Thank you for reading our post, please rate this article at the end.
Last Updated on August 23, 2024 by Paul Clayton
Table of Contents
10 Remedies for Anxiety Relief Naturally
Anxiety can be a debilitating condition that affects many people worldwide. However, it doesn’t have to dictate the quality of your life. There are various remedies for anxiety relief naturally that can significantly reduce symptoms and improve overall well-being.
- Regular Exercise: Boosts mood, reduces stress, and lessens anxiety likelihood.
- Maintain a Balanced Diet: Regulates mood and energy and manages anxiety symptoms effectively.
- Adequate Sleep: 7-9 hours of quality sleep is crucial for anxiety.
- Mindfulness and Meditation: Stay present, reduce anxious thoughts, and focus on breathing.
- Deep breathing exercises: Calms the nervous system, reduces anxiety, and uses the inhale-exhale technique.
- Social Support: Spending time with supportive friends and family decreases anxiety.
If you’re a prepper, your top priorities likely include stocking the survival pantry and preparing the first aid kit for any physical ailment. Of course, those things are crucial, but what about your mental health?
Survival situations can be stressful; let’s learn how turning to nature can ease the mind.
Anxiety During Survival Situations
It’s no secret that living through a survival situation probably wouldn’t be the most relaxing or enjoyable experience.
Plus, it’s not likely that typical prescription anxiety meds or weekly therapy appointments will be there to guide us through. Overcoming anxiety without our accustomed treatments would be tricky but essential for survival.
We all know what it’s like to let stress get the best of us. When your actions are coming from a place of anxiety, moodiness, mental fog, and fear, productivity feels almost impossible.
During survival situations, when every choice could be life or death, staying calm and present is vital.
This video has been included to clarify the topic. Credit goes to Erik Richardson D.O.
Natural Stress Relief Remedies
Luckily, nature is here to help! Many plants can be grown, stockpiled, or found in nature to relax the mind and ease anxiety. Keep reading to find out which ones survivalists love most.
Passionflower
With over 500 species throughout nature, passionflower is here to slay stress away. It seems to boost your brain’s gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) level. Since this compound lowers brain activity, passionflower helps you relax (and sleep) better.
Passionflower can reduce stress and soothe insomniacs. The plant also has the potential to help with stomach ulcers and provide antioxidant qualities.
It’s no wonder Native Americans used this precious plant for tons of conditions like wounds, earaches, and boils.
The best way to ease stress with this natural medicine is simply drying it out and adding some to boiling water for an herbal tea.
If you want to stock up, you can find it fresh or prepackaged in tea at many health food stores. Also, watch for liquid tinctures, capsules, or tablets.
Valerian
This next plant is often referred to as “nature’s Valium.” Many people use valerian as a sleep aid supplement due to its calming properties. It’s native to Europe and Asia but grows in other areas, such as the United States and Canada.
People have used this plant as a natural form of medicine since ancient Greece and Rome.
Their roots, rhizomes (underground stems), and stolons (horizontal stems) have long been used in supplements like capsules, tablets, teas, and tinctures. Certain compounds of valerian, called valeric acid and valerenol, can even act on GABA receptors in the body.
In addition to acting on those receptors, valeric acid inhibits an enzyme that destroys GABA. Other compounds in valerian may also interact with receptors of serotonin and adenosine, chemicals that play essential roles in regulating sleep and mood.
Because of this, it may have anti-anxiety and anti-depression qualities, helping to ease anxious feelings that occur in response to stressful scenarios.
Some people have even reported relief from restless leg syndrome, menopausal issues, and menstrual discomfort when using valerian.
Just keep in mind dosing this plant may not be practical or appropriate for everyone with anxiety symptoms. Anyone pregnant or nursing, as well as children under three years old, should avoid valerian.
Chamomile
When you think of natural anxiety relief, calming chamomile tea is probably the first to come to mind. It’s a prevalent herb often used for medicinal purposes by natural medicine doctors.
There are two types of chamomile plants: German chamomile and English chamomile.
This plant has been known as a therapeutic treasure for hundreds of years, if not more. People often use it to calm down, relieve stomach discomfort, help with inflammation, and treat skin conditions.
Modern-day studies have found that chamomile use significantly reduces moderate-to-severe symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder.
There are a few different ways to use chamomile. Most commonly, people prefer drinking it with tea, which you can find prepackaged or easily made at home. Those taking the DIY route should use three tablespoons of dried chamomile, pour hot water on top, then cover it for about ten minutes before sipping.
If you’re not a tea lover, consider getting a chamomile supplement or herbal medicine seeds for your prepper supply. This plant is safe for most people to consume up to a few cups daily.
However, those who are pregnant or suffering from asthma might want to steer clear of it.
Lavender
If you’ve ever bathed in a luscious lavender body wash with the hopes of feeling chill vibes, it should be no surprise that it’s one of nature’s stress relievers.
Lavender has been used since at least the medieval period. It is commonly used in perfumes, soaps, and recipes worldwide. This herbal medicine is renowned for its ability to create a relaxing atmosphere.
One of the incredible qualities of lavender is that it calms without sedation. It reduces anxiety by affecting the body’s fight-or-flight response. Lavender flowers and essential oils have helped reduce restlessness, agitation, disturbed sleep, nervousness, and depression.
Lavender limits anxiety symptoms and eases the mind by lowering heart rate and adrenaline levels, regulating breathing, and improving users’ mood.
Your anxious bodily processes will be regulated and restored to a neutral state. Several ways to gain the plant’s benefits include consuming it orally, growing it in your herbal medicine garden, or using it in essential oil.
Clinical trials suggest the best way to use lavender for effective anxiety treatment is through oral supplements containing lavender essential oil. So, add it to the herbal medicine list and stock up on some for your prepper pantry!
The oil can also be rapidly absorbed when applied to the wrists, behind the ears, and to the nape of the neck for a soothing and relaxing effect.
Lemon Balm
You’ve got to check out this member of the Mint family for instant anxiety relief. Lemon balm is a calming herb used since the Middle Ages. Even before then, it was steeped in wine to lift the spirits, help heal wounds, and treat venomous insect bites and stings.
People have always used lemon balm to reduce stress and anxiety, promote sleep, improve appetite, and ease indigestion discomfort.
Today, lemon balm is often combined with other soothing herbs (like valerian or chamomile) to promote relaxation. It is native to Europe but grows worldwide in crops for medicine and cosmetics.
Supplements and essential oils are made from lemon balm leaves that contain plant material called terpenes. This plant material, in addition to substances called tannins, helps promote the herb’s relaxing and antiviral effects.
Whether drying it up or making an essential oil, this natural medicine for anxiety is essential for any prepper garden.
Bergamot
If you’re looking for a plentiful plant in the USA, bergamot will be an incredible healer. It’s commonly used in essential oils and is the herb used for Earl Grey tea. Bergamot is known for its soothing effect and can help limit anxiety.
Studies have shown that the plant has helped animals and humans improve moods and calm down in stressful situations. It’s commonly associated with promoting positive feelings.
Just note that when applied topically to the skin, it can increase sun sensitivity, so watch out for sunburn!
Place a few drops of bergamot oil onto a cotton ball or handkerchief to apply. Inhale the aroma two or three times to wind down and relieve anxiety. If you’d like to ingest it instead, its zesty flavor can be a delicious addition to dishes and desserts.
Berries
Getting your daily dose of fruit can be an excellent way to ease anxious feelings. Berries, in particular, have plenty of antioxidants that protect cells from stress. Not to mention, they’re plentiful, even during survival situations.
Snacking on sweet strawberries and raspberries can also ease feelings of depression. When stressed and sad, our bodies crave vitamin C to help protect and repair our cells. Blueberries are an excellent survival superfood with plenty of stress-relieving antioxidants.
Ylang Ylang
Anxious preppers must know about the yellow, star-shaped flower that grows on Cananga trees. Ylang Ylang is native to countries surrounding the Indian Ocean, such as India, the Philippines, and parts of Australia.
While they’re rare to grow in the United States, stocking up on oils and supplements is simple.
Research has found that this plant boosts mood, reduces depression, alleviates anxiety, lowers blood pressure, and decreases heart rate.
Not only does it reduce those anxiety symptoms, but Ylang can also be used to treat stomach issues, headaches, and cough. Just be sure to always dilute the plant before using it.
It’s essential to store ylang-ylang properly. Please keep it in an opaque glass container for essential oil in a cool, dark place. Be sure to use and monitor the quality of your oil. It has a long shelf life; however, you should never use one that is expired or smells rancid.
Clary Sage
Those looking for chill vibes with a clean, refreshing scent should seek clary sage. It’s often used as an essential oil extracted from the plant’s leaves and buds, but it can also be used in aromatherapy, skin balm, or tea.
Clary sage is easy to grow in warm weather and high temperatures. It’s also known as “clear eye” and “eye bright” because of its traditional use as an eye treatment. But now, it’s being studied for various other health benefits.
Breathe the scent of clary sage deeply to induce a calm mind. You can also dilute essential oil with water to make a soothing room spray. Check for sensitivity with a patch test before ingesting or applying it to the body.
Kava
Preppers love the precious plant known to produce pleasant sensations and have a calming, relaxing effect on those who use it. Because of Kava’s calming qualities, it’s come to the attention of the medical community as a possible treatment for generalized anxiety disorder.
This plant grows in tropical climates, particularly on the islands of the Pacific Ocean.
Kava has been used as an unregulated herbal treatment for generations. But it was only recently that researchers isolated an active ingredient called “kavain” that affects mood receptors and helps people with anxiety.
Kavain brings on feelings of relaxation and sometimes even euphoria.
This video has been included to clarify the topic. Credit goes to Regenexx
More research is needed to know the full extent of kava’s healing benefits as an alternative to medicine. Right now, it’s available in tea, powder, capsule, and liquid form for your prepper collection.
However you choose to ingest it, kava will provide the user with a relaxed feeling without the side effects of prescription meds.
Anxiety-Relieving Tips and Tricks for Survival
Although there are plenty of plants to help along a survival journey, sometimes they’re needed for other things or just simply unavailable. It’s great to have a few mental health tricks up your sleeve to be your self-soother. Believe it or not, stopping stress can start with a simple breath.
It might seem silly, but deep breathing is one of the most straightforward (yet most effective) ways to ease anxiety. Focusing on your breath draws attention away from racing thoughts or stressful situations and into the body.
If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed during a survival scenario, take some deep breaths and watch your mind clear.
A meditation practice can take deep breathing to the next level. While it looks different for everyone, meditation is typically a form of self-reflection and mindfulness. Taking five or ten minutes of solitude before hunting and gathering is an excellent idea for survival.
Some of the best ways to ease anxiety are staying active and enjoying nature. Since survival scenarios will likely require us to trek through the wilderness anyway, why not use it to improve your mental state?
Being in touch with nature will give you the gift of presence, even in extreme scenarios.
What Helps With Severe Anxiety?
There are numerous methods to manage and alleviate its symptoms. Education about anxiety is a fundamental step in helping individuals recognize triggers and responses.
Mindfulness, relaxation techniques, and correct breathing exercises can help manage immediate symptoms. Dietary adjustments and regular exercise contribute to overall mental well-being.
Assertiveness training and self-esteem building are essential in reducing feelings of anxiety. Cognitive therapy and exposure therapy are proven psychological approaches that help change thinking patterns and reactions to anxiety-provoking situations.
Structured problem-solving can alleviate anxiety associated with specific issues, while medication can be used for immediate relief or ongoing management. Support groups provide a safe environment to share experiences and strategies.
Final Words
Numerous natural remedies for anxiety relief are effective and easily accessible. Various herbs and plants, such as Passionflower, Valeriana, Chamomile, and Lavender, are known for their calming properties.
Passionflower is often used in teas and as a supplement to reduce anxiety symptoms. Valerian root has been utilized for centuries as a sedative and anti-anxiety treatment.
Chamomile, another herb, can be consumed in tea to promote relaxation and reduce anxiety symptoms. Lavender, known for its soothing scent, can alleviate anxiety in aromatherapy.
Another natural remedy is Lemon Balm, a plant in the mint family. It has been used since the Middle Ages to reduce stress and anxiety, promote sleep, improve appetite, and ease pain and discomfort from indigestion.
Similarly, Bergamot, a citrus fruit, has been found to help reduce anxiety levels.
Berries, particularly blueberries and acai berries, are rich in antioxidants, which can help manage stress levels. Ylang Ylang is an essential oil that helps with cheerful emotions and energy.
Clary Sage is another essential oil known for its calming properties and ability to ease nervous tension. Lastly, Kava Kava is a plant native to the South Pacific, which has been shown to have significant anti-anxiety effects.
These natural remedies for anxiety relief naturally provide alternatives to conventional medication, often without the side effects. However, it’s always recommended to consult a healthcare provider before starting any new treatment regimen.
Now that you know the best plants and herbs for reducing anxiety, survival has become much more manageable.
All your bases are covered – when SHTF, your pantry will be stocked, your first aid kit will be complete, and your mental health will be in tip-top shape. Before you go, don’t forget to check out more from Crow Survival for prepper life.
Home page
Back to the top of the page
