Suggest They Try A Herbal Remedy
There are a number of herbal remedies which have been used for centuries to help relax those who suffer from anxiety.
Valerian root has been used for hundreds of years as a herbal remedy for nervousness, anxiety and insomnia, based on traditional use only. Its able to relax the muscles and slow down brain activity so you feel calmer.53
St Johns Wort is another millennia-old herbal remedy used to relieve symptoms of mild anxiety, based on traditional use only.
St Johns Wort is thought to work by reducing the time it takes for the brain to use up serotonin the bodys happy hormone.54
What Can You Do Yourself
Many people with generalized anxiety disorder don’t even think of going to see a doctor. They try to manage their fears on their own, for example using books or information from the internet. Some learn relaxation techniques, such as progressive muscle relaxation, autogenic training or yoga. The effectiveness of these kinds of strategies for managing anxiety disorders on your own is not well studied in scientific studies. Relaxation techniques are often used in psychological treatments, but it isn’t known how effective they are when used alone.
Some people try herbal sedatives like valerian, lavender or passion flower. There hasn’t been much research on these products either. Many people assume that herbal remedies are better tolerated and safer than other kinds of medicine. But they can also have side effects and may influence the effects of other medication.
People who treat an anxiety disorder on their own may only seek professional help after a very long time. If an anxiety disorder is really affecting your everyday life, certain kinds of psychological treatment and medication can help.
Natural Remedies For Anxiety And Stress
Natural remedies are generally safe to use alongside more conventional medical therapies.
However, alterations to the diet and some natural supplements can change the way antianxiety medications work, so it is essential to consult a doctor before trying these solutions. The doctor may also be able to recommend other natural remedies.
Don’t Miss: What’s Good For Anxiety And Panic Attacks
Why Does It Happen At Night
Anxiety is a normal human emotion characterized by feelings of nervousness and worry. You may find yourself experiencing anxiety during stressful situations, such as a first date or job interview.
Sometimes, though, anxiety may linger around for longer than usual. When this happens, it can interfere with your daily and nightly life.
One of the most common times when people experience anxiety is at night. Many clinical trials have found that sleep deprivation can be a trigger for anxiety. Historically, research also suggests anxiety disorders are associated with reduced sleep quality.
Treating your nighttime anxiety and addressing your sleep issues are important steps in improving your quality of life.
There are many symptoms of anxiety. Everyone experiences anxiety differently. Symptoms can happen anytime of the day, morning, or night. Common symptoms of anxiety include:
- feelings of nervousness, restlessness, or worry
- trouble falling asleep or staying asleep
- gastrointestinal problems
Another symptom a person with anxiety may also experience is a panic attack. A panic attack is an episode of extreme and intense fear, often accompanied by physical manifestations. The common symptoms of a panic attack include:
- a sense of impending doom
- increased heart rate and chest pains
- shortness of breath and throat tightness
- sweating, chills, and hot flashes
- dizziness or lightheadedness
- a feeling of detachment, or like nothing is real
How To Ease Anxiety: 5 Ways To Feel Calmer Right Now
When we’re anxious, our breath becomes rapid and shallow. Deep belly breathing helps decrease anxiety by stimulating the bodyâs relaxation response, lowering our heart rate and blood pressure. Itâs a powerful technique that works because we canât breathe deeply and be anxious at the same time. There are many variations to try, including this simple exercise:
Inhale deeply for a count of 4. Hold your breath for a count of 4. Exhale for a count of 4. Repeat several times.
Exercise is one of the best anxiety remedies, immediately and long term. Going for a walk creates a diversion from worries and releases muscle tension. Grab your headphones or earbuds on the way out:studies show that listening to music brings its own calming effects.
Long term, regular exercise triggers the release of feel-good neurochemicals in the brain, building up resilience against stormy emotions. It boosts confidence and mood, and we donât need to run a marathon to feel the benefits. Washing the car, hiking, gardening, a pick-up game â anything that gets us moving counts. Research shows that 30 minutes, 3 to 5 days a week can help to significantly improve anxiety symptoms, but even 10 minutes can make a difference.
Green tea, long used in Chinese medicine to treat depression, contains the amino acid L-theanine, which relieves stress, and reduces blood pressure and muscle tension.
You May Like: Can Anxiety Cause Hot Flashes
How To Calm Down Quickly
Something sets you off, and before long, you feel stuck in an endless loop of intrusive thoughts, pondering every possible thing that could go wrong. Your body tenses, your breathing quickens, and you can hear your heartbeat pounding in your ears.
When you feel anxiety kick in like this, its time to calm yourself down. The first step is awareness. Its a good idea to learn to recognize the first signs of anxiety and get to work right away before experiencing an episode.
How Are Anxiety Disorders Treated
An anxiety disorder is like any other health problem that requires treatment. You cant will it away. Its not a matter of self-discipline or attitude. Researchers have made a lot of progress in the last few decades in treating mental health conditions. Your healthcare provider will tailor a treatment plan that works for you. Your plan may combine medication and psychotherapy.
Read Also: When Does Anxiety Become A Disorder
I Need Relief And I Need It Now
So where does that leave you if youre suffering? Even when anxiety relief comes with side effects and dangers, that can still sound like a fair trade when panic and fear are ruling your life.
The bottom line is that theres a time and place for anxiety medication. If you have severe anxiety thats interfering with your ability to function, medication may be helpfulespecially as a short-term treatment. However, many people use anti-anxiety medication when therapy, exercise, or other self-help strategies would work just as well or better, minus the drawbacks.
Anxiety medications can ease symptoms, but theyre not right for everyone and theyre not the only answer. Its up to you to evaluate your options and decide whats best for you.
Need to talk to someone?
Get affordable online counseling from BetterHelp or visit HelpGuides directory for free helplines and crisis resources. HelpGuide is reader supported. We may receive a commission if you sign up for BetterHelp through the provided link. Learn more.
What Is Separation Anxiety Disorder
This condition mostly happens to children or teens, who may worry about being away from their parents. Children with separation anxiety disorder may fear that their parents will be hurt in some way or not come back as promised. It happens a lot in preschoolers. But older children and adults who experience a stressful event may have separation anxiety disorder as well.
Read Also: What To Do When You Have Separation Anxiety
Other Psychological Treatment Approaches
Other types of psychological treatment focus more on trying to find the possible causes of the anxiety, such as traumatic childhood events. There hasn’t been much good research on the effectiveness of these approaches in people with generalized anxiety disorder. The few studies that have compared them with cognitive behavioral therapy suggest that these psychodynamic therapies aren’t as helpful as cognitive behavioral therapy.
How To Prevent A Severe Anxiety Attack
Not all anxiety is just general nervousness. Some people experience severe anxiety attacks. Also known as panic attacks, these are bouts of what can feel like uncontrollable, severe anxiety that are usually followed by other physical symptoms like rapid heartbeat, chest pain, lightheadedness, and more.
Anxiety attacks often peak after about 10 minutes and then there is a slow but clear decline in the anxiety symptoms, usually followed by a feeling of being drained or stressed. Many people wonder how to stop panic attacks from getting out of control. It’s difficult to stop the attack itself, but there are some fast ways to prevent the attack from being as severe. These include:
These won’t stop the panic attack altogether – for that you need panic attack treatments – but they will reduce the severity of the panic attack, and an anxiety attack that is less severe is generally easier to cope with.
Recommended Reading: How To Get Over Phone Anxiety
Find What Relaxes You
There are already things in your life that relax you. You may find it beneficial to make a list of things you enjoy and that help you to relax so you can reference it when symptoms of anxiety arise. When you notice your anxiety rising turn to those activities to help stop symptoms before they escalate.
For example, if you find that a warm bath is relaxing, don’t wait, draw a bath, maybe light some candles or add a few nice scents and get in. Whether it’s a bath, a shower, skipping stones at a park, getting a massage – if it works, do it right away, rather than allowing yourself to become overwhelmed by your anxiety.
Which Treatment Is Most Suitable
When deciding whether to have psychological treatment or use medication, your personal preference and individual needs will play a big role. The right kind of psychological treatment can be very effective and help you to overcome your anxiety. But it takes a lot of motivation and determination, and you often have to wait a long time to get an appointment. Depending on a persons individual situation and the severity of their disorder, it might therefore be a good idea to start taking medication first. Sometimes it isn’t really possible to begin psychological therapy until medication has been used to at least partially relieve the symptoms.
Some people don’t want to start taking antidepressants because they are afraid they might end up becoming dependent on them. But unlike some painkillers, sedatives and sleeping pills antidepressants do not lead to dependency. Others see taking tablets to cope with their problems as a sign of weakness. But there’s no reason to feel ashamed of taking medication to treat a mental illness. Medicine can be helpful, and in some cases even necessary, when trying to overcome anxiety.
Regardless of what decision you make, there are medications and psychological treatments that can help you cope with generalized anxiety disorder and start living a normal life again.
Recommended Reading: Do Pediatricians Prescribe Anxiety Medication
Special Benzodiazepine Risk Factors
Anyone who takes benzodiazepines can experience unpleasant or dangerous side effects. But certain individuals are at a higher risk:
People over 65. Older adults are more sensitive to the sedating effects of benzodiazepines. Even small doses can cause confusion, amnesia, loss of balance, and cognitive impairment that looks like dementia. Benzodiazepine use in the elderly is associated with an increased risk of falls, broken hips and legs, and car accidents. Long-term benzodiazepine use also increases the risk of Alzheimers disease and dementia.
People with a history of substance abuse. Because theyre physically addicting and on their own and dangerous when combined with alcohol and other drugs, anyone with a current or former substance abuse problem should use benzodiazepines only with extreme caution.
Pregnant and breastfeeding women. Benzodiazepine use during pregnancy can lead to dependence in the developing baby, with withdrawal following birth. Benzodiazepines are also excreted in breast milk. Therefore, pregnant women need to have a thorough discussion about the risks and benefits of these medications with their prescribing doctor. If medication is necessary, the goal is the smallest effective dose.
The connection between benzodiazepines and accidents
What Makes Essentials Oils Calming
Why do essential oils have the ability to help people feel less anxious?
Its believed that theyre capable of sending chemical signals directly to the part of our brain thats responsible for controlling our mood and our emotions.
Having said that, essential oils cant take away feelings of anxiety altogether, but they can potentially take the edge off and help you relax.
For instance, just the thought of a dreamy hot soak in a lavender bath is relaxing, and has even more of a calming effect in reality too.36
You May Like: Can Anxiety Cause Memory Loss
What The Evidence Says
Supplements include herbs as well as vitamins, minerals, and other ingredients. Heres a list of popular remedies and what we know or dont know so far about whether they really help.
Emotional First Aid Kit
An emotional first aid kit can provide an immediate, although temporary, positive effect on the way we think and feel. Having an emotional first aid kit readily available can help people who are struggling with symptoms of depression, anxiety, low self esteem, or other mental and emotional issues.
Recommended Reading: Who Do I Talk To About Anxiety
Tips To Manage Anxiety And Stress
Coping Strategies
Try these when you’re feeling anxious or stressed:
Fitness Tips: Stay Healthy, Manage Stress
For the biggest benefits of exercise, try to include at least 2½ hours of moderate-intensity physical activity each week, 1¼ hours of a vigorous-intensity activity , or a combination of the two.
- 5 X 30: Jog, walk, bike, or dance three to five times a week for 30 minutes.
- Set small daily goals and aim for daily consistency rather than perfect workouts. It’s better to walk every day for 15-20 minutes than to wait until the weekend for a three-hour fitness marathon. Lots of scientific data suggests that frequency is most important.
- Find forms of exercise that are fun or enjoyable. Extroverted people often like classes and group activities. People who are more introverted often prefer solo pursuits.
- Distract yourself with an iPod or other portable media player to download audiobooks, podcasts, or music. Many people find its more fun to exercise while listening to something they enjoy.
- Recruit an exercise buddy. It’s often easier to stick to your exercise routine when you have to stay committed to a friend, partner, or colleague.
- Be patient when you start a new exercise program. Most sedentary people require about four to eight weeks to feel coordinated and sufficiently in shape so that exercise feels easier.
Resources
If you are the parent of a college-aged child with an anxiety disorder, here are some tips to help with managing his or her anxiety.