Everyone suffers from anxiety and stress at some point in their lives.
For example, we often have anxiety before a big test at school or a big meeting at work.
This kind of anxiety is normal and only lasts a few hours or days.
Recently, anxiety has swept the world and online counseling services are in high demand in all over the world
But for some people, anxiety and stress are familiar feelings all the time.
The longer you feel anxiety and stress, the worse your mental health condition becomes.
This can affect your daily life, and even your physical health. This type of anxiety is actually a disorder, and it affects more than 40 million adults in America.
From our experience at Naya Clinics, many clients come to us when anxiety has taken over their lives completely. Others find therapy helpful but want some extra help between sessions.
It is not always feasible to travel, go to the beach, or spend a few hundred dollars in the spa every other week to keep anxiety in check.
That is why we surveyed the therapists and clients at Naya Clinics for their favorite products that helped them – from personal experience – keep anxiety and stress at bay, and we curated a list for you.
All of these products are backed by the personal experience of one of our therapists or clients.
Samsung Galaxy Active 2 Watch
Price: $329.00
This is a personal favorite of mine, and I own one myself. It connects to the Samsung health app on my phone, and it constantly monitors heart rate and breathing patterns to ascertain my stress level.
One of my favorite features is that when it detects high stress levels, it alerts me ( 9 times out of 10, I am not even aware I m stressed until I get a notification), and then it suggests some breathing exercises that are already integrated in the Samsung health app.
It takes less than 5 minutes to do the breathing exercises, and it is truly helpful in snapping me out of being under stress for prolonged periods of time, and the breathing exercises help me center myself again.
Other than that, if you are someone who likes logging data and monitoring trends, this can be a great tool for you as it automatically detects when I do physical activities, and you can see your heart rate and stress patterns throughout the day, week, month etc.
I recently replaced my basic one with one that is LTE enabled and highly recommend you do the same if feasible for you.
This now enables me to receive calls and get navigation (and music) without having my phone on me.
I love how sleek my phone is and therefore do not have a case for it. Having a connected watch reduces my anxiety about breaking my phone when I m out playing soccer or riding my bike.
Click the button below to buy it on Amazon
Weighted blanket
Price: $140
Most of our clients find that the more anxious and stressed they are, the worse their sleep quality becomes.
This is a vicious circle because as the quality of sleep drops, anxiety and stress levels increase as outlined by this recent study.
If you believe anxiety and stress are reducing the quality of your sleep, we recommend trying a weighted blanket.
After having our baby, my wife struggled with getting good sleep, and she swears by the weighted blanket she recently bought.
Weighted blankets come in many sizes and weigh between 5 and 30 pounds. Reviews from users of weighted blankets suggest that they have helped to relieve pain, lessen anxiety, and improve mood.
Ideally you want your weighted blanket to be approximately 10 percent of your body weight, and look for features like temperature-regulating properties if you tend to sleep hot or cold.
Here is the one we recommend
Essential oil diffuser
Price: 68$
Aromatherapy has been found to assist with reducing anxiety according to some studies .
There are many ways to use essential oils.
Our favorite is what we consider the easiest and safest way, which is using a diffuser.
We consider this the safest way because essential oils are NOT regulated by the FDA, so we would avoid using them on our skin or in any way that creates direct contact with your body unless you trust the brand.
Here is the one we recommend for you
Acupressure mat
Price : $54
Acupressure is a form of traditional Chinese medicine that works by stimulating pressure points in the body.
Research from 2015 found that while there’s conflicting evidence on its effect on physiological indicators of anxiety, it’s effective in providing anxiety relief overall.
While this is not a replacement for seeing an acupuncturist or getting a massage, it is a very affordable and very effective way of getting some muscular relaxation, which help reduce anxiety and stress ( let alone relieve your aching back and body!)
Here is the one we recommend for you
Adult coloring book
Price: $28 (4 books set)
Great news! Coloring isn’t just for kids. In fact, coloring may help reduce anxiety in adults.
Recent studies found a correlation between coloring and mindfulness and keeping you present in the moment.
So if you’re feeling anxious, try sitting down with a fresh box of crayons — who doesn’t love a brand-new box of crayons? — and have at it.
It’s the practice of coloring itself that’s believed to center you, so it doesn’t really matter which coloring book you choose.
We chose a set of 4 coloring books for you with beautiful patterns that are will help you relax and satisfy your inner artist as well.
Get it here
Bag/Purse organizer
Price: $20
If your mind is in a million different places, it can be helpful to simplify a few small things when and where you can.
This budget-friendly simple tool hoes a long way in freeing up a little brain capacity and make sure you don’t lose your things.
This organizer has helped my wife (and me) avoid the classic back and forth between the car and the house because she forgot her keys, and her phone and her credit card etc..
We can actually go out to the car and leave now without making 3 tips inside the house, getting stressed that we can’t find her things, and being late to our appointments! 😊
Here is the one my wife got
Compact Shiatsu massager
Price: $32
Shiatsu massage is a Japanese style of massage that may help to relieve anxiety and stress.
One may be forgiven for desiring a daily professional massage, but time and cost constraints make that dream impossible to most. A portable massager is an efficient, cost-effective way to get some comfort without breaking the bank or sacrificing big chunks of your time.
This is the one I personally use at home.
It is relatively affordable and have worked well for me.
Light therapy “Sun” lamp
Price: $349.99
A 2009 study found that a sun lamp — which mimics natural outdoor light — may help to improve mood and decrease depression and anxiety in those with seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
It is part of my personal self care regiment in the winter, along with Vitamin D pills.
This is the one I have, and it works well for me.
It is pricy, but I figured I d rather pay for a good one than suffer the dark mood that descends on me when the days are short, and I don’t get enough sun light.
Blue light-blocking glasses
Price: $20
Blue light has a dark side. It disrupts sleep very substantially.
Ideally, you would want to avoid screen time up to 2 hours before going to bed, but who are we kidding? That is a tall order for most.
These Gamma Ray Optics glasses were created to block the blue light that could be disrupting your sleep patterns and wreaking havoc on your mental health. It is very affordable and goes a long way in improving your sleep, and therefore reducing your stress and anxiety.
Here is the one we recommend for you
Conclusion
None of these products is a magic potion that will make everything all right, or replace therapy.
Therapy remains the best was we recommend you deal with anxiety and stress.
With that in mind, these products can be a great addition to your work in therapy, and/or assist you through a rough or bust patch until you can get to therapy.
For convenient and accessible online therapy options, visit nayaclinics.com/book-online
Sam Nabil is the founder of Naya Clinics and is a Boston therapist and a Boston Marriage Counselor.
Sam offers therapy in Boston and Boston Marriage Counseling for adults suffering from relationship challenges, life transitions and anxiety.
Sam Nabil was featured in many prestigious publications. Check out his interview with Aljazeera English, The Washington post, The Boston Globe, Fatherly magazine, Women's health magazine, Cornell university , Yahoo News, USA Today, Marriage.com
Naya Clinics is a top-rated Marriage Counseling, therapy and Life coaching practice.
Naya Clinics offers Marriage Counselors near me, individual therapy near me, and life coaching near me in various locations across the USA and the world.
Naya Clinics also offers Online marriage counseling, online therapy, and online life coaching.
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