What is anxiety?

Anxiety is one of our most common modern feelings. Fear evolved to help us survive so that we could respond quickly if in danger. The fight or flight response was intended to prepare an individual in a dangerous situation to fight or run away. Modern life has unprecedented dangers, but they’re usually not the sort you can physically deal with or run away from. So our anxiety accumulates and our bodies are powerless to resist its deleterious effects.

What are some of the common symptoms of anxiety?

Anxiety has wide-ranging effects from mild sensations of uneasiness and tension to full-blown, disabling panic attacks. When the latter occur for the first time, it can be a terrifying experience because of the intensity of the symptoms. Temporary anxiety is often the response to a stressful or demanding event, such as sitting an examination or having to speaking in public. Common symptoms of this form of anxiety may involve an uneasy situation of ‘butterflies’ in the stomach accompanied by muscular weakness.

However, this is generally a much less intense experience of anxiety than the symptoms experienced by those with long-term chronic anxiety. Long-term anxiety leads to persistent problems such as tension headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, insomnia, general fatigue and burn out.

Things that can help alleviate anxiety

Positive life style changes may help, especially in short-term anxiety, as well as obtaining additional help from a counsellor. Breathing deeply also helps as this makes the body release endorphins, which are hormones having a calming effect on the body. Cardiovascular exercise can also release tension by flooding the body with endorphins.

Herbal Remedies for Anxiety

One of the principal herbs said to reduce anxiety is valerian – though preparing your own herbal remedy is hardly advised as members of the valerian family can be poisonous in larger amounts. Stick to herbal remedies from a herbalist.

Valerian as used for the reduction of anxiety  

Parts used: The Dried rhizome, roots and stolons. The rhizome and roots should be collected in October and November and dried slowly in the shade.

Uses as a Herbal Remedy: Valeriana is used to reduce tension and anxiety, over-excitability and hysterical states. It is calming without exerting too sedative an effect and is practically non-addictive. It is a valuable treatment for insomnia, the sedative effect due to the valepotriates and the isovaleric acid, which is also responsible for the characteristic smell of valerian. Documented research has noted a mild hypnotic action in both normal sleepers and insomniacs, indicated by a beneficial effect on sleep latency, wake-time after sleep, frequency of waking, nocturnal motor activity, inner restlessness and tension and quality of sleep. Sleepiness and dream recall the morning after were unaffected. The valepotriates have an antispasmodic action too, making the herb an appropriate remedy where pain is associated with tension. It helps relieve dysmenorrhoea and it can be of benefit  in migraine and rheumatic pain. It may also be applied locally as a treatment for cramps and other muscle tensions.