and safer stress management techniques. Here are 6 I highly recommend:

1. Optimal nutrition

   You have probably heard the adage, “You are what you eat.” You will not literally turn into a donut if that is your favorite breakfast food. But what makes up the donut is what will make up the fuel and structural material your body has to keep you healthy and managing stress and anxiety.

   The better your nutrition, the easier time you will have dealing with chronic stress.

2. Adequate sleep

   Adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night. It is during sleep that our bodies and brains have the time they need to repair, restore, and reenergize. If we do not get the sleep we need, we are leaving ourselves more susceptible to the negative impacts of chronic stress.

3. Moderate exercise

   Physical exercise is one of the best natural ways to manage stress and anxiety. Thirty minutes of moderate physical exercise daily is all it takes.

4. Breathing techniques

   Breathing techniques are a common means of reducing stress and anxiety. One of the simplest is just breathing in for 6 seconds and breathing out for 6 seconds. Doing this for just a few minutes can reduce your blood pressure and your stress/anxiety level.

5. Biogenics®

   Biogenics® means origin of life and is a series of mental exercises designed to help you learn to regulate your own body functioning at will. With this skill you can control all types of chronic stress and anxiety.

   Shealy-Sorin Biogenics™ offers essential nervous system and autonomic nervous system retraining techniques starting with Dr. Shealy’s original Biogenics® technique from 1974. Dr. Shealy’s original technique is based on humanistic psychology, safe and effective tools and techniques going back to the 1800s and 1900s before drugs and surgery became the default solution for dealing with the effects of chronic stress.

   Currently, there are over 60 Shealy-Sorin Biogenics™ exercises for you to explore and more are being developed regularly.

6. Holistic medical support

   At the Shealy-Sorin Wellness Institute we have developed and practice a number of protocols and techniques for combatting the effects of chronic stress. In fact, we are often able to reverse the effects of it. We have such success because we focus on the entire person and help to stabilize and optimize the brain, nervous system, mind, and other organ systems because stress affects literally everything.

Keep in mind that there is no cookie-cutter approach to managing stress and anxiety. What works for you will be unique to you and what works for you in one situation may not work for you in another. That is why it is important that you experiment with all of these techniques and reach out for help if you need it.

Dr Sergey Sorin is a holistic physician as well as the CEO and medical director of the Shealy-Sorin Wellness Institute. He recommends autogenic focus (the basis of Biogenics®) as part of your toolbox for managing stress and anxiety. Register to download your FREE autogenic focus MP3 now.