Effective Herbs For Treating Anxiety

The sales of prescription drugs for anxiety is at an all time high. In fact, some estimate that at any given time, as many as one in every five adult Americans is on some sort of anxiety medication.

Whether this is due to more people suffering from anxiety or simply that more people are being diagnosed with it due to improved diagnosis methods, the trend has been undeniable. As a society, we are in real danger of being over medicated. This has many consumers looking towards other, potentially safer methods of medicating themselves. And, one place that they are looking at is herbs.

But, as many health professionals will be eager to tell you, self medicating oneself, especially for a potentially serious diseases, is usually not a good thing. If you are not an expert in anxiety, you could easily misdiagnose not only your symptoms but your treatment as well. And even if you are an expert, most people find it very difficult to look at themselves objectively, diagnose their illness, and prescribe the correct cure.

So, if you are suffering from anxiety, before rushing off and stocking your medicine cabinet with herbal cures for anxiety, have a talk with your doctor so he can, at least, monitor your progress as you start your herbal regiment. With that in mind, there are some herbs that have shown to be effective treatments for anxiety

Ginseng - this popular herb has been used by the Chinese for thousands of years for many different ailments. One of these ailments is anxiety. Ginseng is believed to be able to regulate the amount of cortisol that is secreted into the body. Cortisol is a hormone produced by the body.

Normally, when a person is experiencing severe emotional trauma or stress, his cortisol levels become elevated. As the cortisol level increases, he becomes more and more anxious. By helping to control the amount of cortisol that is released into the blood, the person is able to remain a lot calmer under stress.

St. John's wort is an additional herb that has been used to treat a multitude of medical problems over the years. In Germany, this is very often prescribed for people with mild depressive disorder. It is also often given to people that have high anxiety levels. Unfortunately, finding pure form of this herb can be difficult as it is often mixed with other compounds.

Keep in mind, that it is always important to keep your doctor appraised of the herbs that you are taking for your anxiety. This is especially true for pregnant women who may inadvertently put their fetus in danger by taking unregulated herbs and medicines.