Specialist Naturopathic Anxiety treatment Brisbane

Anxiety is the body’s response to stress or pressure. It is what happens when our sympathetic nervous system is stimulated and we engage in what is called the ‘fight’ or ‘flight’ response. Anxiety disorders are happening more and more – whether it’s social anxiety, panic attacks, generalised symptoms of anxiety or just a sense of unease – anxiety is something that everyone has experienced at least occasionally.

The fight or flight response is nature’s way of protecting us from threats. It is designed to make us very mentally alert for quick decision-making and gives us the ability to run away from the threat.

While this response is very useful as a short-term response to stress or a threat (especially when we are in the jungle and there is a tiger approaching!), it becomes harmful to the body over a long period of time and can turn into anxiety. Anxiety tells your body – ‘I am not safe’.

When you are anxious, you are quite often responding to stress that is not even there! You may feel those fight-or-flight feelings even when there is no tiger or even when the stressor is minor – and this is no fun at all.

Luckily, there is plenty that we can do to reduce the feelings of anxiety in the body and the mind. We can help you cope with the anxiety you experience day to day, shifting your behavior and helping you build beneficial mindfulness control.

Natural medicine is extremely helpful in the management of anxiety symptoms because we have so many herbal remedies and nutrients available to us that can help calm the nervous system and reduce your sympathetic nervous system response. 

Another benefit to using herbal remedies and nutritional therapy to assist with anxiety is that they are unlikely to produce any negative side effects such as drowsiness or poor mental performance.

Whilst it is important to address the physiology of your anxiety symptoms with calming herbs and nutrients, it is also important to take a look at your health on a holistic level – addressing some of the external and internal drivers of your anxiety.

It is also important that you are managing your internal environment – your mindset. This is no easy feat, but there are some simple tools you can use to help keep your brain machinery clean and working well. Often pairing naturopathic care with our emotional wellness modalities such as hypnotherapy and kinesiology with our natural health memberships is highly impactful for anxiety treatment.

In addition to therapeutic treatment with herbs and nutrients, here are some things you can do to reduce your anxiety:

1. Balance your blood sugar through diet.

Clean up your diet by ditching refined carbohydrates.  These foods can cause a spike and then dip in your blood glucose such as pastries, biscuits, cakes, white bread, and white rice.  Anything that’s been stripped of the fibre and nutrients through the refining process.

Instead, opt for blood glucose-balancing complex carbohydrates like fruit, vegetables, whole grains (such as brown rice, oats, barley and buckwheat), and lentils and legumes.

Include good fats in the form of avocado, almonds, hazelnuts, pecans and seeds: sesame and pumpkin and adequate protein like tuna, egg, chicken, lamb, pork and beef.  

Avoid or reduce your caffeine intake. Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system and can lead to the release of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. This can make you feel jittery and anxious.

2. Work on active relaxation techniques

Do some daily meditation. Even if you can only manage 10 minutes per day, do it! Sit down, switch off and meditate. There are so many great guided meditations online to help you get into the zone or you can access our free meditations online here. Meditation has been shown to change the way our brains are wired and reduce feelings of stress and anxiety.

Practice gratitude. Being in a state of gratitude calms the nervous system and radiates positive energy. Start a gratitude journal, or spend 10 minutes per day acknowledging the things you are grateful for in life.

Practicing deep breathing techniques to manage stress is also helpful. When we experience anxiety we can get muscle tension, an upset stomach, chest pain and feel stress. Even deep breathing for 1 minute can help to calm your nervous system and initiate relaxation.

Consider these techniques as part of your anxiety hygiene plan – just the same as cleaning your teeth is part of your oral hygiene plan. The brain needs looking after just as much as the rest of the body!

Yes! Naturopathy works to help anxiety by using herbal medicines and nutritional supplements which calm your nervous system, without any side effects. Naturopathy can also help you to sleep better and work on your energy levels too. 

Our Brisbane naturopaths look at your health using a team approach – we use naturopathy as well as some emotional wellness support as the very best way to tackle anxiety and work on the underlying issues while treating your symptoms. Sometimes taking some simple steps towards healing can help you avoid harsh medications and alleviate the worry and fear that comes with anxiety disorders and anxiety symptoms.

There is so much evidence for natural remedies in the treatment of anxiety symptoms. While the symptoms of anxiety can vary from person to person, the research shows that herbal supplements can definitely help. Chamomile for example, is a proven anxiolytic and can help with anxiety. Our Brisbane naturopaths use Withania to help with stress and anxiety, and also lavender and passionflower. There are dozens of herbal supplements that have shown therapeutic benefit for the treatment of anxiety – the art is in the prescription of what works best for you.

Our naturopaths have worked with thousands of patients with anxiety and we are knowledgeable in herb-drug interactions. You can be assured that everything that we prescribe is safe and compatible with any medication you are taking for your anxiety symptoms.

You don’t need a referral from you doctor to come and see one of our naturopaths to work on your anxiety symptoms. Just give us a call and we can get started.

Call us on 07 3367 0337 or use the booking form below to make your initial appointment with our team now.