Naturopathic Treatments for Stress and Anxiety

Herbal Remedies For Anxiety And Stress

Anyone keeping up with social trends can’t help but notice that the rate of stress and stress-related illnesses like anxiety and depression is on the rise. Recent surveys of Canadian university students indicate that 25 percent have symptoms of depression. It is now thought that up to 10 percent of the population will suffer an anxiety disorder at some point in their life. An estimated 85 percent of visits to family physicians are due to stress-related disorders. Rates of stress and stress disorders have sky-rocketed and the majority of people will suffer from severe stress at one time or another.

So how can we protect ourselves from stress, anxiety and depression (SAD)? The best protection is self-care through diet, exercise, sleep, social connections and the right supplements. Though they are typically the things that everyone knows they should do, under conditions of stress, they are the first to go due to lack of energy or time.

Your Stress-free Diet:

Eating a healthy and regular diet is crucial to insulate your body from blood sugar fluctuations that can make all the SAD symptoms worse. It is important to eat adequate amounts of proteins at every meal such as nuts, soy, fish, white meats or eggs, or supplement with a good protein drink. Be sure to include lots of fruits and vegetables in your diet. During periods of high stress, it is tempting to increase consumption of sweet foods, coffee and caffeinated drinks and alcohol. All of these can make the SAD situation worse, not better.

For sweets, I would substitute fresh and even dried fruit to satisfy the sweet cravings. For coffee and caffeine, I recommend substituting green tea. Green tea contains some caffeine, but it also contains l-theanine, which is an amino acid shown to lessen anxiety and increase alpha brain waves that are associated with relaxation and meditation. Try to break the coffee habit and replace it with green tea. Coffee can make anxiety much worse. Green tea also contains many beneficial antioxidants and has been shown to both prevent and treat cancer. Green tea can also help you detoxify and lose weight. Green tea is a real superfood because it contains so many constituents beneficial to good mental and physical health. Drink it every day!

Stress-busting Exercise:

Physical exercise is one of the best ways to reduce stress. It helps burn stress hormones that build up during periods of high stress. Exercise is also the best cure for depression. Many studies have confirmed that exercise works better than either anti-depressant drugs or psychotherapy for depression. The problem is that most depressed people are too tired or unmotivated to even go for a walk. But if you can force yourself (or have a friend force you) to get out and work out a little, it is one of the best things you can do for any of the SAD disorders.

Some other types of exercise that are especially useful against SAD symptoms include yoga, tai-chi, chi-kung or any similar type of martial art. Although meditation isn’t exercise, it does involve deep breathing and relaxation and is really good at preventing and alleviating SAD symptoms. Just taking a minute and breathing a few deep breaths in the middle of a stressful day is an excellent way to relax and unwind stress before it gets to you.

Sleep for Stress:

Usually, the first thing to go during SAD episodes is sleep. Good sleeping patterns must be preserved at all costs during periods of high stress. Good sleep hygiene techniques include not watching TV, using the computer or any electronic device in the hour before sleep. Keeping the room cool and dark during the night also assists good sleep.

There are many good natural sleep aids and they all work a little differently for each person. My current favourite sleep supplement is a chewable tablet containing l-theanine, 5-HTP and melatonin. I find that because it is chewable, it absorbs very quickly and, therefore, takes effect in a very short period of time. If you wake up a lot during the night, taking magnesium before bed is helpful as well as taking a time-released melatonin or another one of the chewable combo tablets.

Stay Connected:

Study after study has shown that people who have good social support have fewer episodes of SAD. This makes sense, since a good talk with a family member or good friend is very therapeutic for everyday stress. If the stress is severe or prolonged, then seeing a professional for counselling or therapy is an excellent investment. There are some very good techniques to deal with anxiety disorders such as cognitive behavioural therapy. For moderate to severe depression, psychotherapy is beneficial with or without the use of anti-depressants.

Supplements for Stress:

The first thing I recommend is a good multivitamin that contains all the B vitamins and extra minerals like magnesium that are so useful during periods of stress.

The second thing I recommend is an adaptogenic herb like ginseng, rhodiola and ashwaganda. These are traditional herbs that help the body adapt and cope better with stresses of all types. They have been well-studied and shown to increase physical and mental energy, keep blood sugar levels stable and stabilize levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, during high periods of stress. My current favourite stress herb is rhodiola. Rhodiola originates out of Siberia and has been used as an adapatogenic herb to survive the harsh climate. Studies have also shown that it helps to balance neurotransmitters such as serotonin and norepinephrine, which are often unbalanced during periods of high stress, anxiety and depression.

Another herb that has been well studied for both anxiety and depression is St. John’s Wort. This herb has been found to have benefits for mild to moderate depression. Other studies have shown that it is equal to many of the SSRI anti-depressants at alleviating mild to moderate depression. It has a better safety profile than the SSRI anti-depressants, but one should be aware that it can cause photo-sensitization, so people sensitive to the sun must avoid over exposure.

SSRIs, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, are the popular class of anti-depressants like Prozac, Celexa , Paxil or Zoloft. It is important to understand that these drugs work by keeping the serotonin you already have at the synaptic junction of neurons re-cycling and not degrading as quickly. However, they do not increase the overall levels of serotonin the brain. Eventually, the serotonin levels in the brain become depleted and these drugs stop being as effective as they once were. A more rational alternative to low levels of serotonin in the brain is to saturate the body with precursors to serotonin such as tryptophan or 5-hydroxytryptophan, known as 5-HTP, which is good for treating depression and sleep disorders.

L-theanine, discussed above for sleep, is an extract made from green tea. It is available in much higher quantities in the extracted form and can be used to treat anxiety disorders that haven’t responded to some of the other self-care methods I have already discussed.

An approach that integrates a number of these recommendations is much more effective than relying on a single approach or remedy to treat the SAD conditions. If these suggestions do not significantly assist in reducing SAD symptoms, then I recommend seeking professional help from a health professional experienced in treating these conditions.