Doctor’s Notes Anxiety: How Homeopathy Can Help
nxiety can present in many different ways and forms. The “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disor- ders” (DSM-IV), published by the American Psychiatric Association, discusses the various conditions within the anxiety spectrum ad nauseam, and is beyond the scope of this article. It describes the spectrum as includ- ing everything from panic attacks to phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumat- ic stress disorder (PTSD), and generalized anxiety and its subsets. Anxiety is even more prevalent than depression (and many times these go hand in hand). It is important for organic causes of anxiety, such as hyperthy- roidism, carcinoid syndrome and pheochro- mocytoma, to be ruled out.
A Anxiety can be acute (lasting more than
2 days and less than 4 weeks) or chronic (occurring more days than not for at least 6 months). It can be a beneficial part of our existence on a short term basis, alerting us to danger, for example. But sometimes it can take over one’s life and interrupt daily activi- ties, sleep, diet and lifestyle, even to the point where one doesn’t even want to go out and socialize. This can lead to serious health concerns and cause relationship issues. Anxiety can stem from a myriad of causes, alone or in combination. Caffeine, inadequate sleep, poor diet, lack of exercise, and other reasons, some of which are listed below, can all be factors. Let’s face it: We live in very stressful
times. The economy, our jobs, inclement weather, our health or the health of loved ones, and even our pets can take deleterious tolls on us. For example, numerous stud- ies have linked anxiety with cardiovascular disease. Anxiety increases the occurrence of cardiovascular disease, and increases the risk of an adverse cardiovascular event (stroke or heart attack). Studies have shown that the prevalence of anxiety is high at approximately 70% to 80% among patients who have experienced an acute cardiac event. Even among the patients who have not experienced these events, the prevalence of anxiety is estimated to be between 20- 25%.
A meta-analyses (a combination of many similar studies) looked at 249,846
38 Natural Nutmeg December 2011
people, examining the association of anxiety with the incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) in initially healthy people, using data from the US, Europe, and Asia. They determined that anxious people had about a 25% greater risk of CHD and an almost 50% higher risk of cardiac death over a mean follow-up period of 11.2 years. The study factored in all other risk factors and health conditions and still found that anxiety caused these results. For many a decade, conventional medicine has ignored the mind-body con- nection. Naturopathy on the other hand has seen mind, body and emotions as one, working interchangeably and as a whole. Only recently has conventional medicine and research paid more attention to these matters. This is especially due to the work on Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction by Jon Kabat Zinn, who holds a PhD from MIT in molecular biology. Conventionally, anxiety, regardless of etiology or form, tends to be handled with anti-anxiety medications, anti-depressants, sleeping medications, and at times, counsel- ing. Naturopathically, we tend to go a step further. We encourage counseling, but at the same time will look at the whole person, including diet, lifestyle, nutrition, and social support. We follow a therapeutic order, utilizing the less forceful, least invasive means possible, while always meeting the
patient where they are. We have nutrition and lifestyle modifications at our fingertips. We might use botanical medicines or physi- cal medicine (examples include massage, craniosacral therapy, osseous manipulation therapy and hydrotherapy). We can utilize other methods such as cell salts (tissue salts) or flower essences.
Naturopaths tend to use lifestyle modi- fications and additions as simple as cutting back on caffeine, breathing exercises, yoga, and exercise in general. The list is almost endless. Many patients may already be on medi-
cations and might be worried about potential interactions. These are logical, justifiable and legitimate concerns. This is where home- opathy can play a significant role in your healthcare.
Homeopathy is a system of medicine that has been around for more than 200 years. In fact, before the advent of Penicillin in 1928 and its more widespread usage in the 30s and 40s, all medical schools in the US taught homeopathy. Homeopathy was the major form of medicine until the 1950s, when pharmaceutical medications were becoming more widely used. Homeopathy was developed by Samuel Hahnemann, MD, a German physician. He was concerned about the medical practices of the day, including blood-letting and purg- ing patients with poisons such as arsenic. He felt there had to be a better way. So he developed homeopathy, based upon the principle that like cures like, which comes from the father of medicine, Hippocrates (460-377 BCE). Homeopathy also uses the principle of extremely dilute substances. The more dilute the substance, the more power- ful and deeper acting the remedy is. Homeopathy is considered an “en- ergetic” medicine and therefore does not interact with any medications, supplements or herbs. Much like naturopathy, it takes into account a person’s physical, mental and emotional states and puts the jigsaw puzzle pieces together to match them to 1 of about 5,000 remedies — a seemingly daunting task indeed. Although the science and art behind homeopathy is very challenging, a good naturopath who utilizes homeopathy doesn’t
Dr. Todd Born, ND
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