Ayurveda Perspective: The Underlying Triggers of Stress and Anxiety

Stress is a common feeling that happens when we are under lot of pressure or unable to cope with something, or we are facing a danger.

When people go through lot of stress, it triggers an anxiety response which is the normal body reaction to stress. People who experience anxiety are uncomfortable, worried, nervous, or fearful of the future.

Anxiety can range from being mild to severe. It may become a disorder when feelings of anxiety are constant. It can affect daily life or cause distress and affect work or interpersonal relationships. If left untreated, it will most likely get worse.

Some symptoms of anxiety may include feeling nervous or worried, having an increased heart rate, breathing rapidly, feeling restless, feeling tired, sweating, having stomach problems, and having trouble concentrating because you are feeling worried.

Visit our "Library Center" section below to find all the information on the possible causes of stress that might be reduced by Ayurvedic Medicine.

Click to learn everything about stress and anxiety and find all the natural solutions to relieve it naturally, including various diet programs, alternative medicine, vitamins, supplements, herbal medicine, and home remedies.

Why Ayurveda helps Relieve Stress and Anxiety

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How Ayurveda works to Relieve Stress

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Ayurvedic Medicine for Stress and Anxiety: Treatment Protocol

Ayurvedic treatment to relieve stress is specifically tailored to each individual’s case and looks at the dominant dosha in their constitution.

However, Ayurvedic stress management generally involves the following aspects:

A- Purvakarma treatments:

Purvakarma, is Sanskrit for “foremost action.” It consists of herbal and oil treatments that loosen the accumulated toxins in the body. Ayurvedic medicine believes these toxins can trigger stress.
Accordingly, purvakarma practices direct these toxins to specific waste and  elimination centers in the body. They help prepare people for Panchakarma (detoxification therapies).
Purvakarma consists of three treatments:

1. Pachana (digestion therapy)

2. Snehana (oleation therapy)

3. Swedana (sudation therapy)

The purvakarma treatments that help relieve stress are:

1- Pachana (digestion therapy): a practice where herbal treatments are administered to the patient. These herbal formulations help the body digest and eliminate toxins. To relieve stress, patients would ingest herbs that restore balance to the vata dosha.

2- Snehana (oleation therapy): a practice where oils, ghee (purified butter), or oils mixed with herbs are consumed internally or applied externally to loosen toxins in the body. It also helps lead the toxins to a particular center in the body, where they can later be expelled via panchakarma therapies.

- Abhyanga (massage therapy): a practice where oils, ghee, or oils infused with herbs are massaged vigorously into the body to loosen the toxins in the body. Abhyanga restores balance to imbalanced doshas. It is also part of dinacharya (daily routine). Abhyanga can also be applied after panchakarma to relieve stress.

b. Shirodhara therapy (external oleation): a practice where patients have a liquid (oil, milk, or water) poured onto their forehead. It is also accompanied by a head, body, or scalp massage. This practice soothes the mind and body and decreases stress.

B- Panchakarma treatments:

Panchakarma, which is Sanskrit for “five treatments,” is a five-step detox program in Ayurveda. These treatments help detoxify the body and restore balance to the vata, pitta, and kapha doshas. The five treatments are:

1. Vamana (medicated emesis)

2. Virechana (medicated purgation)

3. Vasti (medicated enema)

4. Nasya (nasal medication)

5. Raktamokshan (bloodletting)

An Ayurvedic practitioner would manage stress using the following Panchakarma treatments:

Nasya (nasal medication): a practice where oils are administered through the nose. It helps restore balance to the vata dosha, which relieves stress. It soothes the mind and helps prana (life force energy) flow through our body properly, keeping the body balanced and healthy.

C- Rasayana (Rejuvenation treatments):

In Ayurveda, rasayana, which is Sanskrit for “path of essence,” consists of practices that help rejuvenate and nourish the mind and body. Rasayana practices include consuming herbal treatments or decoctions and maintaining a healthy and balanced diet. They also incorporate exercise, yoga, and a regular self-care routine (dinacharya) to maintain balance in all aspects of life.

1- Dietary modifications:

The Ayurvedic diet aims to balance all three life energies or doshas in the mind and body. Patients should maintain a diet that restores balance to the vata (movement) dosha in the mind and nervous system to manage stress and anxiety.

To balance the vata dosha, an Ayurvedic diet will often include foods that contain less oil to increase the kapha and pitta doshas in your body. It will also exclude sweet foods and sour fruits that aggravate or increase the vata dosha.

An Ayurvedic diet also prescribes eating specific foods as part of Purvakarma (preparatory treatments) before Panchakarma (detoxification therapies) to help loosen the accumulated toxins in different areas in the body that cause stress and anxiety.

Patients should maintain the Ayurvedic diet even after they complete Purvakarma and Panchakarma therapies.

2- Herbal Treatments:

Ayurveda prescribes herbs or herbal treatments to manage stress and anxiety. The treatments are specifically tailored to the person’s symptoms. Practitioners prescribe different herbs depending on the person’s symptoms.

Some of these herbs include:

- Tulsi (Holy Basil): an herb that helps the body react better to stress and lowers anxiety levels.

- Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera): an herb that helps balance the mind’s vata dosha . It is the energy responsible for the movement of thoughts and feelings in the mind. By restoring balance to the vata dosha, Ashwagandha helps lower stress levels.

- Shankapushpi (Convolvulus prostratus): an herb that has anti-stress and anti-anxiety properties.

- Jatamansi (Spikenard): an herb that has anti-stress properties and helps the body eliminate toxins. It also helps get rid of the mind’s prana (energy) blockages.

- Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri): an herb that reduces the body’s cortisol levels and helps the nervous system calm down

- Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica): an herb that helps reduce feelings of anxiety and stress.

- Triphala: an herbal treatment consisting of three different fruits, amalaki, bibhitaki, and haritaki. They help cleanse the gut and eliminate toxins from the body. This helps prevent stress that might be caused by indigestion.

- Amla (Indian gooseberry): an herb that helps the body better react to stress. It also helps reduce inflammation, which might imbalance the doshas and trigger stress in the body.

3- Dinacharya (Routine):

Dinacharya or establishing a routine is one aspect of rasayana that helps relieve stress and restores balance to the body and the mind.

It includes:

1- Adjusting dietary habits: Patients should eat foods at regular times. They should also eat healthy foods that help restore balance to the vata dosha (energy of movement).

2- Regulating sleeping habits: Patients need to adjust their sleeping habits and begin sleeping at regular times every night. Routine helps stabilize vata energy.

3- Exercising regularly: Engage in physical activity every day at regular times to stabilize all the doshas.

4- Practicing yoga: Patients should practice at least 10 minutes of yoga every day to relieve stress and stabilize the vata dosha.

5- Practicing breathing techniques: Patients should practice breathing techniques or pranayama every day. Pranayama helps decrease stress levels because it helps release prana (energy) blockages in the mind and restore balance to the vata dosha.

6- Practicing meditation: Patients should practice meditation for at least 20 minutes every day to manage stress levels and relax the body.

7- Massaging yourself: Patients should massage themselves every day to help vata (the energy of movement) move throughout the body and relieve stress.

Ayurvedic Medicine for Stress Management: recommendations

- Eat meals regularly: Eating three meals a day strengthens agni (digestive fire) and improves digestion, which relieves any stress related to digestion. Eating well also boosts mood and energy levels and prevents toxins from building up in the body, which reduces stress and anxiety.

- Exercise regularly: Engage in physical activity every day to relieve stress.

- Sleep well: Maintain a regular sleep schedule and get at least 7 hours of sleep to reduce stress.

- Practice yoga: Practice at least 10 minutes of yoga, including pranayama or breathing exercises, every day. Try to go through the postures slowly and focus on sitting still to cultivate inner peace.

- Practice activities that increase mindfulness: Practice meditation for at least 20 minutes every day to manage stress levels.

- Give yourself an oil massage: Give yourself a massage using a warm oil every day to soothe the nervous system. Use a warm oil like sesame oil to help excess vata (the energy of movement) move throughout the body and relieve stress.

Foods to eat:

According to Ayurveda, all foods possess certain gunas (qualities). The gunas in the foods are transferred into energies that influence the balance of the doshas in the body.

Stressed people should consume foods that possess heavy, warm, and less oily gunas (qualities) that increase the kapha (structure and lubrication) and pitta (digestion and metabolism) doshas (energies) to balance out the vata (movement) dosha (energy).

These foods include:

• Fruits: sweet fruits such as bananas, figs, mangoes, and coconut

• Vegetables: green beans, carrots, and sweet potatoes

• Dairy products: ghee, yogurt, and milk

• Protein: eggs, fish, seafood, and chicken

• Grains: whole wheat products and oats (cooked)

Herbs to use:

The following herbs protect against stress and eliminate toxins in the body.

- Tulsi (Holy Basil): an herb that helps the body react better to stress and lowers anxiety levels.

- Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera): an herb that helps balance the mind’s vata dosha . It is the energy responsible for the movement of thoughts and feelings in the mind. By restoring balance to the vata dosha, Ashwagandha helps lower stress levels.

- Shankapushpi (Convolvulus prostratus): an herb that has anti-stress and anti-anxiety properties.

- Jatamansi (Spikenard): an herb that has anti-stress properties and helps the body eliminate toxins. It also helps get rid of the mind’s prana (energy) blockages.

- Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri): an herb that reduces the body’s cortisol levels and helps the nervous system calm down.

- Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica): a herb that helps reduce feelings of anxiety and stress.

- Triphala: an herbal treatment consisting of three different fruits, amalaki, bibhitaki, and haritaki. They help cleanse the gut and eliminate toxins from the body. This helps prevent stress that might be caused by indigestion.

- Amla (Indian gooseberry): an herb that helps the body better react to stress. It also helps reduce inflammation, which might imbalance the doshas and trigger stress in the body.

Ayurvedic Medicine for Stress: things to avoid

- Don’t skip meals: Skipping meals makes it harder to establish a routine. Having no schedule increases chaotic vata energy, which may increase stress levels. Skipping meals also weakens agni (digestive fire) and causes toxins to build up in the body, which may trigger stress.

- Avoid drinking coffee and tea: these drinks aggravate the vata dosha (the energy of movement) and cause a vata imbalance, which may lead to stress. Coffee and tea contain caffeine, a natural stimulant that increases the levels of cortisol (a stress hormone) in the body.

- Avoid or limit alcohol consumption: alcohol has a drying effect on the body and may increase vata (the energy of movement) which also dries out the body. Drinking alcohol can also decrease sattva or “purity of mind,” which can increase feelings of fear and worry and cause stress.

- Avoid soft drinks: these drinks contain high amounts of sugar and can overstimulate the nervous system. Soft drinks also cause the doshas to become imbalanced, which may cause stress.

- Stop smoking: Nicotine stimulates the nervous system and may lead to increased feelings of anxiety and stress because it constricts the blood vessels, increases blood pressure, and causes the heart to pump faster.

Foods to avoid:

According to Ayurveda, stressed people should avoid foods that overstimulate and increase vata (the energy of movement) in the body.

These foods include:

• Fruits: sour fruits such as apples, pomegranates, and dried fruits

• Vegetables: Lettuce, potatoes, tomatoes, and raw onions

• Grains: Buckwheat, barley, and corn

• Sugary foods and sweets

• Oily and fatty foods

Ayurveda for Stress Management: precautions

Ayurveda uses natural and herbal remedies to treat diseases. However, if you want to use Ayurvedic medicines, herbs, supplements to treat a particular condition, you should consider the following precautions:

- Consult your Ayurvedic practitioner before taking Ayurvedic products on your own. Let them know if you have diabetes or are taking medication that may affect your treatment plan. They should adjust it to avoid any harmful interactions with the medication you are taking.

- Some Ayurvedic products and practices are banned in the United States. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not approve or review Ayurvedic products. Some herbal compounds or preparations may contain lead, mercury, or arsenic in toxic amounts.

They can cause serious illnesses in children and may be life-threatening for pregnant or lactating women and their babies. Other compounds from untrustworthy manufacturers may contain steroids, which may cause further health issues.

- Some Purvakarma or Panchakarma treatments aren’t suitable for all patients. Eligibility for panchakarma is determined by an Ayurvedic practitioner.

People who are classified as having “weak” or lean and thin bodies aren’t eligible for some panchakarma treatments. People who are anemic and pregnant women also aren’t allowed to undergo panchakarma treatments.

WARNING:

- Make sure to disclose to your primary care physician that you are seeing an Ayurvedic practitioner and are taking Ayurvedic formulations. This ensures you stay safe and avoid medication interactions that might cause serious side effects.

- If you are taking medication for diabetes, don’t stop taking them if you begin Ayurvedic treatment unless your doctor approves it.

- Some Ayurvedic practitioners may not be qualified to treat you. Make sure that your Ayurvedic practitioner is well-trained, certified, and has the relevant experience to meet your needs.

- Be careful when buying Ayurvedic herbs or formulas. Don’t buy Ayurvedic products unless they have a GMP (Good Manufacturing Product) stamp on them if you are buying them from India. Be extra careful when purchasing herbs online because online stores may be selling counterfeit products.

Ayurveda for Stress Management: side effects

Since Ayurvedic treatments are derived from natural herbs and plants, most treatments do not cause adverse events. However, if you take some Ayurvedic preparations or herbs, you may experience the following side effects.

- Some Ayurvedic products contain toxic amounts of heavy metals like lead, arsenic, or mercury, and they might cause heavy metal poisoning.

- Some Ayurvedic herbal formulations might cause headaches, nausea, gastrointestinal problems, diarrhea, rashes, or allergic reactions.