Amethyst Sage Holistic Herbals

We all experience some form of anxiety at various points in our lives and it’s all part of our built in ‘fight or flight’ response. We can experience anxiety, for example, when starting a new position, taking exams or presenting to a large audience, but when anxiety rises to such a level that day to day life becomes a real struggle, then help is needed.

I had one client whose anxiety levels were having a major impact on their life, so much so that they ended up being signed off work. On the GAD-7 (General Anxiety Disorder Scoring mechanism) scale they had a score of 16, which indicated severe anxiety. For my client their anxiety manifested in a number of ways –

•They easily became overwhelmed by the simplest of tasks

•They found it hard to concentrate

•They were irritable and experienced frequent emotional outbursts, especially with those close to them

•They were constantly restless and on edge, they found it hard to relax

•Their mind was in constant worry mode, always overthinking things and thinking worse case scenarios all the time – it took my client days to even pluck up the courage to fill their car up with petrol as they constantly worried that there would be long queues, they wouldn’t get in anywhere, they would have a crash. Their constant worrying was exhausting

•They couldn’t sleep properly, often waking up in the night with thoughts running through their mind

•They had low self-esteem and lacked confidence

•They constantly put off doing things

•They would get themselves worked up into such a state going to work that by the time they got there they were almost in tears

It didn’t help that my client was also experiencing depression at the same time, which resulted in their GP just prescribing anti-depressants and putting them on a long waiting list for therapy. My client knew that anti-depressants were not the answer and that is when they turned to me for help. As well as looking at what herbal preparations and lifestyle changes could support them – in this case nervine relaxants such as lemon balm, passionflower & lavender were useful plus a personalised blend of Bach Flower Remedies – we also worked on where their anxiety was stemming from.

Working with me, my client was able to take a step back and look at the bigger picture of what was going on. They had experienced a lot of change during the previous year including having to move home, the company they worked for going into liquidation and then being sold, their Mum passing away, as well as living through a global pandemic. And on top of all these things they were also going through the biggest change in themselves, the Menopause.

With my help and support, along with personalised herbal preparations, yoga, taking up a new interest, my client took control of their anxiety and also took control of their menopause, which we established was at the root cause. I touch base with my client every now and then to see how they are getting on and they are now in different place to when I first met them. They are worrying less, sleeping so much better, work life has improved, their confidence has increased, and they are stepping out of their comfort zone. Their GAD-7 score is now below 5. They still have the odd worry, but they are now able to put things into perspective and now file their worries away.

Anxiety when it takes hold can be debilitating, and as with other invisible illnesses you can appear totally normal on the outside, but on the inside you are a wreck. This is why it is so important that we continue to raise awareness of mental health and invisible illnesses such as anxiety & depression.