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Stress & Anxiety
"Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax"
~ Mark Black
Having a healthy mind is just as important as having a healthy body; and the two are intricately connected!
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A well-balanced emotional state is vital to good health and wellbeing.
Symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression are unfortunately all too common, and they often feature in or manifest into physical health problems too. Currently 1 in 4 people in the UK experience a mental health condition of some kind each year, with mixed anxiety and depression being the most common. Depression and anxiety often occur together as they share similar causes and symptoms, with more than half the number of people struggling with depression also experiencing symptoms of anxiety.
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Stress plays an increasingly larger part in the way we live our modern-day lives and since that is unlikely to change significantly any time soon, the best approach is to learn how to effectively manage our stress (and without causing more stress in the process!)
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We all experience feelings of stress and anxiousness, particularly during busy times such as when we feel over-loaded with exams, work deadlines and personal issues. These feelings are usually fleeting though and pass when the stressor has gone. However for individuals who struggle with a mental health condition such as anxiety, these feelings do not subside entirely and can in turn have a crippling effect on their wellbeing.
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There's no denying that our lives are busy and whilst we can learn to multi-task as much as possible, sometimes the sheer volume of tasks we need to do or the weight of the burdens we feel we must carry can leave us feeling overwhelmed and unable to cope. And since we are all different, the impacts of stress can be felt in a number of ways.
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Some Common Signs & Symptoms include:
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Feeling overwhelmed & a loss of control
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Low moods, feeling anxious & maybe even a little depressed
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A constant racing mind & mental chatter
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Disturbed sleep: either difficulty falling asleep or waking during the night
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Digestive disturbances & altered bowel habits
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Headaches & tight neck/shoulder muscles
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Skin conditions flaring up
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Food cravings; sugar, salt, fatty foods or addictive substances such as alcohol, caffeine, nicotine
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How Naturopathy can help with Stress & Anxiety:
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Naturopathy uses a combination of dietary & lifestyle interventions, herbal medicine and nutritional supplementation to support your body and help calm your stress levels, helping you to feel energised and back in control once more.
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Improving and modulating the way the body responds to stress and correcting both hormonal imbalances and nutritional deficiencies is a primary goal of Naturopathic treatment. By focussing on these areas, we should be in a position to discuss either decreasing or eliminating the need for pharmaceutical drugs you might currently be taking.
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Naturopathy is very well equipped to treat anxiety because it focusses on treating the whole person and addressing the underlying cause(s) of the condition. Naturopaths have a deep toolbox of evidence-based, natural therapies including clinical nutrition, botanical medicine and behavioural medicine to draw from.
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Since each person's circumstances and health status are different, the treatment protocol provided will be unique to each individual. Typically however, we will focus on addressing one or more of the following:
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Low energy levels
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Chemical or hormonal imbalances
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Regulating the body's stress response & HPA axis (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis)
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Promoting relaxation such as via lifestyle interventions & the use of sedative, calming herbs
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Nutritional status; certain nutrient deficiencies are directly linked to stress, anxiety & depression
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Diminished cognition & memory; including brain fog
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Supporting detoxification pathways; particularly the liver, kidneys and skin
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Addressing underlying emotional issues, with referral to a councillor where indicated
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Are you ready to regain optimal health?
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Let’s get started!