Managing My Anxiety Without Medication

English 112

6 July 2015

Managing My Anxiety Without Medication

You’re anxious, worried, freaked. You’re upset about (pick one): money, health, work, family, love. Your heart is beating fast, your breathing is shallow and rapid, your mind is imagining doom, and you wish you could just relax...now! This was my life. I wanted to gain control over my anxiety and panic attacks. However, I was not interested in taking medication every day...for the rest of my life. I was interested in finding safe nondrug remedies for my anxiety.

I knew the first thing to do, as anyone should do when treating a health concern, was to consult my doctor. This is where my “I-search” began. Consulting an expert, in this case my doctor, is always a highly credible resource. Dr. David Switzer of Luray Family Medicine had been my physician during a majority of my childhood and now my adulthood. I made my appointment and was in Dr. Switzer’s office within a week. I explained my symptoms to him and told him of my desire to pursue a non-medication based therapy. Dr. Switzer explained:

Your symptoms are all pointing to what I am diagnosing as Generalized Anxiety Disorder. You have no history of a traumatic event in your life that could have caused the onset of this anxiety. But as you know we all experience daily stress in our lives from many different sources. Every person handles, or “treats”, these stressors differently. Some people choose a drug-based therapy under the care of a  physician. Other people choose a more “holistic” approach, including diet, exercise, breathing techniques, and meditation to name a few. (Switzer)

Dr. Switzer also explained that getting a formal diagnosis was the first step. I told him of my intention to research different techniques in my quest for a safe “non-drug” treatment of my anxiety. I told him I would continue my research with the techniques that he had mentioned, but specifically diet, exercise, and meditation. He gave me his approval and set me up for a follow-up appointment in four weeks.

        The next step was to take a look at how diet affects generalized anxiety disorder, either positively or negatively. We have all heard of “comfort food.”  That food that reminds you of a certain person, a favorite place, or a memorable time in your life. In my life, “comfort food” is comforting, but not healthy. These foods caused lethargy, upset stomach, blood sugar spikes and dips, as well as weight gain. They were not “comforting” in the long run. Upon further investigation, I learned that anxiety is not necessarily caused by what you eat (Nutrition). But that doesn’t mean I’m not contributing to my anxiety every day by eating foods that create anxiety symptoms while avoiding foods that may help me fight anxiety.

An “anti-anxiety diet” starts by avoiding foods that may contribute to my anxiety symptoms. I needed to remove or moderate the following: fried foods, excess amounts of alcohol, excess amounts of coffee, refined sugar, and acid-forming foods (Nutrition). Avoiding these foods is unlikely to cure my anxiety, but it will help, especially because I find that I over-consume many of the foods on this list. The Calm Clinic suggests that most foods can still be eaten in moderation, but healthier eating is still a very important part of a healthy diet (Nutrition).

Most people know there are foods to avoid, but what about foods to eat? I found that there are several foods that may reduce my anxiety symptoms. Healthy eating leads to healthy hormone functioning, which leads to an improved sense of well-being (Nutrition). Good foods include: fresh fruit, vegetables, plenty of water, tryptophan rich foods, magnesium rich foods, and omega-3 fatty acids (Nutrition). Eating these foods is not going to cure my anxiety, but they should reduce my anxiety symptoms and make it easier for an effective anxiety treatment to work. I began implementing these diet changes immediately.

Next, I moved to finding how exercise can help my anxiety symptoms. The beneficial effects of physical activity on health are indisputable in today’s society, and known to help people reduce and manage stress. The question is, will it have a significant enough effect on an actual anxiety disorder? I know through hearing it over and over that at least 30 minutes of exercise at least five days a week is recommended for a healthy lifestyle. Through my i-search I also discovered that “adults who engage in regular physical activity experience fewer depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms, and also protects one against the development of mental disorders” (Anderson and Shivakumar 1). Exercise significantly reduces anxiety sensitivity, which is thought to trigger panic symptoms (Sayeed, Antonacchi and Bloch 984). During several systematic reviews, it was reported that exercise produced meaningful reductions in depression and and anxiety symptoms “comparable with cognitive behavior therapy, and two studies found that it was at least comparable with sertraline (Zoloft), a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor” (Sayeed, Antonacchi, and Bloch 981).

My last area of interest was meditation for managing my anxiety symptoms. After looking at several sources online, there is not enough clinical evidence of meditation having  a significant impact on anxiety symptoms. When thinking critically about this method of treatment, I decided I would draw my own conclusions on its effectiveness after implementing it into my routine. I consulted Meditation for Beginners by Jack Kornfield to get some background and help with a meditation routine. The practice of meditation does not require us to become Buddhist or a meditator. It invites us to “fulfill the capacity we have has humans to awaken’ (Kornfield 6). The skill of becoming more mindful and more present allows us the opportunity to not only heighten our senses, but actually improve every area of our life. Kornfield states, “In the process of practicing meditation regularly, you will begin to develop your capacity to open to the present moment” (3). One thing that I will mention at this point in my i-search is that prayer is an important part of my life as a Christian. I decided to consult with one of my pastors about the importance of prayer/meditation on managing my anxiety. Pastor Mark Hopkins stated that “faith-centered prayer and meditation is essential to managing stress in our lives. Anything that we try to manage without being in touch with our Creator is a recipe for disaster” (Hopkins).