Q: I just got back from a doctor’s appointment that I made to talk to him about how lousy I am feeling lately. Everything seems to bother me and I worry all the time. He just brushed it off, saying I need to relax. I’d love to … but how? — Sandra E., Lexington, Kentucky

A: We can’t diagnose you at this distance, but we can tell you that a new study shows that more than 80% of folks with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) go undiagnosed — and untreated! And that affects millions of folks. A recent National Health and Wellness Survey found that almost a quarter of the more than 75,000 folks screened were positive for GAD. The ripple effect is far-reaching. It affects how well folks do at work, how they interact with family and friends, and it increases the risk for everything from cardiovascular disease to chronic pain and depression.

To decrease your symptoms, Harvard Medical School says that exercise may be the best non-medical remedy. Unfortunately, folks with GAD are often more sedentary than other folks and when they do exercise, they do it with less intensity. That’s a disadvantage for sure. If you do moderate to intense aerobics, not only do you relieve muscle tension and build resilience, you elevate your heart rate so it stimulates brain chemicals that make you feel calmer, such as serotonin and endocannabinoids.

For psychological therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy has been shown to help tamp down anxious reactions, and the antianxiety medication buspirone, as well as antidepressants, may be beneficial. The Anxiety & Depression Association of America offers a search function to locate treatment experts near you, as well as online peer-to-peer communities you can join at adaa.org.

For information on techniques and supplements that can ease stress, check out the iHerb.com blog, “Experiencing More Anxiety? Here Are 8 Natural Approaches to Relief,” and explore our book “You: Breathing Easy: Meditation and Breathing Techniques to Relax, Refresh and Revitalize.”

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Dr. Mike Roizen is the founder of www.longevityplaybook.com, and Dr. Mehmet Oz is global advisor to www.iHerb.com, the world’s leading online health store. Roizen and Oz are chief wellness officer emeritus at Cleveland Clinic and professor emeritus at Columbia University, respectively.

(c)2024 Michael Roizen, M.D.

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