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New Strategies and Techniques Help to Defeat Anxiety Without Medication
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If a person suffering from anxiety prefers not to take medicine to ease their symptoms of stress, what is the next step? With the right dissection of anxiety and symptoms, resources, methods, therapies, and much more, individuals may come close to learning how to decrease their anxiety without relying on medication.
According to science.gov, present pharmacotherapies for anxiety disorders are slender by a setback to therapeutic effect, reliance, tolerance, withdrawal, and possible abuse. Therefore, safe, and fact-based compatible or replacement therapies could be principal supporters when caring for individuals with anxiety disorders.
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What is Anxiety?
The Anxiety & Depression Association of America states that anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) impacts 6.8 million adults, or 3.1% of the U.S. population, in any particular year. Women are twice as likely to be affected.
Anxiety is a huge health problem and is moderately common in adults. Individuals with GAD stress about common problems such as health, money, work, and family. But their stresses are uncontrolled, and they have them nearly every day for a minimum of six months, according to medlineplus.Gov.
Kelly Landman, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and associate professor of psychology at Delaware County Community College in Media, PA. Dr. Landman explains what anxiety is and breaks it down into simpler terms.
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Photo by Kelly Landman.
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"First, we need to separate anxiety from stress and fear. Stress is a physiological, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral response to a challenging or threatening situation, and the source of stress is called a stressor," states Dr. Landman.
Dr. Landman explains that stress can be encouraging at certain points and reflective at others.
“Stressors can be positive and negative events - anything that offers a challenge (exciting or threatening) to a person, from preparing for a holiday party or a new baby in the family to having to pay bills to fighting in a war,” states Dr. Landman.
Dr. Landman continues that fear is a sensitive reaction to a real danger in the setting. She provides an example of what this fear may feel like for most individuals.
"Such as if an intimidating bear walked up to a person while out for a walk. There is a real and present danger, so it makes sense that the person feels afraid," says Dr. Landman.
Dr. Landman says that our body reacts similarly. She states that anxiety is very much related to stress and fear.
"Anxiety is about PERCEIVED and FUTURE threats in the environment, even if there is no evidence that the threat will ever actually be present," states Dr. Landman.
Dr. Landman expresses that it is often illogical in disposition, and the individual undergoing anxiety at times is aware that it is. However, that symptoms may still occur for individuals without an explanation as to why.
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Symptoms of Anxiety
Dr. Landman says that when an individual faces anxiety, there may be an array of indicators.
“Physically, their heart starts pounding, their palms get sweaty, their pupils dilate, their muscles engage, they have hot flashes or chills, shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea, and some people have chest pain and believe they are having a heart attack,” says Dr. Landman.
Dr. Landman explains that emotionally, individuals experience a feeling of being afraid and nervous.
“Cognitively, they often have thoughts of doom and helplessness, and it is very common for people with anxiety to experience running thoughts they do not think they can control,” says Dr. Landman.
Dr. Landman says that many people have rumination, making a person feel trapped into thinking about the same troublesome notion regularly.
“Behaviorally, people experiencing anxiety may freeze or feel their muscles tense up to be prepared to fight or run (fight/flight/freeze),” says Dr. Landman.
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Infographic created by Kerry Dunphy using Canva.com.
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Resources in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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Reset by Therabody
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Reset by Therabody, located in Fishtown, Philadelphia, is a place to go if one is looking for the ultimate recovery and reset, mind and body. Reset is known for being favorable for athletes due to the amount of muscle recovery an individual endures.
According to a study, if an individual suffers from anxiety, depression, or is overwhelmed with added stress, massages can help support and form a sense of relaxation, empowerment, and a link between the mind and body.
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Salus Hydrate
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Salus Hydrate is a 100% Natural IV Nutrient Therapy located in Newtown, Pennsylvania, where one can expect to feel replenished once they leave their establishment.
According to mass.gov, being even mildly dehydrated can be the reason for less energy, anxiety, depression, and not thinking clearly. In addition, dehydration throws off the dopamine and serotonin balances in the brain, which are natural chemicals that can increase and affect depression and anxiety.
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JTown Hot Yoga
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JTown Hot Yoga is a yoga studio located in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, where individuals can find varied yoga classes, including hot yoga.
A study done by the International Journal of Health, Wellness & Society ran an online survey for hot yoga partakers who personally identified with having anxiety and or depression. These individuals made up a vast quantity of the central study.
As a result, individuals with anxiety and or depression were very likely to experience decreased anxiety and depression, while those diagnosed with anxiety or depression were to seemingly experience enhanced mood as an outcome of practicing hot yoga.
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Strategies and Therapies
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Music Therapy
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A board-certified music therapist at Philadelphia Music Therapy, Audrey Hausig, MMT, MT-BC, has been practicing music therapy in and around Philadelphia for the past 20 years. She explains that music therapy has helped numerous individuals decrease their anxiety.
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According to healthypeople.gov, music therapy is an action that includes consistent meetings with a qualified music therapist to help improve mood through psychological expression.
"Music therapy can gradually help somebody calm down. During a session, I meet them where they are at and get them to where they hope to be at," says Audrey.
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Intuitive Therapy
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Kimberley Dobbs, a licensed professional counselor, MS, LPC, and the owner of Intuitive Counseling, LLC, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has been a mental health therapist for over 15 years.
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Kimberley Dobbs with her guide dog, Ursula. Photo by Kimberley Dobbs.
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Dobbs has been helping individuals with numerous issues such as anxiety, self-esteem, grief, relationship issues, stress, and much more. Her specialties are focused on the areas of trauma and PTSD, life transitions, and depression. She believes that her approach in sessions is warm and direct.
"My clients are encouraged to be their most authentic selves and speak on whatever it is they like to speak on. My job is to assist and guide them in the excavation process, drawing and connections between current life experiences and past experience," says Dobbs.
Kimberley has a degenerative eye condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa which has left her blind. She explains that she hasn't been blind her entire life but has found that as she's gone blind, she depends on what she "feels in the room" when she's with a client.
"I typically tell clients that I will never be the therapist that points out whether or not they are making eye contact with me. I will, however, take notice of energy shifts that I experience and use this information to guide me in our sessions," says Kimberley.
Kimberley has a guide dog named Ursula, who was been her partner for five years. She says that interestingly enough, Ursula naturally evolved into a dual role of a pet therapist, as well. Kimberley explains that she, too, is intuitive and will often lay at her clients' feet, even putting her head in their lap.
"I always tell potential clients that our sessions will be conversations. Maybe at first, these conversations might seem different because they don’t know me. However, in time, trust is built" says Kimberley.
Kimberley suggests that the moment a person feels comfortable enough with the idea of reaching out to someone, to not wait. She says that she believes that taking immediate action is incredibly helpful in getting the ball rolling to get help.
"When looking for a therapist, the first thing I’ll tell people is to consider that you want to feel comfortable with that person right off the bat. Although it's different than other types of relationships like friendships or love relationships, a certain level of support and comfortability needs to be there for it to work," says Kimberley.
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Essential Oils - Lavender
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According to a report by the International Journal of Molecular Sciences in May 2021 titled "Therapeutic Effect and Mechanisms of Essential Oils in Mood Disorders: Interaction between the Nervous and Respiratory Systems," Essential oils (EOs) come from plants, carrying functional elements with therapeutic results.
Furthermore, the evidence provides varied types of EOs have a wide span of health benefits, especially lavender. Also, that EOs can effectively decrease anxiety and alleviate pain when blended with treatment.
According to the report, individuals can receive EOs through oral ingestion, directly through the touch of skin, or inhalation. However, throughout the varied types of methods, inhalation is the most regularly used one.
In addition, inhaling lavender EO can lessen levels of depression, anxiety, and stress in adults. With this, the anxiolytic and antidepressant effects may be linked with the restraint of the job of the sympathetic nervous system.
As a result, lowering blood pressure levels and respiratory measures throughout panic attacks after inhaling lavender EO have been revealed.
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Essential Oil Infuser paired with Lavender essential oils. Photo by Kerry Dunphy.
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Weight Training
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Researchers have discovered that physical activity provides a vast number of advantages that have beneficial physical and mental results. With mild exercise, some individuals discover that the indicators of depression begin to decrease and anxiety and stress become more feasible, according to dhs.Gov.
According to an article from The New York Times, a simple workout consisting of lifts, lunges, crunches, and squats, decreased the extent of stress in young adults of good health.
According to a 2018 review of studies with anxiety and resistance training, adults who lift weights are less likely to experience depression than people who have never lifted weights before. In another study, women diagnosed with clinical anxiety disorders mentioned decreased symptoms after aerobic or weight training.
Crunch Fitness, a gym located in numerous locations, provides 14 different classes, 5,000 square feet of "proprietary equipment," four HIIT workout classes, and high-intensity interval training for members.
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Photos by Kerry Dunphy.
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Changing Eating Habits
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According to an article from The New York Times, over the last few years, studies have shown that sugar-laden and high-fat foods individuals time again crave for comfort when stressed are the most unlikely to improve mental health.
Consuming different healthy foods is vital to a well-proportioned diet and suitable nutrition, as stated by ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
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As said by betterhealth.vic.gov, a registered dietician is a certified professional with the expertise to give professional nutrition and dietary advice. Dieticians research the connections between food and health and interpret up-to-date scientific data into everyday advice about what foods to consume.
A Registered Dietician in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Carly Foglia, says that there are particular foods that can boost one’s mental health. She states that there is an important gut-to-mood factor when it comes to nutrition.
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Photo by Carly Foglia.
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“There is plenty of evidence that shows that irritation and inflammation of the GI tract can result in mental health disorders like depression and chronic anxiety or stress. So, probiotics can definitely be mood medicine,” says Foglia.
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Foglia states that probiotics can be taken as a supplement, but are also found in food and drinks such as yogurt, kombucha, kefir, and sauerkraut. She says that two important things to keep in mind are pre-biotics and probiotics. Foglia explains that probiotics are live active cultures or bacteria that live in your gut.
“When consuming these bacteria, you are replenishing the “good bacteria” that keep your gut-brain connected. Pre-biotics are also labeled resistance starches," says Foglia.
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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
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According to ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) was proven successful for mental health disorders, including anxiety disorders.
A clinical psychologist, Ph.D., Carissa Wott specializes in anxiety and health psychology and is co-owner of The Anxiety Treatment Center of Greater Toledo.
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Photo by Carissa Wott
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Wott says that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a type of therapy focusing on the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
As stated by the American Psychological Association, many research studies propose that CBT leads to remarkable development in functioning and value of life. In numerous studies, CBT is as successful as or more successful than other forms of psychological therapy or psychiatric medications.
Wott says that the main principle of CBT is that thoughts, feelings, and behaviors all impact each other in a bi-directional (functioning in two directions) manner. In simpler terms, that thoughts, impact feelings, and feelings impact thoughts.
"Because they impact one another, changing unhelpful thought patterns and changing unhelpful behavioral patterns can help to modify one's feelings," says Wott.
Wott explains that the CBT model of anxiety suggests feelings of anxiety are associated with thoughts/perceptions of danger and avoidance behaviors. She says that when someone feels anxious about something, they perceive it as a threat and attempt to avoid it.
"If we use social anxiety as an example, the individual perceives social situations to be threatening as these situations could result in negative judgments or evaluations. Thus, this person finds ways to avoid social situations," says Wott.
Thought challenging is a simple and effective technique used in CBT. Wott shares that thought challenging is not about thinking positively in a negative situation. This technique will assist someone in viewing things from various angles by using real confirmation from their life and includes looking at the whole picture and considering it.
Wott shares an example to explain a situation where thought challenging could help an individual.
"For example, let's use the thought: my racing heart means that I'm having a heart attack." To challenge this thought, we would begin asking questions about it. For example, "What is the evidence to support this thought? Is there evidence that goes against this thought?" says Wott.
Wott explains that the ultimate goal of CBT is to teach someone to become their therapist, and they learn to catch their unhelpful patterns of thinking and modify these thoughts independently. She says that individuals gain an understanding of what behaviors promote health and wellness. Also, how to maintain these behaviors over time.
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Group Therapy
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According to ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, group therapy is the care of numerous patients at once by one or more healthcare providers. It also can be used to treat a variety of conditions, including anxiety.
Group therapy is a great way to cope with an anxiety disorder. Furthermore, individuals may find consolation in knowing that they are not alone but surrounded by individuals with a similar disorder. In addition, as a group, they can help one another and discover varied ways to deal with their problems, according to Rtorg.org.
Robin T Hornstein, Psychologist, Ph.D., and co-founder of Hornstein, Platt and Associates located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has been a licensed Psychologist and counselor for over 30 years.
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Photo by Robin T Hornstein.
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Hornstein shares that Hornstein Platt & Associates is full of trained women who are certified and specialized in anxiety. With this, they offer therapists, groups, meditation, etcetera for women coping with anxiety. Their approach is to help women with their mental health so they can enjoy their whole life.
"It’s impossible for your brain to be anxious and calm at the same time.” That is something they focus on throughout different practices," says Hornstein.
Hornstein explains that within her work she has discovered that some women find group therapy more daunting; several women reveal more about themselves to more people than just a therapist. Also, that several women find group therapy to be comforting due to relating to other people’s experiences. Dr. Hornstein shared three healing factors of their group therapy.
“Having other people surrounding you, knowing you’re not alone; forming relationships and having people share their biggest fears; having a consistent place to come and know that it’s your time you’ve given yourself acting upon the anxiety, fears, phobias, etcetera," says Hornstein.
The executive director of ADAA, Susan Gurley, shares that ADAA has group therapy for individuals suffering from anxiety called "Depression and Anxiety Support Group."
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Photo by Susan Gurley.
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Gurley believes that group therapy is helpful and sometimes easier for an individual to potentially talk to people, whom they wouldn't normally see.
"That’s important. The feelings are real. One has a way to express those feelings without judgment or fear. It’s horrible to minimize someone’s words and thoughts, it makes them shut down and doubts themselves,” says Gurley.
Gurley shares that ADAA offers women tools to talk to people, ask the right questions, and figure out if they want to find a therapist. Gurley explained that there is a lot of clutter in the mental health field and that it is vital that they unclutter that for them.
“They need to know that they are being heard, it’s critical. It’s so harmful to minimize someone because it can lead to insecurities. ADAA really tries to hear. It gives them freedom,” says Gurley.
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Online Therapy
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There are numerous benefits of going to therapy and talking to a professional about issues they may be bottling up.
As reported in a study by the British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, mental health has become a notable concern for young people. Numerous mental health issues have started before the age of 25, affecting young people around the world. Online mental health meetings supply these individuals with a private and safe environment to seek help.
Furthermore, an online environment for therapy often helps increase self-disclosure allowing young adults to reveal problems they may feel uncomfortable talking about in a face-to-face setting, according to the study.
Better Help, an online counseling platform, offers direct-to-consumer access to mental health services.
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Practicing Meditation
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Research has indicated that concentrating on mindfulness meditation can reduce anxiety, rather than just focusing on the breath only. Also that these transitions seem to transmit through the brain regions linked with the "self-referential (“me-centered”) thoughts," as stated by Forbes.
David Hem, a wellness coach and instructor in Philadelphia, explains the benefits of adding meditation into our daily routines and life in the podcast episode, The Importance of Mindfulness and Meditation with David Hem.
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Research has shown that anxiety can be decreased by individuals implementing certain strategies into their daily routine and life, and while avoiding medication.
By implementing techniques and strategies such as using lavender essential oil in varied ways, weightlifting, meditation, hot yoga, changing eating habits, and much more, individuals can decrease their anxiety while steering clear of medication.
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To continue discovering varied techniques and treatments to decrease anxiety, without medication, check out this Twitter list that shares social content about ways to decrease anxiety without relying on medication.
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