Last Saturday I did my first book talk/signing at my local library. I was a little bit nervous since I'm not great at speaking in front of crowds. It was a rainy day here on Eastern Long Island so I wasn't sure how many people would even show up. But they did and almost every chair was taken.
I had decided to read half of the first chapter of my new book Death Drops: A Natural Remedies Mystery. When the head librarian introduced me I felt anxious but once I started reading I felt fine. I even felt good when I answered questions from the audience. I think it was because I felt grounded by my writing and everything else flowed from that.
It seems that I have outgrown the anxiety that I've had most of my life to some degree. Anxiety is fear and it can happen when you’re stressed and the “flight or fight” mechanism is triggered or by fear of the people, places and things. Anxiety can cause shortness of breath, heart palpitations, chest tightness, trembling, sweating, dizziness, numbness, shaking, and muscular tension. If you are anxious these natural remedies can help you:
Relaxing Herbs: Choose nervine mineral rich herbal teas such as California poppy, catnip, chamomile, hops, lemon balm, oatstraw and passionflower. Drink 3 cups daily. Or you can put 4 drops of hops or valerian tincture in water and sip. Kava Kava can help too. A study in the German medical journal Arzneimittel Forschung in 1991 showed that this herb significantly reduced anxiety levels. Take 100 mg. 3 times daily.
Relaxing Vitamins: Taking calcium (1000 mg) and magnesium (500 mg) can also help ease anxiety. So can taking a good B complex vitamin (50 mg). GABA (gamma aminobutric acid), helps protect the brain from excitory messages so one is less likely to feel overwhelmed. 250 mg. can be taken up to three times daily. 5-HTP (5- hydroxytrytophan) is a precursor to serotonin, which has a calming effect and effective against anxiety. No more than 50 mg. twice daily.
Relaxing Flower Essences: Have Rescue Remedy with you wherever you go. You can use a tincture, pastilles or spray. It really helps take the edge off.
Relaxing Aromatherapy: My next book Scent to Kill features aromatherapy. It’s a wonderful way to calm down. Take ten deep inhalations from an opened bottle of pure essential oils to change neural pathways in a moment. The brain is in very close proximity to the nasal passages. Inhale the anxiety relieving essential oils of basil, bergamot, cedarwood, chamomile, cypress, geranium, jasmine, juniper, lavender, marjoram, melissa, neroli, petigrain, rose, rosemary, or ylang ylang. You can find these in your health food store.
I hope this was helpful. If you continue to have anxiety please see your doctor. For more information about Death Drops: A Natural Remedies Mystery please visit www.chrystlefiedler.com
6 comments:
One of the things that happens to me when I get stressed is I just lose energy, you know? I mentioned that to a friend. She said a good multi-vitamin would help. So I'm looking into that. Thanks for the great post!
Chrystle, everyone in the UK uses Rescue Remedy. They carry it around there like we do Advil!
Great advice. I will begin doing book signings in about a month. I already feel anxious when I think about it.
Thanks for reminding me about resuce remedy!
I'd never heard of Rescue Remedy before, or your other suggestions, Chrystle. I'll have to look for Rescue Remedy, at least, and maybe others, too. Thanks for the advice!
Joanna - I am in love with the UK! I have visited twice.
Rescue Remedy is a great place to start!
I also try to follow Eckhart Tolle's advice (the author of the Power of Now) and try to stay in the present moment most of the time. That helps too!
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