Anxiety Treatments And More: Frequently Asked Questions
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It is very typical to battle anxiety by consuming medications, but it’s not common to look for medication-free treatment strategies. Perhaps you have realized that anxiety medications don’t actually work for you or interfere with other medicines you are currently taking.
Perhaps the current medicine you are taking decreases your anxiety symptoms but gives you unpleasant side effects. Luckily, several treatment options encourage you not to take OTC or prescription meds. Here are some:
Exercise
There have been many studies revealing that physical activity is a very effective method of treating anxiety. As a matter of fact, some of these studies have proven that exercise offers the same anxiety-alleviating benefits as anti-anxiety medications. The effects are at their most potent when you make physical activity part of your everyday routine.
Exercise is thought to decrease anxiety because:
- It pushes the release of endorphins, which are substances that help produce positive emotions.
- It decreases stress hormone levels, hormones like cortisol.
- It boosts your self-confidence. Anxiety could considerably affect your self-esteem, and exercise counters this by adding to your strength and confidence.
- It improves your sleeping habits.
Mindfulness Meditation
This is an effective and fulfilling anxiety treatment without having to take any medications. Mindfulness meditation works very well to the point that other psychotherapeutic strategies are based around its principles. Several therapists use mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy to assist their patients in managing their anxiety. Research reveals that mindfulness is capable of tackling the negative thoughts that may result in anxiety. It also helps improve one’s self-esteem, which eventually decreases anxiety symptoms.
Mindfulness meditation is effective because it permits a person to steadily observe his anxious thoughts without being engulfed by these thoughts. Consequently, the process helps you focus on the present, and in this way, the thoughts become less severe and disappear quicker.
Proper Diet
By proper, we mean being appropriately hydrated, avoiding or limiting your alcohol intake, maintaining a balanced diet, avoiding processed sugar, and avoiding or limiting caffeine intake.
Both caffeine and alcohol interfere with good quality sleep. It is more valuable to maintain a diet loaded with fruits, vegetables, and whole grains instead of eating processed foods high in simple carbohydrates.
Certain types of food that are known to lower anxiety include:
- Foods high in zinc, like legumes, seeds, nuts, oatmeal, and beans.
- Foods loaded with magnesium, like leafy greens.
- Probiotic-rich products help enhance gut health, which has been associated with a decrease in anxiety symptoms.
- Foods that are rich in vitamin B, like almonds and avocado.
Antioxidants also fight against anxiety without taking any medications. These are merely substances that inhibit the method of oxidation, which destroys the body’s good cells. Foods that are loaded with antioxidants include:
- Nuts – Walnuts, pecans
- Beans – pinto beans, kidney beans, black beans
- Berries – Blackberries, blueberries, cranberries, strawberries
- Vegetables – kale, beets, spinach, artichokes, broccoli
- Spices – turmeric, ginger
- Fruits – cherries, apples, plums
It is also vital to eat your meals regularly. Skipping meals may lead to decreased blood sugar, making you feel shaky and eventually result in severe anxiety.
Psychotherapy
Talk therapy can be particularly useful for anxiety. Among the most widely recommended talk therapies is cognitive-behavioral therapy or CBT. Here, the therapist helps you break down your issues into five major classifications – thoughts, emotions, situations, actions, and physical feelings.
CBT is grounded on the concept that these classifications are connected, and all of them affect each other. For instance, if you are diagnosed with an anxiety disorder such as social phobia, a specific social event can impact how you feel emotionally and physically. This, in turn, alters your actions.
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Below are frequently asked questions regarding one anxiety treatment option, anti-anxiety medication, and how it affects your body and your life as a whole.
What is the major effect of anti-anxiety drugs?
Any anti-anxiety drug can evoke negative effects on upper cerebral functions, but the effects seen may also be influenced by social and psychological factors. The most usual effect, a specific issue for the very old and the very young, is over-sedation.
How do anti-anxiety meds affect the brain?
Antidepressants decrease anxiety symptoms by increasing the absorption of chemicals or neurotransmitters that the brain utilizes to communicate. These chemicals include norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine.
What anxiety does medication cause weight loss?
Some antidepressants reported causing weight loss as a side effect include fluoxetine, bupropion, and duloxetine.
What drugs reduce anxiety?
Antidepressants most commonly recommended to treat anxiety are SSRIs like Zoloft, Lexapro, Celexa, Prozac, and Paxil. SSRIs have been utilized to manage generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and social anxiety disorder.
What is the best medication for anxiety and panic attacks?
SSRI antidepressants are usually recommended as the first-line medications for treating panic attacks. SNRIs or serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors and benzodiazepines are also common medications for panic and anxiety attacks.
Is anti-anxiety medication bad for you?
General side effects linked to anti-anxiety medication use include clumsiness, confusion, and drowsiness. This may present despite taking it in low doses. Subsequently, the higher the dosage, the more severe the side effects will be. When used inappropriately, benzodiazepines ay lead to death.
What helps severe anxiety?
When done regularly, relaxation strategies like progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing, and meditation significantly decrease anxiety symptoms and improve one’s emotional well-being. Additionally, regular exercise is a natural stress and anxiety reliever.
Do anti-anxiety meds change your personality?
Taking medication can absolutely alter a person’s personality and change him or her significantly. For example, Paxil is seldom recommended today due to concerns about withdrawal and unpleasant side effects. SSRIs such as Zoloft and Prozac also have a high likelihood of affecting one’s personality.
Can you ever get rid of anxiety?
Unfortunately, you cannot get rid of anxiety forever. It is just like any emotion that you feel – happiness, anger, disappointment, frustration, and so on. You cannot let these emotions disappear permanently from your brain. In the same way, you cannot get rid of your anxiety from your nervous system all at once.
What is the best anti-anxiety medication for weight loss?
A popular antidepressant that may cause weight loss in some individuals is Bupropion.
Does anxiety medication help with physical symptoms?
Depression may present with symptoms associated with thoughts and emotions, but it is also a physical condition with often disabling-incapacitating physical symptoms. Antidepressants help reduce these symptoms and work on the brain chemicals that influence both psychological and physical symptoms.
What to drink to calm nerves?
Popular drinks that can help calm your nerves include oat straw drink, water, green tea, fresh fruit juice, and valerian root tea.
Will buspirone make you gain weight?
Buspirone has been shown to improve one’s anxiety symptoms significantly, but it may lead to weight gain. The feeling of relaxation may cause an improvement of your appetite as well, leading to alterations in your weight. Indeed, anxiety does affect your appetite.
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Conclusion
While it is certainly possible to manage your anxiety without taking medications, you must first talk to your doctor to try alternative treatment. If, however, the methods mentioned above do not work on their own, a combination of one of these methods along with your prescription medications is worth a try as well.