This article will explain the full details of anxiety, its types, levels, symptoms, causes, management, and the Best homeopathy medication to treat different types of anxiety.
As human beings, we all know that it’s in our nature to worry sometimes about the situation, our health, family, profession, etc. But when this worry or activity crosses a social threshold, it becomes anxiety.
In the hope that by the end of this article you will come to know the complete information about anxiety and the best medication for it, let’s get started-
What is Anxiety Disorder
Anxiety is a feeling of worry, uneasiness, or nervousness about a particular situation whose outcome is inevitable.
Sometimes feeling anxious is not uncommon. Everybody must have experienced the feeling of anxiety in one situation or the other.
But, when the feeling becomes excessive and persistent and creates hindrance in our day-to-day activities, it requires management and treatment.
Normal anxiety is adaptive. It’s an inborn response to a threat or the absence of people or objects resulting in worry, increased heart rate, sweating, shaking, freezing.
Pathological anxiety is something that impairs function. It is excessive and uncontrollable and requires no stimulus. Such type of anxiety presents with a wide range of symptoms. Depression often accompanies these anxiety disorders.
Level of Anxiety Disorder
Mild –
Thoughts may be random but are controlled. Physically one can notice muscles are tight, and pupils in the eyes are constricted.
Emotionally they appear to be calm and relaxed.
Moderate –
They are attentive and focused on learning; Muscle tension is slightly high, which is uncomfortable.
Emotional expressions are concerned.
Severe –
It’s a fight or flight situation for the person. A person becomes very tensed, and the body’s nervous system gets activated.
Nervous system response to the situation leads to frequent urination, or passing stools and muscles may become the very tight focus of attention of the person is only on the problem.
Emotionally they feel threatened, depressed. They become very disorganized and withdrawn.
Panic –
It’s an episode of sudden and intense fear being experienced by the person. Panic anxiety triggers several physical reactions in the body while there is no danger exists in real.
Types of Anxiety Disorder
Stress that’s out of proportion to an event and is unable to come out of the worry is an anxiety disorder.
There are various types of anxiety disorder –
Panic Disorder
A sudden feeling of intense fear breaks into excessive sweating and increases the heartbeat rate (pulse). Some persons even complain of having chest pain and feel that they have a heart attack.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
A disproportionate number of thoughts (Unreasonable Fear) leading to monotonous behaviors is called OCD. E.g., washing hands frequently because of the fear of being contaminated by germs.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
It’s a condition where one experiences mental symptoms after facing or witnessing a dreadful incident.
These people experience night terrors and anxiety due to the flashback of those events. Thoughts become uncontrollable, and they become sadder and more depressed.
Phobia
When a person suffers from a reliable and robust feeling of fear, a specific situation or object is described as a phobia.
There are various types of phobia like –
Acrophobia: – fear of height
Aerophobia: – fear of flying
Arachnophobia: – Fear of spider
Autophobia: – Fear of being alone
Claustrophobia: -fear of confined place or crowded place
Hydrophobia: – Fear of water
Social Anxiety Disorder
This is also called social phobia. A person worries and feels embarrassed or uncomfortable about regular social meetings.
This can make you feel that you are being judged or mocked by others.
Separation Anxiety Disorder
Feeling of bothered or mental uneasiness when a loved one leaves from our site is separation anxiety.
A person might always worry that something terrible might happen to them. Separation anxiety is most commonly observed in kids, but anybody can get this fear.
Illness Anxiety Disorder
A person might feel like suffering from a severe illness that would terminate into death even for mild symptoms.
E.g., having pain here and there and consider it to be cancer. Initially, such people were called hypochondriacs.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
When a person feels anxious about unrealistic things and becomes tensed for little or no reason is described as Generalized anxiety disorder.
Symptoms of Anxiety Disorder
There are many symptoms exhibited by people experiencing anxiety. All the symptoms don’t need to be seen in an individual.
The different body reacts differently and may present specific symptoms. So, here’s a list of symptoms that are most commonly observed –
Nervousness and restlessness – Restlessness is pervasive amongst children and teenagers.
Excessive worrying and irritability – These worries are difficult to stop.
Increased heart rate experienced as palpitation. Sweating increases, the mouth becomes dry.
Breathing is also faster than usual. Weakness and exhaustion. Trembling is felt hands, muscles become tight/rigid.
Hands become cold and start sweating with a tingling sensation. Fear -one feels very dreadful and panic.
You might even find it difficult to focus on any other work as most of your energy is concentrated on worrying.
Most of the time mind goes blank. Sleeplessness. There can stomach issues like constipation or diarrhea. Specific actions are repeated again and again.
Panic attacks are also noted in those having anxiety. Some may even start avoiding social situations because all these become overwhelming for them.
A person might have a strong desire to avoid all the factors or situation which triggers anxiety. In children, they cannot speak in certain situations or to certain people but can do so with family members.
The symptoms mentioned above are usually the body’s response to anxiety as its nervous system gets activated.
The brain thinks that you have sensed danger, so you need to prepare for it. During this time, blood flow to the stomach and abdominal organs is reduced and diverted to muscles.
Hence you can feel the stiffness with increased heart rate etc.
Causes of Anxiety Disorder
Genetic Factors –
There are chances to be prone to anxiety disorder if any of the family members had a history of anxiety, depression, or any other mental illness.
Personality –
Certain personality types are prone to anxiety disorders, especially those who are perfectionists, try to control every situation, and quickly get angered.
The other will be those who are very shy and don’t take a stand for themselves.
Trauma –
Children who have experienced traumatic events or abuse are liable to suffer from anxiety disorders as an adult.
Chemical Imbalance –
Chemicals in the brain (are called neurotransmitters) go haywire leading to wrong signals delivered by (nerve cells of the brain) them.
Environmental Stress –
Like the environment where you might be stressed or relationship trouble, it can also be family problems.
Financial problems can also be a cause. Loss of a loved one, Unpredictable world events like a pandemic.
It can be any ongoing stressful event of life. Even past and childhood life events can be a cause.
Drug Withdrawal –
Improper use of certain drugs and sudden withdrawal can trigger stress and anxiety.
Medical Problems –
Certain medications, prolonged illness can also be one of the causes. Taking a long time to recover from surgery. Being dependent on others can trigger such a situation.
Stress-
Everybody faces stress, but if it is not taken charge of, then there are chances of it developing into chronic anxiety.
Gender –
Females are prone to anxiety disorders than men. Chemical activity in the brain seems to play an important role in anxiety disorder.
Parts of the brain which regulate in controlling anxiety becomes hypersensitive. Some neurotransmitters help in reducing anxiety (like GABA).
Abnormal levels of these transmitters lead to an increased response to stress.
Management of Anxiety Disorder
Lifestyle-
It’s one of the most effective ways to relieve anxiety and stress. So, what one has to do to bring a change –
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Sleeping well
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Eating a balanced and nutritious diet.
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Staying active
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Avoiding caffeine, alcohol, smoking.
Caffeine, sugary products, junk foods that make you feel full can precipitate symptoms similar to a panic attack.
Eating a balanced diet includes food rich in zinc, magnesium, vitamin b, omega three fatty acids, probiotic-rich food, etc.
It is believed to stimulate and release feel-good hormones and reduce stress hormones.
Aromatherapy-
They stimulate the brain’s smell center via the nose sending feel-good factors to the brain, thereby reducing stress and anxiety.
Deep Breathing Excercise-
Bringing about a change in breathing pattern helps in reducing anxiety.
Many are unaware of the breathing techniques and noticed that people suffering from anxiety disorder have disturbed breathing patterns.
Physical Exercise-
Regular exercise helps in relieving the symptoms of anxiety, stress, and depression.
Physical exercise helps in releasing feel-good hormones from the brain and increases the sense of wellbeing.
Meditation-
It helps us slow down, reduce worrying thoughts, and stay calm, focused, and balanced.
Conventional Line of Treatment –
Psychotherapy and medication are used n order to cope with anxiety.
Medications like anti-depressants and sedatives are used to balance brain chemicals and reduce the symptoms of anxiety.
9 Best Homeopathic Medication for Anxiety
Homeopathy always focuses on individualization as to what bothers the patient.
A detailed history of the patient is considered, including the general state of the person, state of mind, family history, and history.
When the pathological state doesn’t give any leads, the previous healthy mind’s state is always considered. In children’s history, the mother’s pregnancy history is significant to prescribe accurate medicine.
You can treat moderate or severe anxiety with homeopathy. The duration of treatment depends on the duration of onset and other factors.
But the acute episodes can be got in control immediately with few doses and to completely abort the trait it will take a few weeks to months on prescribing the Constitutional medicine.
Some best homeopathic remedies help treat anxiety disorders. Read the symptoms carefully, if these symptoms appear then you can prescribe that particular medicine –
1-ACONITUM NAPELLUS
Aconite is one of the best remedies for anxiety, panic attack. Following are the symptoms when Aconite is best suited –
A person’s mind is easily affected by emotional factors like anger, fear, shock. This leads to the stimulation of nerves, and the patient remains under emotional and nervous tension.
Fear is very intense that the patient becomes emotionally out of control. He starts screaming, he groans, bites his nail in anxiety, and wants to die. He is afraid of fear.
Fear accompanies almost all the troubles. Since the nervous system is affected, all the senses are experienced to a severe or intense degree.
Symptoms are acute, violent, and painful. They come suddenly like a big storm and soon blow over.
Symptoms remain for a short while. The patient experiences great anxiety, painful fear, and restlessness. They have many fears like fear of death, fear of crowds, fear of crossing roads, fear of the future.
They even fear touching others while passing by. A person becomes impatient and so submerged with their feeling or emotion.
He doesn’t even want to go out of the house. They are very restless and keep tossing about. A person startles up from their sleep.
He can predict things or events related to the future or beyond usual sensory contact. So, in that case, they can predict the day of his death.
Music is unbearable to them and makes them very sad. They think that whatever has just happened is a dream. A delirious state is noticed in such patients.
It’s a disturbance in mental abilities that results in confused thinking and reduced awareness of the environment. Such a patient is unhappy, worrisome, fearful, and talks about irrational or unrelated things in delirium.
They have a constant fear that something terrible is going to happen.
2-AGNUS CASTUS
This remedy is useful for those who are affected by depression and have lost interest in sex. It acts well in both genders, but males are affected well by this remedy.
It can help males who are going through depression, and there is a loss of energy, thereby affecting their sexual life. A person becomes absent-minded and lacks courage.
The patient fears death and becomes sad that death is going to be speedy for them. They become very predictive regarding future misfortune.
A person predicts that they will die soon, and there is no use in doing anything. They can be self-disrespectful due to sexual abuse.
It can be of significant effect for nervous exhaustion in unmarried men. They can smell certain things that aren’t present in reality.
3-ARGENTUM NITRICUM
It is suitable for people who are nervous and uncontrollable emotions. It is best suited to people in business, students, and those who require to put in a lot of mental effort.
It is one of the best remedies for people who have excessive and irrational anxiety or obsession. They are nervous, impulsive, and hurried but still lack courage and confidence.
Its main action is on cerebrospinal nerves; if they are affected, it can cause imbalance both mentally and physically. Stomach troubles are always associated with mental troubles.
They get tortured with strange ideas and emotions. They are so impulsive that they want to do things in a hurry. For them, time passes too slowly.
They have so many fears. They fear any unpleasant and prolonged experience. A person thinks that an unpleasant or threatening event is forthcoming or going to happen.
They fear crowds, fear of passing specific points, and fear tall buildings, and fear of the dark. All these thoughts make him lose his confidence and becomes hesitant and nervous.
He starts faltering in his speech, and his balance in gait is also lost. He feels his own family feels disgusted about him, his self-confidence is poorly shaken, and feels all his undertakings will fail.
So, he loses his interest in ambition. They tend to become sad and depressed.
Slowly they have difficulty in concentrating and retaining information. Along with this head, neck and eye pain are also present.
Memory weakness also starts increasing. They start weeping to feel that he has lost all the hopes. He does all strange things and talks irrationally.
According to him, everything is changed. They talk like a child and talk about their suffering.
4-AURUM METALLICUM
It’s one of the best medicines for acute depression. It acts well for those who become suicidal with depression.
It is suited to incredibly nervous people, hysterical females, even girls at their puberty, and boys affected both mentally and physically due to failure in relationship.
It is suitable for older adults with heart complaints as well. Their complaints are triggered after being nervous, frightened, angry, or disappointed in a relationship, especially love.
They hold on to something which is a bad feeling for them. Their complaints are triggered if anybody opposes their ideas. Even the loss of property affects them.
Their anxieties are continued for a longer time than usual. They take up the duty at a very early age.
If they happen to face a triggering event in their lives, they start feeling that they are not worthy and feel guilty and start blaming themselves for the incident.
They feel an intense loss of hope or courage and feel dejected. They develop an aversion towards life along with the rise in blood pressure and suicidal thoughts.
They talk of committing suicide, but at the same time, they fear death. They become very irritable and angry about being even slightly opposed. They develop fear towards people called ANTHROPOPHOBIA.
They get engaged in deep thought about something which makes them sad, angry, and even worried. Since their mind is affected, they start questioning rapidly even without waiting for the answer.
They can’t do their work fast. Guilt feeling is intense in them as they feel that they neglected someone or neglected their duty.
They don’t like to talk to anyone. They can become quarrelsome and hateful. They feel that their future is all dark now. They become oversensitive to noise and fears the least noise.
4-CALCAREA CARB
This remedy suits people who are fat, fair, and flabby. They lack courage and confidence but still are very obstinate.
These personalities get easily affected by fright and by being absorbed in themselves. A person gets mentally and physically tired due to overwork.
They feel something terrible will happen in the future, and these thoughts are worse in the evening. A person fears becoming insensible and unable to reason.
They feel that they will contract some uncurable disease. So always anxious about their health. A slight symptom can be troublesome.
They lose hope of getting well. These people have many fears like fear of disaster, of becoming mad. They even fear becoming and even observed by people. Hence become suspicious and doubt everybody.
Fear gets triggered if they happen to hear about any inhuman events. Forgetfulness creeps in and develops anxiety with palpitation. If it gets intense, they even develop an aversion to work.
5-COFFEA
This remedy is suited to tall people, lean stooping persons with a dark complexion.
Complaints are triggered in them by fear, fright, or by facing failure in love, becoming overtly tired, and even laughing excessively, and a long journey can also be a cause.
They are very excitable and over-sensitive people, full of ideas and rapid to act. Emotions like joy and surprise can be dangerous for them.
The sensitivity is heightened; they cannot tolerate pain, touch, noise, and smell. Pains are just not tolerable by them developing a state of utter hopelessness for them. They get easily influenced by pleasurable emotions.
They keep complaining and get restless over petty things. Emotionally very unstable as they can laugh while crying.
Trembling is also noticed in them as being excited. Irritability is very much seen in such personalities, and they can’t stand sympathy.
6-IGNATIA
It is best suited to nervous, mild, affectionate females, but quick and rapid to act. They are emotionally affected, producing mental symptoms, and it changes rapidly.
Complaints can trigger after fright, shock, grief, worry, love failure, spinal cord injuries. The patient is very nervous, anxious, alert, rigid, and trembling, especially in those who have acute mental conditions.
They become uncommunicative and silently keep thinking about their thoughts, making them sad and worry. Their moods are changeable. Always in a sad and tearful mood.
These people have changeable moods like, e.g., they laugh when they have to cry. They desire to be alone and enjoy being sad. They cannot tolerate any opposition to their ideas.
They are diligent people; hence they start feeling that they have neglected their duty. They start fearing thieves, small, petty matters or anything’s coming near to them. Prone to become hysterical and create a scene as they tend to faint.
7-NATRUM MUR
It is suited to thin, thirsty, poorly nourished, and hopeless or awkward people. Complaints are brought on due to falling in love with the wrong person, fright, grief, injury to the head, etc.
Even physical complaints are brought on due to fear, fright, grief, and other mental causes.
They are prone to depression if they are suffering from chronic diseases. So, they want to be alone to cry and don’t like to get sympathy from others in such instances.
If sympathy is offered, they can get irritable. Depression can be without the cause.
They become hateful towards persons who have hurt them. They like to keep thinking about past unpleasant events.
They can be cheerful and immediately be sad. Because of nervousness, they become awkward in talking and become hasty, and drops things from their hands.
Starts weeping thinking about the bad things that occurred to him. They can laugh without control and tears just roll down the cheeks. Emotional disturbances can make them too forgetful.
8-PHOSPHORUS
It is suited to young people who grow fast, tall, and are inclined to stoop. They are highly talkative, active, and social people.
Nervous, weak, narrow chested, and delicate skin people like to be attracted like a magnet. They get affected by anger, grief, fear, and worry.
Restless people who are uneasy have a great tendency to get startled. They cannot stand or sit for a moment, especially in the dark. They are very sensitive to external impressions like light, noise, odor, touch, and even thunder and lightning.
These excitable people get easily angered due to which they suffer afterward. They get anxious and fear being alone in the evening and feel that something is creeping out of every corner.
They fear ghosts and even the future. They feel good and friendly if anybody shows pity or sorrow for their misfortune.
These thoughts make them tired quickly. They lose their confidence and courage and become indecisive. Slowly they become sad, and interest in work, study, or even conversation decreases.
Even they can develop an aversion to their children. Patients develop an extreme tiredness attitude towards life.
9-PULSATILLA
It is eminently a female remedy who is mild, gentle, and who give in to pressure and are not rigid. Highly emotional individuals who can cry easily, cannot take decisions, and lack confidence and courage.
They fear to be alone in the evening, and also of darkness and ghosts. They like it if they are shown sympathy. They get easily discouraged.
Fear of the opposite sex is marked in them. They even fear marriage and feel that sex is a sinful act. They cry easily and weep while talking.
They get easily annoyed, thinking that the opposite person has insulted them. Females become sad if they happen to hear some disagreeable news.
Dosages and Potency of Homeopathic Medicines for Anxiety
ACONITE: –
200c and 1M are the most frequently used in sensory affections. In the acute stage, aconite must be repeated frequently. It works rapidly
The action of this remedy is only in the acute stage. It can be used if pathological changes have set in.
AGNUS CASTUS
30C, 200C are most frequently used and can be repeated as and when required.
ARGENTUM NITRICUM
High potencies are advised in such conditions. It shouldn’t be repeated frequently, only when the symptoms call for it.
AURUM METALLICUM
In severe cases of anxiety and depression, high potency should be used and not repeated too often.
CALCAREA CARB
30C, 200C, 1M these potencies are most useful. Low potency can be given in the acute stage and can be repeated frequently.
High potency works in a single dose and shouldn’t be repeated unless needed.
COFFEA
30C AND 200C are most frequently used. Can be used in high potency as well when the effect of low potency is exhausted.
IGNATIA
1M potency will work wonderfully and should be repeated only when the action of remedy has been exhausted.
NATRUM MUR
200c and 1M potencies can be used and not be repeated frequently.
PHOSPHORUS
200 and 1M can be used, but shouldn’t be used it frequently in low doses.
Usually, a single dose is sufficient, to be repeated when symptoms call for it.
PULSATILLA
30C, 200C, and 1M are the most frequently used potencies. The medicine should not be repeated frequently in acute stages.
A single dose of high potency in Constitutional state to be given