How to Overcome Anxiety with Simple Daily Habits
When life feels chaotic, it’s easy to search for quick fixes to shut off anxious thoughts. While in-the-moment strategies are helpful (as we covered in my last blog), long-term mental well-being comes from building a strong foundation. The way we care for our bodies and minds daily plays a huge role in how we handle stress.
Here are some foundational mental health habits that can help reduce anxiety and overstimulation over time.
The Foundations of Mental Health
I go over these with almost every client because they’re that important. These basic practices support our nervous system and emotional well-being—and they’re things we can do outside of therapy to feel a little more balanced and resourced in everyday life.
Sleep –Aim for 7–9 hours of good quality sleep. When we’re not well rested, everything feels harder—especially regulating emotions and managing anxiety. A consistent bedtime routine can go a long way.
Hydration – Even mild dehydration can increase stress, fatigue, and brain fog. A helpful rule of thumb is to drink about half your body weight in ounces of water each day. Keeping a water bottle nearby can make it easier to stay on top of.
Nutrition – Skipping meals or eating in a way that causes blood sugar crashes can leave us feeling more anxious, tired, or irritable. Nourishing your body with balanced meals helps stabilize your energy and mood.
Movement – You don’t need to do intense workouts for movement to be helpful. Gentle walks, stretching, or any form of movement that feels good in your body can help release stress and lift your mood.
Social connection – We’re wired for connection. Supportive relationships help us co-regulate and feel less alone. Even a short phone call or text exchange with someone who feels safe can be enough to shift things.
One piece that often gets missed is having some kind of routine. Our nervous systems like predictability. When we have structure to our days—even just simple anchors like waking up around the same time, eating regularly, or winding down the same way each night—it helps create a sense of safety and stability.
Sometimes I’ll say to clients, think about how you’d take care of a small child. You wouldn’t expect them to function well on no sleep, junk food, or without any comforting structure. You’d make sure they were fed, rested, hydrated, and had time for play and connection. It’s the same for us. We all need that kind of steady, nurturing care—especially when we’re trying to heal.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, start with these basics. Even small improvements in these areas can help you feel more grounded and in control.
Meditation & Mindfulness
When life feels overwhelming, slowing down and turning inward can feel almost impossible—but that’s exactly why mindfulness and meditation are such powerful tools. They offer us a way to gently train the mind to come back to the present moment, again and again.
Mindfulness isn’t about clearing your thoughts or achieving some perfect, peaceful state. It’s about noticing what’s here, without judgment. That might look like paying attention to your breath, the way your feet feel on the floor, or the sounds around you. The point is to come back to your body, your breath, and this moment—even if only for a few seconds.
Over time, this daily practice helps reduce mental clutter and overwhelm. It creates space between stimulus and response—so instead of immediately reacting from a place of stress or survival, you start to build the capacity to pause, check in, and choose how you want to respond.
Meditation can be as simple as sitting quietly for 5 minutes, listening to a guided practice, or even just noticing the sensations of your breath while washing the dishes. You don’t have to do it perfectly or for long stretches to experience benefits.
What matters most is consistency over intensity. A few minutes each day adds up, especially when it becomes a way of staying connected to yourself. Think of it as daily maintenance for your nervous system—a way to stay grounded, even when life feels chaotic.
Medication as a Tool
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to managing anxiety and overwhelm—and that includes the choice to explore medication. For some people, pharmaceutical support can be a helpful part of their healing process, especially when anxiety is significantly interfering with daily life.
Choosing to try medication doesn’t mean you’ve failed or that you’ll need it forever. For many, it’s simply a tool—something that can help create enough internal stability to begin learning and integrating other regulation strategies.
If you’re considering this path, it’s important to have an open, honest conversation with your doctor about what might work best for you. Every nervous system is different, and the right support should be tailored to your individual needs and circumstances.
If you and your doctor decide that medication is a good fit, consistency matters. Taking it exactly as prescribed is key to giving your body and brain the opportunity to adjust and respond. As a therapist, I don’t prescribe medication, but I do encourage clients to stick with their doctor’s guidance and communicate any concerns or side effects early on. Medication can be most effective when paired with curiosity, self-compassion, and a steady routine.
There’s nothing wrong with needing a little extra help. The goal is to support your healing in whatever way feels most aligned, compassionate, and sustainable for you.
The Role of Therapy & Inner Work
If you’ve been feeling stuck in cycles of anxiety, overwhelm, or racing thoughts, you’re not alone. Many people I work with share similar experiences—and often, there are deeper patterns or past wounds beneath the surface that haven’t yet had the chance to be fully seen or healed.
Therapy can be a space to gently explore what’s going on underneath, at your own pace. It’s not just about managing symptoms—it’s about understanding the roots, making meaning of your story, and learning new ways to relate to yourself with more compassion and clarity.
As a trauma therapist trained in EMDR therapy, I’ve seen firsthand how powerful it can be when we give ourselves the space to process, integrate, and reconnect with parts of ourselves that may have been overwhelmed or shut down. With the right support, healing is possible—and you don’t have to do it alone.
Consistency & The 1% Rule
Managing anxiety and overwhelm isn’t about finding one perfect solution—it’s about building a foundation of small, supportive practices that help you feel more grounded over time. Focus on being just 1% better each day. Whether it’s better sleep, nourishing meals, mindfulness, or movement, these daily strategies create space for your nervous system to regulate and rest.
Final Thoughts
If you’re feeling stuck or need support beyond what you can do on your own, therapy can be a powerful next step. At Lokahi Wellness Collective, I offer in-person sessions in Kelowna and virtual therapy across BC. My approach is gentle, collaborative, and rooted in understanding how past experiences shape how we feel and function today. Together, we can work at a pace that feels safe and supportive for you.
If you’re curious about working together, I’d love to connect.