Treating the person not the illness: effective natural treatments for anxiety

A holistic approach to treatments for anxiety defines an illness as an imbalance with the way a person lives their life, rather than a set of physiological symptoms. The idea that illness is caused by a number of different factors rather than a simple physiological problem is as old as mankind, and has had a real revival in terms of treatments for anxiety. Anxiety is not caused by a specific disease or problem with the body, but is rather an imbalance of the minds natural fight or flight survival mechanism. There is not one treatments for anxiety, although serotonin based pharmaceuticals can help, the patient would do well to confront many areas of their lives and undertake a truly holistic approach.

Areas to consider in natural  treatments for anxiety

• Diet, remove highly processed and sugar heavy foods.
• Exercise, release natural endorphins and eliminates adrenaline from the body.#
• Herbal medicines, certain extracts such as valerian and st john’s wort are medically proven to enhance a feeling of calm
• Meditation and breathing, promotes calm and focus
• Talking therapy, helps to maintain a sense of perspective and reduce worry.

Many western responses to anxiety have been based around the ‘keep taking the pills’ philosophy, and whilst this is effective in short term natural treatments for anxiety, more benefits have been seen by combining tablets with the therapies listed above.