20 Thoughtful Gifts Designed to Support People With Anxiety

Weighted blankets have long been touted by experts for their use of what's known as a tactile sensation — in this case, deep touch pressure — as a way to calm the nervous system.

Our Institute pros love that this budget-friendly option manufactured by Tranquility is easy on the wallet without sacrificing a bulk of high-quality features. The blanket was reported to regulate body temperature evenly during testing, a key feature for testers who reviewed the product.

Tea is one of the healthiest beverages around; most natural blends are loaded with antioxidants, a moderated amount of energy-boosting caffeine and an amino acid known as L-theanine. But the most overlooked benefit of tea drinking is how it usually forces someone to slow down and practice a bit of mindfulness during brewing and steeping.

This freestanding KitchenAid kettle is compact for any kitchen size, with lab tests revealing that the one-touch activation button on the model made boiling water seemingly effortless. For the ultimate gift idea, try pairing this adorable kitchen tool with a gift of Atlas Tea Club, where a monthly subscription box (monthly plans start at $14) will encourage your loved one to keep brewing new teas all year long.

RELATED: The Best Teas, Tested By Our Health Experts

Many are aware that an Apple Watch can serve as a gateway tool to many metrics about your physical activity, especially if you pair it with Apple's Fitness+ service — which, when paired with the Mindfulness app, also provides access to guided meditations, a primary tool to ease anxiety.

But Apple's latest update to the wearable device's operating system pushes past favorites like activity tracking and heart-rate monitors to provide more support for those who take prescription medications (alongside vitamins and supplements!). The Apple Watch can succinctly remind users to take medications on a fully customizable schedule, as well as log actual medication intake, all while tracking these interactions through the Health app — which can be programmed to send reports to your healthcare provider, if desired.

Organization can help quash feelings of dread about the future, a cornerstone of anxiety — and simplifying upcoming deadlines, personal commitments, and appointments in a single place can help promote a feeling of being in control.

Our take on daily planner also incorporates some of Good Housekeeping's best self-care advice and tips, alongside decor ideas and delicious recipes to try at home.

There are many ways to adapt aromatherapy principles into your home, but an effective oil diffuser in a home office or in a bedroom can be the first step in regularly using this technique to address anxiety symptoms.

One of Amazon's best-selling diffusers, Asakuki's Alexa-enabled model makes it easy to cut pure essential oils of your choice with a soothing mist through the tap of a phone screen. Controls include the option to set up a sleep timer for bedtime use, a customizable mood lighting setting and other remote-friendly controls for when you may be meditating or practicing yoga at home.

RELATED: Best Essential Oil Diffusers

If meditation seems out of reach for your loved one, have them try coloring first: The artistic expression may be as calming to the mind as other mindfulness activities. If relaxation and reflection is top of mind, the best art to play with is fluid and unbound by complicated designs.

These 100+ illustrations allow artists to select color schemes to their own liking, with fluid outlines that allow creativity to roam free on the page. Paired with a full set of colored pencils, this gift set is a great addition to any space at home designed to calm the mind.

While more research is needed, researchers understand that candles can impact the olfactory system and trigger a part of the brain that produces hormones like dopamine to regulate mood.

A limited study indicated that bergamot oil, specifically, mitigated levels of stress and fatigue in a small group of females. Otherland's single-wick candles are as beautiful as they are effective in enveloping the room with calming scents. Their limited Gilded Collection, timed for the holidays, contains Silk Pajamas, a scent that's primarily built on bergamot zest.

RELATED: The 20+ Absolute Best-Scented Candles

What sets Oura apart from other biometric trackers is that it was originally designed as a sleep tracker, with robust offerings to track how well you are sleeping currently. If your loved one can't seem to solve their sleep conundrum, Oura will monitor the small details — everything from temperature to body movements throughout the night — to better determine what the root issue may be.

Its latest models track everything from heart rate to body temperature throughout the day, including workouts and physical activity around the house, working to relate these factors back to regulating circadian rhythm and inspiring better sleep hygiene in users.

Plus, Oura's Gen3 models also feature a mobile app library of guided meditation and breathwork sessions that harness your unique biometrics to customize these offerings. There are more than 75 visual and audio programs that may further inspire mindfulness for those who wear Oura trackers throughout the day.

RELATED: 50 Best Tech Gifts for the Gadget-Obsessed

Surroundings can play a huge part in exacerbating anxious thoughts or feelings, especially if you're not in a private environment you can control. Headphones and earbuds may be used primarily to listen to music or to chat on the phone, but Sony's compact wireless earbuds earned top marks for providing a first-class noise cancellation feature that can drown out irritating commotion around you.

Recent research affirms what many mental healthcare providers have been saying for years — staying active can help balance neural chemicals tied to your well-being, specifically those tied to anxious thoughts.

Exercising quiets your mind while you focus on your physical body, even if you're not completing strict regimens or gym routines. Walking is one of the easiest ways to enjoy the emotional benefits associated with physical movement, and a pair of sturdy walking shoes can help those who are usually sedentary get moving.

In our tests, these shoes earned high marks for their cushioning and lightweight-feel. They come in over 30 different designs, and have over 20,000 5-star reviews on Amazon.

If your loved one has a hard time grappling with the loss of sunlight during winter hours, bright light therapy (BLT) may be an underutilized tool. This form of therapy is becoming more popular as it helps regulate mood and internal body clocks for those who spend most of their time indoors infront of computer screens during the work or school day. Recent research suggests light therapy in clinical settings has been shown to alleviate anxiety, mood swings and insomnia in colder, darker winter months.

At an affordable price, this lamp offers four timer settings so the lamp can be used in increments of 15, 30, 45 or 60 minutes. In regard to brightness, one online user said, "it’s like having the sun in the palm of your hand."

It's not that a massage can instantly relieve anxiety — but working tense muscles on a regular basis can allow your body to physically unwind, which often ends up affecting mental health tremendously. Regular massages trigger the body to lower heart rates, blood pressure and stress hormones, per National University of Health Sciences materials; and research indicates that this may all take place in as little as 10 to 15 minutes time.

With six different attachments and an extremely simple userface, the FlyBy deep-tissue massage gun can empower your loved one to target body pain without a trip to the spa. FlyBy's gun has racked up 18,000 reviews on Amazon that mostly center around its three different speeds, which are optimized for different areas of the body and its pressure points. The lightweight nature of this gun also make it perfect for those who would choose to bring it with them on their travels.

While they are not a cure-all for a myriad of health issues, essential oils have been shown to impact the olfactory system (a.k.a. our sense of smell!) by triggering what's known as the emotional center of the brain. Essential oils have been used by naturopathic healthcare providers to address issues related to stress and anxiety, including sleep issues and insomnia.

This gift set from Public Goods features therapeutic-grade lavender essential oil; a scholarly review indicates that lavender calms the nervous system at a more aggressive rate than other options, working well as a mood stabilizer.

One frequently overlooked aspect of addressing chronic anxiety and stress has to do with lifestyle choices; stress can easily push individuals to over-imbibe in too much alcohol, sugary sodas or alcoholic beverages. And furthermore, many symptoms of dehydration can often be mistaken for other anxiety-like effects — headaches, dizziness and dry mouth may be underlying signs that you're not drinking enough.

Yeti's classic Rambler came out on top in our tests because our experts found "it's comfortable to hold, doesn't sweat and is easy to drink out of, thanks to the perfectly sized cap." It's also dishwasher safe, which is a major plus.

Getting started with meditation and mindfulness activities can be tough, but this device goes hand in hand (literally!) with one of our top-reviewed mobile applications. Hyperice's accompanying Core mobile app physically helps users learn how to center attention and breathing in the moment, and in particular, right within the sweet spot of bedtime routines.

This handheld sphere vibrates and buzzes through personalized meditation sessions that are regulated by Hyperice's Core app. The natural wood design is supercharged with ECG biosensors that measure unique metrics and logs them within the mobile app. Whether your loved one is angling to bolster their meditative routine for anxiety or better sleep, Hyperice's Core Essential bundle can help establish a solid foundation to get started.

Jade rollers are primarily used to better incorporate skincare products into your complexion — but there's some research that indicates the soothing sweeping motion and massage-like pressure they provide may reduce anxiety.

The renowned Mount Lai jade roller features staggered sized rounded ends; the larger side sweeps across foreheads and jaws, whereas the mini end fits into under-eyes and other tight areas. With a design that makes regular cleaning as easy as can be, this roller features genuine jade stone that cools well (and can be stored in a beauty fridge for best results!).

RELATED: Best Jade Rollers for De-Puffing and Soothing Skin

Releasing pent-up emotions can be a key strategy for dealing with crippling anxiety symptoms, which is why many clinical care providers recommend freehand journaling. Establishing your emotions and what exactly may be triggering your anxiety by writing things down on paper can also make them seem less menacing — and possibly more manageable in the future.

Our friends at Prevention have put together a guide to what's known as meditative journaling, which keeps loved ones engaged in powerful reflection as they go. There's room for reflection as well as pages of information dedicated to the new science of positive psychology. Find Your Joy is a wonderful resource for those who have never worked to keep a journal before, as the added guidance and expert-backed tips will form a strong foundation for freehand journaling in the future. Next stop: Bullet journaling!

Nearly everyone knows that keeping your hands occupied when you're feeling anxious can put you in the right mindset to overcome negative thoughts. Stress balls have been in circulation for decades for this reason — but bulky rubber contraptions aren't the only way for a loved one to keep calm.

An adult take on Play Dough, these reusable clay discs have been created using inspiration from techniques used in art therapy. Creators Cammie and Kip Weeks' took the design a step further by infusing each of the clay discs with different essential oils, leaving a pleasant scent behind after they've been used.

Helping children effectively handle anxious tendencies can feel hopeless, as kids can't always vocalize when they're feeling anxious to begin with. If you're thinking of a family member or friend who is working to support a little one navigating disruptive emotions, this guide is a must-get for any guardian.

Caregivers will learn how to coach their little ones into "detective thinking" to recognize when they are feeling anxious — and parents can expect to be equipped with more tools for responding to children when they are frightened.