Disclaimer:

This article is for information purposes only. It is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment. Seek medical care for your treatment.

In these advance and stressful days Anxiety has become very common. It is an offshoot of stress. We all suffer from anxiety, every now and then. It affects everyone in a different manner. Anxiety is your mental and physical response to anxiety-ridden, alarming or unknown situations. It is the sense of discomfort and dismay before an important event. Anxiety keeps you engaged in negative thoughts regarding past and future, successfully keeping you unaware about the present. Sporadic anxiety is considered good. It keeps you mindful of genuine dangers, makes you organized and motivated. But having an incessant, acute anxiety or worry over trivial things needs to be addressed immediately.  Anxiety is irksome, good news is it is treatable. It is overpowering and it intervenes in our day to day life for example causing insomnia, irritability, ruminations, palpitations, headaches, lack of focus, isolation, general fatigue and shallow breathing. Some people immediately seek professional help while some find relief in natural remedies. You can have more than one anxiety disorder simultaneously.  Some anxiety disorders are:

• Generalized anxiety disorder
• Social anxiety disorder
• Certain phobias
• Separation anxiety disorder
• Panic disorder
• Selective mutism
• Agoraphobia

Root causes of anxiety

There are multiple causes that can contribute to anxiety. Certain causes that make you prone to anxiety are genes, stressful life events that keep on haunting you, faulty brain circuits, use of drugs and alcohol or certain health conditions like heart, lung, kidney, diabetes and depression.

Indications of anxiety

Certain physical conditions indicate towards anxiety such as feelings of distress, alarm or panic, sleeplessness, agitation, palpitations, breathlessness, vomiting, body pain, being antisocial, ruminating, xerostomia, irritability, sweating and trembling.

Natural remedies for anxiety

Natural remedies include aromatherapy, herbs, exercises and scents that soothe your nerves. Some people get standard treatment by visiting their doctor while some opt for natural remedies, which are beneficial for your body and mind. 5 fruitful remedies are mentioned below:

1) Herbal remedies and Aromatherapy

Herbal remedies or herbal supplements are very beneficial. They help you to decompress yourself. Some widely known herbs are:

• Lemon balm
• Lavender
• Chamomile
• Passion flower
• Kava

Studies reveal that results of chamomile are propitious and wards off symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder. Scents like lavender, chamomile and rosewater help you ease off. They are made from dense oils and you can simply smell them or apply them directly to your skin. You can also find these in the form of capsules. Some people enjoy them in the form of herbal tea.

Aromatherapy consists of ethereal oils or essential oils that ameliorate your overall health. Some of them are lavender, ylang ylang, grape fruit, clary sage, bergamont. Essential oils can be used in certain ways:

• You can drip few drops on your necklace or bracelet
• Directly apply to your skin like neck or wrist
• You can use a diffuser
• You can amalgamate scent of your choice in a base oil and massage gently
• Or you can simply bath by adding a few drops of these oils

2) Practice deep breathing exercises

Breathlessness is a usual anxiety symptom. Anxiety cast a huge impact on your breathing system. Panting can alleviate your heart rate, narrow your blood vessels; make you feel giddy which can further lead to panic attack. Deep breathing initiates parasympathetic nervous system, which empowers relaxation response. Breathing exercises aim at purposely deep and calculated breaths to normalize breathing system and reduce anxiety. Deep breathing exercises are:

• Diaphragmatic breathing
• Abdominal breathing
• Belly breathing
• Paced respiration

These exercises act as an important aid to awareness about your breathing pattern. When you breathe intensely through your nose, your lungs inflate and your belly rises. This lowers your heart rate, making you feel better.

3) Practice yoga and exercises

Doing exercise not only keeps you physically healthy but boosts your mental health as well. Studies suggest that involving in physical activities shrink anxiety while sedentary lifestyle causes stress and sleep issues. Exercise distracts you from the troubles and release endorphins, which are feel-good hormones. You don’t need strenuous workout. 10 minutes walk can do the work; you can gradually increase the time. If you exercise daily or at least 4 times a week you will not develop anxiety or stress. If you are downtrodden or anxious start exercising, this will definitely loosen you up. Gentle activities like walking, jogging or biking can be helpful.

Yoga is a famous stress buster. Yogais a form of meditation. In yoga you can make specific positions, which fortify and stretch your tissues and muscles. It reduces heart rate, cortisol levels and blood pressure while enhancing gamma aminobutyric acid, a neurotransmitter. Yoga enhances your breathe control. Yoga affects your nervous system, minimizes anxiety symptoms and encourages your psychological well-being. But before performing certain yoga poses ask your doctor because they are unsuitable in some health conditions.

4) Try to evade smoking and drinking

Mostly people opt for alcohol and cigarettes because at first it soothes their nervous system but unfortunately, they don’t realize that both are debilitating for health. Excess of smoking and drinking can make you enormously dependent on them. These bad habits not only worsen your anxiety but affect your work, family life and overall well being. Men should not drink more than 2 glasses a day and women should limit themselves to 1 glass per day.

• Get enough sleep

Sleep plays an integral part in eliminating anxiety. It recharges your body and mind after the entire day’s drudgeries and makes you more focused and satiated. Your body needs minimum 8 hours of regular sleep to recover from all the wear and tear. Follow certain tips for a sound sleep:

• Keep your room dark and cozy
• Follow a sleep schedule regularly
• Abstain from watching TV or using mobile before bedtime
• Avoid day time naps
• Avoid large meals before calling it a day
• Don’t drink coffee or tea before hitting the sack
• Regularly do some morning exercises for better sleep because physical activity before bedtime can disturb your sleep

When to visit your doctor

Natural remedies can certainly ease off your anxiety but you should take some specific indications seriously and immediately visit your doctor:

• Your symptoms last for more than 6 months
• You are having palpitations, sleeplessness, breathlessness or stomach issues
• You are evading social gatherings
• Your anxiety is annoying you and is uncontrollable
• You are having suicidal thoughts

Your anxious thoughts do not go away on their own. In some cases you can vanquish anxiety through natural remedies but in some cases you need conventional treatment along with natural remedies.

Takeaway

Nowadays, it is very hard to evade anxiety and stress. Chronic anxiety torments you physically, mentally and emotionally. Fortunately, now we have many natural strategies to beat off anxiety. You can adopt aforementioned natural effective methods for a happy healthy life.