What is it?
The term anxiety comes from the Latin angĕre, which means to tighten, and it is a totally unpleasant, painful and very common feeling in people.
However, a distinction should be made between normal anxiety and pathological anxiety. Normal anxiety is considered an adaptive response to the possible presence of danger.
Instead, pathological anxiety is not sporadic, but is present almost daily in the life of a particular person, even conditioning their social life, with completely unpleasant feelings and sensations, paranoia, stress, mood disorders, uncertainty in the future and social isolation. Very often pathological anxiety is related to further pathologies such as dementia, schizophrenia, depression and personality disorders.
Causes
Anxiety is a “pathological” condition with multifactorial causes. It can have hereditary, biological and unconscious causes.
- Hereditary factors: Scientific studies show that about 50% of people suffering from anxiety have a family member with a similar condition.
- Biological factors: scientific studies show that anxiety can be caused by alterations in the synthesis of neurotransmitters, such as excessive production of norepinephrine, a stress hormone, or low production of serotonin, the feel-good hormone.
- Unconscious factors: according to studies carried out by Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, anxiety is the symptomatic expression of the inner emotional conflict caused when a person suppresses experiences, feelings, or impulses that are too threatening or disturbing to live with..
Symptoms
The symptoms associated with anxiety are related to the autonomic nervous system, that is, what is not under the control of our will. Symptoms can be classified into general, psychological and neurodegenerative.
- General symptoms include: anxiety, fear of dying, fear of imminent danger, irritability, difficulty in swallowing or digestion, depersonalization, derealization, sleeping and mood disorders.
- Psychological symptoms include: negative and pessimistic attitude, inability to relax, internal tension, loss of control and a feeling of going crazy, avoidance coping and restlessness.
- Neurovegetative symptoms include: difficulty in breathing, sense of oppression, dyspnoea, light-headedness, chest pain, dizziness, fainting, diarrhea, frequent urination, tremors, dry mouth, tachycardia, muscle tension, difficulty in swallowing and globus sensation.
Natural remedies for anxiety
There are several natural remedies, which if used over time, can alleviate the symptoms associated with anxiety:
- Green tea is rich in a substance called theanine with calming action on the brain level;
- Hops have calming properties, but due to their bitter taste, they are rarely used as a drink, perhaps to make them more pleasant, they can be associated with mint or chamomile;
- Lemon balm, also known by the term citronella, has spasmolytic actions and is excellent for treating insomnia.
- Lavender has soothing and anti-inflammatory actions, but in recent years, studies have also shown a calming and relaxing effect on the nervous system.