Anxiety

Everybody suffers with anxiety sometimes, but for many it can be a constant feeling. Anxiety can be defined as ‘‘an unpleasant emotional state ranging from mild unease to intense fear.’’ Anxiety differs from fear in that, while fear is a rational response to a real danger, anxiety usually lacks a clear or realistic cause. Though some anxiety is normal and even healthy, higher levels of anxiety are not only uncomfortable but can lead to significant problems.
Anxiety is often accompanied by a variety of symptoms. The most common symptoms relate to the chest, such as heart palpitations (awareness of a more forceful or faster heart beat), throbbing or stabbing pains, a feeling of tightness and inability to take in enough air and a tendency to sigh or hyperventilate. Tension in the muscles of the back and neck often leads to headaches, back pains and muscle spasms. Other symptoms can include excessive sweating, dryness of the mouth, dizziness, digestive disturbances and the constant need to urinate or defecate.
Psychiatrists divide anxiety into three main types: general anxiety, phobias and panic attacks. Unlike phobias and panic attacks, with general anxiety it is not always clear to the anxious persons exactly what it is they feel so anxious about. They often have a constant feeling that something bad is going to happen. They may fear that they have a chronic or dangerous illness- a belief that is reinforced by the symptoms of anxiety, like chest pains. Inability to relax may lead to difficulty in getting to sleep and constant waking through the night.
In trying to overcome anxiety it is necessary to understand what is happening biochemically to the person.
It has been found that people with constant anxiety and panic attacks have higher than normal blood levels of lactic acid in their blood. Lactic acid is produced when muscles work too fast for the body to convert glucose into carbon dioxide and water. Instead the muscles produce lactic acid.
If lactic acid is injected into people with anxiety they will get severe panic attacks. In normal people nothing happens. So it appears that individuals with anxiety may be sensitive to lactic acid. Reducing the levels of lactic acid is critical in the treatment of anxiety and panic attacks. There are at least six nutritional factors that may be responsible for elevated levels of lactic acid: Alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and deficiency of the B-vitamins, deficiency of calcium or magnesium and finally food allergies.
By avoiding alcohol, caffeine, sugar and food allergens, people with anxiety can go a long way towards relieving their symptoms. Simply eliminating coffee can result in a complete relief from symptoms. Taking a good B-complexhttp://www.thenaturalway.ie/store/product/38829/Lifeplan-Vitamin-B-Complex-500mg-Mega-Potency-30-Tablets/ nutritional supplement along with calcium magnesium citrate http://www.thenaturalway.ie/store/product/11377/Solgar-Calcium-Magnesium-Citrate-50-Tablets/ will often give excellent results in relieving anxiety levels.
It has been found that taking Flaxseed oil ,http://www.thenaturalway.ie/store/product/45011/Emile-Noel-Flax-Seed-Oil-250ml/ 2 – 6 tablespoons a day, will aid people who suffer from panic attacks and agoraphobia- especially if they suffer from dry skin, dandruff, brittle fingernails that grow slowly or nerve disorders all signs of omega 3 essential oil deficiencies.
There are many wonderful herbs for treating anxiety, like Valerian, passionflower and lemon balm. Valerian http://www.thenaturalway.ie/store/product/44478/Valerian-Tincture-215ml/ is especially useful for Insomnia.