If you’ve been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, it is
crucial for you to seek medical treatment. This is the first step to recovery.
Anxiety disorders include medical conditions like post-traumatic stress
disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, agoraphobia, and panic disorder. When
you talk to your doctor about your conditions, he or she will probably
recommend certain talk therapies, in which you work with a therapist and
cognitive-behavioral therapy to overcome your disorder. You may also be
recommended to take specific medications. However, there are also a number of
other therapies that you can consider to help you overcome your anxiety
disorder.
If you are interested in oral medications, there are a
number of supplements that may be able to help with your anxiety. Supplements
are generally more naturally than the chemicals found in medications, so you
body may be less likely to react to them in an adverse way. However, it is
important to remember that supplements can still be dangerous if abuse. Common
supplements that can be used to treat anxiety disorders include passion fruit,
passionflower, kava, valerian root, St. John’s wort, hops, chamomile,
magnesium, and glycine. Your doctor can instruct you taking these supplements
in a safe way.
If you have very low anxiety symptoms, you can also work by
yourself to combat the development of full-blown anxiety disorders.
First, get
a proper diet. This will include all the nutrients you body needs to stay
active and healthy. Reduce the amounts of caffeine and sugar you ingest to help
with anxiety. Also make sure that you are getting both sleep and exercise. This
can help you manage stress more readily. If you believe you may be developing
an anxiety disorder, trying to use stress management skills is very important.
Many people also advocate that alcohol is a great tool for
combating anxiety. Typically, patients with anxiety disorders feel stimulated,
so alcohol, which is a depressant, can really help you to calm down. However,
the disadvantage to this is that alcohol also can make you become intoxicated
and anxiety is sometimes found in conjunction with depression, which alcohol
will only cause to get worse. Therefore, this is usually not a good option,
unless your doctor recommends it.
Techniques like hypnosis, virtual reality use, acupuncture,
and meditation can also help patients deal with anxiety. While these
alternative treatment options do not help everyone, they may be able to help
you. Be sure to ask your doctor about all treatment options available so that
you can make the best choices for your body.