What is the best to combat occasional anxiety.

Hi needsleep,

Oh man!  Sleep is so important to mental health!  And all too often what you are experiencing happens.  The overload of stress, family, obligations, and trying to care for oneself all create this perfect storm that keeps us up all night.  I get that for sure.

There are many non medication treatments or practices you can engage in to help mitigate the effects of stress and overwhelm.  In counseling, when someone presents with a circumstance like you have, I will often work with the client to understand where the source of stress is coming from, how he or she is currently choosing to manage that stress, and look at alternative ways for managing the stress.

The first thing I would look at with you would be your sleep patterns.  Sleep plays a major role in our mental health and affects the perspective we have throughout our day.  We would go over what you are currently doing for best bedtime practices and work together to see how to help you deepen and improve that.  We would also talk about how you are currently caring for your body - nutrition, exercise, self reflection - and talk about how your experience of caring for yourself affects stress levels. 

We would also talk about the dynamics you have going on in your home and work and personal life.  We would explore those as a way of seeking out the sources for the stress and why it seems to happen only on occasion.  Finally, we would examine what is going on during the times you DO NOT feel stressed or anxious as a way of looking at what is working well for you already and how to do more of that in the stressful times.  Basically, what it comes down to in counseling, is helping you understand and generate more awareness of what's happening inside of you as a way of helping you make the best informed decisions you can.