Anxiety and Naturopathic Medicine

Do you have anxiety?

This is the one question that I ask my patients that gets the greatest number of initial responses that are a ``No`` and that later turn to a ``Yes`` once I explain what anxiety is.

Anxiety does not necessarily mean that you have anxiety attacks. It does not necessarily mean that you have episodes that include shaking and heart pounding. Anxiety attacks, shaking and heart pounding are definitely a part of anxiety for many people, but many others with anxiety never experience any of these.

What is anxiety?

Anxiety includes excessive thinking, being unable to turn off or quiet your mind if you want to and excessive worrying. There are lot of people who think a lot but the watershed question is : can you turn your mind off if you want to? Many people can`t.

On the more intense end of the scale, anxiety also includes heart palpitations, heart pounding (you should never be able to feel your heart in your chest unless you are doing activity that really gets your heart rate up), sweating not related to exertion (hands and underarms are two of the most common areas), chest pain, chest tightness, shortness of breath, feelings of fear for unknown reasons, shaking, dizziness, tingling or numbness in your arms or hands and thinking you are going to die. There are other symptoms as well, but these are the most common.

Worrying can be anything from constant worrying about friends and family members (contrary to popular belief you don`t need to worry about someone to keep them safe and if you don`t worry all the time it doesn`t mean you don`t care about them.), to worry about what other people are thinking about you.

All conditions are rated on a spectrum, as far as naturopathic medicine is concerned. There is a huge area between calmness and an anxiety attack. And there is a big difference in severity between mild anxiety and heart palpitations.

Anxiety doesn`t just happen

Anxiety doesn`t happen overnight, with the exception of anxiety that starts after a major trauma (emotional or physical) or the use of recreational drugs.

I have seen more than one patient with anxiety who has told me, ‘I`ve never had anxiety before, but in the last two months I have had 3 anxiety attacks.’ The truth of the matter is that the imbalance that is anxiety had been building for a long time and eventually the stressors just got to be too much for the person`s system.

I compare this to flying above and below the radar. When you are below the radar, you won`t have any symptoms that you notice. When you are above the radar, there will be lots of symptoms that you notice.

From just below the radar, to above it

What usually happens is that a person is flying just below the radar, but barely. And then some stressor (work, home life, deadlines, lack of sleep, the death of a loved one) pushes their system above the radar. But here`s the thing: there wasn`t that much of a gap between where they were (ie. just below the radar) and where they are now (ie. above the radar).And that`s when the anxiety attacks or the heart palpitations or the constant negative thinking that can`t seem to be turned off starts.

Many people live in a constant state of mild to moderate anxiety. This affects many of our systems in ways that we consider normal or only mildly bothersome: so we continue to put up with it. Symptoms include trouble falling or staying asleep, trouble concentrating, poor digestion, erratic or painful bowel movements, water retention, bloating, high blood pressure, menstrual problems, hot flashes, irritability, fatigue, aches and pains, stiff muscles, an overly large appetite, lack of appetite and mild to moderate depression. The list goes on, but you get the picture.

Where does anxiety come from?

Anxiety has a variety of causes. I have included a list below, but in most people, it is a combination of factors that have built up over time that leads to anxiety.

• 1. Negative thinking.
• 2. Blood sugar imbalances.
• 3. Lack of sleep.
• 4. Prolonged high stress level.
• 5. Low thyroid function or poor thyroid hormone function.
• 6. A history of a high stress level.
• 7. Growing up in a household that was emotionally unstable or uncertain – there can be a parent with
• anxiety, depression, addiction issues or other emotional or psychological issues.
• 8. Having an excitable personality.
• 9. Consuming too many foods and beverages that do not support the health of your nervous system and not enough of the foods and beverages that do.
• 10. Suppressing your emotions; swallowing your feelings.
• 11. Nutritional deficiencies.

One more thing: if you have anxiety, you also have a high stress level. And for most people, a high stress level will eventually lead to anxiety.

What can be done about anxiety?

In terms of Traditional Chinese Medicine, anxiety and stress are very closely related imbalances and one very easily gives way to the other. Fortunately, that also means they can easily be treated together.

I created The Balance Program to treat with anxiety and stress and to allow your body and mind to do what they were meant to do: heal, relax and be healthy, vibrant and happy.

Return to the Stress and Naturopathy page here.