Handling Stress: Alternative Cures

Stress has become huge, and when looking for help or relief you will be faced with a barrage of Therapies, Practitioners and Drugs, all of which will claim to give relief from stress, and in most cases they will help. Some of the remedies available are discussed below.

The Doctor's Response

When we first fall foul of stress, we automatically go to the doctor with a whole list of symptoms and feelings, hoping there will be a miracle pill to make it all go away. But the truth is the doctor can only treat the symptoms and not the emotional or physiological reasons for the condition. In the limited time available with you, the GP will try his or her best to get to the bottom of why you are as you are.

Medication is not always the answer to solving stress, so many GP’s will refer you to a counselor or community psychiatric team. They may also refer you to a specialist: Psychotherapist, Psychiatrist or Clinical Psychologist.

Drugs

Depending on the symptoms you present to the GP, in some cases drugs will be prescribed to help you through a difficult time. In most cases these will be tranquillisers, though these will not be prescribed over a long period of time as they can be addictive.

Beta blockers help with anxiety, reduce palpitations, tremors and sweating. Depression caused by stress can be dealt with by another series of drugs, which can be given over longer periods of time, as they are in most cases not addictive, although some do carry some nasty side effects; some people experience withdrawal symptoms when they stop taking them. There are two main types of anti-depressant – the older style tricyclic drugs and the new selective serotonin inhibitors (SSRI’s) such as Prozac. Note: users of these drugs should be aware that it can take up to three weeks for these drugs to take effect and during this time you may experience side-effects, but you should continue taking the drugs under advice from the prescribing GP.

Under times of stress, we may take drugs in other formats that we don’t even consider as drugs, such as alcohol, cigarettes and recreational drugs. These will alleviate the stress short term but will not keep it at bay for good.

Alternative Cures

Talking
‘Talking it out’ is good for stress. Your GP may suggest you try a counsellor or psychotherapist who is free of charge, however the waiting time for these appointments can be up to six months in most cases, or your GP may refer you to someone private.

Counseling
Counselors generally don’t specialize in stress, anxiety or depression. However there are Stress Counselors who do. The counselors will be able to assist you in examining your causes of stress and suggest ways for you to deal with it better.

Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy delves deeper into your background, rooting out possible causes for your stress and the state you may be in. This therapy will tend to go on for longer than counselling.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)
CBT has become more popular over the past few years. It focuses on changing negative thought processing into positive. The therapy aims to show you how to identify negative thought patterns and give you positive ways to change them.

Stress Counselling & Stress Management
Over the last ten years we have seen a rapid increase in the interest in Stress Management consultants and counselors. They can help you identify the underlying causes of your stress and give you positive coping strategies.

Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy is a world away from scented bath oils. Practitioners will use a variety of oils best suited to your needs, such as Lavender, Marjoram and Geranium. They may be added in a carrier oil to aid massage or dispensed from a diffuser.

Flower Remedies
Bach remedies are the best known flower remedy and marketed for a range of emotional difficulties.

Healing
Spiritual, Faith and Reiki healing all involve energy being passed through one to another. This can be done via the laying on of hands or distance healing.

Massage
Massage is a very relaxing experience which many people find beneficial when stressed, whether done by a practitioner, partner or friend.

Relaxation
There are many methods of Relaxation (See Services and courses), either taught by professionals or ones you can teach yourself. Many bookstores and health food shops sell books and videos for you to use yourself. Yoga is often recommended because of its relaxing qualities and the use of deep breathing.