Natural Remedies for Anxiety
Generalized Anxiety Disorder occurs when you have frequent episodes of unexplained worry and fear. Although anxiety is a normal reaction of the body, when it occurs persists in your daily life, them maybe it’s about time for you to seek help for treatments.
If there is no physical condition associated with the anxiety, then a patient may be referred to physiologists or psychiatrists who are specialists for treating emotional and mental disorders. The usual medical treatment for generalized anxiety disorder is a combination of anxiety medication and behavioral therapy.
But if one patient does not want to go under medication or behavioral therapy, there are always alternative measures that one can take to cure anxiety. Natural remedies for anxiety are slowly becoming popular among patients. People usually prefer these natural herbal remedies for anxiety because they are believed to have no side effects to the body as compared to the traditional medication.
Listed below are several alternative and natural anti anxiety remedies that you can chose to do:
• Massage Therapy
Massage therapy is known to be a great way of relieving stress and reduce anxiety. The stimulation on some of the crucial areas of the body improves blood circulation and increases the amount of nutrients delivered to the area. This also relieves muscle tension-one of the main symptoms of anxiety. It lowers the amount of cortisol in the body – a hormone that helps increase the body’s stress response.
• Mind and Body Exercises
Exercises such as yoga, tai-chi and self meditation are one of the most popular mind and body exercises that are used to relieve stress and anxiety. Mind and body exercises work to bring about a relaxation response which was said to help lower blood pressure, normalize the heart and breathing rate and bring that overall relaxation effect to the body. This type of routine would usually require 20 minutes of your day and are highly recommended for very busy people.
• Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy is now being used to bring about relaxation and peace of mind. There are several ways that you can incorporate aromatherapy into your daily activities. There are now scented candles, baths with essential oils and infusers that you can use to bring about those scents into your room. You can do this before going to sleep or even just as you relax in your room.
• Herbs
There are several herbs that are popularly used to reduce stress and anxiety. This is one of the best alternatives to prescription medications that can sometimes be very addictive and can cause harmful side effects as well. Although there are hundreds of herbs that are claimed to be stress relievers, not all of then are effective. But the fact is, there are indeed some selected herbs that have been scientifically proven to help relieve stress and anxiety. These are listed below:
o Valerian (Valeriana officinalis)
o Kava (Piper methysticum)
o Green Tea with L-theanine
o Passion Flower (Passiflora incarnate)
A lot of these herbs are available in the market as dietary supplements that are easily available in herbal shops.
These are just some of the few natural remedies for anxiety. The choice on the best type depends on your current condition and your personal preference of that which will fit your lifestyle.
What is Anxiety – Seeing beyond the surface
Anxiety is generally a normal response of the body. When animals or human are faced with a situation where they are physically (or emotionally) threatened, the body responds to his situation accordingly: the hear rate and the breathing increases, the hormones are released and the thought quickens to allow the organism rapid and quick action. This is called the “flight or fight” mechanism.
But when anxiety or panic attacks happen out of the blue, without an apparent reason at all, then this may be a disorder known as a Generalized Anxiety Disorder. People with this disorder seem to always expect something bad to happen and are very worrisome and fearful. Anxiety symptoms such as difficulty in breathing, heart palpitations, nausea, dizziness and chocking may occur whenever anxiety attacks strikes. These attacks happen out of the blue and unexpectedly.
One of the main reasons that anxiety occur is when people experience personal problems, stress at the work place and experience a loss that he or she may not be able to cope with. Although these causes are considered short-term and temporary, anxiety disorders, when left undiagnosed and untreated could remain and could affect the rest of the person’s life long after these problems are gone. Most people who have prolonged anxiety disorder have this condition because they were never diagnosed earlier as they should. When people are inflicted with this problem, they usually keep this to themselves or are sometimes not aware that they have this disorder in the first place.
Sometimes, anxiety can be treated at home or by the patient themselves. It just needs a little change in perception to take these unnecessary worries away. What can you do? Well for starters, you can sit down and think what is really causing his your and anxiety; a personal problem, too much workload at the office, an unsolved problem. And once you have pinpointed this cause, than try to make an action plan on how to attack the problem. Sometimes, you can never do it on your own, so if this happens, never hesitate to ask for help.
But when anxiety symptoms are already beyond your control, then the only thing you need to do is be brave enough to realize this problem and simply ask for medical help.
So just like any other medical condition, early diagnosis is the key to early treatment and faster recovery. One of the most common and effective ways of treating Generalize Anxiety Disorder is through behavioral therapy. Therapists and experts train their patients to see outside the box and beyond the fear –to see reality, that there is no reason for them to be afraid or to be anxious at all.
Some doctors may prescribe anti-anxiety drugs but for those who do not want to go under medication, you can always opt for the natural way of treatment. There are numerous natural remedies for anxiety available for everyone to chose. Still, it would be recommended that you get the opinion of a physician regarding these treatments as some of them may not be effective at all.
Stress and Anxiety: How to Deal with Them
Stress and anxiety are one of the normal reactions of the human body. Anxiety is the normal reaction of the body when we are faced with danger or a physical or emotional threat. Our heart rate quickens, our minds become alert, breathing speeds up and our body prepares us for quick and immediate action.
But when we allow ourselves to worry too much and let fear get the best of us, only then will anxiety be damaging to our lives. When we become over anxious, our actions are halted and we are left alone in our thoughts, worrying, thinking and doing nothing at all!
Listed below are simple steps on how to you should deal with anxiety and anxiety attacks. Read on and educate yourself on these helpful tips to help you keep anxiety at bay:
1. Meditate. If you experience too much anxiety, think and meditate on the reasons why you are feeling the way you do. Are you having too much stress from work or at home? Pinpointing the real reason for such feeling can help a lot because this will give you an idea on what situations you should be keeping away from or what problems do you need help with.
2. Seek support. Your friends and family members are there for a reason. As the cliché goes, “no man is an island”. So if you experience too much worrying, then tell your loved ones about it. This is because when we worry too much, we sometimes fail to see the bigger picture. We tend to magnify our problems to uncontrollable proportions that make it look like it’s beyond control. But for some people who can see otherwise, they can give you the reality check that you need.
3. Take time to unwind. Sometimes, we get so caught up in our work or in our problems that is would seem like it’s the only thing that’s left in the world. So take a step back and go out of your way to have fun. Spend that weekend with family and friends and do something enjoyable. Have fun and make it a habit to do so. Keep in mind that there is a balance that must be maintained in our lives and that there is always a time fro everything. You are the only person that can handle that stress and manage it the way it should.
4. Know when to seek medical help. Some forms of stress may not be caused by physical and emotional stimulants alone but sometimes, by hormonal imbalances in our bodies. So if symptoms of anxiety or anxiety attacks get uncontrollable, don’t hesitate to ask help from a medical professional already.
Remember, with anxiety, you are the one holding the solution. It is a matter of choosing to see life differently and being brave enough to ask help when you need it. It is a choice you make everyday: to succumb to fear and worry and let your life crash down before your eyes or to chose to walk a different road and rise over anxiety and give yourself a chance to life that full life you deserve.
Panic Attacks – Triggers and Cures
Panic attacks are sudden attacks of fear and discomfort that occur just out of the blue. These episodes happen without warning and do not seem to have a cause or a trigger. Naturally, these occur to humans or to any other animal when there is a clear danger. When this happens, the body releases hormones that increases the heart rate, quickens breathing and allows rapid thought processes to allow immediate action.
In the surface, panic attacks may seem to happen without any reason at all but seeing behind that, there are actually mechanisms at work that make this attacks happen. One of the major reasons why these attacks happen is generally due to anxiety and stress. There is that feeling of being choked that makes the person feel that he is she is having a heart attack.
Aside from it being a symptom of anxiety, there are also several underlying reasons why they occur:
1. A side effect of medication
Some medications may give side effects that make up a panic attack in general. These side effects include increased heart rate, difficulty in breathing, indigestion, dizziness, nausea and sometimes disorientation. These medications may be as common as an antibiotic. Although panic attacks may only occur as a person takes the drug, when the medication is required to be taken regularly, panic attacks may also happen more frequently.
2. Drug or medication withdrawal
When a patient is made to stop a medication, a withdrawal syndrome may happen. Some drugs cause dependence that could lead to anxiety attacks.
3. Short- term or Temporary Causes
Current problems such as a personal loss, problems at work or at home, effects to stimulants such as caffeine or marijuana can cause panic attacks. These attacks however, are short- term and do not happen any more once these triggers are pinpointed and are avoided by the patient.
4. Heredity
Attacks may naturally run in the family, passed over from one gene to the other. The family environment was said to be also a cause panic attacks. Parents that are too cautious and display exaggerated fear of going outside the house would usually have children that experience these attacks once in the outside world.
5. Phobias
Panic attacks are directly related to phobias. This is an irrational, persistent feeling of fear and anxiety over menial things. The main symptom for phobias is a strong desire to avoid that object. Phobias can root from traumatic events that have left a permanent mark in a person’s memory. Other phobias such as social phobias however, have a very complex root and are usually characterized by extreme worry over current social situations.
These attacks can be treated with therapy and medications. Therapy focuses on behavior patterns and allows a patient to see the bigger more realistic picture: that the reason for the panic is not present at all. Medicines such as anti depressants and anti anxiety drugs are also available as prescribed by the doctor. Other natural remedies are also available for this condition.
