Anxiety affects 40 million adults in the United States (1). That?s 18% of the population, making it the most common mental illness. Anti-anxiety drugs have become more and more common, but new research out states that taking certain types of anti-anxiety pills for over six months put patients at a huge risk for dementia. However, there are other options.
About 36 million people around the globe struggle with dementia. Until now, its causes have remained a mystery. But recently, studies have found that patients who take Benzodiazepine drugs for more than three to six months are 84% more likely to get Alzheimer?s disease (2). Benzodiazepine drugs are any drugs that help relieve anxiety in some way. These include brands like Xanax, Librium, Klonopin, Tranxene, Valium, Prosom, Dalmane, Ativan, Versed, Sera, Restoril, Halcyon, and Doral (3).
If you want to steer clear of Alzheimer?s disease it may be time to reconsider your options, especially if you have been taking anti-anxiety medication for over six months. Quitting cold turkey obviously isn?t a good choice, since the anxiety will still be there when you quit. Nevere ever quit anti anxiety drug without doctor?s supervision! Switching to a different brand or type of medication also doesn?t serve any favors, since they all have dangerous side effects. So how is it possible to get rid of the anxiety and the pills? My answer is to find out what actually causes the anxiety and address that issue.
Most anti-anxiety drugs work as GABA receptor agonists. They work like neurotransmitter GABA. What this means is that the drug works as of there is an increase of the amount of GABA?which is the neurotransmitter in the nervous system in charge of the excitability of neurons. When GABA receptor stimulation increases, it sends out relaxing, stress-free feelings of well-being. This should happen naturally, but anxiety doesn?t allow it to happen. So let?s back up a bit. Why would someone have anxiety so bad it needs to be treated with chemicals?
Two Major Causes of Anxiety Issues
1. A Lack of Nutrients to Make GABA
Oftentimes, patients with anxiety are lacking one of two essential nutrients: B-6 and magnesium. A B-6 deficiency happens because of a bacteria overgrowth in the gut. The bacteria doesn?t allow the body to absorb the vitamin.
Magnesium deficiency is caused mostly by soil exhaustion and quality of food. Magnesium has 300 functions in the body, so it is vital to keep levels up. Patients should strive for the optimal level of magnesium, not just what is needed to survive. 50% of patients who come into my office with heart arrhythmia have low magnesium. There is also speculation that sudden death syndrome is caused by a lack of magnesium.
2. Toxins in the Body Blocking the Adrenaline
The most problematic toxin we face today is mercury. We get mercury from amalgams, vaccins, and large fish like tuna, mackerel and sea bass (4). Even celebrities have issues with mercury poisoning. When actress Hillary Swank was making the movie ?Million Dollar Baby,? she strayed from her vegetarian diet in order to gain muscle for the role. She started eating great amounts of fish. Then she got very sick. She was diagnosed with mercury poisoning because of the fish and had to switch to a more rounded diet with different kinds of meat (5).
What exactly is the big deal with mercury? It stops adrenaline breakdown by blocking the enzyme catechol-O-methyltransferase, or COMT. In other words, we create adrenaline and the mercury doesn?t let it leave the body, causing deadly anxiety. Patients with mercury poisoning are usually easy to spot. They get weak fast, anger easily, get frustrated quickly, offended often, are mentally unstable and have fast-moving eyes. Mercury toxicity description is even present in the book ?Alice in Wonderland.? The mad hatter character was based off of a typical hatter of the time, who would have been surrounded by mercury (5). Hats were typically made from wool felt. The wool was soaked in mercury salts. Hatters were exposed to huge amounts of mercury, and that?s why the hatter was portrayed with symptoms of mercury poisoning.
Natural Solutions for Anxiety
When attempting a healthy balance for the body, there are always two things to do: give the body what it needs, and get rid of what it doesn?t need. This seems overly simple, but it?s completely true. The body needs nutrients to keep functioning well. What it doesn?t need are toxins.
The only way to deal with anxiety without relying on dangerous pills for the rest of your life is to find the root cause of the issue. Anxiety doesn?t just come out of nowhere; it has to have an original source. This could come from a number of things. We already discussed the two biggest culprits: nutrient deficiency and toxicity. Anxiety could also be a result of:
A hormonal imbalance
Heart arrhythmia (which is a lethal heart condition)
Tumors like the adrenal tumor pheochromocytoma
Inflammation or infection
Neurotransmitter deficiencies/imbalances
Lack of quality sleep
Chronic stress
Lyme disease
Anxiety seems like a simple enough condition to get treated for. But instead of just seeing a psychiatrist to get drugs, I urge you to check in with a physician so that all of the possibilities can be tested for. Keep in mind that anxiety could be the symptom of a life threatening condition. Imagine if you were taking anti-anxiety drugs when the real problem was heart arrhythmia!
Taking Anxiety Into Your Own Hands
Make sure you are getting enough quality vitamins, minerals and natural food. I usually recommend a paleolithic diet that eliminates processed food and gluten (however, talk to your doctor about what?s best for you).
Find a qualified physician you can trust. They can do neurotransmitter testing in the brain and find out what?s missing or what?s extra.
Ask a physician test for magnesium levels, bacterial overgrowth, and parasites.
Keep in mind that no matter what you do to treat the anxiety, if the body doesn?t have enough magnesium then it will create anxiety.
Don?t let anxiety or dangerous drugs rule your life. Finding the root cause may take a little more time than popping a pill, but when you face dementia, life-threatening conditions, or horrible chronic anxiety, that extra effort is worth all the time in the world.
http://www.adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics
http://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g5205
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1088781-anti-anxiety-drugs-and-risk-of-alzheimers-disease/
http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/guide.asp
http://www.sify.com/movies/swank-s-diet-for-million-dollar-baby-caused-her-mercury-poisoning-news-hollywood-lbeqaeghaee.html
http://www.cas.org/news/insights/science-connections/mad-hatter