You are here because you or a friend or family member suffers from Anxiety. It is a pretty useless feeling so anything you can do to lessen its effects will help you function as a better version of you. Read on and give some of them a try.
Natural remedies for anxiety need to be carefully examined because natural doesn't mean safe- remember that. Some herbs can affect the organs in negative ways in some doses- it is very strange that we started to think natural is safe at some point. I imagine this comes from it being a marketing slogan for many years 'NATURAL_________'.Warning
St John's Wort
Sold by high street retailers this extract can be used if you are not on existing medication. Typical in pill form 600 to 1800 mg per day. In some cases you can get negative side effects of restlessness worse anxiety, sunlight sensitivity, headache, fatigue, stomach upset, sexual dysfunction skin reaction. So in your case if you get any negative side effects stop taking it. There was a study in 2005 that showed no benefits over a placebo. However I can't imagine knowing anxiety how they would get any significant results with a test. As with many of the remedies here it is down to you to experiment for yourself- carefully.
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Chamomile
This is well worth a trial and can be taken in pill form but you most likely know it as an infusion (tea). Before bedtime this has been shown to help many with sleep and so in the day it could also help you be calmer.
Kava Kava (Piper Methysticum)
Discovered by natives to New Guinea and Vanuatu this plant in studies is found to be as effective as it is romantic. The worst side effects come by way of liver toxicity if certain high concentrated forms are consumed. This doesn't seem to happen by grinding the roots in the traditional form. The active ingredient are kavalactones and the best safest effects come from grinding the roots and consuming in water suspension quickly.
Kava Is an Effective and Safe Treatment of Anxiety | Psychology Today
The WHO conducted a safety study and found it to be safe within proper use. This was also in part due to the long term use by natives across the countries of the pacific islands with no long term health issues. Kava is seen as a measure against benzodiazepines like lorazepam, clonazepam and alprazolam for example. These have adverse side effects and are some prescribed solutions for some anxiety ridden patients.
Psychology Today suggests a dose of 60 to 300mg per day. Kava Kava works as a nervous system depressant. You should not take kava with alcohol and any other psychoactive drugs.
Rhodiola
An adaptogen this herb is considered good at balancing your levels of hormones helping your adrenal balance. More on that here - https://medlineplus.gov/adrenalglanddisorders.html
Valerian Root (Valepotriates)
Dating back to old times such as the Roman and Greek epochs you would have thought there was some truth in it. There have been significant results in studies showing this as an effective tool against anxiety and also helping as a sleep aid.
Study link - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ptr.1027
It is usually found in tablet form.Passion Flower
Sixteenth century explorers discovered the latin people of south America (it originated in Peru) using passion flower as a sedative. From this moment the thought has never been proven or disproven and you can learn more from this article going into depth on this pretty plant [https://nccih.nih.gov/health/passionflower]. However it has been shown perhaps the benefits for anxiety and sleep are not great enough to make it clear. You can buy this in dried form to make a tea or capsules syrups and pills. So you can try for yourself as always make sure your doc knows you are taking any of this stuff alongside other meds. It is also linked with the treatment of many other things from stomachs to haemorrhoids!
Ashwagandha aka Withania Somnifera
Ashwaganda for Anxiety | Psychology Today
It's worth mentioning the name Ashwagandha comes from a translation of 'smells like horse' from practitioners in Ayurvedic medicine. And added to anxiety it was touted to suppress ageing!
somnifera means "sleep-inducing" inLatin. This article by psychology today is a positive indictment to at least trying it. With no real negative toxicity or side effects for most there is only money to be lost. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/inner-source/201401/ashwaganda-anxiety
Related Reading
Other topics related to Anxiety.
Have you ever suffered from panic attacks? Many do so take heart you are not alone! In today's stressful world things can get on top of you. It can help to arm yourself with the Panic Miracle™ is one of the most comprehensive holistic Panic Attacks and General Anxiety solutions on the net.
Meditation is a very cheap way to achieve some calm in your life. There are numerous apps and even youtube guided meditation practises. I recommend these personally. They can teach you how to reduce anxiety and bring your inner monkey of a mind under control.
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