Total Mind Connection’s Weblog

Many different treatments exist for anxiety these days.  Anxiety is one of the most common mental disorders and, as a result of our ever-increasing understanding of it, anxiety is steadily becoming ‘the mental disease of the year’.  If you are looking for anxiety treatments this can be both good and bad news.  Although there are a host of medications available to treat anxiety, they all have their side effects.  So if you’re looking to curb your anxiety without the side effects some healthy and natural cures are a good place to start.

While anxiety is defined as a ‘mental disorder’, all of us suffer from it at one time or another, just as with depression.  Some people suffer more due to an imbalance of neurotransmitters and therefore may have an anxiety disorder. For the rest of us, its just one of those things you have to deal with every now and then.  If you do not have a true anxiety disorder, taking anxiety medications is an extreme response. It’s kind of like using a fire hose to quench your thirst. It’ll work but there will probably be a few side affects that you don’t need and won’t enjoy. Since there are a number of natural cures for anxiety you might try them first. All of these have worked great for me.

Here’s my number one natural cure for anxiety – exercise.  Anything that gets your body going, increases your heart rate and boosts your metabolism will work wonders for reducing anxiety. Our brain chemistry is actually designed with the assumption that we are going to be very active. You see, that is how we were made.  It is only in the past hundred years or so that we have become largely inactive and sedentary. As a result our brain chemistry hasn’t caught up to this lifestyle.  Since our brains and bodies are still in ‘hunter and gatherer’ mode, sitting all day at a desk can cause some imbalances.

Other good natural cures for anxiety that have worked well for me are relaxation techniques.  These are things like meditation, prayer, listening to calming music, setting aside time to read a good book and getting enough sleep at night. All of these serve as safe, natural cures for anxiety. By the way, reducing caffeine intake will also help you to relax. If you do suffer from anxiety just getting rid of caffeine and other stimulants alone can greatly reduce your anxiety.  I use caffeine seldom anymore and have noticed an enormous reduction in my everyday anxiety.

If, after trying these natural cures for anxiety, you still suffer from it frequently, it’s a good idea to talk to a doctor about it because you may have an anxiety disorder.  While anxiety in itself is not serious, anxiety disorders can make life very difficult. It can also increase your risk of developing stress related health conditions, such as cancer and heart disease. Add this to the harmful habits people develop while trying to self-medicate themselves for their anxiety and you could have real adverse long term health affects.

If you’d like information on reducing your stress I have a FREE stress reduction e-course that can help!