Dealing with stress and anxiety

[OneEternalSonata]

I deal with stress quite poorly due to PTSD and other issues. I'm currently seeing a counselor for this. However, I feel strongly against medicating it. I drink an "herbal tea" that contains no actual tea leaves. It has valerian and other herbs with known alleviation of anxiety. Do any of you have suggestions for relieving stress naturally and spiritually? I'd like thoughts, ideas, and prayers! All are appreciated.

[ConquestT4]

I think stress is in my genes. I deal with it a lot too. I am a super busy college student with a lot going on and I am a bit prone to stress and anxiety. On top of that I am a bit of a perfectionist.

Best remedies that work for me.

-aerobic exercise (works really good)

-any type of excercise (push ups, pull ups for guys, jumping jacks)

-get some fresh air, get out and be in nature for as much time as possbile

-make sure you eat good (junk food adds to stress)

-make lists of stuff you have to do so you don't have to worry about it so much

-find humor in all you can

-be positive and ask for strength specifically in prayer

-get it in your head that the stress will never help you accomplish more or be effecient. A little stress is good but I work best when my mind is clear and I don't feel toooo pressured.

Balance your life as much as you can and have some sort of physical activity during every day that gets your heart rate up. The more you learn how to plan your day out well, the more you will get done. I have to work at all of these but I know they have helped me. When you put God first in your life everything really will fall into place and you will realize what He really expects of you. Don't run faster than you can!

[MarginOfError]

I deal with stress quite poorly due to PTSD and other issues. I'm currently seeing a counselor for this. However, I feel strongly against medicating it. I drink an "herbal tea" that contains no actual tea leaves. It has valerian and other herbs with known alleviation of anxiety. Do any of you have suggestions for relieving stress naturally and spiritually? I'd like thoughts, ideas, and prayers! All are appreciated.

There's nothing wrong with medicating. Just remember that the purpose of medication is to lower the level of anxiety to a level that you can handle. As you learn to cope with the anxiety, you lower the dose of the med. As you gain more control over the anxiety, and get better at it, the reduced dose allows you to gradually eliminate the meds.

As long as you're not using the medication as a crutch, there's no shame in taking advantage of it. In fact, self medicating with tea is really no different than being prescribed medication. You're still using chemistry to manage your anxiety.

[applepansy]

I've had bad side effects from medications for depression and anxiety. But my diagnoses are different. Depression and anxiety are companions of chronic pain.

I take Valerian in capsule form but only at night to help me sleep. I also take St. John's Wort in capsule form when I feel myself falling into the black hole of depression.. Chamomile is another one that is good for relaxation. This is off the top of my head. A quick search on the internet of herbs will help you find others that might be helpful.

I'm glad you're seeing a counselor. Talking about the things that trigger your anxiety will help you develop and implement a plan for when you run into the triggers.

Best Wishes

[Guest mirancs8]

I deal with stress quite poorly due to PTSD and other issues. I'm currently seeing a counselor for this. However, I feel strongly against medicating it. I drink an "herbal tea" that contains no actual tea leaves. It has valerian and other herbs with known alleviation of anxiety. Do any of you have suggestions for relieving stress naturally and spiritually? I'd like thoughts, ideas, and prayers! All are appreciated.

Don't look badly on medicating oneself. There are certain medical conditions (including mental issues) that medication can help a great deal! Though I go to a homeopathic doctor (endocrinologist) she always encourages prescription drugs when necessary. I've been going to her all this time because she isn't extreme on either point.

I just gave a friend of mine some natural supplements as she is under a lot of stress and having really horrible chest pains (anxiety attacks). I took her this stuff called CALM made by Olympian Labs. There is a comparable one which is called Anxiety Control made by Metabolic Maintenance Products. I was taking the CALM along with my prescription medication to give you an idea exactly how bad it was. My blood pressure was so unusually high (I never had high blood pressure in my life) that my doctor pushed me to take this stuff to get it down. It worked! I have a medical condition that if my blood pressure goes up let's just say it's not a good thing.

Now my friend is taking it and she said she feels considerably better just after one day. So that is what I know for stuff that is natural. However I am a firm believer in prescription drugs when necessary. I really hate to see someone suffer especially because I have such a soft heart for those who suffer from any type of mental issues.

[Whynot]

Many of us have reasons to have anxiety that some cannot understand unless they've been in our shoes. It's a common thing to have, which is why the Lord said so much about trusting in Him and the Father. Maybe it just comes down to accepting things - that no matter how bad they are, or were, that the Father knows the matter is difficult for us, and that we should confess our anxiety to Him and petition for strength of spirit to deal with whatever the issue is. It's largely a matter of trusting God in the end. I think of Jesus in the garden - surely the anxiety He had was beyond our imagination. He didn't deserve what He knew was going to happen, yet it was for that purpose He was born - that was His mission to endure and fulfill. In fact, Jesus didn't petition the Father one time and say, 'OK, Thy will be done. Jesus prayed it three times! and He was the Lord! But after it was all said and done, it came down to 'Thy will be done.' He trusted the Father to be with Him through it all.

Some teach that the Father abandoned Jesus on the cross, but we might also consider when He exclaimed on the cross, "My God! Why hast Thou forsaken Me?", that Jesus was actually quoting Psalm 2 as a witness to those who crucified Him as to Who He was. In reading that Psalm we can see that the Father did not abandon Him, but that He was with the Lord every moment through the entire thing to the very end and beyond.

As Jesus also told His accusers, they had no power over Him, and that they could do nothing except the Father allowed it.

The Lord knows what it's like to face anxiety and has given us the example to pray and trust the Father in all things - even to death. Bad things happen to good people, regular people, bad people, good children and the innocent and brats as well. Age is no barrier to evil either - evil happens to all if we live long enough - and this may be misfortune, illness, abuse, persecution, false testimony against us, evil acts of all kinds, thefts, murders, beatings, and even unfaithful spouses that destroy hearts and families.

Can we pray to the Father and tell Him our every care and anxiety and then put it in His hands and look for the windows He opens for us as we endure? Many times I've felt abandoned or abused in some manner, and at times it looked like God was abandoning reasonable care for me, but after the storm had passed, I must confess that He was with me all along. The times of trial of our person and faith can be the times that both purify our faith and result in the greatest growth and maturity. Nothing can happen to us that God does not know about and allow.

Yesterday I was talking to a neighbor about my faith as a Christian - he was pretty much a deist, and his question was how I viewed evil in the world and why it exists if God is the God of the Bible, how could he allow so much evil on the earth? All I could think to tell him is that perhaps when we were all meant to be that the plan was corrupted and the bad seed thrown into the mix. God could have just burned the bad seed then, but if they didn't know they were bad seed, that they would falsely accuse God of being unjust. So in His righteousness, God allowed things to be so that both the good and the bad would know what they really are and in the end declare God righteous and true and just.

Sort of like when Peter exclaimed he was willing to die for the Lord if needs be, but Jesus knew Peter would curse and deny Him. Peter didn't even know what he was made of inside when reality hit. But Jesus prayed for Peter - and look how he turned out.

Jesus prayed for all of us who receive and accept His word from the Father. So if you do that, you can rest assured that He is also with you.

Anxiety is a type of trial, and trials are a mechanism to purify and strengthen our faith if let Him have His way with us. And no matter who is at fault, we can know that 'all things work for the good to them that love the Lord.'

Edited October 24, 2010 by Whynot
grammer

[Bini]

Chronic anxiety and depression typically are chemical or hormonal imbalances in the brain/body, and generally need chemicals or hormones to adjust whatever it is your body is deficient in or has too much of. So meditation and exercising alone, won't do much in regards to those particular situations. Consulting your physician or pdoc is your best bet in knowing what route to go in order to have and maintain a healthy and better quality of life.

[ryanh]

feel strongly against medicating it.

Do you also feel that a broken leg should be mended without a cast or other bracing? Kind of a silly isn't it? Sometimes, it may be best to utilize modern medicine to assist us in these endeavors. If you can have a period of processing without extreme feelings, it can help strengthen the processes you need without it becoming a permanent crutch any more than a cast is a permanent solution to a broken leg.

[jennvan]

Please be careful with valerian. It works in the same way as most of the prescription medications and can be addictive. Remember that roots and herbs were the first medications and there can be side-effects, especially if we aren't very well informed.

And I second ryanh's comment. It can be helpful to use medication to help move you toward the outcome that you desire.

[Blackmarch]

I deal with stress quite poorly due to PTSD and other issues. I'm currently seeing a counselor for this. However, I feel strongly against medicating it. I drink an "herbal tea" that contains no actual tea leaves. It has valerian and other herbs with known alleviation of anxiety. Do any of you have suggestions for relieving stress naturally and spiritually? I'd like thoughts, ideas, and prayers! All are appreciated.

Keep busy with stuff. if you're idle or not have enough attention to a project you are doing your mind will wander off and start thinking about all that stressful stuff.

[jennvan]

Unfortunately, with PTSD just keeping busy isn't helpful. What can be so debilitating about PTSD is that flashbacks and triggers happen at random times and when completely unexpected. Please make sure that you have a good therapist working with you on your PTSD symptoms, not all therapists understand how to work with PTSD. If you want any suggestions for finding someone in your area, you can PM me.

[Whynot]

It takes time, it takes work, and perhaps most of all, if we have faith, even as that little mustard seed, the Lord is able to help us grow beyond the PTSD. Having been there, I know, and I also know that each persons particulars are different, but I can testify that the Lord is still able to make ALL things work for our good if we seek His aid, comfort and healing though all we've been through. Yes, God is still alive, and these things can make us better and stronger - but be patient with yourself and realize the mercies of God are new every morning. It really is true.