April 2022 Newsletter

Natural Remedies for Common Mental Health Issues

If you’re feeling unfocused, anxious, or stressed out, you might be inclined to look for something in your medicine cabinet to help you feel better. Instead, you could consider alternative or complementary techniques that have been shown to ease emotional distress without causing side effects or interacting adversely with other medication you may be taking. These safe and effective non-drug measures can ease symptoms that have already occurred or help you sidestep future ones. In some instances, an alternative method can be used instead of a traditional treatment (but always check with your physician); in others, it can be used along with standard medical treatments.

Social Anxiety

Try: Imagery Re-scripting

Changing the way you view negative memories and what they say about you is known as “imagery re-scripting“. And research suggest that it can help with social anxiety. The basic idea is that by looking at events from your past in a more neutral or positive light, you can reduce various cognitive, physiological, and behavioral symptoms of social anxiety.

Sleep problems

Try Aromatherapy.

According to a study in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, inhaling the scent of lavender before turning in for the night, improves sleep quality and quantity among people who have a history of insomnia. In addition, a study in the Journal Scientific Reports suggest the aroma of lavender promotes low-frequency (theta and delta) brain waves, which increase deep sleep and improve sleep quality.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Try: Neurofeedback

With Neurofeedback (brain training) sensors are placed on peoples scalps, then they perform exercises where they learn to regulate their own brain activity and can see the results on a computer screen. A study in the journal NuroImage: Clinical, had people with PTSD do weekly sessions of Neurofeedback for 20 weeks and found that the severity of their PTSD decreased considerably at the end of the study. What’s more, 61% of the participants in the study no longer met the criteria for PTSD after the intervention.

Inattention/Mind Wandering

Try: Guided meditation

Doing a 13 minute guided meditation session daily for eight weeks enhances attention, working memory, and mood while decreasing anxiety in people without any previous experience with meditation, according to a study in the Journal Behavioral Brain Research. In other words, this ancient practice can help with both emotional and cognitive regulation.