Anxiety is an completely natural phenomenon, and as long as it only occurs occasionally, it is nothing to really worry about. In fact, it would be both unusual and a bit disconcerting if a person did not experience some anxiety from time to time. But when occasional bouts of anxiety become a more persistent problem that is limiting your life, it is time to take action and work to return to a balanced emotional state.

Chronic anxiety can sometimes be the result of past issues or unresolved conflict from childhood. Other times, it is purely a manifestation of present misfortunes or plain old bad luck. Whatever the reason, the sufferer can benefit from being proactive, and taking a stand to do something about the problem. After all, if you continue to do exactly what you're doing now, you will continue to get the same results.

Natural anxiety treatments are increasing in popularity every day, and have many advantages over the traditional approach, i.e. trying to treat anxiety as if it were a "disease" or a medical problem (in the overwhelming majority of cases, it's not).

One example of a natural anxiety treatment would be to use yoga and/or meditation to relax the body and mind. There are also many other relaxation techniques, including controlled breathing exercises, affirmations and positive self-talk. These types of self help tools have several advantages over traditional (medical) approaches to treating anxiety. First, they are empowering to the sufferer, because he/she is taking matters in their own hands, and refusing to give in to a "victim" mindset (very important). Second, natural anxiety treatment options typically are safe and have no side effects or potential withdrawal symptoms.

Medications for anxiety often come with a plethora of unwanted side effects, like weight gain, digestive problems, memory lapses, heart-burn, sexual dysfunction, mental "fuzziness" and many others. Natural anxiety treatments hold little or no risk of side effects, and get right to the source of the problem by helping you to relax more fully and more often, as well as distracting your mind from obsessive worrying.

Finally, natural anxiety treatment has the advantage of being easily accessible and in most cases, much cheaper than either therapy or medicinal alternatives. Practicing controlled breathing, for example, costs you nothing but a little time. The same is true of yoga (though you may also want to take a yoga course) and of course, meditation. Even guided relaxation audio and videos are relatively inexpensive, especially when compared to the cost of seeing a psychiatrist; and they can be used at YOUR convenience, whenever you like.

For all of these reasons, more and more doctors and mental health professionals are encouraging their patients to use natural anxiety treatments, sometimes in addition to therapy or medical help, but often as an alternative to these treatments. From natural supplements, to relaxation techniques and breathing exercises, every anxiety sufferer has a wide variety of methods available to them. And until you give them a try, you'll never know how much difference they can potentially make in your life.