Do me a favor and share!

I’ve always been an anxious person — but lately it feels like my nervous system is permanently stuck in emergency mode. It’s like my body is on high alert for any and all potential danger 24/7. Some days, the tightness in my chest is so intense it feels like a fist closing around my ribs. Other nights, I lie awake staring at the ceiling, wondering why my brain refuses to let me rest.

As I’ve stepped deeper into adulthood — wanting to finally move out of my mom’s house, trying to build a stable income as a self-employed woman, dealing with the rollercoaster of running a business — that anxiety has turned into something I can’t ignore anymore.

At my worst, I remember sitting on the edge of my bed at 2 AM with my heart pounding out of my chest, whispering, “Why is this happening again?” I felt like my body was betraying me.

Here’s the truth I’ve had to face:
I can’t build the life I want — the wealth, the emotional freedom, the success — while fighting my own nervous system every single day. Anxiety drains your focus, your confidence, your creativity. It keeps you in a constant state of fear. And it was keeping me small.

So this year, I made a decision: I’m learning how to regulate my nervous system and release the anxiety trapped in my body. Enough is enough!

I’ve been diving into somatic healing, which is basically healing through the body instead of the mind. When you’re anxious, your brain isn’t the only thing freaking out — your body is, too. And it needs physical pathways to release that stress.

I’m sharing the practices that have actually been helping me, plus the science behind them (because I’m the kind of girl who needs to understand why something works before adopting it).

1. Moving My Body Consistently

You’ve probably heard it a million times—movement is medicine! And honestly? It’s true. As someone who works from home, it’s way too easy to forget about exercise and just work all day. But now that I’m intentionally aiming for 8,000 steps a day, I can genuinely feel the difference in my anxiety levels.

Getting steps in when you work from home can be tricky, so I make sure to start my day by hopping on my walking pad to get some movement in early. That way it’s done before I get sucked into work mode.

I’ve also started doing Pilates and weightlifting. The chest press has been a literal game-changer for me. When I’m using it, I can literally feel the energy in my chest shift. I can feel that nervous energy leaving my body as I lift, and to that I say—good riddance!

Why It Helps:

When you’re anxious, your body pumps out cortisol and adrenaline — chemicals meant to help you run from danger. But in modern life, the “danger” is an email, bills, or your mom asking why you’re still living at home. Movement burns off those stress chemicals and signals to your nervous system, “We survived. You can relax now.”

2. Dancing and Somatic Shaking

On the days when that anxious chest-tightness hits before I even get out of bed, this is the one thing that helps almost instantly.

Every morning, I put on a song and shake or dance for a few minutes. I shake out my arms, bounce my legs, loosen everything up. It looks ridiculous, but it works — especially on the days where I wake up with that awful “anxiety ball” lodged in my sternum.

Why It Helps:

Anxiety literally gets stored in your body as physical tension. Shaking and dance help discharge that pent-up energy and complete the “stress cycle.” It’s what animals do naturally — they shake after a threat to reset their nervous system. Humans have been taught to stay still, stay polite, and hold it all in. Shaking lets your body release what your mind has been carrying.

3. Ashwagandha Supplements

I’ve been taking extra-strength ashwagandha (Nature’s Truth, 3,000 mg), and it helps with my sleep a lot. Sometimes I even feel like a normal person! Like, no tight grip in my chest, just… calm? It helps me relax for a few hours and makes falling asleep easier, which is huge when racing thoughts usually keep me up literally all night. I’ve also tried the Goli ashwagandha gummies before and liked those too.

Why it actually helps: Ashwagandha is an adaptogen, which is basically a fancy word for something that helps your body adapt to and manage stress. Studies show it can lower cortisol (your main stress hormone) and help regulate your nervous system. It takes the edge off without making you feel sedated or foggy—you just feel more… level.

Always check with your doctor before starting any new supplement, especially if you’re on other medications.

4. EFT Tapping (Yes, Really)

I’m not gonna lie—I’m a skeptical person. When I first heard about EFT tapping, I was like, “You’re just tapping on your face. How is that supposed to help anything?” But I tried it anyway, and for some reason, it actually does something. When I’m saying the statements while tapping, I can feel the energy moving in my body. There’s a noticeable shift that happens, and I can’t fully explain it, but it’s real.

Why it actually helps: EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) tapping involves gently tapping on specific meridian points on your face and body—like the side of your hand, your eyebrow, under your eye, your collarbone—while speaking about what’s bothering you.

The theory is that tapping on these acupressure points while focusing on your anxiety sends calming signals to your amygdala (that’s the fear center of your brain). It’s like you’re telling your brain, “I see this fear, but I’m actually safe right now.” Research shows it can reduce cortisol and genuinely calm your nervous system. Wild, right?

5. Humming and Singing

This one feels almost too easy, but humming or singing has become one of my daily tools for calming chest tightness from anxiety. On my drives, I blast music and sing my heart out. Or I’ll hum songs to really get that vibration going through my body. It sounds so simple, but that gentle vibration helps my body relax.

Why it actually helps: This one’s all about the vagus nerve—it’s this major nerve that runs from your brain through your chest and abdomen. When your vagus nerve is activated, it tells your body to switch from “fight or flight” mode into “rest and digest” mode. The vibration from humming or singing literally massages this nerve and helps calm your entire nervous system.

6. Breathwork

I kept feeling like I wasn’t getting enough oxygen until I realized I was taking extremely shallow breaths. Shallow breaths = my body is constantly on high alert.

Learning to control my breathing has helped me get out of my head and ground myself when anxiety spikes. The best part? You can do breathwork anywhere. Before a big meeting, before a first date, at a doctor’s appointment, even sitting in a waiting room—anywhere you need to calm down in the moment.

Why it actually helps: When you’re anxious, your breathing becomes shallow and rapid, which actually increases your anxiety because it signals danger to your brain. Deep, controlled breathing does the opposite—it activates your parasympathetic nervous system (your body’s natural calming response) and tells your brain, “We’re safe, we can relax now.” The longer exhale is especially important because it signals safety.

Simple technique to try: Breathe in slowly through your nose for 4 counts, hold for 4 counts, exhale through your mouth for 6 counts. That longer exhale is key.

Conclusion

I’m still healing. I still have bad days. But I’m finally having more good days — days where the anxiety ball in my chest isn’t running my life.

These practices haven’t “fixed” me, but they’ve helped me feel safe in my own body again. And that alone has changed everything.

If you’re dealing with chronic anxiety too, I hope even one of these helps you feel a little more like yourself. You deserve to feel calm in your own body. You deserve to move toward your goals without anxiety blocking your path. You deserve peace and regulation and all the good things.

We’ve got this.

XO, Krystal