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Stress and anxiety can hold your mind captive at times. Lately, toxic stress has been developing into anxiety in my life. It took just one negative thought, comment, or interaction to trigger a near panic. I have felt like I could not relax, my heart rate was elevated, my breathing was fast and shallow, and I felt anxious and jittery non-stop for several weeks. My mind could not let go of the negative things that were happening in my life. It was beginning to feel so bad that it was disrupting my entire day and it felt like it was taking over my life. This is not like me at all.
I had been doing everything I was “supposed” to do to naturally alleviate it; consistent exercise, eating well, time outdoors in nature, meditation, cognitive behavior therapy with a professional psychologist, positive interactions with friends, and drinking plenty of water and green tea. I was doing activities that I loved and listening to happy music. I spent time soaking in Epson salt baths before bed and used unplugged time to read and relax. Nothing I did was working and I felt like I was going crazy. Relief could not be found anywhere. If this sounds like you or you at a period in your life where stress got the better of you, then keep reading because I found a couple really positive and natural remedies that have truly helped ease my anxiety and even my depression.
My anxiety was truly impacting my daily life and my ability to do the things that I love to do. I felt like I was moments from a breakdown all day every day for weeks on end. Even in moments with no stress at all, my brain could not quiet down and I could not fall asleep at night. It was to the point where I was considering seeking treatment other than therapy. I’m not a fan of taking pills, although it can be necessary sometimes and I know several people who have benefited from a professional doctor’s prescriptions. I needed help, but I didn’t want to go the medicated route without doing everything in my power to ease my anxiety in a healthy way.
What was happening in my brain was that I was over flooded with cortisol (the stress chemical) and my brain could not flush out this chemical quickly enough because there was so much built up. Every time I faced my stress triggers, neurological connections that lead to the stress response would strengthen. My brain needed balance. It needed to detoxify.
I found several natural vitamins and supplements that started having a positive impact on my mental health almost immediately. I found calm and relief, even when faced with my triggers. None of the supplements dampen my feelings. I still feel sadness, disappointment, anger, betrayal, and all sorts of negative emotions just like anyone else, but the difference now is that these emotions no longer take my mind hostage. I’m still able to feel and identify my emotions, but now I can see them more clearly. I can recognize what I am feeling, but they no longer control my body’s fight or flight response. I am able to take a step back and recognize that I am not feeling ok, but it does not have to control this moment or my whole day. Slowly, my brain is healing from the toxic stress that it could not come down from. My brain is finding balance again and it is all thanks to some very healthy supplements that I take in the morning with my daily vitamins.
One thing to mention before we begin is that natural supplements cannot cure the source of our anxiety. That is best worked out with a professional therapist by tackling the problem head-on. It is always better to treat the cause itself than to soothe just the symptoms. But a little extra help with natural supplements has numerous positive benefits for your health and mental health. However, supplements, vitamins, and herbs cannot replace medication if you’re taking something for a serious mental illness. I am not a doctor, nor am I an advocate for self-medicating. The goal of this post is to share body-positive, natural, and healthy ways to improve your mental health, well being, and happiness.
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L-Theanine
After trying unsuccessfully to fall asleep one night I made myself a warm cup of Pacifica’s Wake Up Beautiful Sleep Powder. It has some natural melatonin and other natural supplements in it to help you relax and get a good nights rest. One of the ingredients was L-Theanine. I had no idea what that was. Turns out, it is simply a natural amino acid found in green tea; not nearly as scary as it sounds. In fact, it is completely safe and beneficial to your health.
I did more research and found out that it naturally reduces stress, high blood pressure, cortisol levels, and your heart rate; making it the perfect natural aid to soothe anxiety and stress. It is completely safe (just as safe as drinking tea is) and starts to work within 20-30 minutes! That is some fast acting relief. On top of all of that it boosts your immune system, your brain’s ability to focus, can aid in reducing excess weight caused my toxic stress, and help people with insomnia. One 200 mg dose of L-Theanine works for 8-10 hours and you can take it multiple times a day as needed. Drinking green tea is a good way to get this natural mood booster, but a concentrated dose in pill-form is the best way to get immediate help.
Ashwagandha & Ginkgo
While doing my research I also found ashwagandha and ginkgo. Ashwagandha is a natural herbal supplement that lowers stress and cortisol in a similar way to L-theanine, but in a slightly more powerful way. Instead of working immediately, ashwagandha typically takes up to two weeks to start working when taken daily (approximately 1200 mg). The reasons why I love it: ashwagandha naturally lowers cortisol (the stress hormone), lowers blood sugar, reduces anxiety and stress, is cancer-fighting, reduces depression, reduces inflammation and cholesterol, and improves memory and brain function. It naturally restores your energy levels and boosts your metabolism. It also aids in the growth of healthy muscle and creates a gentle calming effect for those who are suffering from trauma and grief. The best part about this supplement is that it can actually reverse some of the damage of long-term stress. It’s ability to heal synapses in the brain have made it a recent discovery to prevent and even reverse cognitive decline and help people with dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Are there any bad effects of ashwagandha? Long-term use over more than several months can cause headaches and stomach aches in some people. In that case, you might just need to lower your dose or take it with food. This might just be a short-term effect until your body is used to the new herbal supplement or may be caused by taking too much over a prolonged period of time. While the other supplements I mention in this post are safe for everyone, ashwagandha is not recommended for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding and because it effects your immune system. It is recommended that you speak with your doctor before using it if you have an autoimmune disease. And just in case, always take your ashwagandha with food to prevent nausea like you would for most supplements and vitamins.
So how about Ginkgo? It is a leaf extract from the Maidenhair tree that naturally improves brain function and improves and prevents dementia and Alzheimers. I learned about Ginkgo because it was included in the ashwagandha supplement I found. Combined with the stress fighting benefits of ashwagandha, Ginkgo can help you concentrate and become more productive.
Curcumin
Curcumin is the active main ingredient in the spice turmeric. If you enjoy spicing your food with tumeric then you might also be familiar with the many health benefits. What makes curcumin so powerful is that it does so many wondrous things for our bodies and our brains. It not only increases antioxidants in your body and prevents premature ageing, it can also prevent and aid in the cure of cancer, heart disease, and brain related conditions such as Alzheimer’s! This is one super spice.
Like ashwagandha, curcumin takes a few weeks of daily use before you start to truly notice the benefits. Curcumin also increases your saratonin levels (the “happy” chemicals in your brain) and decreases the stress chemical, cortisol. It also increases the BDNF (Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor), the part of your brain where neurons divide and create new connections. This decreases with age, however, studies have shown that curcumin can increase this growth, helping your brain. What makes this spice so beneficial for me though is it’s anti-depressant properties. Studies have shown that with groups of people who took curcumin compared to those who took a placebo and another control group that took an anti-depressant drug, participants that took the curcumin supplement had the same advantages as those who took the anti-depressants.
The only difficulty with this supplement is that it absorbs very poorly into human bodies, so a very specialized supplement like Solga Full Spectrum Curcumin are a better option because they have been specifically formatted into a water-soluble supplement that our bodies can fully absorb to reap the full benefits.
Vitamin C
We all know how wonderful our vitamins are. Vitamin C is an essential vitamin, which means our bodies are incapable of producing it so we have to find sources of this vitamin in the food that we eat. By now you probably know that Vitamin C helps prevent the common cold because it strengthens our immune system. It also helps decrease high blood pressure, improves our eye health and vision, and can be instrumental in preventing cancer and fighting diseases. But did you also know that Vitamin C is considered one of the best vitamins for brain health and fighting depression?
Long after our bodies run low on Vitamin C, the brain still maintains its Vitamin C levels because it needs this vitamin for optimal functioning. Vitamin C helps to prevent or limit anxiety and depression and improves cognitive functioning. In other words, it elevates our moods. Adults really need just about 75 mg a day to benefit from Vitamin C. No more than 2,000 mg a day is advised. Overdosing on Vitamins can make you very ill so always do your research before you make any vitamin or supplement a part of your daily routine.
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Other Natural Supplements That Aid In Reducing Anxiety:
- Vitamin B (Particularly B-3 and B-9)
- Vitamin D
- Fish Oil
- Omega-3 Fatty Acids
- Magnesium
- Chamomile
- Passion Flower
- Lavender
- Lemon Balm
Natural Anxiety Remedies To Avoid:
Not everything that is natural is good for you (sugar, for example). If you stumble upon Kava supplements in your search to reduce stress or anxiety, don’t even consider this one. It is not safe to take and only the smallest dosage is recommended because it can cause dizziness, nausea, diarrhea, and even death. It is illegal in Canada. Best to avoid this one altogether.
What about the natural CBD oils everyone has been raving about? A friend recently mentioned CBD oil for anxiety, an oil made from marijuana plants, but without the “high” and drug-like effects caused by THC. At first, it sounded like the perfect solution and I really wanted this to work. But after doing research I discovered that in most cases it actually increase anxiety, not alleviates it because CBD increases your heart rate. Using it will also cause liver problems because it increases the enzymes in your liver just like drugs and alcohol. No thank you! CBD oil is not regulated in the U.S. and only one brand has actually been approved because it was proven to help childhood epilepsy, the only condition so far that it has actually been proven to help. However, for people prone to seizures, CBD oil can actually increase them. And because it is not regulated, a test from last year showed that 1 in 5 of the CBD oils tested actually had THC (the drug that makes you high) in it while others did not have the amount of CBD as promised in the label. When taken orally, only 20% of the product is actually absorbed because, like curcumin, it does not absorb well into the human body. So far, it is just too new and unregulated to be considered a safe choice.
Although I truly believe it is a miracle drug for people with cancer and other medical conditions (especially salves and lotions that help people with chronic pain), the bad health effects outweigh all the good benefits for me. And although I truly stand by my view of “to each their own” when it comes to smoking it, the fact still remains that the smoke itself is unsafe and carcinogenic (causes cancer) and the use of it does in fact cause brain damage and lowers your IQ, which becomes permanent damage over long-term use. Which is why for me, I simply say “no thanks”. The goal for me when using natural supplements is about easing my symptoms without causing harm to my body, so this simply does not work for me. I don’t judge the use of it and I know plenty of people who do use it, but my ultimate goal is to protect my brain health and I truly believe this would be counterproductive. Drugs such as this are more about self-medicating symptoms than actually alleviating the problem itself.
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The ultimate goal for using these supplements is to improve our health, brain health, and happiness the natural and healthy way. It is about eating well, exercising, being actively involved in improving our well being so that we can live better, healthier, and happier lives. Perhaps one or more of these natural herbs, spices, vitamins, and supplements can improve the quality of your life too.
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