Natural remedies for stress and anxiety.
As someone who runs their own complementary therapy business, I know what it’s like to feel stressed and anxious on occasion. Money worries, public speaking, daily administration tasks can leave me feeling fraught and unbalanced. But what if there were some natural solutions to help?
As a homeopathic practitioner, I often use homeopathic remedies to help me relieve symptoms of stress and obviously prescribe a fair few to my clients too! They’re a natural, safe and an effective form of relief for both emotional and physical stress and easy to take when needed.
Is stress bad for us?
Stress is a natural reaction to psychological and physical threats. In small doses, stress improves our performance under pressure, helps us stay focused, and protects us from exhaustion. Unfortunately, in today’s hectic, achievement-driven world, almost every individual experiences larger doses of stress several times per year. Many of us encounter regular stress-causing situations — negative and positive, large and small events — including job pressure, substantial life changes, promotions, financial hardships, daily hassles, deadlines, and grief over illness and death.
Constant stress causes our inner alarm system to remain turned on too long, and it becomes more and more difficult to shut if off. When not assessed and managed, stress can lead to serious illnesses such as heart disease or high blood pressure. It also takes a toll on the quality of our life, work, and relationships. Homeopathic medicines support your body’s need to calm down, relax, focus, and avoid agitation and exhaustion.
What is homeopathy and how might it help with stress?
Homeopathy is a form of complementary medicine that works with our natural healing process and has been successfully used for over 200 years. The word comes from Greek and means ‘similar suffering’. This refers to the central philosophy that a substance that can produce symptoms in a healthy person can heal those symptoms in a sick person. For example a person suffering from hayfever might be given the remedy Allium Cepa (prepared from an onion), because a healthy person chopping an onion usually experiences watering eyes and irritation. The substances are given in minute doses prepared in a special way to avoid unwanted side effects, making them safe to use for all ages.
Homeopathy focuses on the cause of your health problem rather than just treating the symptoms so it’s best to see a qualified homeopath for the most individualised treatment.
Is there any evidence that homeopathy can help with stress and anxiety?
A randomised controlled (but not blinded) trial with 60 subjects was conducted in France with patients suffering from stress and anxiety in which half were given a homeopathic formula marketed as .L.72.2 in France and .Anti-anxiety. in the USA, while the control group was given a diazepam (Valium) (Heulluy, 1985). “The results indicated that L72 was as effective as diazepam on all measures.”
Remedies to try
Here I have listed some common remedies for stress relief and anxiety and the ‘symptom picture’ of each remedy. With homeopathic remedies the aim is to match your symptoms to the remedy as closely as possible. As I’m only listing a few below, it’s possible that you might not fit any of the remedies suggested so you would benefit from a more in depth consultation with a qualified homeopath.
Most remedies can be purchased off the shelf from larger pharmacies such as Boots. Some need to be ordered from a homeopathic pharmacy. Nelsons, Ainsworths and Helios are all based in London and offer mail order services. It’s advisable to start with a 30c potency and take every hour or so when the feelings of stress are at their peak.
Argentum Nitricum
Ideal for treating anxiety, caused by the anticipation of a big event, such as an exam, party or public speaking event. Dizziness and diarrhea may also be experienced, especially in the morning. People who need this remedy are often enthusiastic and suggestible, with a tendency towards being quite impulsive. They often crave sweets which usually make their symptoms worse.
Gelsemium
When a dull, heavy, but restless, weariness dominates you, think of Gelsemium. A dose before an exam or interview can keep your mind from drawing a blank. Heavy fatigue with muscular weakness means it’s great for flu, restless colds, diarrhea and dull, pressing headaches. This can be a very steadying remedy, especially to quiet, often low-spirited people who dread public speaking.
Nux Vomica
This remedy’s reputation is based on its ability to treat modern day complaints of indigestion, intoxication, and stress. Nux Vomica acts to neutralize both the effect of stress on the mind, and excess intake of food, alcohol and drugs on the digestive system. Nux Vomica offers comfort when travel, hangovers, busy schedules, overwork, or late night meals cause digestive and mental distress. Ideal if you’re a ‘workaholic’ who is easily irritable and tired.
Lycopodium
Ideal for nerves and indecision and especially good if you worry a lot and battle with self-confidence (too much and too little!). Digestively, it applies to acidity, gas, bloating, colic and constipation. There may be a fear of change, irritability, obstinacy, stage fright and exam nerves.
Other quick methods to help relieve stress
- Regular exercise. Physical activity is a great way to let off some steam. Exercise releases endorphins, our natural ‘feel good’ hormones, which boost energy levels and counteract stress hormones, such as cortisol.
- Take a short 10-15 minute break every few hours to rest and recuperate. Or go for a short walk to get some fresh air.
- Learn to say no! Set yourself realistic expectations and learn how to say “no” when your workload or social and family commitments get too much.
- Learn to switch off. Leaving the office for the day? Then it’s time to switch off your work brain as well as your mobile phone. Unless you need to be on call for work, there’s rarely anything that can’t be solved the next day with renewed perspective.
- Breathe! When we’re stressed, we tend to shallow breathe. Try to take deeper breaths into your diaphragm.
If you have found this article helpful it would be great if you could share it via email, facebook or twitter. I would also love to hear your stress-relief tips, please comment below to share them.
Until next time, have a happy, healthy week!
Claire Zarb LCPH
t: 07582 269569
e: claire@clairezarb.com
w: www.clairezarb.com
s: c.zarb
Nice and informative article.
Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed.
Thank you again for your newsletter. I look forward to receiving them and really enjoy reading the information you give. It is so helpful.
peace and joy, Jo
Thanks Jo. I’m really glad you enjoy the newsletter and blogs. Hope all is well with you. Claire
Avoid last minute rushing and complete your work before time this will reduce the
Stress effectively. Meditate in the morning and evening.
Nice article.
I think it will help me to cure .
Thank you.
using herbal supplements as anxiety releif, Anxiety is an increasingly prevalent problem these days, afflicting everyone from stay-at-home parents to business executives. The term ‘anxiety’ is used to describe anything from an uneasy feeling to a full-on crisis such as a panic attack and so almost everyone you speak to will admit to feelings of anxiety at some point in their lives. The stress we deal with each and every day can simply become too much – pressure at work, stress in the family home, plus all the little things that life throws at us each and every day, can leave us feeling stressed and anxious. If the condition is serious and begins to really affect your quality of life, the only answer may be to take an appointment with your physician and talk about prescription medication and possibly some kind of counselling or therapy to get to the true cause of these unwanted, overwhelming feelings. If, however, the anxiety is mild to moderate, it can often be alleviated, if not completely quelled, with time-tested herbal remedies. These combined with a good network of supportive friends and family can help bring you through a period of difficult emotions and help give you back a sense of being in control of your life. The variety of herbs used for hundreds of years for the treatment of anxiety is truly astounding. They can all be taken in various ways, from infusions and teas, to oils, capsules and tinctures and each has a unique way of re-balancing the mind and body, bringing harmony and a sense of well-being. all natural anxiety herbs Some may provoke side-effects but not in the same league as prescription anti-anxiety medication, others shouldn’t be taken with certain prescription drugs and so professional medical advice should be sought, but you can be sure that for every person suffering from the distress of anxiety, a suitable and convenient herbal remedy is available that will help them forge their way to better mental health and confidence. There are too many remedies to mention, but here is an overview of just a few of the better-known herbs: Ginseng – well-known as a stimulant, ginseng is also a very effective anti-anxiety herb. Studies have shown that it balances emotions and helps the body heal from the damaging effects of stress and ensuing high cortisol levels. pills for treating anxiety As high doses of ginseng can actually cause agitation, low doses are recommended for anxiety, gradually increasing to the optimum level. Lavender – commonly used as an aromatherapy oil, lavender is also an effective herbal remedy for anxiety, insomnia and general stress
I’ve been worrying about everything for about 7 months. I cant handle it anymore ..im 15… is this anxiety or something else?
Hi, thanks for your comment. It is hard to say without knowing more about you and your symptoms. I suggest you find a homeopath locally or contact me to book an appointment. It might also be helpful to see your GP for a more thorough diagnosis. Good luck. Claire
Well, I may not be 17 anymore, but I do know what it’s like to have sterss, depression and anxiety hit you all at once, and I do know how hard it can be. I also do not want any medication.All these things run in my family and sadly enough, most of them have become dependent on the medication. I have promised myself that I would never let that happen to me.Sometimes I break out into these horrible moods one minute, the next I’m crying my eyes out, and the next I just want to be left alone. That is no way for any person to live. You need support from loved ones to help out a little. We all need some help sometimes and the first step at helping depression in wanting to get better. I have chosen away to help myself, but I also ask others around me to be patient with me, it is a long process. I have been dealing with this in my life for years now, but slowly it is getting better.I realize this is a long answer, but I know a lot about this topic, and it saddens me to know that too many people suffer from this illness. In some cases, people need medication due to the chemical imbalance. Some just need learn that they have the power to overcome this. That is what I’m choosing to do, and so far I’m getting there.You are 17 years old and life can get better or much much worse. Always think to yourself, you are much greater then the sterss, the pain, and the worries that you deal with everyday. School can be tough on people, but always know you can only do so much to please people. Try pleasing yourself, worry about yourself.Take one day at a time and just know that the horrible day will not last forever, and try not to bring your worries to the next days, that is the past and there is nothing you can do to change that.
Hi Dr Claire
Thanks for your informative article. Can you please tell me that L72 drops can be used for long term? Is it addictive?
What are L72 drops? Sorry, I don’t follow as I haven’t referred to these in my blog. Thanks.
Thanks for sharing the information. Now a day’s stress and anxiety are major problems in most people. These are leads to many mental issues. You have discussed some natural remedies to beat the stress like regular exercise etc. I like this blog. For getting more advanced methods to overcome these diseases visit Springdale clinic.