I love to peruse health and wellness magazines, see what's "hot" and what old information is declared a "new help for X disease". Sometimes I am reminded about an herb that is quite useful or I'll find a good recipe. An article about anxiety caught me eye recently. It listed a bunch of homeopathic remedies that could be taken to ease anxiety. They were good suggestions, however, sometimes there is an underlying cause of anxiety that needs to be treated. Here are two recent patient cases:
patient A: Anxiety and depression for no apparent reason. Anxiety is greater when in charge of a big undertaking--or little undertaking such as having overnight guests for a family gathering. Testing showed very high cortisol levels. Cortisol is a stimulating hormone often referred to in the "fight or flight" response. Our treatment plan included finding a cause of the high cortisol (pituitary tumor? inflammation in the body? Blood sugar dysregulation? Use of steroid creams or inhalers?) and treating it. Treatment plan started initially with a supplement that breaks down excess cortisol. This gave a good degree of relief to the patient.
Patient B: Anxiety long term that is worse when thinking about work. Heart palpitations at night and mild chest pain/discomfort when anxious or exercising. Laboratory tests revealed LOW cortisol. Also this person is a vegan, which means less of certain specific nutrients, in this case Taurine which has anxiolytic effects as well as strengthens the heart muscle. After one month on adrenal support (adrenals make cortisol), anxiety was mostly gone and palpitations were decreased. The addition of taurine capsules will likely take care of the heart issues and any small amount of anxiety that may be present. She was also referred to a cardiologist for a work up just in case.
Doing mediation, exercisiing, and taking the occasional homeopathic or herb can all help with anxiety. However, for long term problems, consider going to a naturopathic physician to get appropriate testing and an individual treatment plan tailored for you.
