How else can I treat anxiety. I have been having serious anxiety lately and I don't want any sort of medicine what else can I do?

Answer 1

Anxiety is a normal part of being human. It is a series of reflexes and responses (in mind and body) that help to protect us from danger. It prepares us to fight or flee.

Dealing with anxiety successfully, and indeed curing it, depends on discovering the reason for the anxiety and correcting it.

Life situations that cause persistent stress often lead to anxiety. When problems in our life persist or get worse we start to feel bad and insecure more often.

Eventually anxiety (our self protection system) kicks in, mild at first, usually in form of nervousness and apprehension or some anxiety-related symptom. We may notice that we are more shaky, sweating more, experiencing heart palpitations, tightness across the chest or blushing - any symptom related to anxiety may develop. And worrying about these symptom only makes them worse for it increases the anxiety.

These anxiety symptoms reflect our mind and body warning us that something is not right in our life, something is making us insecure and we need to stop it or get away from it. If the situation remains unresolved we can become more and more anxious, (with various anxiety symptoms getting worse), seemingly for no apparent reason.

To Deal With the Cause of the Anxiety

Identify any situation in your life that is regularly causing unnecessary stress and feelings of insecurity. Realise that such situations would cause anxiety in anyone and that your symptoms are justified and there for a reason.

This reduces much of their power. Seeing them as justified and with an external cause rather than being a medical condition or due to "something wrong with us" allows us to take control.

Stressful, negative situations should be removed from your life completely or avoided wherever possible. And when it's not possible to do this you need to adapt how we react to them so they don't upset you so much.

To Deal With The Anxiety Itself (The Mental and Physical Sensations)

There are two main things that can help:-

1. Relaxation

Relaxation is the physiological opposite of tension; it's impossible for a relaxed muscle to be tense or a calm mind to be anxious. Find a relaxation technique that is comfortable and effective and practice it regularly. (The 'Progressive Muscle Relaxation' technique developed by Jacobsen in the 1930's remains one of the most successful methods available).

2. Exercise

Endorphines (natural morphine-like chemicals) released by the body during exercise to combat the stress of the exercise help to alleviate all stress. Physical exercise also provides a release for pent-up nervous energy and numerous studies show exercise to be better than anti-depressants at alleviating (not curing) depression.

Develop an exercise regime appropriate to age, fitness levels and health (consult medical and fitness professional before starting any exercise regime) and, again, do it regularly.

Identifying and dealing with any stressful life situations combined with counteracting the mental and physical effects of anxiety through relaxation and exercise can help to remedy any short-term anxiety problems.