Antidepressants and benzodiazepines are often recommended for the treatment of a variety of mental health disorders. From major depressive disorder to bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder, antidepressants and benzodiazepines are prescribed to manage the symptoms of them all.
As efficient as they are in what they do, they have a massive number of side effects. When consumed for a long time, they can harm your liver and digestive system. Thus, if you wish to take care of yourself physically, too, you need to look for alternatives to antidepressants and benzodiazepines.
The following is a list of a few natural alternatives that can help you ditch such allopathic medicines and stay on a healthier track:
Increase Physical Activity
The first thing that you need to do to get things in order is to increase your physical activity. Needless to say, a lazy lifestyle with minimal physical activity is often the cause of stress and anxiety you experience persistently.
Regular exercise can help increase the number of endorphins in your bloodstream, which will naturally alleviate stress, boost your energy, and uplift your mood. All you need to do is take out a few minutes from your day and hit the gym or a nearby park for a walk.
Herbs and Plants
Several herbs and plants come with natural healing properties and it is mainly the reason they work well for stress and anxiety relief. The best part of the story is that they have minimal to no side effects, which makes them a better option compared to allopathic medicines.
Saffron, passionflower, ashwagandha, dried mushrooms, and lavender are a few examples of herbs and plants that are loaded with natural stress-relieving properties. I personally go for shroom chocolate bars as they’re the easiest to consume while other herbs like passionflower or ashwagandha may be a little trickier to manage.
Meditation
Meditation is a renowned healing method that can promote your physical, mental, and spiritual health, all at once. Meditation is the best alternative to all stress-relieving drugs and even therapy.
It puts your cognitive abilities in order and helps you shift your focus on the present rather than living in the past or the future. As you know, most of your worries come from overthinking the events that happened in the past or those that are yet to happen in the future.
Meditation is the best teacher in this particular case as it teaches you to live in the moment, something which naturally keeps your worries and fears away.
A Protein-Rich Diet
Whatever medicine you take or exercise you do, nothing is going to help you if you don’t take care of your diet. A protein-rich diet is what you need to stay on the healthier track both mentally and physically.
For this, I suggest you stop hoarding junk food and switch to fresh vegetables and fruits instead. Add more proteins, vitamins, and minerals to your diet right away. You can do that by adding lean meat, eggs, fish, and dairy products to your diet.
A Healthy Sleep Cycle
Insomnia is one of the primary concerns for anyone going through persistent stress and anxiety. Therefore, you must be mindful of when you sleep, when you wake up, and how much you sleep.
As mentioned by the Sleep Foundation, one needs to sleep for at least 7-8 hours in order to function healthily throughout the day. Thus, you must ensure that you sleep for the given time. Cut back on naps you take throughout the day, sleep early at night, and make sure to wake up at the same time in the morning. It will regulate your sleep.
Pretty simple, eh? Finding something is not hard if you’re dedicated to it. It’s time you switch to an organic lifestyle if you wish to keep your health in a topnotch condition while remaining clear of stress and anxiety. I hope you get well soon, my pals!