Anxiety is worry about something that has not yet happened. It’s living in the future rather than the present. Depression, anxiety’s grey sister, is rumination on what has happened in the past. Both rob you of the gift of the present moment.
Anxiety can arise from a number of factors. Anxiety is the body’s way of preparing itself to deal with a threat or a future stressful event. The problem with anxiety is the body revs up to match the impending threat, whether it is mental, emotional or physical. If anxiety is a long held pattern of reactivity, the body becomes accustomed to being hyper-vigilant as it scans for danger. This leads to many physical issues like insomnia, high blood pressure, irritability, an inability to focus, digestive issues, nervous system disorders, fatigue (wired and tired), hormone imbalances, weight gain, panic attacks and more.
Ayurveda
In Ayurvedic medicine (the sister science of yoga), anxiety is known as a vata imbalance. Vata is one of the three Ayurvedic body constitutional types (vata, pitta, kapha). It is composed primarily of air and space and therefore imbalances of vata are felt in air filled spaces in the body and can manifest as “spaciness and air headedness” (forgetful and un-focused). Good vata treatment modalities include a stable daily routine (click the opt-in button on this page for an Ayurvedic daily routine handout), grounding self-care activities (see below), use of essential oils (see below) and meditation. The meditation membership at https://www.ajayan.com is a good resource as well as the book Effortless Mind: Meditate with Ease by Ajayan Borys.
Brain Chemistry
Anxious people often have an imbalance in their genetics or the messenger chemicals in the brain that tell the rest of the body what to do next. These messenger chemicals are called neurotransmitters. A urinary metabolic test and/or a salivary and urine neurotransmitter test that can pin point the imbalance is the fastest, cheapest, and easiest way to see what the root problem is. Contrary to the usual method in western medicine, experimenting with a variety of dependency forming prescription medications does not solve the root problem.
Adrenal Fatigue
Adrenal imbalance is also a source of anxiety. When the adrenal glands have been over-stressed (many times by too much anxiety over a life time), they get worn out or are on over-drive. If this is the case, it’s best to know which way they are going. Again, salivary adrenal testing is the best way to find out the actual problem in order to fine-tune a targeted treatment plan. You can order any of these tests from DrKeesha.com and then set up an appointment with me or my team to create an individualized plan to reverse anxiety in your life.
Your Mind Traps
Finally, cognitive beliefs are also a big source of anxiety. If you worry about things that have not yet happened and are driven by fear, you will be anxious. If you are a perfectionist, you will be anxious. Learning your ennea-type (enneagram) is helpful for understanding your motivations and getting underneath them. Additionally, therapy is an important part of reversing long term mental wiring that keeps you anxious. Remember the body holds anxiety and responds (via the adrenals) quickly to the messenger chemicals in the brain (neurotransmitters) that say you are under attack and in danger. This is why I use the full scope of mind-body tools for helping my clients overcome their anxiety.
Nutritional Supplementation
I have put together a supplement “Mood Support Kit” that is a fantastic place to start if you want to adjust your neurotransmitters using the amino acids that are the building blocks for your brain’s all important messenger system. You can find it here.
Essential Oils
Make sure you use ONLY ORGANIC and sustainably harvested pure oils. I personally love DoTerra oils. Essential oils are an economic way to treat many imbalances and use in place of toxic cleaning agents in your home. My colleague, who is also an integrative medicine health coach can send you information about how to get your essential oils wholesale. You can contact Julie Crowell at: [email protected]
Serenity by Do-Terra is one of my personal favorites. Apply generous amount to hands and rub bottoms of feet (absorbs into system rapidly this way), to back of neck, abdomen, and under nose. Repeat 3 times a day as needed. Use a diffuser and keep Serenity in your environment. You can also add Serenity to your massage oil and use daily after your shower and nightly after your bath. Serenity contains vata reducing oils: lavender, sweet marjoram, roman chamomile, ylang ylang, sandalwood, and vanilla bean extract oil. You can order Serenity at:
Bath Time
Use 5 drops of essential oil of your choice to 1/2 cup of Epsom salts and add to hot bath as it’s filling. Soak for 30 minutes nightly and follow with a sesame oil (with essential oils added) self-massage before going to bed. This is a wonderful sleep aid and helps turn off the mind. Lavender oil is particularly useful as a sleeping aid.
Please reach out if you have any questions or want more information about treating anxiety from an all-natural individualized perspective.
You deserve to feel fabulous!
Dr. Keesha
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