There can be many sources of stress in your life, such as your job, relationships, your health, and your finances. When you have to deal with too much stress, over time it can lead to anxiety and depression. Here are two ways to help reduce your stress, anxiety, and depression using natural methods.

Massage Therapy

If you are suffering from anxiety and depression, as they usually accompany each other, massage therapy can help to treat them. Approximately 18 percent of adults in the United States have some form of anxiety disorder and approximately 10 percent suffer from depression. But many people do not want to go on medication to treat their depression because of the risk for negative side effects. Getting a massage is a good way to help you relax your mind and body and to help you reduce your stress, while treating your anxiety and depression.

There are many types of massage therapy you can try, including deep tissue, reflexology, trigger point, and Swedish massage. You can choose to get a massage with oils or with warm stones, which help you relax and release tension from your body.

Several recent studies have been completed to study the ways in which massage therapy can be beneficial to your health relating to stress. In a recent study at the University of Miami, a group of participants receiving massage therapy found they had more energy and felt less depressed and angry. 

Stress and anxiety can commonly cause high blood pressure as a result of your body's cortisol levels rising. A study completed by the University of South Florida found that receiving a ten minute massage three times a week for three weeks lowered the blood pressure on high blood pressure patients by eleven points. Then, the Touch Research Institute completed studies on both adults and children suffering from depression or stress and found the cortisol levels were lowered by up to 53 percent.

For more information about massage therapy, contact a company like Health Atlast Fountain Valley.

Take Kava Supplement

Kava comes from the plant Piper methysticum, which is native to the South Pacific, and its roots have been used for many years for its relaxing properties. Besides being used to treat insomnia, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, and tuberculosis, kava is helpful for calming anxiety, stress, and depression. Research has shown that the kavalactones in the kava root are the active ingredient that can affect your brain chemistry, similar to prescription antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs.

A study published in Psychopharmacology completed a three-week long trial testing the affects of kava on 37 participants. During the study, kava or a placebo were given to the participants during one-week long periods. The participants reported feeling much less anxiety during the weeks they took the kava than when they took the placebo. The participants didn't report any serious side effects and also reported a decrease in any depression they had been suffering from.

You can buy kava as an herbal supplement that you can take dried in a capsule form, or you can prepare it as a tea. You can also buy pre-made kava tea pouches from local grocery stores.

There have been some health warnings that kava can cause liver damage in some people. Then, the World Health Organization stated in 2007 that reports of kava liver toxicity may have been caused from using the whole kava plant instead of only the root. They also believe that acetone and ethanol were used to extract the kavalactones from the plant instead of using only water. And the American Academy of Family Physicians recommended in 2007 that kava is safe to use short-term for up to 24 weeks. It is recommended to use if you have mild to moderate anxiety disorders and you are not using alcohol or taking other medicines metabolized by the liver. 

Use these two ways to help relieve the stress in your life and reduce your anxiety and depression.

Share