Jonathan Hatch
How to Get Rid of Anxiety (GAD)
Natural & Organic Anxiety Treatment:
If you're looking for the best natural treatment for an anxiety disorder, you're looking at cognitive behavioral therapy. No drugs, pills, or diet changes are required when you're getting cognitive therapy.
St. John's Wort is being used by more people these days as a natural anti-depressant and anxiety relief medication. This is not an anxiety medication that will work as quickly as some of its commercial/pharmaceutical counterparts—sometimes taking up to three months before anything noticeable is felt—but at least you're not caving in to those money grubbing pharmaceutical companies who view you as a number rather than a person.
I've been living with an anxiety disorder ever since the age of 19, when I had my first panic attack. Since then I've learned how to deal with and how to get rid of anxiety, both the common anxieties of everyday life, and the overwhelming anxieties that leave me lying in bed, awake, gasping for air. I'll tell you, it's not easy to overcome the physical and emotional symptoms of anxiety; they can wreak havoc on you and those close to you. In the following article, I will outline several of the strategies that have helped me to cope with anxiety in the hopes that you can learn from some of my experiences with the disorder, but keep in mind that each anxiety disorder is different and may arise from any number of causes. Keeping that in mind, here are some basic treatment strategies for your common anxiety disorder (or GAD, generalized anxiety disorder).
If you're feeling the symptoms of anxiety, it is a good idea to get a professional diagnosis. Emotional symptoms of anxiety include restlessness, fatigue, irritability, an inability to sleep and an irrational fear of social situations. Physical symptoms of anxiety include headaches, shortness of breath, a tight chest and chest pains, a racing heart, sweating at inappropriate times, nausea, cramps, and loose stools. I've experienced all of these, and more!
Exercise is an excellent way to treat an anxiety disorder. The worst thing you can do when you're suffering from anxiety is to live a sedentary lifestyle. In fact, a number of psychologists have posited that our society's sudden shift to a sedentary lifestyle is affecting the ways we deal with anxiety and stress. Lift some weights, go for a run, take a bike ride: whatever you do, know that you're stimulating not only your muscles but the levels of certain anxiety relieving chemicals in your brain.
Anti-Anxiety Medication
Benzodiazepines are a class of drug that is often used for anxiety attacks, which can be caused by an anxiety disorder but are categorically different from a generalized anxiety disorder. In my experience I find benzos (short for Benzodiazepines) more effective for treating anxiety attacks (panic attacks) but I think they're only a short term solution for an anxiety disorder, mostly because of their side effects which can include amnesia—something I've had to deal with after taking Lorazepam for several years.
The most common medications used to treat generalized anxiety disorders are a class of drugs call SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors). Drugs like Paxil, Zoloft, and Prozac belong to this class and, generally speaking, are fairly effective when used to reduce the user's anxiety (at least the symptoms). I've not been a big fan of SSRIs because their side effects tend to be worse than the symptoms they're supposed to relieve. I've been assured by a number of psychiatrists that I'm quite the rare bird when it comes to SSRI treatments, so perhaps Paxil or Celexa are right up your alley.
