Stress can take hold in many ways. On the mental and emotional level prolonged stress or low level continuous anxiety can lead to fatigue, depression, mood swings and sleeplessness. For many stress may manifest in physical symptoms, like Irritable Bowel Syndrome, back pain, alpoecia or skin conditions like psoriasis. Dealing with stress can be tricky when there are maintaining causes for that stress or stress has been triggered by a traumatic experience; on-going financial worries and debt; unemployment; business instability; caring for loved ones etc. Homeopathy can provide support for people experiencing all from the short term exam nerves type of stress to prolonged stress undermining the health. The appropriate remedy can vary hugely from person to person. Where the stress is chronic in nature (experienced for 3 months or more) it would be of the greatest benefit to book a consultation with a qualified homeopath.
There are several suggested remedies and a guideline on their use for treatment of stress available by emailing candice@greendaisies.co.uk and requesting information on Stress:
Exam stress, panic attacks and phobias: For alleviating the stress of exam nerves and performance anxiety, especially for those who feel debilitated by overwork and who dislike appearing in public homeopathic remedies can be taken as needed up to 5 times in a day. For panic attacks, or after a fright, where there is severe anxiety and restlessness, and even the fear of death a reemdy can be taken as needed to speed recovery and settle nerves. For those experiencing lots of phobias around crowds, narrow spaces, air travel, heights or falling, another remedy may be taken as needed.
Work related stress: Homeopathic remedies may help with stress, anxiety over issues of responsibility, performance at work and fear of failure. Physical symptoms associated with stress can include bloated sensation, wind and symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which may also be addressed through homeopathic treatment by treating the whole person rather than the specific complaint or symptom. Business anxiety, especially in very ambitious and driven people especially when there is lots of impatience and irritability, a desire for stimulants (coffee, cigarettes, alcohol, spicy foods), tendency to constipation or diarrhoea alternating with constipation may be helped with homeopathic approaches.
Emotional stress of caring for loved ones: The homeopathic remedy sometimes referred to as “the carer’s remedy” may be of support for those who may have become exhausted or depleted from night-watching loved ones, loss of sleep, and the emotional stress of nursing the sick. There may be a feeling of vertigo and unsteadiness in the legs on the physical plane when this remedy is indicated. One dose half an hour before bed and one the following morning to stimulate the body back into balance.
Visit The Princess Royal Trust for Carers website or follow this link to information and articles on managing stress for carer’s http://www.carers.org/articles/managing-stress,62,CA.html
Sleeplessness: For those wanting to avoid going down the route of sleeping tablets, there are several remedies that may be useful for anyone who is kept awake at night. For some it may be sleeplessness because the mind is going over and over with anxious thoughts. To address sleeping issues it is always best to seek treatment with a homeopath so that individual symptoms can be addressed.
The rule of thumb with self-prescribing homeopathic remedies is to STOP taking the remedy the moment a reaction has been stimulated. This may be an emotional discharge or in the form of a physical reaction like a runny nose or diarrhoea. Once a reaction has been triggered, the remedy has done it’s job and the body comes back into balance. When a well indicated fails to act it may be that a deeper remedy needs to be prescribed. See a homeopath who can prescribe accordingly.
