Top 10 Tuesdays

Top 10 Home Remedies to Beat Anxiety

April 19, 2016 / 32 Comments

You are trying to sleep, but you find your heart racing, you feel short of breath almost like you are choking, forget sleeping you are unable to even lie down. That constant worry in your mind that is causing all this refuses to go away and you feel helpless, so helpless that you feel taking that drug is the only option to calm your nerves and get a good night’s sleep.

I know how it feels, I have been in this exact situation more often than I did like. Anxiety and panic attacks used to be a regular part of my life until I decided to do something about it and try out some of these home remedies to get myself to calm down.

Of course, in severe cases one needs to approach a professional and get the help and/or drug that is required, but if you are one of those people who are naturally anxious or if anxiety is your inborn trait, then you might want to read on to find out if these home remedies will be of help to you?

  1. Herbal Teas and Green Tea

chamomile-tea

It is believed that herbal teas like chamomile tea might help calm you down because there are some compounds in them that bind to the same brain receptors as drugs like Valium.  Green tea has an amino acid in it called L-theanine that helps curb a rising heart rate and blood pressure thereby helping to reduce anxiety.

  1. Lemon Balm

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Lemon balm is being used since the Middle Ages to treat anxiety and reduce stress. Lemon balm is sold as a tea, capsule, and tincture. It’s often combined with other calming herbs such as hops, chamomile, and valerian.

  1. Exercise

Yoga

Yes, you read that right, exercise is considered as a ‘remedy’ to treat anxiety and reduce stress. Exercising releases endorphins into your body. Endorphins are also called as the ‘happy hormones’ and when there are happy hormones in our body, there would be no reason for that anxiety attack. The best part of this remedy is that the effects are both immediate and long term.

  1. Dark Chocolate

dark chocolate

Know what else releases the happy hormones aka endorphins into your body. That’s right chocolates! Sometimes taking a bite from your favorite chocolate can help calm those nerves down. If you are not a fan of chocolates, switch it with a snack of your choice. Even hunger at times induces anxiety and all that is required to treat your anxiety is a snack!

  1. Passion Flower

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Although termed as passion flower, this flower is no love potion and will not help you solve your complex love life. What it will help you with, though, is get a good night’s sleep. It is a natural sedative and is used to help treat insomnia and anxiety arising out of that. It can cause sleepiness and drowsiness so it is important to be cautious when using it.

  1. Lavender

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Ever wondered why that lavender flavored candle help you relax? Lavender’s aroma is known to be an emotional anti-inflammatory drug. A recent study shows that lavender scented oils and candles are effective in treating general anxiety disorder as effectively as drugs like lorazepam and valium.

  1. Yoga Breathing

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Research has shown that yoga breathing is effective in lowering stress levels and generalized anxiety. One reason it works is that you can’t breathe deeply and be anxious at the same time. Follow this classic yoga breathing technique where you exhale completely through your mouth, then inhale through your nose for a count of four, hold your breath for a count of seven and then let it out slowly through your mouth for a count of eight.

  1. Meditate

Mindfulness-Meditation

Meditation, they say, helps reduce stress, control blood pressure thus helps to reduce anxiety. However, it requires a lot of practice. I often find myself losing my concentration after a few minutes. But people who do meditate say that constant practice will help you get there. There are also numerous YouTube videos that teaches you various techniques.

  1. Eat Breakfast

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It is a known fact that most people with depression and anxiety skip breakfast on a regular basis. Yours truly, is a classic example of that. Unfortunately, what most people don’t know is that starving yourself by skipping breakfast leads to anxiety attacks!

  1. Believe – It is NOT Catastrophic!

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No, it is not the end of the world, No, it is not the end of your life, No, it is not going to alter your life! Yes, whatever it is that is worrying you may cause some ‘discomfort’ in your life but it is definitely not the end of your life! The moment you start to believe this and stop catastrophizing everything, the anxiety will start to wean off by itself!

I hope these methods are helpful to you or your loved ones. Are there any other tried and tested home remedies that you did like to add to this list? Let me know in the comments.

Disclaimer: Please note that this article is only to help those with mild or acute anxiety disorders, those with severe symptoms must take professional help and obtain proper treatment in a timely manner.

(Image Source: Pinterest, Google Images)

 

A Single Mother with an unbreakable passion to Live the Life! I am a Writer/Author by passion and an IT Project Manager by profession. I am also the voice of Artemis at In The Pantheon - a multi-author collaborative writing project. When not hunting as Artemis, I am busy querying agents and working on my multiple writing projects. Women Empowerment and Child Rights Advocate.

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