Highly Effective Anxiety Treatment

Anxiety is a natural reaction to stressful situations and is a physical mechanism that has helped humans survive for thousands of years. Every person occasionally experiences anxiety, tension and mental stress combined with physical symptoms or movement in the nervous system. Anxiety starts to become a problem when it interferes with daily functioning because of anxiety attacks or when it lasts for a long time chronically. The modern treatment for anxiety is through pharmaceutical drugs that chemically affect the brain. Sometimes they decrease the stress, but they most often also create various side effects and sometimes a dependency on drugs. Treating anxiety naturally, such as using Acupuncture for anxiety or working with the subconscious patterns such as Recall Healing, might be a better option for you to explore.

There are many discussions in the medical world about the effectiveness of psychiatric drugs. In most cases, the drugs do not heal the condition but only relieve the symptoms. Therefore, many people turn to the world of alternative medicine, looking for a more natural approach to not only treat the symptoms of their anxiety but also to heal their condition. This article aims to organize and deliver the best methods for treating anxiety naturally.

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety is the body and brain’s natural reaction to emergencies. Everyone sometimes experiences certain anxiety levels, such as before an exam, speaking in front of an audience or stressful situations. Still, usually, the anxiety is temporary and does not impair one’s quality of life.

In certain instances, the anxiety is reoccurring and becomes a “part of life,” and then there is damage to life quality, and the person must seek treatment. Anxiety expresses itself physically and mentally, such as increased heartbeat, sweat, shaking, and feelings of fear, worry, tension, and hopelessness. Sometimes panic attacks can be confused with other diseases; for example, in the emergency room, there are often patients who arrive with complaints about a heart attack that turns out to be an anxiety attack. In this article, we will also provide information about different types of anxiety and phobias.

Alternative Medicine for Treating Anxiety

There are several primary methods of alternative medicine to treat anxiety naturally. It is recommended to work with one or two simultaneously and conduct a series of sessions. Due to the nature of anxiety attacks, the onset of an attack can be sudden and occur even during the course sessions, so it is recommended not to despair and give the therapy time to take effect.
In treating anxiety, the patient must develop the ability to openly “receive” the anxiety attacks as they come and not fear the next episode. This fear might produce the next attack, which forms a vicious circle. After you have done the proper research and chosen a treatment method and a therapist, it is advisable to trust the therapeutic procedure until an improvement occurs.

Acupuncture for Treating Anxiety

According to ancient Chinese medicine, the “spirit” reflected in our mind, thoughts and emotions resides in the heart, but also, every organ in the body has its own “spirit.” When a person has anxiety or a mental condition such as insomnia, depression or chronic stress, the “spirit is disturbed,” and healing will arrive by “calming the spirit.”

According to Chinese medicine, the “spirit” can be disturbed by physical factors like blood deficiency, phlegm, fever and more, or by mental factors like disturbing thoughts, emotions and so on. When a person suffering from an anxiety attack comes for Chinese Medicine treatment, he undergoes a thorough diagnosis by the therapist. The acupuncturist has to find the source of the anxiety disorder, the physical and mental factor that causes the anxiety. According to Chinese medicine, there are several causes of anxiety disorder. Several organs might be involved, including the heart, spleen, liver, kidneys, various syndromes of Qi deficiency, blood deficiency, Yin deficiency, Qi or blood stagnation, fever, phlegm, and more.

In Chinese medicine, diagnose by questioning the patient, checking the pulse and the tongue and examining any other symptoms to differentiate between the various types of anxiety or related illness.

The significant difference between Chinese medicine and the Western approach and treatment is that we are actually trying to treat the anxiety source and not just relieve symptoms. This provides for a long-term, holistic solution without drug dependency.
Acupuncture therapy is done through needling points in the body to stimulate Qi flow (life force energy). In Balance Method Acupuncture, we have different combinations of needling for anxiety that usually brings the body and mind to balance and relaxation. Usually, the needling is not painful, but for a patient whose concern is also related to a fear of needles, other Chinese medicine tools might help, such as Tuina, Shiatsu and medicinal plants, or other methods suggested here.

Case Study: Treating Anxiety with Acupuncture

Angela suffered from anxiety attacks for four years. The episodes are accompanied by accelerated pulse, perspiration, chest pressure and an inability to think clearly or function optimally. The attacks would occur once a week or sometimes every day, depending on her mental state. The fear of attacks was so great that she would not go out for any activity unless she had to.
The fear of the following anxiety attack intensified the pressure in her mind that causes the next episode and create a vicious circle. “I don’t sleep well at night, I’ve become a nervous, stressful person; my husband and children are suffering because of me,” she says.
Through a diagnosis based on Chinese medicine principles, it turned out that Angela has blood deficiency and a build-up of heart heat. According to Chinese medicine, the heart is where the spirit resides, and the blood in the heart protects the spirit and cools/calms it down. In a state of blood deficiency, the spirit cannot relax, so there are anxieties. Angela’s therapy included Balance Method acupuncture and medicinal plants, as well as self-relaxation techniques.
After two weeks of therapy, her condition started to improve; the anxiety attacks decreased in frequency and intensity, and she started “sleeping like a baby,” as she put it. The therapy lasted about three months, and after the treatment ended, she continued with the relaxation exercises. In times of increased stress due to lifestyle factors, she comes in for maintenance therapy to prevent the onset of an attack.

Read more about Balance Method Acupuncture.

Recall Healing The Emotional Cause of Anxiety.

Recall Healing is an effective method in addressing anxiety and is essentially a process through conversation. Compared to traditional forms of psychotherapy and counselling, which can often take a long time to produce a change in the patient; Recall Healing typically takes three to six sessions to resolve a conflict or issue.
In the Recall Healing method, we examine the patient’s subconscious, directly looking to address an issue’s emotional trauma. The causes of the anxiety are embedded in the person’s life and sometimes what happened to him in early childhood or to someone in his genetic lineage.

According to Recall Healing, anxiety is a memory of something that endangers the person’s life or family. The anxiety may occur a short time after the stressor later according to the person’s life cycle. One example of a cycle is dividing the person’s age by two.
For example, for someone experiencing anxiety attacks at the age of twenty, in looking at their past, it turns out that they suffered a trauma at the age of ten. The impact of this was embedded in their subconscious, only to reappear later in their life. In this way, recall healing looks at cycles in one’s life and will look at the past as one method of finding the root cause of the anxiety.
Patterns can be passed on to the next generations and occur among the descendants of that person. For example, someone who is experiencing anxiety at the age of twenty may find that trauma took place in an ancestor’s life, such as a grandfather being at war at the same period. When these causes are identified and released, the person can be free from anxiety.

The subconscious makes up more than ninety percent of our brain, and indeed, most of the sources of the anxiety causes are in the subconscious. When the conscious brain identifies the causes of anxiety, for example, “I have anxiety at the moment because of something bad that happened to my grandfather at a similar age.” The brain understands that the anxiety it experiences is not real; something in the brain relaxes and agrees to accept the situation as is. According to this approach, anxiety is not a “bad” thing; it is an attempt made by the brain to keep us alive and adapt.

Case study – Recall Healing applied to Anxiety.

Julia has been experiencing anxiety for about ten years. The anxiety has to do with being overly concerned about her children and her husband, fearing that something terrible will happen to them. The stress started after the first birthday of her eldest son. Julia and her family started their life in a new county in Canada, away from their friends and extended family. Natur experienced a feeling of disconnection and, in Canada, isolation for a short period. Of course, after ten years in Canada, the economic and social situation is excellent, and there is no apparent cause for anxiety, but the anxiety keeps appearing.

After reviewing events in the family lineage, it turned out that Julia’s grandmother lost two children in a fire while they were sleeping. We do not have many details about the story, but we can understand that her grandmother carried a feeling of responsibility, guilt and sorrow.

Julia has worked her entire life in insurance and always searched for a security feeling based on the external situation. After we brought up those topics and allowed awareness to come to what she felt inside discussing it, Julia’s anxiety decreased significantly. She understood that she was carrying genetic fears triggered in her when she felt insecure and lost control over reality.

With the help of Recall Healing, Julia was released from the main Recall Healing’s helped inherited. Since her behaviour has been formed that anxiety for many years, as part of the process, Julia learned how to create a feeling of inner security by creating support mechanisms such as relaxation, nutrition changes and acceptance of not controlling everything.

Read more about Recall Healing.

Manual Therapy for Treating Anxiety Naturally

Shiatsu, reflexology and Tui-na are all therapies that can be very helpful to treat anxiety. Gentle work with the body calms the body and mind. In Shiatsu and Tui na, work will be done on acupuncture points and the meridians combined with relaxing the muscles. The reflexology treatment – a massage on points on the feet, works by mirroring pressure points in the legs on the relevant -area to treat the anxiety. These session relevant areas’ legs acupuncture, Recall Healing or medicinal herbs.

Medicinal Herbs for Treating Anxiety Naturally

We can divide the world of medicinal herbs into Chinese medicine medicinal plants and Western medicinal plants. The Chinese medicine medicinal plants are given as a formula of several plants. These herbal formulas are personally tailored to the patient in formula makeup and patient dosage. In many cases, the acupuncture therapist can combine the treatment with medicinal herbs for anxiety therapy.

Naturopathy Treatment and Nutrition for Anxiety

The Naturopath  Doctor works with Western medicinal herbs, vitamins and minerals. After the diagnosis, the naturopath will adjust the medicinal plants and vitamins suited to treat anxiety. Nutritional treatment for anxiety is also essential as nutrition plays a significant role in keeping balance in the body. One notable example is maintaining the sugar levels in the body. In many cases, Hypoglycemia might create a feeling of anxiety or the feeling of being dysfunctional. Nutrition rich in carbohydrates and sugar makes a tendency for anxiety attacks in low blood sugar levels, so a diet that maintains the right sugar balance and eating frequently can help a lot. Additionally, nutrition based on fats like paleo or ketogenic diets can help in cases where the anxiety has to do with low blood sugar.

Homeopathy for Treating Anxiety Naturally

Homeopathy therapy is an adequate anxiety treatment. At the beginning of the anxiety therapy, the patient is given a questionnaire that helps the homeopath adjust a remedy, a homeopathic medication for the anxiety. The medication is changed in terms of its ingredients and dilution for the patient himself. Homeopathic therapy also works on treating the inner source that caused the anxiety and not just for relaxation. There are also pre-made homeopathic formulas like “Rescue” (Bach Flowers) used for relaxation, but they do not heal the anxiety caused.

Bach Flowers Therapy as Anxiety Treatment

Bach flower is a method that originates from homeopathy. Bach Flowers therapists specialize in a variety of mental and emotional problems. As mentioned above, the Rescue formula is a general remedy for relaxation, but specific recipes for patients can be made following a diagnosis. The patient receives a flower extract blend, which treats the anxiety or any emotional problem connected to it.

NLP as Anxiety Treatment

NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) is a method that works by using neural (perceptual and behavioural) and communication (linguistic) techniques to make it easier for people to modify their thoughts and actions. NLP enables the “reprogramming” of the factors – usually thoughts, beliefs and behaviours, that create anxiety in an individual. In addition to specific language techniques such as embedded commands and presuppositions, guided imagery is an important NLP method. Guided imagery effectively treats anxiety as a means of relaxation and reprogramming painful places in the subconscious.

Different types of anxiety and phobia

Anxiety is divided into several main categories. All of them can be treated with Natural Medicine.

Anxiety Attacks

Anxiety attacks are also called panic attacks. The name’s meaning stems from a reaction of intense fear, and the name means individual repeatedly with no realistic, objective danger. People repeatedly anxiety attacks experience instances of alarm that make them feel as if they have a heart attack or they are about to go crazy or die, with no apparent reason. The symptoms include heart-pounding, pain or chest discomfort, sweat, shaking, prickling sensation, internal burning, feeling of asphyxiation, fear of death, fear of losing control and more.

Agoraphobia

The name’s origin comes from the Greek language in which agora is the city plaza and indicates a place where the masses congregate. Agoraphobia is a fear that creates avoidance of closed places from which it could be difficult to escape when the anxiety attack takes place. Principally we are talking about anxiety regarding crowded places. In difficult situations, people are scared to leave their homes or get accustomed to safe areas from which they cannot get out. Agoraphobia sometimes accompanies anxiety attacks.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder – PTSD

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a result of exposure to traumatic events such as sexual or physical events, car accidents, exposure to or witnessing death, etc. Three main symptoms that accompany PTSD are: re-experiencing the traumatic event (like sudden flashes and nightmares), avoidance tendencies (such as avoiding returning to trauma-related places) and loss of emotional feeling (disassociation). Other prevalent psychological phenomena like difficulties in falling asleep, various sleep disorders, and unrest or damage to concentration ability. There could be damage to the quality of life, work performance, family life and more.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

In O.C.D, the person is troubled by ongoing (obsessive) thoughts that reflect anxiety or excessive fears. Typical obsessions relate to concern about getting infected and fears that have to do with inappropriate behaviour or violent behaviour. The obsessions might lead the individual to perform ritualistic behaviours (compulsions) like repetitive hand washing, word repetition, hoarding, checking routine activities like “did I turn the oven off?” several times. Sometimes it is reflected in a change of the speed at which they do things, performing the daily routine excessively slowly, like organizing the closet for hours. All of these activities are meant to reduce the anxiety that is caused by obsessive thoughts.

Specific Phobia

A phobia is the occurrence of an acute and excessive fearful reaction to a particular object or situation that would typically not cause such a response amongst most people. The most common examples include animal phobia (spiders, cockroaches, dogs, cats), fear of heights (elevators, towers, flights), medical situations (vaccinations, blood tests, dentist visits), and more.

As mentioned, the level of fear experienced does not equate to the reality of the situation, and even those who suffer from the problem acknowledge that their reaction is irrational. Phobia will disrupt the individual’s daily routine, work, activities, and quality of life. As long as the fear is reasonable, it will not be considered a phobia.

In Recall Healing, we will find the cause of the phobia in the person’s life or his parents or ancestors.
For example, fear of heights:
1. Can be related to a memory in the family of someone who fell from a high place.
2. Can be a memory from childhood – a baby falling from the bed.
3. Symbolically: because our brain can work with symbols, the brain can transport heights to different meanings. Heights can be related to the Father or god, so one example can be a memory of an abusive father in the person’s genealogy.

Social Anxiety Disorder

Social disorder is characterized by a radical and excessive feeling of anxiety regarding being judged by others or behaviour that could cause a sense of embarrassment or become a source of social mockery. This increased anxiety may lead to avoidance of various social situations, fear of speaking in public, fear of encountering new people, fear of eating and drinking in public, and more. The symptoms that accompany this disorder are accelerated heartbeats, weakness, tendency to blush and excessive perspiration. People who suffer from this disorder have a high level of awareness of the physical symptoms of feeling anxious. The fear that other people would notice their anxiety judge them and have a negative impression of them.

Generalized Anxiety disorder -GAD

Generalized anxiety disorder is characterized by excessive, unrealistic worry and negative impressions. Among adults, the anxiety is focused on issues like health, money, family or career. In addition to the chronic fear, generalized anxiety disorder symptoms include physical symptoms like stomach aches, dizziness, and general tension. It is difficult to diagnose this disorder because it has no dramatic symptoms like panic attacks, breathlessness and so on, which sometimes occurs in other anxiety disorders. A psychiatric diagnosis requires that the days when the anxiety occurs exceed the number of days when the anxiety does not happen for six months.

Treating Anxiety with Conventional Medicine

Anxiety treatment, according to Western medicine, is done through medication, primarily through anti-depressant drugs. The therapy might help reduce the anxiety attacks, and mostly it is done in combination with other kinds of treatment, such as cognitive-behavioural therapy and psychiatry. Suppose a person wishes to stop the psychiatric medication. In that case, it is essential to do so after consulting their physician and preferably as a gradual reduction, as an abrupt discontinuance might cause severe side effects.

Mind and Body Connection

Chinese medicine explains that physically the subconscious beliefs reside in the body – in the internal organs, in the muscles, bones, tendons and so on. According to Chinese medicine, 99% of internal illnesses are created by emotions and thought patterns. So, every physical disease is linked to the mind, and the mind is connected to the physical body. The feelings and patterns create a blockage in the meridians’ energy flow (channels in which the energy flows throughout the body) and later create pain or illness.

It is essential to understand that those reactions we have adopted can be replaced by others, more healthy if we only want and allow for that. There is no reason to suffer when treatment for anxiety can be enormously helpful to an individual, combined with psychological treatment or drug treatment if needed.

conclusion

In conclusion, sometimes, after reading this article, a person may feel he has some of this and some of that, even if he is not suffering from anxiety. Of course, healthy people also have fears and anxiety, but they can handle them without letting them interfere with their way of life. The anxious person needs to learn a way of thinking that is different from that which he got accustomed to. In the end, it will bring about a decrease in anxiety levels. We adopt thought patterns, behaviour manners, and specific reactions that we do not even consciously choose during our lives. For the most part, we copy from the parents, friends, society, television, etc. The beliefs, experiences and thought patterns are in our subconscious.

After reading this article, we hope you know more about anxiety and the various natural therapies available. If you are suffering, you know there are many options for treatment. We wish you a peaceful, beautiful and healthy life.