Anxiety is that intense feeling of fear or dread that overcomes us when faced with frightening or distressing news or situations. The most highly recognized symptoms of anxiety are laboured breathing, sweating, nervousness or jumpiness. These signs of anxiety, which are the body’s normal reaction to fear, are heightened in those that are dealing with anxiety or have dealt with anxiety attacks, panic attacks and prolonged anxiety attack symptoms. Along with the list of symptoms that people report as part of an anxiety disorder, some also report that natural remedies of anxiety help relieve their symptoms where-as others state that natural remedies do little, if anything at all.
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| Anxiety- image taken from www.davidmansaray.com |
About anxiety disorders
Anxiety disorders are described by doctors and sufferers alike as a set of mental illnesses that cause those dealing with anxiety to feel extremely frightened, distressed, or uneasy; and display obvious signs of anxiety in situations that would seem ordinary or not significant enough to experience the same feelings to someone who does not suffer from anxiety attacks. The longer the person is experiencing these anxiety attack symptoms, the more noticeable the symptoms of anxiety become.
Common symptoms of anxiety
Unlike the comparatively mild, symptoms of anxiety caused by a worrying event, for example, having to speak in public, or meeting a new person for the first time; to a person who is dealing with anxiety, caused and intensified by an anxiety disorder; these everyday types of concerns have a much broader impact
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In fact for a person who is dealing with anxiety attacks stemming from an anxiety disorder, having to meet someone new or speak in public can become so stressful that the person is nearly incapacitated by fear and begins showing some of the more intense symptoms of anxiety associated with anxiety disorders.
(www.psychiatry.org, 2014).
(www.psychiatry.org, 2014).
The most common symptoms reported by people who are dealing with anxiety disorders can be split into two categories; Mental/Emotional and Physical. Mental symptoms vary with each individual, and can differ depending on the type of disorder, however in general the symptoms of anxiety are mostly interchangeable throughout the range of anxiety disorders.
Mental signs of anxiety can include: intense feelings of fear or dread that don’t seem to subside or that continue to escalate beyond the fear reaction of someone without an anxiety disorder, problems concentrating on chores or everyday routines, feeling tense and nervous, jumpy and restless, mood swings from anger to irritability and depression. While these symptoms of anxiety are noticeable if someone is watching for them, they are less noticeable then their physical counterparts and as such can sometimes go unnoticed or untreated for long periods of time.(www.nimh.nih.gov, 2014).
Physical symptoms of an anxiety attack can include, sweating or clammy feeling, rapidly beating heart, frequent upset stomach, dizziness, diarrhea, and fatigue, headaches and insomnia. Often times when a person is experiencing these symptoms it is necessary to rule out multiple illnesses or diseases before the symptoms of anxiety are diagnosed as such. This could mean multiple trips to the doctor, and can be time consuming. In the meantime, the person dealing with anxiety attack symptoms continues to feel the effects of the disorder. (Helpguide.org, 2014)
Natural remedies of anxiety disorders
Generally once all other possibilities have been ruled out, and a person is diagnosed with an anxiety disorder the physician will start out by suggesting some of the better known natural remedies of anxiety, some of which have been proven in studies to help relieve the symptoms of anxiety and help those dealing with anxiety disorders to cope with the myriad of causes and effects.
One of the natural remedies of anxiety is Chamomile. A nice cup of chamomile tea has been shown to calm the anxiety of people both with normal anxiety levels, and those who are dealing with anxiety on a more intense level. If tea is not for you, chamomile is also available in a supplement form. A study done at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center in Philadelphia, PA showed that a test group of patients diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder who took chamomile supplements for an 8 week trial period showed noteworthy reduction in symptoms of anxiety when compared with another test group given a placebo.
If chamomile alone doesn’t quite calm you, you can also try adding a few other herbs or plants to the mix that have also been shown to relieve anxiety attack symptoms. For instance, lavender, and lemon balm are both plants that have been proven to reduce stress and signs of anxiety when added to tea or when used to scent a room or bedding.
Another remedy that has been shown to provide relief when dealing with anxiety is the mineral L-theanine, an amino acid found in green tea. Researchers have shown that L-theanine helps to slow a increasing heart rate and lowers the blood pressure, subsequent studies of anxiety prone students who were given 200 milligrams of L-theanine before a test have shown that it reduces symptoms of anxiety in those prone to anxiety attacks.
However, you probably can get that much L-theanine from drinking green tea, you might have to drink numerous cups, falling anywhere between 5 and 10. With that in mind you may want to consider L-theanine supplements to relieve signs of anxiety. (19 Natural Remedies for Anxiety, 2014).
The type of remedy or treatment that works best for dealing with anxiety can depend in great part on the individual, but it can also depend on the type of disorder the anxiety attacks are connected too.
Types of anxiety disorders
There are several identified anxiety disorders, each with its own causes and effects. Some of these disorders are more severe and life altering then others, with symptoms of anxiety that escalate to the point of the patient losing consciousness. Some more severe cases of anxiety attacks require different and sometimes more significant forms of treatment.
The term ‘anxiety disorder’ actually covers many different disorders including generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) which is described as persistent and unrelenting fear of everyday things and events.
Panic disorder and panic attacks are diagnosed in people who have spontaneous, intense anxiety attacks and are worried constantly about having another attack. Panic attacks can take place without warning, sometimes even while the patient is asleep causing the person to wake unexpectedly mid-attack.
Agoraphobia, more commonly known as a fear of open spaces, causes its sufferers to display intense symptoms of fear, dizziness, sweaty/clamminess, and in some cases the sufferer is completely incapacitated by the signs of anxiety and the fear of leaving their ‘safe place’ causing the person to either refuse to leave completely or the person losing consciousness .
Social anxiety disorder is very common form of anxiety disorder. People who suffer from this particular form of disorder become so frightened and nervous when in social situations that they become either withdrawn and practically mute or find themselves talking randomly and then feeling ‘awkward’ or ‘stupid’ for the things they might have said or done.
Other disorders such as Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are very much like anxiety disorders, with some of the same symptoms and signs of anxiety that appear much the same. In fact in some cases, people who have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder may experience these disorders as well. (www.adaa.org, 2014).
Research has proven that anxiety disorders frequently arise in those that suffer from other mental or physical illnesses. These most often include alcohol or substance misuse, which can cover symptoms of anxiety; and in cases of recovering substance abusers, the signs of anxiety, symptoms and severity of anxiety attacks can intensify once the substance is no longer in the persons system.
Effective treatments for anxiety disorders
In some situations, where the sufferer has other illnesses that either intensify or cause the anxiety attack symptoms to increase, the illness or addiction that may be bringing about the anxiety attacks may need to be treated before an individual dealing with anxiety will respond to treatment for the anxiety disorder. (www.adaa.org, 2014.
In some cases, the natural road does not always provide the much needed relief from the symptoms of anxiety. When this is the case, your doctor or mental health professional may subscribe medication to help when dealing with anxiety and anxiety attacks. Some of the more commonly prescribed medications that are used to relieve the symptoms of anxiety are: Antidepressants which, while developed to treat people suffering with depression, research has shown that they are also successful for use in the treatment of people dealing with anxiety disorders.
Some of the newest antidepressants, also known as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, change the levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which has also proved successful in the treatment of panic disorders and have proven to reduce and relieve the symptoms of anxiety.
Tricyclicsare also used for the treatment of anxiety attacks and panic disorders. Like some SSRIs, they are started at lower dosages and are gradually increased until a desired level of control of the signs of anxiety is achieved. These medications can occasionally cause dizziness, drowsiness, dry mouth, and weight gain; these can sometimes be remedied by a change in dose or by changing to a different Tricyclic medication.
It is important to note that any and all of these may work for you, but all of them have been found to work best to relieve the symptoms of anxiety and help those dealing with anxiety when coupled with psychotherapy. (www.nimh.nih.gov, 2014).
Psychotherapy is a treatment that involves talking with a trained mental health professional. If you do not currently have a psychiatrist, psychologist, or counselor as part of your medical care team, speak to your primary care giver and ask to be referred to one. Discovering what may have caused an anxiety disorder is the first step on the path to freeing yourself from symptoms of anxiety.
No matter which type of disorder the sufferer may display or what types of treatments may work or not work for you, dealing with anxiety and its symptoms is never easy and the anxiety attacks connected to the disorder can have a significant impact on the quality of life of both the person dealing with the disorder and those closest to them. (www.nimh.nih.gov, 2014).
Successful natural remedies of anxiety, therapies for anxiety disorders, as well as treatments that can ease anxiety attack symptoms are becoming both better known, and easier to find and use. Research is revealing new treatments for symptoms of anxiety, with strides toward helping those dealing with anxiety disorders so that they might lead productive, fulfilling, lives; free of undo fear and signs of anxiety. (www.nimh.nih.gov, 2014).
Note: The advice and information given here is based on my personal knowledge and research. The information could help you assess and treat mild level of anxiety and feelings of apprehension to help you improve your daily life. If you or someone you know is feeling or displaying symptoms of anxiety that feel extreme or prolonged or if you or someone you know is suffering anxiety attacks or panic attacks seek the advice of a physician right away.
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