Anxiety

[Guest guest]

Not mentioned but one that I feel should be, is some

for of meditation. It is very easy to learn and can be

done anywhere. Learn to " center " and you will be much

more balanced in many areas of your life. F.

 

http://www.doctoryourself.com/anxiety.html

 

 

 

DRUGLESS METHODS TO HELP GET RID OF ANXIETY

 

No one knows how many people are in prison because of

destructive outbursts that normally should have been

controlled. Millions of regular folks just barely

manage to live within their anxiety every day. They

might not be in jail, but they are not radically

happier. Many, many millions of prescriptions are

written every year for emotional illness. Two out of

three visits to family physicians are for

stress-related illness, with an annual cost of nearly

$75,000,000,000. (Smith and Smith, Personal Health

Choices, Boston: Jones and Bartlett, 1990, page 18)

 

More can be done for many of these people. That

" more " includes some good, natural remedies and

regular practice of a stress reduction technique.

 

I know something about stress. When I was an

undergraduate at the Australian National University,

my anxiety over schoolwork (and being 13,000 miles

from home at age 18) caused me actual pain. I felt it

in the center of my chest and down the side. The

university physician, a rather young fellow himself,

did an appropriate examination, got out his

prescription pad and started to write. Here it comes,

I thought: take thou a tranquilizer.

 

Not so. This doctor had written down the name of a

book: Relief Without Drugs, by Ainslie Mears, M.D.

(This title might be difficult to find in the United

States; try an interlibrary loan through a public

library.)

 

I was being told to relax and I did not like that. To

top it off, the doctor (correctly) assumed that I did

not know " how " to relax. He provided a reference so I

could learn. The novelty of this drugless approach is

what persuaded me to try it. It worked; the pain went

away. For the first time in my life I had a

prescription filled not at the drugstore, but at the

bookstore.

 

While studying at the nearby Canberra Hospital, I

learned other stress reduction techniques such as

imaging, self-hypnosis, and auto-relaxation from as

many staff and consulting psychiatrists as I could

locate. Many people I knew and respected began

Transcendental Meditation, with evident beneficial

results. Treatment of anxiety and tension without

drugs? As Lincoln said of the little girl as she put

her foot in her stocking, " It strikes me that there is

something in it. " There is.

 

Some alternatives to Valium and similar products might

include:

 

NIACIN - vitamin B-3 is so effective against actual

psychoses that half of all mental ward inmates in the

South were able to be released once a depression-era

deficiency of this vitamin was corrected. Niacin in

appropriate doses acts as a natural tranquilizer and

induces relaxation or sleep. It is non-addictive,

cheap, and safer than any pharmaceutical product.

Dosage varies with condition. The best author on the

subject is Abram Hoffer, M.D., whose experience dates

back to the early 1950's. He routinely gave at least

as much VITAMIN C as he did niacin.

 

LECITHIN - a food supplement that is high in

phosphatidyl choline. The body is able to make

acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter, out of this. This

has a sedating effect. It is interesting to note that

one third of your brain, by dry weight, is lecithin.

Feeding the organ what it is largely made of might

help it to function better. (Don't worry: lecithin

supplements are made from soybeans.) Dosage runs in

the tablespoons.

 

SUGAR - avoid it, to reduce anxiety symptoms. The

swings from high to low blood sugar result in

corresponding mood swings. Sugar is not your friend.

Eat complex carbohydrates instead.

 

CHROMIUM may help even out the sugar mood-swings and

perhaps even sugar craving. Chromium deficiency

(daily intake under 50 micrograms) affects 9 out of 10

adults. Somewhere between 50 and 400 mcg of chromium

substantially improves your cells ability to use

insulin. Don't gnaw on the bumper of a '54 Cadillac

because that kind of chrome is toxic. Chromium

polynicotinate or chromium picolinate are safer and

better absorbed.

 

B-COMPLEX VITAMINS also help even out your blood

sugar. In addition, the metabolism of just about

everything you digest hinges on one or more of this

group of B-vitamins. Taken together, they are

especially safe and effective. The body needs

proportionally more niacin than the other B's, so

extra niacin as mentioned above is still valid.

 

EXERCISE reduces anxiety. Is it because you are too

pooped to worry? Who cares; it helps. Exercise has

many other health benefits, too, so there is no way

you can lose by trying it. Start easily and work up.

 

HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES such as Aconite, Coffea Cruda

and Kali Phos. have been used to treat symptoms of

anxiety for nearly 200 years. These very dilute

natural remedies are safe and can help significantly.

I recommend that you get a copy of The Prescriber, by

J.H. Clarke, M.D. This very practical book concisely

explains this healing approach and helps you easily

select the most appropriate remedy. Homeopathic

remedies are non-prescription. Many health food

stores carry them. I know people who carry a bottle

of Kali Phos 6X tablets in their pocket or purse, just

in case.

 

HERBS such as chamomile and catnip make a soothing

tea. There are certainly other useful herbs to

consider as well. A good herb store or health food

store will have books that will help you learn more.

 

Copyright C 1999 and prior years Andrew W. Saul.

From the book PAPERBACK CLINIC, available from Dr.

Andrew Saul, Number 8 Van Buren Street, Holley, New

York 14470.