Mental & Emotional Health
Natural Remedies for Anxiety
Although depression gets a lot of media attention, anxiety can be equally troubling and crippling. Constant feelings of worry and fear, often out of proportion, can affect all aspects of a person’s life and can make it hard to do even everyday tasks.
Just as there are antidepressants, there are anti-anxiety medications. But there are ways to treat the condition without medication. Here are some suggestions from the experts at Harvard Medical School:
Hypnosis can be used in conjunction with cognitive behavioral therapy. The Harvard experts say it can help increase focus, relax, rethink their attitude to problems and respond to “helpful suggestions.” If you are interested in finding a hypnotist, the Harvard experts recommend discussing it first with a qualified health care practitioner such as a psychologist. A practitioner can help find a qualified hypnotist.
Biofeedback is a good awareness technique. It measures body function such as heartbeat or breathing, according to the Harvard experts, and gives you back the information via sounds or lights. That can help you be aware of your body’s reponses and hopefully learn to recognize and control them, thus reducing anxiety.
Deep Breathing The Harvard experts recommend finding a comfortable place to sit. Observe you breath – at first, take a normal breath and then a slow , deep one. As the air moves down into your stomach, let your abdomen expand. Breathe out through either your nose or your mouth, alternating normal and deep breathing. Deep breathing, the Harvard experts say, will produce relaxation.
They recommend starting with a few minutes of deep breathing and building up to 15 to 20 minutes per day.
To learn more about how to keep anxiety and phobias from interfering in your life, purchase Coping with Anxiety and Stress Disorders, a Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School. Click here to order.