Stress

Naturopathic Mental Health Toronto

Stress is an unavoidable part of life and can negatively affect your health in many ways. Initially, stress can make it difficult for you to enjoy healthy emotional balance, concentration, and restful sleep. Stress also challenges your ability to maintain healthy digestive, cardiovascular, reproductive, and immune system health. Chronic unremitting stress is a very real problem that causes changes in the body’s chemistry, altering the balance of hormones in ways that impacts your entire health and wellbeing.

Stress Management: Dr. Guthrie prescribes naturopathic care protocols to improve your coping skills, increase your tolerance to stress and help you regain a sense of calm, clarity, balance and joy in everyday living.

You may also be a candidate for our Stress Management Program.

Anxiety

Occasional worry and situational anxiety is a normal human experience, but for some people anxiety persistently interferes with daily activities such as work, school or sleep. This type of anxiety can disrupt relationships and enjoyment of life, and over time it can lead to health concerns and other problems.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is diagnosed in people with excessive worry and anxiety, which the person finds difficult to control. Other anxiety disorders — such as social anxiety, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) — have more-specific triggers and symptoms. Other people may experience milder forms of anxiety that aren’t diagnosed as a true anxiety disorder, but that still negatively affect quality of life.

  • Uncontrollable worrying
  • Having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom
  • Having an increased heart rate
  • Breathing rapidly (hyperventilation)
  • Sweating
  • Trembling or restlessness
  • Feeling weak or tired
  • Trouble sleeping
  • Trouble concentrating

  • Stress buildup: A big event or a buildup of smaller stressful life situations may trigger excessive anxiety.
  • Illness: Having a health condition or serious illness can cause significant worry about issues such as your treatment and your future.
  • Specific medications and medical conditions
  • Sleep disorders & lack of sleep
  • Substance or alcohol abuse: Drugs and alcohol can cause or worsen anxiety.
  • Genetic factors
  • Childhood trauma

There are no specific tests for anxiety, therefore the diagnosis is made based on a thorough review of your symptoms. Medical questionnaires are often helpful in diagnosing anxiety and in monitoring your treatment. To begin an assessment, click here for a questionnaire. Please bring this completed questionnaire to your initial consultation to review with Dr. Guthrie. (Please note, this questionnaire on its own cannot diagnose anxiety. Please consult with a professional).

The two main conventional treatments for anxiety disorders are psychotherapy and medications. The medications commonly used are anti-anxiety medications (such as benzodiazepines) and anti-depressant medications. Combination approaches are commonly prescribed so that immediate relief is felt from the medication while psychotherapy can give longer term benefit.

The Naturopathic medical approach to treating anxiety is holistic, looking at the many aspects of mental and emotional well-being. Using counseling techniques, herbal medicines, acupuncture and/or nutritional supplements, Dr. Guthrie aims to:

  1. Reduce anxiety, worrying and the associated physical symptoms
  2. Support healthy hormone and neurotransmitter balance
  3. Teach anxiety management techniques, including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and mindfulness
  4. Improve stress management through healthy lifestyle changes
  5. Use nutritional strategies to promote calm mood

Reference: www.mayoclinic.com, Clinical Naturopathy, Elsevier Australia.