by Ayurvedic-Medicine

3 Simple Anti-Anxiety Natural Remedies

Article by John Cielo

Natural anti-anxiety remedies are on the increase as anxiety victims turn away from drugs and their bad side effects. Here are 3 anti-anxiety remedies you can carry out at home.

First, did you know that anxiety disorders are believed to be the number one mental health problem among American women. It comes just second to alcohol and drug abuse among American men. It is a very serious disorder that costs the US billions of dollars annually.

And would you believe that anxiety sufferers consult five doctors on average, before they are correctly diagnosed? Which is why, along with their dislike of drugs with their horrible side effects, more and more sufferers are looking for anti-anxiety natural remedies.

So what is anxiety? Generally speaking, a person with general anxiety is someone who, on a daily basis, worries and stresses intensely about a range of issues and things in a way that isn’t normal, and way above their importance.

In our modern lives, we are all subject to varying degrees of stress, e.g. getting married, buying a house, death of a loved one, job worries, etc, etc. But, although we all suffer anxiety and stress, we eventually get over them, and often look back and think, what all the fuss was about.

A general anxiety sufferer, however, experiences those same stressful situations, but doesn’t come out the other side in the same way. They retain stress, fear, anxiousness, etc. They continually worry and obsess about the future and what might or might not happen.

So any anti-anxiety remedy needs to help the sufferer relax, reduce stress and relieve anxiety. Here are 3 natural remedies that have been found to be pretty effective:-

(1) Deep Breathing

When someone is stressed they often breath poorly. This tends to be shallow, spasmodic breathing and sometimes people can actually stop breathing for a time, and not be aware of it. This leads to an imbalance in your oxygen / carbon dioxide ratio which can leave you light headed, dizzy, and tired leading to more anxiety.

You can redress the balance by practicing controlled, rhythmic breathing. One of the best ways is to practice breathing using your diaphragm. Most of us just breath with our upper chest so that not all our lung capacity is being used.

Sit in a comfortable chair with your back straight and your hands relaxing on your thighs or lap. Inhale slowly through your nose, ensuring that you fill your lower lungs first by extending your abdomen, then the top half of your lungs. Do this for 4 seconds, and then hold you breath for a count of 7 seconds.

Then exhale through the mouth slowly for a count of 8 seconds, attempting all the time to relax your mind, shoulders and limbs. Let go of all your stress and anxiety. Pause for a short while before you start another cycle. Try to complete around 10 cycles one or two times a day to start with. Then gradually increase to around 30 cycles several times a day.

(2) Music Therapy

Listening to music has been shown to relieve stress. Music has been found to reduce heart rate and promote higher body temperature, a sign of the beginnings of relaxation.

Pick music that will relax you, not necessarily your favorite music, e.g. hard rock, heavy metal, etc. Some research has shown that Native American and Celtic music can be very relaxing. There are also CDs out there that replicate soothing sounds, such as the ocean, with relaxing music over it.

But, whatever you do, don’t choose music, songs, ballads, etc. that remind you of the sad times or difficult periods in your life. These will have the opposite effect and only help increase your anxiety.

(3) Distraction

This is particularly useful at the onset and during an anxiety attack. Because the symptoms are so horrible a sufferer tends to analyze each symptom as it happens, trying to figure out what is going on. And they tend to think the very worst outcome, even death.

But, of course, we know that they are just symptoms and cannot harm you. So remember that fact at the onset, and then start to focus your attention on something external. Stay in the ‘present’, don’t think about what might happen in the future, by using all your senses of sight, smell, touch, hearing, and taste.

Analyse the building or other object near you. Pick up your pet and cuddle and stroke them. Listen to the sounds around you and try to pick out all the different ones. I think you get the idea, right?

These are just 3 popular natural anti-anxiety tips that can help you, but, the one key issue underpinning your general anxiety is your continual, conscious or unconscious, ‘fear.’

This fear feeds your anxiety, continually building on it, and increasing your anxiety levels to such an extent, that you can actually suffer anxiety attacks. Then, you fear having another anxiety attack, because the symptoms are so terrifying. This builds on your already heightened anxiety; and so on, in a vicious cycle of anxiety.

Unless you can break-out of your cycle of anxiety by eliminating your ‘fear factor,’ it can be very difficult to prevent these anxiety attacks, and, eliminate your general anxiety.