A Naturopathic Doctor’s Approach to Anxiety

Naturopathic medicine offers an individualized approach to anxiety. Anxiety affects at least 1 in 10 people in Canada (1), but each person's experience and story with anxiety is slightly different.

As with many mental health concerns, anxiety is a multifactorial condition that ranges in severity. Symptoms of anxiety can include excessive worrying, irritability and difficulty concentrating, physical symptoms of muscle tension and racing heart, as well as insomnia and panic attacks that greatly affect quality of life.

As a naturopath, I emphasize the importance of understanding the causative factors of each person’s anxiety. Treatments for anxiety are targeted at the underlying cause in order to create sustainable change. Because these changes can take time, managing symptoms is also essential.

So how do we understand the underlying causes of anxiety? Using a thorough health history, relevant physical examinations, and lab testing, can help decipher what contributing factors are present in each person’s anxiety.

Contributing factors to anxiety may include:

• Emotional trauma

• Thought patterns

• Hormonal imbalances

• Intestinal dysbiosis

• Intestinal inflammation

• Neurotransmitter imbalances

• Nutrient deficiencies

Once we have a better understanding of the underlying factors, naturopathic doctors like to use a least to most invasive treatment approach depending on the severity of symptoms and how long someone has been struggling with anxiety.

Tools for anxiety in a least to most invasive order include:

• Lifestyle modifications

• Emotional counselling

• Dietary recommendations

• Nutritional supplementation

• Herbal medicine

• Medications

A little known fact about naturopathic doctors is that many of us maintain pharmaceutical prescribing rights, meaning we have the ability to prescribe medications. Because naturopathic doctors emphasize an evidence-based approach, sometimes this means including medications as part of a treatment plan if they are the most effective option for a person. However, we also look to alternatives methods when appropriate or preferred.

Along with an evidence-based approach, naturopaths also emphasize an integrative model for mental health concerns such as anxiety. For example, counsellors are an important part of a healthcare team when it comes to mental health. Additionally, we prefer to have an open dialogue with a person’s medical doctor or psychiatrist, especially if medications are involved that are outside the scope of the naturopathic doctor. In these situations, we are able to provide adjunctive care including managing side effects of medications. My goal is to ensure each person as the appropriate resources to navigate their concerns.

My approach is empathetic, individualized, and evidence-based with the intention to create sustainable change so you can lead a healthier, fulfilling life.

References:

1. Government of Canada (2015). Mood and anxiety disorders in Canada. Retrieved from: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/diseases-conditions/mood-anxiety-disorders-canada.html