HERBAL REMEDIES
FOR ANXIETY
Lavender
Considered the most common essential oil, lavender oil benefits include having a calming, relaxing effect. It’s considered a nervous system restorative and helps with inner peace, sleep, restlessness, irritability, panic attacks, nervous stomach and general nervous tension.
“The Handbook of Essential Oils: Science, Technology, and Applications, Second Edition” states that there have been a number of clinical trials involving the inhalation of lavender essential oil that indicate a reduction in stress and anxiety. One study using oral lavender essential oil via capsules found that heart rate variation significantly increased compared to the placebo while watching an anxiety-provoking film. This suggested that lavender had anxiolytic effects.
Further research demonstrates lavender’s ability to lower anxiety in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery and in people visiting the dentist.
Chamomile
Although chamomile is considered to be one of the safest herbs you can take, people with asthma should avoid chamomile as it can exacerbate their symptoms. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, pregnant women should stay away from chamomile due to the risk of miscarriage. People who are allergic to the aster, daisy or sunflower family of plants may also have an allergic reaction to chamomile.
Lemon Balm
The same is true of several studies for anxiety, which used a combination of herbs to reduce symptoms.
In another double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 18 healthy volunteers received 2 separate single doses of a standardized lemon balm extract (300 mg and 600 mg) or placebo for 7 days. The 600 mg dose of lemon balm increased mood and significantly increased calmness and alertness.
Cannabis
Near the center of our brains we have a twin set of neuron bundles called the amygdalae, responsible for importing cognitive processes, including fear and are fight or flight response.
The discovery that these amygdalae contain cannabinoid receptors – as verified by researchers at Vanderbilt University in 2014 – is a major step in understanding how cannabis can actually treat anxiety.
The idea is that these receptors depend on cannabinoids to do their job, to regulate all of those important emotional processes – as well as a ton of other processes in the body.
But sometimes the body doesn’t produce enough of its own cannabinoids what we call endocannabinoids. In the case of anxiety, for example, research indicates that traumatic experiences can actually hinder the production of these endocannabinoids.
Medical marijuana has been used for centuries to treat depression and other medical conditions. More than 400 years ago, cannabis was used to treat depression in India and has since been studied and analyzed to determine the medical benefits and disadvantages for patients. Today, many states across America have legalized the use of medical marijuana.
The relationship between marijuana and anxiety is incredibly complex. One the one hand, cannabis is often used to calm the mind and body. It’s a natural painkiller, and one that people use often to self-medicate. On the other hand, studies have linked marijuana to problems with anxiety – both causing anxiety on its own, and making anxiety worse.
It appears the effects of anxiety change depending on the type of anxiety you suffer from. If you haven’t yet, take the anxiety test on this site. You’ll get an idea of what type of anxiety may be affecting you and how.