What Crystals Help With Anxiety?
In the US alone, over 40 million adults have have been diagnosed with some sort of anxiety disorder, and that’s just the people who meet the criteria. There are millions of others who struggle with feelings of anxiety but never qualify for a diagnosis. By all accounts, anxiety is the most common mental health concern affecting people across the country. But despite growing levels of mental illness, few people are seeking appropriate treatment. This has increased the need for self-help methods that help with anxiety.
One such method that has been gaining traction as of late is the use of crystals to alleviate anxiety. Although they aren’t an alternative to professional care, they can prove beneficial when you need a little help coping with stress. Let’s discuss what these crystals are, how they can affect us, and which crystals can help with anxiety.
What Are Crystals?
Crystals are semi-precious stones and minerals that can come in different textures, colors, and levels of opacity. There are multiple historical accounts of how crystals were used for healing purposes in different cultures. The origins of crystal healing can be traced back to Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, Ancient Greece, and even India.
What Are Crystals Used For?
Some communities believe that holding specific crystals at or near certain parts of one’s body can promote health benefits. The idea behind using crystals as a form of alternative treatment is that they have a unique energy field, and they interact with the body to bring about beneficial effects for both the body and mind. It’s why some people prefer using crystals as a way to focus on tasks and alleviate stress. While there’s no scientific evidence to explain these benefits, many people have reported using crystals as a way to feel better.
Effects of Crystals
One of the arguments surrounding the use of crystal as a way to balance mental wellness is based on the minerals’ vibrational energy. These interact with the body’s energy field, leaving you feeling relaxed and focused. Every crystal vibrates at a unique frequency, and users rely on this frequency to get anxiety relief.
That being said, most mental health practitioners explain that the effects of crystals have more to do with the user’s beliefs than the crystal’s properties itself. So, when you consider using these semi-rare stones as part of your wellness routine, you’ll need to be a little realistic about what you can and can’t expect from them.
Help You Feel Grounded
A common use of crystals is to support treatment for mental health concerns like depression or anxiety. One way they do this is by helping you feel grounded by allowing you to focus on something other than your anxious thoughts.
When you’re crippled with anxious thoughts, it’s easy to forget about everything else. In these moments, it helps to hold onto something that brings you back to the present, and a crystal is a great example.
Try using one of the crystals from the list below as part of your mindfulness or grounding routine and see how you feel. If it makes a difference in your anxiety levels, then it’s worth incorporating them into your treatment process.
Supports Your Mood
When you’re feeling stressed out and struggling with low mood, crystals can support strategies to help you feel better. Try using them to build feelings of meaning, purpose, and a spiritual connection. Of course, keep in mind that these feelings are linked to your relationship with the crystal and not its physical properties.
Help With Meditation
Meditation is a powerful technique used to enhance mindfulness and is proven to have powerful effects on helping people who struggle with anxiety. And if crystals can support your meditation, then the two make for an excellent combination that reduces your stress levels.
Crystals That Can Help With Anxiety
Although you can use just about any semi-precious stones as part of your wellness journey, there are certain crystals that are associated with reducing stress and anxious feelings. Here are a few that you may find helpful:
1. Amethyst
When you’re looking for crystals that can improve your well-being, amethyst tops the list. With a soft purple hue, this semi-rare stone has calming effects on the mind. When anxious thoughts start to spiral, grounding yourself with an amethyst crystal can give you some relief.
2. Rose Quartz
This healing crystal is also known as the stone of unconditional love. When you’re overwhelmed by anxious thoughts, it’s easy to forget about taking care of yourself. Having a rose quartz crystal can encourage you to feel grounded and take the take time to look after yourself.
3. Black Tourmaline
Black tourmaline is also helpful for grounding yourself in the present and dealing with negative thoughts. With a gritty texture and mesmerizing black color, it can help relieve anxiety when the source of your stress is external, whether it’s a difficult relationship or your career.
4. Lava Stone
If your anxiety is accompanied by feelings of frustration and anger, Lava Stone is a good choice. It calms you down and induces feelings of relaxation. Other benefits include stimulating creativity and strengthening spirituality. Lava stone is also used in some forms of massage therapy, which enhances its de-stressing abilities.
5. Moonstone
Anxiety can stem from different triggers, and if yours is caused by a fear of uncertainty, try meditating with a moonstone crystal. This stone offers calming properties that can help with balancing your emotions, inspiring creativity, and finding a sense of direction as to what you want to do.
6. Citrine
Also known as the Merchant’s Stone, citrine has a cheerful, bright color and can promote feelings of positivity to alleviate anxiety. Reducing negative and anxious thoughts encourages a clear mind and helps you feel focused. This, in turn, allows you to feel confident as well.
7. Rhodonite
Just as some crystals do a good job at alleviating anxiety that stems from external sources, rhodonite can help you curb stress that results from inner conflicts. Meditating with this crystal encourages you to show self-compassion and make well-informed, healthy decisions.
8. Celestite
When you’re feeling overwhelmed with information and anxious thoughts, unable to make sense of anything, try grounding yourself with a celestite crystal. A blue crystal with grey hues, this crystal can encourage understanding and consciousness by helping you calm down. Besides reducing anxious thoughts, this stone can increase access to inner peace and serenity.
9. Aquamarine
With gorgeous blue and green hues, the aquamarine gemstone evokes feelings of tranquility and calmness that relax both your mind and body. Once you’re able to calm down, you’ll feel more prepared and have the courage to move further. Besides meditation, you can also consider wearing aquamarine jewelry.
10. Lapis Lazuli
This gemstone targets feelings of wisdom and communication, making it a suitable choice if you struggle with social anxiety. Using it for grounding and meditation can help quiet negative thoughts and relieve anger. Overall, it makes you more self-aware while communicating and calms your mind, so you choose the right words to express yourself.
How To Try Using Crystals
Once you’ve decided on which crystals you want to use as part of your wellness strategy for reducing anxiety, purchase them from a reputable seller. To see if using crystals is for you, take a moment to hold one and see if it has an impact on how you feel. The crystal’s effects aside, holding one allows you to slow down, take a deep breath, and channel your focus toward a single thing, all of which are very helpful when you’re feeling overwhelmed. This alone will help you feel at ease.
Meditating With Crystals
If you want to try meditating with crystals, start by cleansing and charging them. You can do this by keeping them in the sunlight for a bit. Then, practice deep breathing and ground yourself in the present. Remember to have a meditation intention to direct what you aim to achieve with the meditation session.
Maybe your mind is full of anxious thoughts, and you want to quiet them so you can focus on the task at hand, or you just want to feel less overwhelmed. During this process, you can build an association between feelings of well-being and meditating with your crystal.
The Importance of Professional Care
With so many different crystals targeting anxiety, it’s important to remember that you should try using one first before getting another. It’s quite likely that you’ll experience positive effects if you believe in the crystal’s benefits – and not because of the properties themselves. Moreover, make sure that you continue checking in with your mental health practitioner to determine whether you’re making any progress.
While using crystals to stay grounded and meditate certainly has the potential to be beneficial, not everyone experiences these benefits. In this case, it’s best to continue seeking professional care to manage your symptoms.
Conclusion
Crystals are a range of semi-precious minerals that are believed to have healing properties because of how each one vibrates at a unique frequency. Despite the beliefs of the alternative medicine community, it’s likely that the benefits of using crystals come from using them as a way to stay grounded and promote mindfulness while meditating. There are a number of different crystals known for alleviating anxiety. This includes amethyst, rose quartz, moonstone, and citrine. If you’re considering using crystals to help with anxiety, remember to continue seeing your mental health practitioner on a regular basis.
