Natural Anxiety Cures

Anxiety is man’s natural reaction to stress involving mind and body. It is a feeling of apprehension, nervousness, worry or fear. Anxiety may be accompanied by various physical symptoms that are related to lungs, heart, nervous system and gastrointestinal system. Five major types of anxiety disorders are generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Causes and Symptoms of Anxiety

Several factors can contribute to the development of anxiety disorder such as genetic factors, biological factors such as imbalance in brain chemicals, stress overload, childhood environment, thought patterns and life issues such as stress, insomnia and major accidents. The symptoms of anxiety disorder are associated with emotional as well as physical problems. Emotional symptoms may include fear, apprehension, intrusive memories of traumatic experiences, nightmares, frequent repetition of ritualized behavior such as hand washing and uncontrolled obsessive thoughts. Patients with anxiety disorder may experience physical symptoms such as sleep disturbances, dry mouth, racing heartbeat, cold or clammy hands, chest pain, gastrointestinal upset and shortness of breath.

Treatment for Anxiety Disorders

The treatment for anxiety disorders involves a combination of medications and psychotherapy. Various therapies are used to treat the anxiety disorders including behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy and relaxation technique. The medications such as mild tranquilizers, antidepressants and other anti-anxiety drugs are recommended to treat anxiety disorder. However, these medications should be taken only with doctor’s advice. In addition to these conventional treatment options, there are some alternative treatments including natural cures for anxiety disorders.

Natural Anxiety Cures

Natural anxiety cures can be safe and an effective way to treat the anxiety disorders. You can adopt different means of natural anxiety cures such as proper diet, nutritional supplements and vitamins, use of herbs, exercise, aromatherapy, workout and stress-reduction techniques.

• You need to exclude some dietary factors such as caffeine that aggravate symptoms of anxiety disorders. Other foods including maple syrup, refined sugar honey and cow milk products worsen symptoms. Hence, these foods also should be excluded from the diet.
• An addition of some nutritional supplements and vitamins are helpful to treat the anxiety disorders in a natural way. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is an amino acid that plays significant role in the physiology of anxiety. Other nutritional supplements used for natural cure of anxiety are magnesium, calcium, pantothenic acid and vitamin B complex.
• Herbal treatment is an effective way to control the feelings of anxiety. The herb kava (Piper methysticum) is widely used to treat nervous anxiety, agitation, tension and insomnia. Valerian is a herbal tranquilizer used to treat insomnia. It positively affects the nervous system and balances the mood swings. Other herbs that are frequently used for the treatment of anxiety disorders include hops, passion, flower, chamomile, lemon balm, suma and skullcap. Passion Flower is helpful to calm the nerves and reduce the anxiety symptoms. It consists of a chemical called as vitexin. This chemical is helpful in relieving tension. L-theanine is an amino acid extracted from the green tea. It is known for its anti-anxiety effects.
• You can manage your stress with certain exercises. It is one of the most effective and safest methods of managing stress. Cardiovascular exercise in combination with calming exercise such as frequent walking can be beneficial for anxiety treatment.
• Aromatherapy is another effective natural treatment option. You can add the essential oils to massage oil, baths or infusers. Some of the essential oils used to treat nervous tension and anxiety are cypress, bergamot, geranium, lavender, jasmine, rose, ylang-ylang, melissa, sandalwood, and neroli. Lavender is most commonly used as the base of many relaxing mixtures.
• Massage therapy and other forms of body workouts can help to relieve stress, relax muscle tension and improve sleep.
• You can adopt some stress reduction techniques, e.g. mind/body breathing exercises, massage, physical exercises, self-hypnosis, Tai chi, yoga, biofeedback and meditation.

Natural anxiety cures can effectively work to relieve anxiety symptoms. However, before you opt for any treatment option, it is better to consult your doctor.