Healing Anxiety Naturally

by Bloomfield, Harold H.

• ISBN13: 9780060930356
• ISBN10: 0060930357
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-05-01
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

Feeling anxious or stressed? If So, you are not alone. More people suffer from anxiety than any other mental health problem. However, few receive adequate help, and until recently the only choice for many has been to suffer in silence or take synthetic, often addictive tranquilizers and pills. Finally, there is a way to treat your anxiety that is safe, natural, and medically proven. In Healing Anxiety Naturally, leading psychiatrist and bestselling author Harold H. Bloomfield, M.D., presents a revolutionary selfhealing program using nature's own pharmacy of extraordinary herbal remedies, including: Kava-a natural tranquilizer that can often replace Valium-like drugs Valerian-improves sleep quality and naturally relieves insomnia Hypericum, or St.-John's-Wort-the herbal remedy for depression and anxiety Ginkgo-the brain booster and antidote to aging Milk Thistle-the best protection for your liver These herbs are inexpensive, available without a prescription, and free of the side effects and addiction potential of artificial pills. Clear, informative, and based on the most up-to-date scientific findings, Healing Anxiety Naturally will help you relieve stress, promote sleep, and maximize performance. Put an end to anxiety today!

Table of Contents

Important Information
Introduction
What is Anxiety?
You Are Not Alone	p. 3
"I'm Afraid to Get Help!"	p. 9
Anxiety Alters Relationships	p. 16
A Worried Mind	p. 20
The Primary Types of Anxiety Disorder	p. 25
What Causes Anxiety?	p. 31
The Diagnosis of Anxiety	p. 37
Anxiety Is an Exaggerated Stress Response	p. 44
Herbs for Anxiety, Insomnia, and Stress
The Herbal Medicine Revolution	p. 57
Using Herbs Safely and Appropriately	p. 63
Herbal Medicines or Synthetic Drugs for Anxiety?	p. 72
Kava - the Natural Tranquilizer	p. 79
Healing Anxiety with Hypericum (Saint-John's-Wort)	p. 84
Valerian - Nature's Valium - and Other Sedative Herbs	p. 91
Adaptogens - the Antistress Herbs	p. 101
Ginkgo biloba - Antidote to the Angst of Aging	p. 112
Herbs in Traditional Chinese Medicine	p. 117
Herbs in Ayurvedic Medicine	p. 124
Herbal Scents - Aromatherapy	p. 129
Flower Power	p. 133
Natural Self-Healing
The Healing Journey - Nurturing Your Natural Self	p. 143
From Pressure and Panic to Personal Power	p. 156
Active Living and Antistress Nutrition	p. 166
Liming - Doing Nothing, Guilt-Free	p. 189
Emotional Freedom	p. 209
Ending Worry, Sleeping Deeply	p. 230
Are You Anxious or Angry?	p. 240
Healing the Anxiety of Loss and Change	p. 259
Spiritual Crisis and Renewing Your Soul	p. 278
Bibliotherapy	p. 289
Organizations for Further Information on Herbs	p. 291
Herbal Medicine Practitioners and Resources	p. 294
National Associations of Mental Health Professionals	p. 297
Anxiety Self-Help Groups	p. 299
Internet Resources for Anxiety and Herbs	p. 302
Notes	p. 303
Acknowledgments	p. 306
Bibliography	p. 308
About the Author	p. 323
Index	p. 325
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Healing Anxiety Naturally

Chapter One

You Are Not Alone

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyses needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.

—Franklin D. Roosevelt

All human beings experience fear, a necessary signal of real danger. As children, most of us had fears of the dark. The fear of physical pain and emotional suffering is a natural part of being alive. When the word anxiety is used in this book, it refers to mild to moderate anxiety, not to an anxiety disorder. Herbs are most useful for mild to moderate anxiety.

Feelings of anxiety come in many forms: alarm, anguish, dread, anger, fright, horror, panic, and terror. Physical complaints can include jumpiness, racing heart rate, trembling, cold and/or clammy hands, dizziness, upset stomach, diarrhea, flush, faintness, rapid breathing, numbness, tingling, strain, and fatigue. Anxiety can strike like lightning or rumble, ever present, in the background. It can be the natural fear that accompanies life's challenges and major difficulties (e.g., losing a job or becoming seriously ill). It can also be marked by chronic edginess and worry. The feelings and physical sensations of anxiety are the same whether it occurs spontaneously or in direct response to a major threat.

Anxiety is an overreaction in the first stage of the body's stress response, the alarm ("fight or flight") reaction. Mild to moderate anxiety, in particular, may be a more exaggerated and intense stress response. Remember, if you suffer from inappropriate fears or persistent worrying, you are not alone. Research has shown that:

*Each year sixty-five million Americans experience some symptoms of anxiety, of whom thirty million have a full-blown disorder. Medicine uses terms like subclinical, syndromal, minor, and shadow syndromes to describe the mild to moderate anxiety of the thirty-five million people whose symptoms are not severe or numerous enough to qualify as an anxiety disorder. One of every two people will experience mild to moderate anxiety for at least a two-week period during their lifetime; one of four people will suffer from an anxiety disorder.

*Anxiety in its various forms—worry, insomnia, heart palpitations, muscle aches and pains, rapid shallow breathing, nausea, headaches, fatigue—is one of the more common complaints heard by doctors. Anxiety can provoke or worsen overeating, alcoholism, premenstrual syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, and other medical problems.

*Despite the fact that more people suffer from anxiety than any other mental health problem, less than 25 percent receive adequate help. This means that some eighteen million people continue to suffer unnecessarily from a treatable condition.

*More than twice as many women suffer from anxiety as men. It is not known whether this is because women are more likely to be anxious or because men are more likely to deny being afraid. Men are more likely than women to turn to alcohol and drug abuse to mask their anxiety.

*According to a 1997 Gallup poll, as much as 25 percent of the U.S. workforce suffers from anxiety and chronic stress, which it is estimated costs U.S. businesses sixty to seventy-five billion dollars a year.

Anxiety Check

Do you experience anxiety? We all do in some form or another, but the question is how much and how often. The quizzes below will help you determine the degree to which you suffer from anxiety. These self-assessments are also a way of measuring your progress as you heal. You should consult your physician or a trained mental health professional to diagnose your anxiety accurately and appropriately.

The measurement of anxiety has height and width—the degree of anxiety you are experiencing and the frequency with which you experience it. When you can recognize and label the symptoms of anxiety, they often become less frightening. Remember the dictum, "When you label me, you negate me." These quizzes are a measurement of your anxiety level, not of you. You are a magnificent being, much more than the momentary quantifying of the "noise" or "static" in your nervous system.

Remember that while herbal treatments are best for mild to moderate anxiety, even severe anxiety is highly treatable with psychiatric medications, and as your symptoms lessen, herbs can be used. Also, you will learn a potent natural self-healing program of emotional fitness, stress reduction, exercise, nutrition, vitamins, and supplements that can help heal any level of anxiety and maintain your well-being.

Quiz 1: Situational Anxiety
For each situation below, indicate the degree of anxiety you experience on a scale from 0 to 3:
0 = no anxiety
1 = mild anxiety
2 = moderate anxiety
3 = severe anxiety

Situations that might elicit anxiety, fear, or tension:
*Coming home to an empty house
*Going to sleep or waking up
*Going to a doctor or dentist
*Driving a car
*Taking a plane flight
*Entering an elevator
*Being in a crowd
*The thought of death
*Taking a business call
*Making a major purchase or investment
*Speaking to a group
*Eating alone in a restaurant
*Being in enclosed places
*Waiting in line
*Packing for a trip
*Making "cold calls" at work
*Giving or receiving a gift
*Socializing at a party
*The sight of blood
*Talking to people in authority
*Being criticized
*Going to a public restroom
*Feeling stared at
*Confronting a loved one about a problem
*Financial obligations, unpaid bills
*Deadlines, evaluations, or tests
*Heavy commuter traffic
*Being on time for appointments or events
*Keeping things neat and orderly
*Sexual performance
*Being seen naked or in a bathing suit
*Making a mistake, failing
*Rejection in love or at work

Scoring
20 to 39 = mild to moderate anxiety
40 to 59 = moderate anxiety
60 and over = a possible anxiety disorderHealing Anxiety Naturally. Copyright © by Harold Bloomfield. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

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Excerpted from Healing Anxiety Naturally by Harold H. Bloomfield
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.