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Anxiety can be caused by a recognisable stress such as a bad accident, a death, or the loss of something important to us… In such cases, adjustments to the situation, along with the passage of time, will have a healing effect. In other cases, the stress is invisible a buried memory of some unhappy or frightening event in childhood, lurking below the surface of the conscious mind and revealing its presence in anxiety.
Hereditary factors may play a role in some individuals becoming prone to anxiety. Food sensitivities and allergies may also contribute to anxiety, although more research must be done to certify this connection. In addition, anxiety frequently follows a sudden withdrawal from alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs.
The first step is to ensure the stress symptoms are not the result of another disease or disorder. Check with your Medical Practitioner.
Traditional Treatment
Anxiety can be treated with conventional medications, psychotherapy, and many alternative approaches.
Psychotherapy aims at identifying conflicts and other stresses that may lie at the roots of anxiety. Behaviour modification, a therapy that concentrates on changing patterns of behaviour can help the patient with coping with anxiety, as can cognitive therapy, which concentrates on changing ways of thinking and mental processes.
Medication is useful for alleviating the symptoms of anxiety and is often prescribed in conjunction with other therapies.
Alternative/Natural Treatments
Many alternative practices and treatments can relieve the symptoms of anxiety. Meditation, exercise (especially aerobic exercise), and relaxation techniques are among the most effective.
Chinese medicine uses various herbal preparations that can serve as a tonic for the whole system and reduce stress.
Taking regular massages will be extremely beneficial as it relaxes the whole body and mind.
Other popular choices to reduce anxiety are:
Aromatherapy - Bergamot (in a burner or massage), Neroli (massage), Vetiver (burner), Ylang Ylang (massage, bath or burner)
Bach Flower Remedies - Agrimony helps if you hide your worry behind a ‘happy face’, white chestnut leads to insomnia and is needed if you continually have mental arguments with yourself and unwanted thoughts - you may find it hard to concentrate on you daily happenings because of this worry. If you are over protective of your family, worry incessantly about what could happen to them and friends (to the point of making them concerned about these imagined happenings) you could take red chestnut. If you are worried about justice and fairness happening and are over-involved in causes etc - try vervain.
Herbal therapies - You may be recomended to astragalus, bilberry, catnip, hops, kava, passionflower, peppermint, valerian, lemon balm, motherwort (if anxiety occurs with palpitations), skullcap, yarrow. There are also various herbal formulas available.