Nervousness: the solutions proposed by natural medicine

Whether you be student, athlete, artist or…doctor, no one is protected from this particular form of emotionalism. Nervousness can become an anxiety attack: throat and stomach in knots, a feeling of suffocation, shivers with shaking legs, sweating, heart beating quickly and loudly, red face with scarlet ears, nausea and vomiting (this was the case with Jacques Brel before each concert.)

In extreme cases (exams, sporting competitions), nervousness provokes excessive feverishness, difficulty concentrating, sometimes with the famous ‘black hole,’ the loss of all one’s abilities (including the ability to pronounce a coherent sentence), and can even leave a lasting imprint.

Dietary Advice

• Your breakfast should be consistent, containing fruits or orange juice, goat or sheep cheese, and grain products such as cereals. This is a measure to prevent the sudden exhaustion which can come around 11 o’clock, which is in fact due to hypoglycemia.

• Lunch and diner should be digested, avoiding overly copious dishes, which are dreadful for vigilance and concentration.

• Don’t hesitate to consume Perilla oil, which is rich in Omega 3 and gamma-tocopherol, to make the membranes of the nerve cells more permeable.

• Wheat germs: obtained by soaking the grain in water letting it germinate for two days. The germ constitutes the living part of the plant and gives two times as much calcium, three times as much magnesium and phosphorus, and much more vitamin B, C, D and E than cooked wheat. It is also available a pharmacies and health food stores in the form of oil.

• Lecithin: Because of its richness in phosphorus and amino acids which are precursors to the neurotransmitters of the brain, lecithin plays a role in regulating nerve problems. You find it especially in egg yolks, nuts, soy, or in oils made from carthamus plants, colza or flax.

Homeopathy

• Argentium nitricum, Gelsenium: take 4 granules 2 to 3 times a day of one of these too remedies in 9 or 15 CH, away from meals. Take it for a week before the exam/challenge. Then take 10 granules the morning of the ordeal. Repeat this when needed.

Bach Flowers

• Rescue Remedy is the most current anti-stress remedy. For other floral elixirs, it is best to consult a specialist who will determine your ‘profile.’

Phytotherapy

• Hawthorne, passionflower: buy a small bottle of 125 ml. of mother tincture. Take 40 drops twice, of one or the other.

• You can also help yourself with Euphytose (in pill or drinkable form), which contains, among other ingredients: hawthorne, holm-oak acorn, kola, passionflower, valerian. Take two to six pills a day or one teaspoon in a little water three times a day.

The Oligo-element of nervousness

• Magnesium: the supply of this oligo-element is usually contributed by diet: citrus, bananas, whole grains, cacao, crustaceans and fatty fish, escargot, figs, hard cheeses, dried fruits, almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, vegetables (spinach, green and dried beans, corn, split peas, soy…) whole bread…

• When there is a deficiency, it can perhaps be administered through medicine, Bio Mag (found in pharmacies). Take 1 to 2 pills a day.

  Complexes

• Bioptimum “stress” from the Borion Laboratories. Take two pills after breakfast and dinner.

• Borifarm number 3 which contains, among other indredients, Gelsemium 3 DH, Ignatia 3 DH, and Passiflora 3 DH. Take four granules to suck 2 to 3 times a day, and take one 30 minutes before the ordeal.

• An Shen Bu: the anti-stress medicine from Chinese traditions medicine.

Non-Medicine based Methods

Especially for a programmed event, you can do several things before the day of the event:

• Acupuncture: it’s neuro-sedative and re-equilibrating action is very useful and much appreciated.

• Relaxation methods: Qi Gong, sophrology, tai chi or yoga are essential methods for learning how to master the emotions, control muscular tension, diminish, channel and suppress the consequences of nervousness.

Nervousness before an exam or test: Augment the supply of complex carbohydrates by eating fresh and dried fruits, bread, pasta, rice, and potatoes.

• Augment the supply of foods rich in vitamin B1. This vitamin is present in the skins of grains (wheat germ, oats), legumes (beans, lentils, peas…) brewer’s and baker’s yeast, whole grain bread, fish and fowl.

• Coffee and tea are authorized for their psycho-stimulating effects, but beware of insomnia if they are over-consumed. A lack of sleep often causes a mental breakdown.

• Pay attention to alcohol and tobacco which excite and trouble the memory.

• Take one dose of Gelsemium 15 CH the night before the ordeal, and one dose an hour before.

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