Managing Your Anxiety Naturally: 12 Expert Opinions - Part 1
On World Health Day, SoulAdvisor hosted its inaugural wellness forum on the topic of anxiety.
Held virtually over two nights, the forum showcased 12 leading traditional and complementary medicine (TCM) practitioners who shared their insights on ways to manage anxiety through their particular therapy.
Deborah Shepherd, SoulAdvisor CEO Australia and New Zealand, said the response to the forum, which drew interest from hundreds of people around the country, was overwhelming.
"Given the pandemic, we figured anxiety would be a popular topic but we were absolutely overwhelmed by the intense level of interest we received," she said.
"To have 12 leading practitioners in TCM share their insights with our online audience was extraordinary and it proved to us there is a significant need out there for quality information in this space.”
Ms Shepherd said the forum was a first and significant step towards SoulAdvisor’s goal of being a global facilitator of health and wellness through access, education and advancement of complementary therapies.
“Our platform is offering people unparalleled access to a growing collective of qualified practitioners in 110 complementary therapy modalities,” she said.
SoulAdvisor’s Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Katrina Savell, said the level of engagement with the forum was tangible reassurance that consumers trusted the brand.
“We are selecting the highest calibre of practitioners to be part of our platform, so you can expect consistent, quality standards in complementary health care.
“In addition, by sharing evidence-based, peer-reviewed research on the site’s therapy pages, we are aiming to support people in taking ownership of their wellness by making informed decisions and choices in conjunction with their health practitioner.”
SoulAdvisor is now thrilled to be sharing the highlights of this forum with you, in two parts.
Here's a snapshot of night one, with video clips to enjoy...
Cherie Levy
Clinical psychologist, Cherie Levy, maps us through a journey of anxiety: how it comes to be in our system in the beginning, how panic attacks affect us and how we can come to resent our anxiety.
Cherie also reveals the common denominator of anxiety - uncertainty. She challenges you to build a sense of intimacy with the unknown.
She also discusses how past experiences affect the way we see the world; how to connect or reconnect with yourself to yourself, how to find a sense of calm within and find our way back to a sense of wholeness.
One of the best ways to deal with anxiety is to connect with nature, according to Cherie.
“The greatest way to learn the lessons of unpredictability is by watching nature,” she says.
Cherie invites you to spend some time gazing at the stars; to walk mindfully, feeling the earth beneath your feet; or spend a day sitting in a spot in nature.
Alexander Grant
Acupuncturist, Alexander Grant, explains that in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), anxiety is the result of stagnant qi.
When the qi - or the energy of the body - gets stuck, it causes symptoms that relate to anxiety, such as anger, frustration and palpitations.
TCM looks at anxiety from a physical perspective rather than a mind perspective. Alexander explains that he examines the emotions beneath the anxiety such as fear, anger or sadness, then looks at the organs relating to those emotions.
By examining the signs and symptoms to see what’s out of balance, TCM works to balance out the qi.
Symptoms of a stagnant liver may include frustration, anger, headaches and red eyes and indicate a qi excess, while depression usually relates to a qi deficiency.
In his practice, Alexander uses acupuncture points and herbal formulas to balance the qi and in this video he gives you a couple of simple acupressure points to help bring a sense of calm.
“Chinese Medicine has a long history of looking at the body and emotions…each of the organs has a different emotion associated with it...ultimately in Chinese Medicine, we want to balance qi,” says Alexander.
Irina Gladushchenko
Energy healer, Irina Gladushchenko, examines how the five basic elements (fire, earth, metal, water, wood) are interrelated and how they relate to our body systems.
Colours, she says, relate to moods and grey scale colours are closely aligned with anxiety. Nature’s version of this grey is flooding while a human’s is the state of overwhelm. Irina says this is the body’s way of letting us know that water (our emotions) is impacting our fire (spark)
There is a way to naturally manage anxiety and Irina compares the way a flood can be managed naturally to the way we as humans should manage overwhelm.
“Our body is like micro nature - it consists of exactly the same elements as nature - we just need to work with the process, with what is now,” Irina says.
Punam Telford
Hypnotherapist, Punam Telford, guides us through a short visualisation to tap into our imagination. Enjoy your zesty lemon in this guided physical experience!
By tapping into the power of your own mind, Punam explains, you can cultivate a new mindset. Hypnosis is essentially relaxed, focused concentration and a naturally occurring state. Using closed eye hypnosis, you can explore your subconscious mind, cultivate a new mindset and understand what's really driving your anxiety.
Punam explains how this therapy, along with other tools like neuro-linguistic programming, supports you to make small, manageable changes that have a deep impact on your wellbeing and coping abilities. Your mind believes what you’re telling it so you can reframe your thinking and distance yourself from your anxious thoughts.
“With hypnotherapy you’re coming from the perspective that you already have the inner resources within you to heal, help yourself and process your anxiety,” Punam explains.
Natalie Grace
Common to most ancient cultures, the healing power of sound is steadily gaining traction in the therapeutic community.
“Sound can work on all levels to reduce and manage anxiety,” she says.
Sound therapist, Natalie Grace, says sound is a very tangible type of healing you can feel through your whole body.
She explains that we are made up of cells vibrating closely together, so a sound wave can penetrate through your entire body. Sound can address the physical aspects of anxiety like a racing heart and shortness of breath and through rhythm and certain frequencies, a client can slow their breathing and their heart rate, with certain sounds helping to slow thoughts.
Natalie describes sound as a sensory experience that transcends the stories of our daily life and says it works on a physical level to relax your body, while on a psychological level, it’s a diversion and a comfort. Our mothers sang us lullabies as children perhaps, and we all put on music to calm down.
Jem Stone
Wayapa Wuurrk practitioner, Jem Stone, guided us through ways to connect deeply to our collective mother, Earth. It is a connection that we all yearn and by aligning with ancient ways of knowing, being and doing we are able to find ways to disconnect from anxiety and reconnect to ourselves, each other and the world around us.
Conclusion From Night 1.
We hope you've enjoyed the highlights from Part 1 of our Virtual Wellness Forum, sharing the different approaches, techniques and tools that can be used to treat anxiety naturally across Psychology, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Energy Work, Hypnotherapy, Sound Therapy, and Wayapa Wuurrk.
You can connect with our practitioners to learn more about their treatments and offerings by visiting their profile page and booking in a Discovery Call:
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Irina Gladushchenko - Energy Healing, Counselling, Meditation, Reiki
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Punam Telford - Hypnotherapy, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, EFT
A Discovery Call is a unique feature on SoulAdvisor that enables you to book a FREE 15min call with a listed qualified practitioner to see if they are the right fit for you before you commit to a booking. In your Discovery Call you will have the opportunity to ask any questions you may have about their services and discuss the most suitable treatment for your needs.
You can also explore more complementary therapies and practitioners to treat anxiety (and other conditions, symptoms or issues) naturally by searching our therapies page.
Our purpose-driven editorial team has selected articles to share with our global community from thought leaders, commentators and subject matter experts in the traditional & complementary medicine sector from around the world. If you have any suggestions, comments or feedback, please contact us here.
Disclaimer: This Content has been developed from our generous global community and is intended for informational purposes only. This Content is not, nor is it intended to be, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and should never be relied upon. Further, the personal views and experiences published are expressly those of the author, and do not represent the views or endorsement of SoulAdvisor through the act of publication on our site.
