Due to many of the recent scares and deaths caused by prescription drugs, many people opt to go with alternative medicines instead.
Most are proven safe and effective to use, but you should check first with your doctor, as some herbs can interact with others, or ingredients in the prescriptions medicines you may already be taking.
Currently there are many alternative medicines on the market to treat a variety of mental and physical health problems.
They have been used more commonly in recent years to treat many anxiety disorders and depression.
Some people also use alternative medicines to help eliminate their chronic fatigue, pain, and headaches.
Valerian root is often used to treat anxiety disorders.
It acts as a sedative, calming the nerves, reducing headaches, and helping insomnia sufferers get some sleep.
In a recent thirty day trial, valerian root was proven effective for treating mild anxiety disorders, and lessening many of the systems caused by them.
Everyone today is probably familiar or has heard of St.
Johns Wort.
It has been proven to help depression sufferers for a long time now.
It helps to control the chemicals in the brain responsible for mood, such as Dopamine, GABA, and Serotonin.
Beginning in 1972, 5-HTP was used in clinical trials for treating depression.
There were very few reported negative side effects, and more than half the patients reported improvement within the first two weeks of beginning treatment.
Since then, there have been numerous clinical studies done, all with promising results.
In many other countries, including Scandinavia and Europe, Rhodiola Rosea has been proven an effective way to help the body become better able to deal with physical and emotional stress.
It has been shown to help lessen anxiety, increase mood, and combat fatigue.
An added benefit to this drug is that is also helps to improve memory and helps improve ones ability to focus on daily tasks Bacopa has been used to treat anxiety and stress for quite some time now.
During clinical trials, it has shown to be effective for treating many of the symptoms that accompany anxiety and depression, such as fatigue, headaches, and insomnia.
Bacopa also has been proven to be an effective memory booster, helping users to not only learn more at a faster pace, but to retain more of what they learn.
In recent years, researchers have been doing a lot of work trying to uncover all of the medical benefits offered by ginseng.
So far, these studies have shown that people who suffer from social anxiety disorder had improvement after only four weeks of therapy.
They are still studying all ginseng has to offer as far as mental health is concerned, but we know that it is effective in treating one anxiety disorder, and probably others as well.
Ginseng is also believed to help improve learning ability, and memory.
One study also indicated that it could possibly be an effective way to treat attention deficit disorder in children.
Adding supplements of vitamin B can greatly improve your overall mental status.
Oftentimes, not getting enough vitamin B can cause the same symptoms as anxiety and depression, masking the deficiency as another disorder altogether.
Vitamin B plays a key role in balancing the chemicals in the brain responsible for handling stress and anxiety.
We now know that depression can be caused by a zinc deficiency in the body.
There are clinical trials going on right now to try to confirm the role that zinc plays in treating depression.
It looks like zinc may be a safe, effective alternative to taking prescription medicine for depression, but more work still needs to be done to prove the theory.
Like many of the other natural medicines mentioned, zinc may also help combat ADHD in children, but it is still in the trial phase, with no conclusive results as of yet.
So, check with your doctor and see if one of these alternative medicines might help you.
You should work closely with your doctor in trying to find the best treatment to meet your own individual needs.
If you are not happy taking prescription medicines to control your anxiety and depression, tell your physician that you want to discuss some other options.