5 Ways To Lower Anxiety By Boosting Your Bonding Hormone

The best part: You can take strategic steps to ramp up oxytocin levels and keep stress and anxiety at bay. 

This tiny hormone plays a variety of roles1 in your body, including:

In addition to helping you bond with your baby and partner, oxytocin also builds social bonding. In fact, you can thank this hormone for helping the human species survive as long as it has: Research shows that oxytocin can create trust and attachment between people4.

Let's be clear: Anxiety is no joke. It can be incredibly debilitating when you have a sense of fear and panic that seemingly comes out of nowhere, and it can seriously affect your life. And let's be honest, when you're feeling anxious, having an orgasm may be the last thing on your mind. So, in addition to hugging more and getting cozy with your partner (or vibrator) when the mood strikes, try incorporating one of these five strategies into your daily life to dial up oxytocin and lower anxiety:

The best starting point to balance all hormones? Dial in your healthy diet and nix the added sugars and refined carbs from your diet. If you're not sure which hormone is your main troublemaker, check out the comprehensive quiz in Chapter 1 of my book Beyond the Pill.

Stress comes in so many flavors today—all of which spike your cortisol and dampen oxytocin levels. To combat this, you'll want to step up the oxytocin builders like hugs and orgasms while implementing strategies to put the brakes on cortisol. Meditation, prayer, float tanks, acupuncture, massage, and even getting a mani-pedi can help you chill and master your stress response. Animal studies also show that regular exercise can increase oxytocin and dial down anxiety5.

Women who use the pill have decreased sensitivity to oxytocin6, which can affect their ability to bond with their baby or their partner. While we're still learning more about why, researchers are looking at how the pill could affect your mood as well as how you socialize and behave as a person altogether. Consider exploring an intelligent alternative to birth control, which I discuss in my book; and if you do choose to ditch the pill, read my article on how to deal with post-birth-control syndrome.

When your gut isn't functioning properly, mood symptoms including anxiety can appear. A healthy gut requires pulling out frequent offenders like food intolerances (consider trying an elimination diet to identify intolerances and sensitivities), while stepping up nutrient-dense foods and supporting nutrients like probiotics, prebiotics, and fiber. (Bonus: When you fix your gut, you often rebalance hormones. Win-win!)

Adaptogenic herbs improve the communication between your brain and your adrenals while balancing cortisol output to hit the brakes on anxiety and stress. One of my faves is Rhodiola, which can significantly reduce anxiety and stress7. Rhodiola helps balance cortisol levels to reduce stress and improve resiliency. This herb improves your energy, lowers anxiety and inflammation, and supports your immune system. Added bonus: Rhodiola also supports healthy progesterone.

Researchers still aren't entirely sure4 how oxytocin affects anxiety and other mood disorders like depression. We do know optimal levels of this bonding hormone can lower your stress hormone cortisol and help you feel fabulous. So give lots of hugs, have lots of orgasms, and implement the strategies above to boost your levels. And for more tips on how to manage anxiety naturally, check out my article on 20 natural anxiety remedies.