How To Use Alternative Therapies To Manage Your Stress

Everybody is busy today: all the time and all day long. Children, teenagers and adults alike are constantly “on the go”.

It almost seems that the busier you are, the more successful you will be or are perceived to be. The flipside of the coin, however, the busier you are the more stressed out you are bound to be as well.

As you well know, stress can wreak havoc on the human body. Additionally, stress can be very hard to control if you don’t know the triggers of your stress. Some things tend to stress us more than others.

Universal Stressors

To give you a general idea, here are most common stressors that are likely causing the most anxiety in your life.

• Work
• Family
• Divorce
• Major trauma, i.e. death of a loved one, dealing with grief and loss
• Major illness
• Moving
• Finances
• Car accident

Once you have identified the parts of your life that are stressing you out, you can move on to learning how to fix them.

Now, of course there is the option of common medications such as anti anxiety or anti depression medications. However, increasingly more of us no longer are interested in that style of treatment approach.

If you are one of those people, then take a few minutes to read about alternative and natural methods for treating your everyday stress.

Herbal Remedies for Stress Management

The use of herbal remedies has seen a huge rise in popularity over the last few years, even though herbs have been used for thousands of years in Eastern cultures.

Herbal remedies are an alternative treatment under the umbrella of Holistic medicine. Holistic medicine differs from mainstream medicine in that it considers the entire individual, instead of focusing on functional areas of the body alone.

Here are a few herbs used to treat a number of fairly common conditions. Some of them may be new to you, while you may know others.

Chamomile:

For the everyday jitters or nerves, drink chamomile tea or take a chamomile supplement pill. Try a cup of chamomile tea before you go to bed and see how your insomnia can be a thing of the past.

There are a few compounds in chamomile that have the ability to attach themselves to brain receptors that control stress, just like modern drugs, such as, Valium.

Lemon Balm:
For minor anxiety or stress, consider the herb Lemon Balm. This herb is sold in the form of a tea, as well as, a capsule. A quick cup of Lemon Balm tea in the morning before work/school or even before bed has shown significant results in reducing symptoms of anxiety and stress.

Lavender:
For daily anxieties or scenarios where you know you will be anxious, use lavender. Several studies have shown that people who smelled lavender or drank lavender tea prior to a stressful situation display a lower amount of anxiety. Having lavender scented candles in your home is a great way to decrease your level of stress on a daily basis.

Physical Activities For Stress Management

Although this is not exactly “medicine”, physical activity is a prime treatment for stress.
Combine physical activity with some herbal remedies and you should notice a significant decrease in your stress and anxiety levels.

Exercise is the most commonly stated cure for stress, which is why people tend to overlook it. However, exercising is backed by years of scientific research that has proven exercising does reduce stress levels.

This is something you should consider, particularly if the bulk of your stress is coming from fear of physical illness. Stay active, run a few times/week or take up Pilates or Yoga.

Take Omega-3 Vitamin Supplement

Omega – 3 is known to reduce the chemicals in the brain that give off stress signals. Taking these supplements once or twice a day will help regulate your stress levels.

Take A Hot Bath

Believe it or not, heat is actually a great way to lower your stress levels. Sitting in a hot tub, steam room, or hot bubble bath loosens up the muscles and settles down the brain. If you have time, try to take a warm bath or go to a steam room a few times per week.

Aromatherapy can play a role here as well. By adding essential oils and inhaling their healing aroma you can reduce stress. Jasmine, Lavender, Frankincense
Rose, Chamomile and Vanilla are well known for their relaxation properties.

Add to the warmth by drinking a hot cup of chamomile tea!

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is one of the most used alternative medicine therapies to manage and reduce stress. Most people get acupuncture treatment for a variety of conditions ranging from pain to digestive problems.

One of the great “side effects” of receiving acupuncture is – relaxation. After an acupuncture treatment most people feel relaxed, calm and sleep is better.

No negative side effects here! Just give it a try…

Hypnosis

Another critical tool in fighting stress is hypnosis and especially self-hypnosis relaxation audio CDs or MP3s that are readily available in many varieties. These can provide real results and are versatile enough to be used anytime throughout the day to regroup and detach from the stresses around you.

Utilize hypnosis and self-hypnosis to help with anxiety, insomnia, stress and many other conditions you may experience from time to time.

Combine the above alternative treatments for stress management and see just how much your life can improve!