Neurasthenia: causes, symptoms, treatment at home

Treatment with food

First of all, when treating neurosis, it is necessary to establish a healthy diet. Some foods are known for their positive effects on the nervous system. These are honey and bee bread, fatty fish and caviar, bananas, buckwheat, dairy products, chicken eggs, nuts and seeds, green vegetables and herbs. They contain vitamins necessary for the proper functioning of the central and autonomic nervous system, and some of the listed products will help quickly improve your mood: bananas, chicken eggs and fatty fish.

Honey and bee products are very beneficial for health, physical and mental. Bee bread (“bee bread”) contains a large amount of vitamins, and its daily intake strengthens the nerves, increases the body’s resistance, and improves metabolism.

Dilute 60 grams of natural honey in 0.5 liters of warm water, and drink the resulting drink before bed, in several doses throughout the evening. Honey water promotes good sleep and has a calming effect. It is also beneficial to drink warm milk with cardamom and honey at night.

In the past, nervous young ladies were sent “to the waters” - to resorts with mineral waters. If food contains a lot of vitamins, then mineral water contains microelements necessary for a person. Therefore, for neuroses, it is useful to prescribe treatment with Essentuki or other water with a high content of magnesium, iodine, iron and other elements. Listen to your body: if the smell and taste of mineral water seem very pleasant, it means you have a deficiency of the substances it contains.

Nutrition for neuroses

Nutrition plays a very important role in the treatment and prevention of neurotic conditions. Nutritionists unanimously assert that the patient’s diet should not contain alcohol, coffee and strong tea, or fast food. The amount of foods containing starch (potatoes, corn, flour products made from premium flour) should be reduced, since they provoke the release of insulin, as a result of which the patient becomes dizzy, tired, and feels completely overwhelmed. You should also limit spicy foods, which increase excitability. Nutrition should be as rich in vitamins and minerals as possible.

Potassium-rich foods are very useful: baked apples, walnuts, honey, pumpkin, dried apricots. Folic acid, found in bananas, spinach, sorrel, nettles, veal liver, lentils and whole grain bread, increases the level of serotonin in the body and significantly improves the patient's condition. These products will help get rid of groundless fears, irritability, and insomnia.

When thinking about how to treat neurosis at home, we should not forget that incorrectly carried out self-treatment and some folk remedies can have the opposite effect. Therefore, you should begin therapy with alternative medicine very carefully, having discussed each step with a specialist.

Treatment with physical activity

People believe that excessive impressionability, poor sleep and depression occur exclusively in idle people. There is some truth in this: a significant part of the traditional day of a modern person is spent at the computer. Even if he works hard at the same time, such work does not benefit the body at all - the muscles lose elasticity, the heart does not receive the necessary training, all cells experience a lack of oxygen.

And since the human body is evolutionarily designed for constant activity in search of food and saving itself from predators, the brain perceives forced inaction for many hours as illness or captivity, that is, stress. And he reacts accordingly - with anxiety or even panic. In addition, the average metropolitan resident who is not physically tired, but mentally exhausted, is overcome by insomnia. Poor sleep negatively affects the nervous system and increases the symptoms of neurosis.

Therefore, a reasonable solution is to treat neurosis with physical activity. Start your day with exercise, walk to work, and take ten-minute breaks every hour during the workday. But don't fill them with coffee and cookies, but take a walk down the street, go up and down the stairs, or do some light exercise. Start running, going to the pool or doing yoga. By the way, if you still doubt the effectiveness of this method, remember how often you have heard about farm workers, lumberjacks or postmen complaining of neurosis.

Signs of a somatic nature

Somatic signs of neurosis can manifest as pain in different parts of the body - in the abdomen, heart, muscles, joints, head, etc. The patient, as a rule, complains of tremors in the hands, dizziness, increased sweating, appetite disturbances, insomnia at night, which may be accompanied by drowsiness during the day.

It is interesting that with the development of the described pathology, the patient may also experience disturbances in cardiovascular activity. In medicine they are characterized as cardiac neurosis. The patient complains of tachycardia, arrhythmia, bradycardia or extrasystole, but pathological changes in the said organ are not detected.

In medicine, neurosis of other organs, such as the stomach, is also observed. It is provoked by stress and poor nutrition, and it manifests itself in the form of stomach cramps, sweating and irritability.

Herbal treatment

The most useful herbs for neurosis are valerian, motherwort, St. John's wort, lemon balm and mint. They can be brewed in small doses like tea, infused and taken in small portions like medicine, mixed, added to an evening bath, and even made into fragrant pillows and slept on them all night.

It is better to make a pillowcase for herbs from a tightly woven fabric, and the “cover” of the pillow can be anything. You can stuff a pillow with buckwheat husks and add lavender or mint or other herbs. For a pillowcase, choose a fabric that is soft and pleasant in color and pattern, and let it work for your good mood.

It is useful for neurosis to drink tincture from walnut partitions. A decoction of hawthorn berries can cure dizziness of a neurotic nature. Peony root tincture has a sedative effect. Baths with juniper branches and rosehip roots are very useful for neurosis.

It is popularly believed that nettles picked from July 19 to August 23 ward off fear if worn on the body. Traditional medicine uses a decoction of cabbage seeds to treat nerve strain. An infusion of sweet clover helps with insomnia, “afraid” of sweet clover and neurasthenia. For increased excitability, healers advise drinking an infusion of hop cones. A water infusion of oregano herb is also known as a remedy for treating neurosis, restlessness and anxiety. Another medicine is compote of dried viburnum fruits.

A great way to rid yourself of “frayed nerves” is to replace black tea and coffee with healthy fireweed tea. In terms of taste and beneficial qualities, Ivan tea is many times superior to our usual drinks, and has the most beneficial effect on the nervous system. In addition, if you drink less black tea, it will be easier to restore the harmony of your inner world than with it and other stimulating drinks.

Traditional treatment of neurosis and neurasthenia at home

What is neurosis?

Neurosis is a collective name for a group of psychogenic disorders, usually having a protracted course.

Causes of neurosis:

external and internal conflicts
stress
psychological trauma
mental overstrain

Symptoms of neurosis:

decreased mental and physical performance
obsessive states
hysterical manifestations

Medicines for the treatment of neuroses should be prescribed by a doctor.

Let's look at available folk remedies that you can use yourself at home.

Treatment of neurosis in adults at home with herbs. This folk recipe helps well in the treatment of nervousness, functional disorders of the nervous system, mental and physical fatigue, and stress. (recipe from the newspaper “Vestnik ZOZH” 2013, No. 23 p. 30). Take 50 g of herbs: motherwort, chamomile, oregano, mint, fireweed, blueberries, St. John's wort, roots of Leuzea, peony, elecampane, rose hips, lingonberries. Place everything in a three-liter jar and fill it to the top with vodka or moonshine. After a month, you will get a dark liquid, which you need to strain and drink 30 g per day 40 minutes before meals.
How to treat neurosis in adults and children with St. John's wort. St. John's wort is used in the folk treatment of neuroses, neurasthenia, stress, headaches, and insomnia. 1 tbsp. l. St. John's wort with top, pour a glass of boiling water, leave for 8 hours, strain. Drink this portion in 3 doses 20 minutes before meals. The course of treatment is 2 weeks. St. John's wort slightly increases blood pressure, so hypertensive patients can use it only in combination with herbs that lower blood pressure: motherwort, dried herbs, oregano. (Source: newspaper “Vestnik ZOZH” 2010, No. 7 p. 36-37).
Heather is an effective folk remedy for neurosis. Heather infusion is successfully used to relieve anxiety, fears, and neuroses at home. To prepare it you need 2 tbsp. l. crushed herbs, brew 350 g of boiling water, wrap and let brew for 2 hours. Drink hot 15 minutes before meals, 100 ml 3-4 times a day. Drink for a month, take a week off. Carry out two courses of treatment (Source: newspaper “Vestnik ZOZH” 2011, No. 13 p. 26).
For nervous tension, it is useful to take an infusion of knotweed. Pour 20 g of dry herb into 1 glass of boiling water and leave for 1 hour. (Source: newspaper “Vestnik ZOZH” 2002, No. 19 p. 15).
Traditional treatment of neuroses in adults with herbs. If you have neuroses, stress, poor sleep, then the following folk remedy will help: prepare or buy at the pharmacy tincture of hawthorn, valerian, motherwort, you can add Corvalol. Mix 5 drops of each tincture and drink. This will calm and strengthen your nerves. (Source: newspaper “Vestnik ZOZH” 2002, No. 11 p. 17).
Hysterical neurosis - home treatment with ice water. After severe stress, the woman developed an unbearable headache, then began to have convulsions. She was admitted to the neurological department and diagnosed with hysterical neurosis. Treatment with injections, IVs, and gymnastics did not help, so he was discharged. A patient once heard a story about how a woman recovered from a traumatic brain injury by dousing her with ice water. And I followed her path. Every morning and evening I began to shower myself at the river and swim in the ice hole. At first, her relatives took her to the ice hole, arm in arm. Gradually she began to move independently, although she often fell. The efforts were not in vain: after 2 months the convulsive twitching disappeared, after a year the function of the left leg was restored, after 2 years the body began to function normally, and the disability was removed. It was possible to cure the neurosis completely. (Source: newspaper “Vestnik ZOZH” 2009, No. 16 p. 8-9)

Treatment of neurasthenia at home - how to treat neurasthenia with folk remedies.

What is neurasthenia

Neurasthenia is a disease included in the group of neuroses. Occurs during mental trauma when it is superimposed on a person’s state of physical or mental fatigue.

Treatment of neurasthenia in adults and children with fragrant geranium. Neuroses and neurasthenia are treated by the aroma of fragrant geranium. You need to sit next to the plant and inhale its aroma. The first day is 15 minutes, the second is 20, add 5 minutes every day and reach 1 hour. Then breathe in the aroma for 1 hour for a month. Then take a week break and take 2 more such courses. Recovery will definitely come. (Source: newspaper “Vestnik ZOZH” 2005, No. 13 p. 29). You can also treat neurasthenia with the scent of roses.
Treatment of neurasthenia with a folk remedy - valerian. To treat neurasthenia, prepare a decoction of valerian: 1 tbsp. Pour 1 cup of boiling water over a spoonful of crushed root and boil for 15–20 minutes. over low heat, leave for 10 minutes, strain. Adults drink 1 tbsp. spoon 3 times a day. The course of treatment is 3 weeks. Then a break of 1 week and another course of 3 weeks.
Soothing collection of herbs for neurasthenia. Prepare a soothing mixture: mix 1 part nettle leaves, 1 part peppermint, 1 part meadowsweet leaves and flowers, 2 parts fireweed leaves. Brew 1 tablespoon of the mixture with 1 liter of boiling water. Let it brew for 20 minutes, strain and drink 1 glass 2 times a day. Treatment of neurasthenia with this folk remedy is quite accessible - all herbs grow throughout Russia.
Traditional treatment of neurasthenia with herbs. The herb harmala is a very effective folk remedy in the treatment of neurasthenia. 1 tsp. herbs, pour 400 ml of boiling water, leave for 20 minutes. Drink 2 tbsp. l. 3 times a day half an hour before meals. Harmala decoction cannot be stored for more than a day, so a new decoction must be made every day. (Source: newspaper “Vestnik ZOZH” 2013, No. 14 p. 16)

Treatment of increased nervous excitability with folk remedies.

Increased nervous excitability - folk treatment with tansy. Pour 5 g of dry tansy into 200 ml of hot water, boil for 15 minutes, strain, and add to a volume of 200 ml. Drink 1 tbsp. l. 3 times a day half an hour before meals. (Source: newspaper “Vestnik ZOZH” 2013, No. 15 p. 29).
Healing tea for nervous excitability is a simple folk remedy. For nervous excitement, a mixture of herbs from the flowers and leaves of lofanta and lemon balm will help. 1 tbsp. l. pour 200 ml of boiling water over a mixture of herbs, leave for 2 hours and drink 50-100 grams 3 times a day half an hour before meals and before bed. The course of treatment is 30 days, break 7 days. It is necessary to conduct 2-3 courses. (Source: newspaper “Vestnik ZOZH” 2012, No. 12 p. 35).
Strawberry juice against neurological diseases. Nervous excitability can be relieved for a long time if you use the following folk remedy: mix 200 g of strawberry juice with 100 g of carrot juice. Take 50 ml 3-4 times a day 1 hour after meals. The course of treatment is 2 weeks. (Source: newspaper “Vestnik ZOZH” 2002, No. 13 p. 12).

Aromatherapy

You've probably noticed that some smells are associated with joy, comfort and tranquility. This is, for example, the smell of fresh baked goods - vanilla and cinnamon. Or the aroma of New Year's morning in childhood - the smell of oranges and tangerines. The principle of treating nervous disorders with essential oils is based on establishing pleasant, calming associations, and returning a person to a feeling of comfort, warmth, peace and happiness. Natural undiluted essential oils are required for treatment.

Famous aromas that help in the treatment of neurosis are:

Conifers - cedar, juniper, pine.
Citrus fruits - lemon, tangerine, orange, grapefruit, bergamot.
Floral – geranium, rose, lavender.
Spices and herbs – cinnamon, coriander, lemon balm, mint.

They need to be used in extremely small quantities - a few drops for one session are quite enough. To use in an aroma maker, you must dilute the oil with clean cold water. You can add a few drops of natural oil to the water when taking a bath, and also do self-massage with any massage oil, adding your favorite essential oil.

Use pine and flower oils before bed as they have a calming effect. And citrus essential oils and spice oils balance and tone, so they are best used in the morning and throughout the day.

Additional ways to treat neurasthenia

Therapeutic baths

Baths before bedtime relax, and the addition of various herbs relieves nervous diseases.
Take 5 handfuls of black dropsy herb, pour 3 liters of boiling water. Boil for 10 minutes. Strain and add to a bath filled with water.

Sea salt and essential oils also have healing properties. The dosage of a particular bath product is indicated on the packaging.

We recommend reading: Epilepsy in adults and children: causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment at home

A little about massage

It is known that massage has a calming and healing effect. A properly performed massage improves blood circulation, relieves muscle fatigue, and improves metabolic processes in the body.

In the fight against neuroses, experts use acupressure. It is done for 3 days, and then a break of several weeks. Light stroking will help restore your psycho-emotional state, without any unpleasant sensations. Fatigue will go away as if by hand if you do a facial massage in the evening.

Yoga and inner peace

Yoga and meditation will help you become more balanced and calm. Practices develop the body, clear the mind of negative thoughts, and help to gain inner endurance and peace of mind.

The effectiveness of yoga lies in correctly selected exercises aimed at improving well-being. It is best to perform asanas under the supervision of a trainer.

Treatment by nature

Once upon a time, people flocked to cities for comfort and money. Now the situation is the opposite: satiated with material goods, humanity strives for nature. Money and comfort, success and opportunities that the city gives, come to us along with fatigue, lack of time, restlessness of the mind. None of the doctors will tell you how to treat moral fatigue if vacation does not help. And only nature can provide enough energy for life. Therefore, sanatoriums and clinics are built in beautiful places where you can contemplate the peaceful landscapes for hours.

It is very useful for people with any nervous disorders to be in nature. The best way to calm down is:

rivers and streams (running water);
clean lake;
sea;
forest remote from the city;
mountains.

The most effective sedative for neurosis is the contemplation of views of nature - in any weather and at any time of the year. It’s not for nothing that people have the expression “Mother Nature.” And if staying away from the city noise is combined with active physical activity, the symptoms of neurosis will very soon subside, and the chorus of anxious thoughts will subside.

Of course, treating neurosis with folk remedies makes sense if the symptoms do not interfere with your ability to fully live, work and communicate. For prolonged and severe neurotic disorders, it is better to consult a psychotherapist.

Symptoms

Symptoms that should alert you and force you to seek medical help are:

Frequent anxiety
Excessive vulnerability, touchiness
Depression, apathy
Inadequate self-esteem
Aggression or indecisiveness
Tearfulness
Emotional instability
Increased excitability
Communication problems
High sensitivity to loud sounds, temperature changes or bright lighting
Irritability
Panic
Hysterics
Preoccupation with a situation

There may be a time when symptoms pile up one after another. The development of mental instability may occur against the background of any serious disease of the internal organs. Physical manifestations of such disorders can also be added to psychosomatic symptoms:

Fast fatiguability
Tachycardia
Tremor
Pain in the heart area, headaches, abdominal pain
Constantly feeling tired
Insomnia
Increased sweating
Decreased appetite
Problems in the gastrointestinal tract
Dyspnea
Dizziness
Decreased potency
Vision problems
Noise in ears

If such disorders occur, you must immediately consult a doctor, who will determine the danger of the situation and prescribe appropriate treatment. It can be difficult to get out of such a state on your own; sometimes, without appropriate therapy, serious mental disorders can occur.

Neurosis: treatment, drugs used for this

According to clinical manifestations, the following types of neuroses are distinguished: neurasthenia, hysteria and obsessive-compulsive neurosis. Medicines begin to be used in later (severe) stages of the disease.

Advantages of treating neurosis with medications:

tablets and injections have a strong and rapid effect;
drug therapy does not require any mental or emotional effort from the patient;
drugs are much cheaper than psychotherapy.

Today, there are effective drugs that can treat most manifestations of neurosis. According to the method of influence they are divided into:

1. Tranquilizers. At the beginning of therapy, drugs can cause nausea, general weakness and drowsiness, but later these symptoms disappear. Medicines reduce anxiety, relax muscles and have a hypnotic effect. Depending on the degree of sedation, such drugs are divided into daytime and nighttime. Medicines are used at an advanced stage of the disease, in which frequent and sudden attacks of hysteria occur. The drugs reduce the level of emotional arousal, relieve anxiety and fear, and calm. The most well-known medications in this group are Trioxidine, Meprotan, Medazepam, Phenazepam, Relanium, Lorazepam, Diazepam, Mexidol and Chlordiazepoxide.
2. Antidepressants. They are sedatives that help relieve depression and bad mood. Amitriptyline is mainly prescribed, which has a calming effect, causes drowsiness, elevates mood, and relieves anxiety and restlessness. The use of this drug is undesirable for prostate diseases and glaucoma. Azafen is also used, which is identical in action to Amitriptyline, but is free from some contraindications and side effects of the drug. Imizin improves mood, reduces lethargy, invigorates, and increases appetite. Can have a negative effect on a man's erectile function.
3. Antioxidants. They are used in complex therapy of neurotic conditions to improve general health. Drugs in this group (Phenibut, Piracetam and others) improve blood circulation, brain nutrition, and memory. Some of them have a stimulating effect - they increase strength and mood. But at the same time, they can provoke sleep disturbances, irritability, etc. Phenibut is the most effective antioxidant that eliminates unreasonable worry and anxiety caused by mental disorders.
4. Neuroleptics. Medicines in this group have a calming effect. The negative effect of drugs is expressed in the occurrence of stiffness, lethargy, and an increased risk of developing severe depression. Neuroleptics are prescribed in small dosages and only in emergency cases. The most commonly used are Sonapax, Melleril, Haloperidol, Triftazine, Reserpine, Aminazine. Tizercin is used before bedtime. The drug is effective for insomnia, relieves phobias and eliminates feelings of anxiety. Aminazine is also recommended for use at night. The drug relieves anxiety and sleep disorders. The medicine can cause a rapid decrease in blood pressure. Melleril relieves the symptoms of neurosis, but negatively affects the erectile function of men.

In the presence of neurotic conditions, the patient is treated, as a rule, with drugs belonging to the group of benzodiazepine tranquilizers (Elenium, Phenazepam). These drugs have a pronounced anti-anxiety effect, have an antiphobic effect, and in addition act as a sleeping pill. After taking these medications, the symptoms of neurosis, as a rule, quickly recede.

When diagnosed with “neurosis,” treatment (drugs) is prescribed to the patient only as a result of an analysis of his psycho-emotional state, his personality characteristics, environmental conditions and concomitant diseases. So, if a patient’s illness develops with symptoms of depression, then the use of antidepressants is indicated. Treatment also includes the use of drugs that help improve brain activity, as well as vitamins and restoratives.