My desire to help others understand themselves and to overcome Anxiety and
live the life they envisage has a personal element to it. There was a period in
my life when I had a lot of extra life stressors to deal with and I developed
an anxiety disorder in the form of Panic Attacks. Consequently I ended up in a
doctors’ surgery with multiple
physical symptoms that I ascribed to a life-threatening illness. A physical examination ensued as a Panic Attack can be difficult to
assess when it presents acutely. My
heart was pounding; there was chest pain and discomfort, I was dizzy, found it
difficult to breathe and swallow. There was also a “pins and needles sensation”
in my hands, feet and face. Naturally I was overcome with fear. Was I going to
die?
That was over 30 years ago when quite often panic was
overlooked as a potential cause. Back then the symptoms of my Panic Attacks
were not recognised or diagnosed, and my G.P. enquired “ Do you think it might
be all in your mind?”. In point of fact my
Panic
Attacks resulted as a consequence of my perception in a stressful situation. So to some extent it was “in my mind!” Yet, I don’t
believe that is what my well meaning, family GP meant when he asked the
question. He subsequently reached for his prescription pad and said “I will
prescribe something to help with your depression”. I left the surgery more confused
and definitely more depressed.
My Panic Attacks were unrelenting. I became
unrealistically worried and anxious about everyday things expecting the worst
even when there is no apparent reason for concern. It resulted in me withdrawing from normal activities like
shopping, walking the dog, socialising with friends and family for fear of
having a Panic Attack in public. I feared being alone in the house in case I
would have an attack and die. The persistent
anxiety over having further attacks was leaving me in a terrible state of
trepidation. Left untreated the attacks
were going to cause me many problems and destroy my life. It was time to seek
help and the sooner the better. I
needed to control my anxiety levels, stop worrisome thoughts, and conquer my
fears preferably without the support of anxiety medication.
It was whilst researching therapies to assist with Panic Attacks that I found homeopathy.
According to trials homeopathy was just as effective as diazepam (Valium) and
benzodiazepine (Lorazepam or Ativan) at treating Anxiety Disorders but without
addictive or harmful side effects. It could be used as a sole treatment if I choose
not to see a counsellor or therapist but nevertheless wanted some help to
recover from anxiety. There were so many
homeopathic medicines that could be used to treat the numerous symptoms of my
anxiety that it was hard to know where to start. After medical tests etc I deduced
my symptoms were not due to a physical illness such as an underactive thyroid, heart
condition, stomach ulcer etc, It is advisable therefore to talk to your GP
first to make sure of the diagnosis before starting homeopathic treatment.
Anxiety
or Panic Attacks affect everyone at some stage or another but homeopathy has
remedies to help. With the right homeopathic
treatment, those living with debilitating anxiety can once again look forward
to enjoying happy, worry-free lives.That’s
why I’m glad to help. This is what I hope to do for you in my blogs: to provide
useful information, anecdotes, and the like so you can connect and know you’re
neither alone nor misunderstood. I will indicate useful remedies especially for
your constitution type that will provide relief from your Panic and Anxiety
Disorders. Good Luck!
Some Useful Remedies
Arsenicum One of the first
medicines that I think of when I see someone with all the symptoms of anxiety
with depression, particularly when there are gastric symptoms of indigestion
and diarrhoea, combined with panic attacks, is Arsenicum album. This medicine
is based on white arsenic which causes severe gastroenteritis if taken in a
toxic dose, which is why it can help similar symptoms when taken in a
homeopathic potency. Somebody doing well with Arsenicum will probably be neat,
tidy but restless. They may look anxious and drawn and tend to have a
fastidious way about them, being able to give a lot of detail to their
symptoms. Often I find that such a patient has to tell me all their troubles in
a very methodical but sometimes time consuming way.
Arsenicum patients can be convinced that they have a physical illness which is being missed because they feel so ill and may in fact end up having a number of investigations such as endoscopy and colonoscopy before finally accepting what is wrong with them. They can feel that they will never be well again. Fear is a prominent symptom, causing apprehension and dread, with an overwhelming feeling that everything will go wrong, and they despair of their recovery. These can be patients that I have to try very hard to reassure and I will often use a 30c dose, three to four times a day, with Aconite 30c taken as needed if they are having additional panic attacks.
Arsenicum patients can be convinced that they have a physical illness which is being missed because they feel so ill and may in fact end up having a number of investigations such as endoscopy and colonoscopy before finally accepting what is wrong with them. They can feel that they will never be well again. Fear is a prominent symptom, causing apprehension and dread, with an overwhelming feeling that everything will go wrong, and they despair of their recovery. These can be patients that I have to try very hard to reassure and I will often use a 30c dose, three to four times a day, with Aconite 30c taken as needed if they are having additional panic attacks.
Ignatia Where depression follows from bereavement, loss, or a shock, such
as witnessing a fatal road accident, Ignatia can be useful. The symptom
picture is typified by emotional ups and downs with mood swings and is often
quoted in homeopathic reference books as “laughter alternating with tears”.
Having suffered the loss of a parent, I know myself the separation feeling that
one undergoes when someone close to you dies and I remember being able to talk
quite calmly one minute, and then being overcome with tears soon afterwards
before becoming calm again a few minutes later. Often the sufferer can prove
difficult for friends and loved ones to deal with as they are so up and down,
being resistant to sympathy and oversensitive to well meaning advice, which
may be wrongly taken as criticism. Ignatia patients tend to “bottle things up”
and cry and give deep sighs during the course of their consultation. It may be
hard for them to talk if they are overcome with their miserable situation and
friends can find it well nigh impossible to cheer up such patients. Poor sleep
is common and so is the feeling of a ball or something stuck in the throat,
known conventionally as globus syndrome. I often give a few Ignatia 30c tablets
to recently bereaved patients to take when needed, especially around the time
of the funeral, and will use a 200c on a weekly or monthly basis for persistent
depressive symptoms.
Natrum Muriaticum Another remedy that can bottle things
up, but reacts quite differently to the Ignatia patient is Natrum muriaticum.
This is one of my most frequently used homeopathic treatments for symptoms of
stress, such as those typified by mild depression. I find it very useful when a
patient has never been well since a shock or loss and feel as if they have a
glass wall between them and the rest of the world. Often they have been unable
to cry since bereavement and feel that they have not grieved properly for their
loss. They feel worse for sympathy yet are very empathetic people. They
sometimes build up a barrier emotionally and can appear somewhat cold and
distant. They can worry about upsetting people unintentionally by saying the
wrong thing and also can take things the wrong way. I tend to view these people
as the “salt of the earth” type, having a strong sense of duty, but can find
themselves being overwhelmed by the responsibility of their work, especially if
they are caring for an elderly or sick relative. Such patients can feel that
they should be doing more, not less, and feel they must “just get on with it”,
and yet feel more and more tired and low in spirit as time goes on. Grudges can
build up, with resentment. There may be an increased sensitivity to noise; certain
passages of music may move them to those long awaited tears, but without relief
from their low mood. I have discovered to my cost that using too high a dose of
Natrum mur can cause emotional upset without improving the symptoms of
depression so I tend to use a one off dose of 200c when there is a clear
history of a definite cause to the illness and a daily 30c dose if the trigger
is less clear.
Sepia When all energy is
drained, and my patient feels that they are unworthy of anybody’s love or
attention, I turn to Sepia, a remedy which I have written about in the past
for its use in the menopause and postnatal depression. I have used this almost
exclusively for women who are sad, silent, solitary individuals, completely
lacking in zest. Tears are never far away and a feeling of having to keep
emotions under control otherwise one will have to scream is typical of the
strain that such patients can feel. There is a wish to keep busy but with no
incentive to do so and these patients can spend hours sitting motionless in
sadness. Sepia women will often tell me that they love their husbands or
partners but cannot manage the physical side of the relationship, which they
feel is starting to cause difficulties for their other halves. Sepia usually
suits women who tend to feel chilly and they can either feel incredibly
hungry, being unable to ever feel full or have nausea at the mere smell of
food. They often have a sinking, or “allgone” feeling in the pit of the
stomach, especially when they wake, which is not relieved by eating.
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