5 Best Herbal Remedies for Anxiety

It’s not an uncommon thing for you to hear that people suffer from anxiety. In fact, the chances are that you know someone who suffers from it. But do you really know what it is? Anxiety is considered an uneasy feeling that is accompanied by both concern and worry, most of the time about some upcoming situation or event. Many of these instances are also filled with great uncertainty as well.

Now the upcoming events don’t have to be a big thing. People with anxiety can start having symptoms from a wide range of events that range from studying for a test to visiting a new place. Anything can bring on the anxiety if you have it.

If you have an anxiety disorder, then you know firsthand that it can persist, even in your everyday life. You can start feeling anxious to such an extent that it can even start to affect your relationships, overall wellbeing, and even your work.

Similar to most other disorders, there are several different types of anxiety. These may include:

• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Social anxiety
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Generalized anxiety
• Panic disorder

Each of these different types of anxiety also has their own debilitating symptoms that are slightly different from the other types. Since there are so many different types of anxiety, it is a very common disorder that affects almost one-third of adults at one point or another in their life. If you do have a form of anxiety, don’t worry, you have nothing to worry about.

So, you have one form or another of anxiety. There are several herbal remedies for anxiety that you can take to help alleviate your symptoms. These herbal remedies have been studied specifically to treat anxiety, so has been extensive research done on each of them. Remember to always do your own research before you decide to try any new herbal supplement or remedy to treat any of your symptoms.

Passion Flower

Clinical trials have shown that passion flower may be able to help with anxiety. Since passion flower is usually mixed with other herbs in most commercial products and supplements, it is difficult to distinguish the particular qualities of the herb. As long as you take it as directed, passion flower is considered to be safe, but there have been studies that have found that it can also cause dizziness, confusion, and drowsiness as well.

Kava

While initial studies were very promising and showed great benefits to help treat anxiety, later reports claimed that kava had the potential to cause serious damage to the liver. These reports, while they have been questioned, have caused the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to put out warnings about dietary supplements that contain kava. If you do decide to try kava to help with your anxiety, be sure to use caution and get your doctor involved to monitor any side effects.

Valerian

Studies have shown that Valerian users reported a lower amount of stress and anxiety than those who did not use it. Valerian is also considered to be safe if you follow the guidelines on how much to take. It can, however, cause some minor side effects such as dizziness, drowsiness, and headaches.

Lavender

You may already know that lavender is popular in aromatherapy, but it is also popular as an oral supplement as well. This is because lavender will help you to reduce your anxiety. While the evidence about this is somewhat limited, side effects of taking oral lavender have been known to include headaches and constipation. On top of that, it can also increase your appetite as well.

Marijuana

Marijuana for the treatment of anxiety is one of the most common reasons that people use it. This is because studies have shown that there is evidence that marijuana can be extremely effective for treating anxiety disorders, no matter what the type.

In fact, using cannabis to treat anxiety was first recorded in the year 1563. Garcia de Orta, a Portuguese physician, stated that it would remove all anxiety sufferers from all of their cares and worries. He described that marijuana would help you to calm and relax you, as well as even put you in a hypnotic state.

As if being used to treat anxiety for almost 500 years wasn’t enough, long-term users of marijuana have also reported that they have noticed reduced levels of anxiety, while increasing stress relief and relaxation as some of the main benefits.

Aside from all of this evidence, studies have also been done to confirm what many throughout the years have claimed.

In 2014, a study from Vanderbilt University discovered that regularly smoking marijuana can potentially increase a naturally occurring chemical in the brain that is known as endocannabinoids. This is good for you as these endocannabinoids become reduced during times of extra stress. While this is not definitively proven, researchers have a theory that this reduction in endocannabinoids is one of the major causes of anxiety.

Finally, marijuana is not only safer and more effective in treating anxiety than traditional anxiety medicines, but it can also help you get off of any prescribed anxiety medicines, most of which normally have some extreme side effects like dizziness, internal bleeding, and even rectal bleeding.

When you are looking for the best herbal remedies for anxiety, remember that herbal supplements are not regulated or monitored by the FDA. This means that some company’s quality may be a little lower than what is led to believe.

If you are thinking about starting an herbal remedy to help treat your anxiety, be sure to speak with your doctor prior to starting. While there are many different herbal remedies available to help you treat your anxiety, you should always be sure to do your research on them before testing them out. This way you’ll be safe and will limit any potentially hazardous side effects that may be caused by your new herbal remedies for anxiety.

This article is originally published on SundayScaries.