A herbal natural anxiety remedy can actually be just as effective as conventional treatments. But if you are already taking conventional treatments, you should be aware that switching over to an anxiety natural remedy, can take some time, and should be under the supervision of your healthcare provider.
Some of the best natural remedies for anxiety are changes to your diet and lifestyle - this can make a tremendous difference … both to your overall level of health, and to your anxiety problems…
(These can all be taken at the same time as conventional treatments.)
Always remember to consult your healthcare provider before taking any decisions regarding your health.
Food Issues
A general, healthy, wholefood diet will do a great deal to soothe your anxieties – as well as improving your overall level of health.
Eat plenty of:
fresh fruit, veg and salad – especially raw fruit and veg
raw carrots
raw lettuce
camomile tea is also very soothing and relaxing
Avoid stimulants:
these out additional stresses and strains on your body, and drain your adrenaline – so causing anxiety
caffeine: coffee, tea, chocolate, cola
sugar – especially refined, processed sugar, and sugary goods
stimulant herbs, such as guarana, kola nut, ephedra (ma huang)
Take an allergy test, and check for allergies and food intolerances. Allergies put an incredible stress on your body, especially over the long term, where you may be eating foods everyday.
Also check for vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Deficiencies of the following vitamins and supplements have been associated with anxiety:
B Vitamins
Vitamin C
Vitamin E
Calcium and Magnesium
Zinc
Phosphorus
Potassium
Selenium
Omega 3 and 6 essential fatty acids
This is the test I took to find out my food intolerances and allergies, vitamin and mineral deficiencies and the main physical stresses on my body.
Identifying your own personal stresses, intolerances and deficiencies could be your best anxiety natural remedy - and will certainly improve your general level of health.
If you do identify a deficiency, try supplementing your diet with appropriate vitamins, as a highly effective anxiety natural remedy.
Exercise
Although you might not really feel like it, exercise has actually been proven to be one of the best natural remedies for anxiety.
Exercise produces certain chemicals in the brain which help to calm anxiety down.
The ‘job’ of anxiety is to prepare the body for fight or flight. So exercise uses these stress hormones as they were intended.
Physical exercise, especially aerobic exercise - running, cycling, walking briskly – is very good for you.
Don’t think it needs to be too strenuous at first – just choose a moderate level that you are comfortable with – and build gradually from there.
But it is best to choose a physical activity that you enjoy - this will help to relax you, and take your mind off your worries and concerns. Whether this is going to the gym, yoga, walking the dog, or gardening, is up to you…!
Getting outside into nature is very beneficial for your mood and for soothing anxieties - so where possible, get out into the garden, the park, the woods or the beach.
Attitude and Behaviours
Even if you can’t change the things in your life which are making you anxious, you may be able to change the way you think and feel about these things…
Counselling and C.B.T. (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) are actually frequently offered by conventional doctors, as a treatment for anxiety. Although it might be classed as a ‘conventional’ treatment, I do think talking treatments such as these can be counted as an anxiety natural remedy!
Counselling and C.B.T. can help you to think about and address the issues which might be behind your anxieties and worries – and can also help you to look at and change your behaviours to soothe your anxieties.
If you feel that you might benefit from Counselling or C.B.T. your doctor should be able to refer you.
There is actually much that you can also do in your everyday life to relieve your anxieties…
Establish Routines
Establish – and keep to – regular routines in your life, especially for meals, work, leisure and sleep.
This will help your life to feel more structured, settled and ‘sure’.
Keep Busy, and Live in the Present
Keeping active, busy and doing things you enjoy, will help to distract your mind from your worries, and relax you.
Try to give any activity you do your full attention – and focus this attention purely in the present – not in the past, nor in the future.
I find that trying to live in the present has actually been surprisingly effective in relieving me of my anxieties and worries about what might happen in the future – and actually makes me feel happier in the present.
If you need a little extra help with this try hypnotherapy, which I found to be a really excellent anxiety natural remedy.
I used these downloads, which I could try out in the privacy of my own home, while I was feeling more relaxed. They took me several 'listens' to work fully - but I really found them worth the effort (and actually rarely need them now!)
Try these hypnosis downloads, which I found to work very well for me:
Especially spend time on nurturing genuine relationships with others, and helping others.
Your own problems may soon seem less important.
Be Positive
Try to think positively, in all aspects of life, but especially where your worries and anxieties are concerned.
Try to think constructively about any problems – not just allowing your worries to get out of hand.
You might try to set aside a ‘worry time’ every day – where you think about your problems and decide some positive steps of action. Write it down in a book, then when your worry time ends, you don’t need to think about it any more.
Do consult your healthcare practitioner if your anxiety is:
severe
long lasting
or disrupts your everyday life.
Do not stop taking any existing medication you have been prescribed by your doctor. Do not attempt to switch from your prescribed medication to a herbal anxiety natural remedy without your doctor’s guidance.
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