Many patients seek alternatives and/or complementary care to conventional anxiety treatments. To date, no study has evaluated the potential of a naturopathic treatment protocol to effectively treat anxiety. Knowledge of the efficacy, safety or risk of natural health products, and naturopathic treatments is important for physicians and the public in order to make informed decisions.
This alternative medical system of care employs the use of many CAM therapies including acupuncture, herbal medicine, osteopathy, nutrition, homeopathy, and lifestyle counseling in a combined manner to address the underlying cause of disease.
Behavioral interventions such as diaphragmatic breathing have been shown to reduce anxiety levels and improve coping capability in stressful situations. Therapies identifying negative stress coping patterns and replacing them with positive outlets are effective means of controlling and treating anxiety.
According to one study, significant differences between groups were also observed in mental health, concentration, fatigue, social functioning, vitality, and overall quality of life with the naturopathic care group exhibiting greater clinical benefit. No serious adverse reactions were observed in either group.
in conclusion of the study, Naturopathic treatment including Withania somnifera, a multi vitamin, dietary counseling and cognitive-behavioral therapy appears to be a safe and effective, with benefit over standardized psychotherapy in the treatment of mild to severe generalized anxiety in the Canada Post worker population. Future research is required to examine effects of the individual components of treatments as well as the nature of the therapeutic relationship in mental health disorders like anxiety
reference:
Cooley, K., Szczurko, O., Perri, D., Mills, E. J., Bernhardt, B., Zhou, Q., & Seely, D. (2009). Naturopathic Care for Anxiety: A Randomized Controlled Trial ISRCTN78958974. PLoS ONE,4(8). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0006628