In this article I’m going to give some tips on psychic development for those who suffer from anxiety.

In my Intuitive Awakening Course (which teaches students how to communicate with their Spirit Guides & higher self) I dedicate an entire chapter to stillness and teach students how to enter a relaxed, altered state of awareness. This is a very important step and pre-requisite for tuning in to Spirit and receiving guidance. 

This relaxed state is called the alpha state, and it is named after the alpha brainwaves that define it.

What is the alpha state?

The alpha state is a relaxed, receptive mental state where your brainwaves slow to approximately 8-12 cycles per second. 

For psychic and intuitive work, this state is essential because it creates the inner stillness necessary to perceive subtle guidance from your Spirit Guides and higher self.

In a normal waking state, for most psychic development beginners, the mind is typically too busy analysing and processing everyday information to pick up on spiritual guidance. Entering the alpha state allows us to put aside this mental noise, and to move from active thinking to a relaxed, receptive state where intuitive guidance can come in.  

We naturally go into the alpha state when we’re daydreaming, meditating, and in those peaceful moments before sleep or upon waking. 

The ability to enter the alpha state at will is really important for psychic development. Without it, connecting with spiritual guidance becomes a lot more tricky, as the rational mind tends to block the intuitive information trying to come through.

Anxiety and the alpha state

Suffering from anxiety definitely increases the challenge when it comes to entering the alpha state, but there are some things one can do to help. I have also dealt with this issue at times, so in this section, I am going to share what has worked for me.

Here are some alternative ways to combat anxiety:

1. Supplement with Magnesium or Glycine

During a time of high anxiety in my life, I had a test which revealed I was low in magnesium. It’s apparently a very common deficiency unless you include lots of greens, beans, nuts, seeds, grains or dark chocolate in your diet. Magnesium activates GABA receptors, which help calm the nervous system.

I noticed that increasing magnesium definitely helped with the anxiety, so this is something I like to mention when students have trouble relaxing, because it worked so well for me.

Glycine is another nutrient that supports relaxation and helps us enter calmer states more easily. Historically, people consumed plenty of glycine through nose-to-tail eating—getting it from bone broth, skin, cartilage, and connective tissues. Traditional diets around the world included these glycine-rich parts of animals as staples.

Today, most of us eat primarily muscle meat, which is high in the amino acid methionine but low in glycine. This creates an imbalance, as our bodies need glycine to balance out methionine. Without enough glycine from sources like bone broth, collagen, or gelatin, many people are operating with a glycine deficit that can affect everything from sleep quality to nervous system regulation.

If you suffer from anxiety and have access to testing, it may be worth checking your magnesium levels. You could also try increasing magnesium-rich foods in your diet, incorporating bone broth or collagen into your routine, or considering glycine supplementation.

(Note: please consult your doctor, naturopath, nutritionist before taking any supplements.)

2.   Reduce or Eliminate Caffeine

I have found that caffeine can be a hindrance for tuning in spiritually and reaching a place of stillness because it is very stimulating. So do be careful with excessive caffeine consumption, especially if you are tending towards anxiety. It can definitely trip some people up at this stage of the process. Or if you don’t want to give up caffeine, go for versions of it that are less ‘jolty’ for the nervous system such as Yerba maté, black tea or dark chocolate in small quantities (instead of drinking coffee). 

Now let’s look at another common reason for anxiety and being blocked with one’s intuition. This is one that many psychic development teachers do not consider for their students but it can apply sometimes… 

3.   Consider Post-Traumatic Stress

If you are very jumpy and ‘on edge’, this may be a sign you are carrying post-traumatic stress in your body relating to a particular event or time in your life. As a result, it can make it more difficult for you to feel safe enough to enter the alpha state.

Here are some signs that you may be carrying a post-traumatic stress connected to a past event:

• Your mind goes blank when you try to think of a specific past occurrence; you have the sense that you want to avoid it, or you have a lot of resistance towards thinking about it
• You still have repeated, upsetting memories or thoughts about a past experience
• You have nightmares about it
• You sometimes avoid places, people, activities or situations that remind you of that experience
• You suffer from unexplained physical symptoms that began following a stressful event, such as gastrointestinal problems, aches and pains, fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue
• You feel withdrawn from life or distant from other people
• Your present somehow feels dominated by your past
• You often feel powerless
• You suffer from insomnia
• You suffer from depression
• You suffer or have suffered from ‘adrenal fatigue’
• You suffer from hypervigilance – you often feel jumpy and ‘on edge’
• You have a preoccupation with death and/or loss – you frequently have fearful thoughts or imaginings about losing loved ones or other good things in your life
• You often feel ‘spacey’ or ungrounded

I recommend the book ‘Trauma Releasing Exercises’ if the above applies to you.

TRE (Trauma Releasing Exercises) are DIY trauma recovery exercises that help discharge muscular tension in the body following a traumatic experience. They were created by trauma specialist David Berceli, and they combine techniques from yoga, Tai Chi, bioenergetics, and martial arts practices.

TRE can be used to heal a sole instance of trauma that one is aware of, or these exercises can be used on a more regular basis to release stress and tension that has built up over time.

Somatic Experiencing and Craniosacral therapy are other useful modalities for those who are carrying post-traumatic stress.

I’ve also found doing a daily guided meditation helpful for relieving anxiety (in particular, Dr Joe Dispenza’s meditations.)

Water fasting has also helped many people with trauma/C-PTSD. I wrote about that here.

You may also wish to look into ways to tone your vagus nerve. (If you do an internet search for “how to tone the vagus nerve”, you will find lots of ideas!)

In conclusion, anxiety can be a common hindrance to psychic development, but there are ways to deal with it and make it less of a hindrance.

I hope this article has been helpful to someone.