Stress making you queasy? 5 tips that can help

(BPT) - Face it, this is a stressful time. Everyone is coping with a lot — from anxiety about the pandemic and financial worries to stress around work and family schedules, and so much more. According to a CDC survey this June, over 30% of the respondents reported symptoms of an anxiety or depressive disorder. With so much stress and anxiety this year, many people find themselves sick to their stomachs — literally.

If anxiety is making you or a family member feel nauseated, you may have looked for over-the-counter remedies, which can make people feel drowsy or that you may worry about giving to children.

“Both adults and children can experience symptoms like nausea due to anxiety,” said family practitioner Dr. Ian Cracknell. “But fortunately, there are non-medicinal strategies available for reducing these symptoms.”

If you’re looking for safer, natural ways to help relieve your anxiety-related nausea without adverse side effects, there are options that can help make you or your loved one feel better soon.

Try these tips to help relieve nausea due to anxiety.

1. Enjoy some hot herbal tea

Sipping particular beverages slowly has been shown to help reduce feelings of nausea. Whether you prefer hot or cold beverages, it’s generally considered most effective to stick to one or the other.

All three varieties of herbal tea have been shown to help reduce symptoms of nausea:

• Ginger
• Chamomile
• Peppermint

2. Sip a fizzy cold beverage

If you prefer cold beverages, try:

• Ginger ale
• Any clear carbonated soda

Whichever beverage you try, sip slowly to give your stomach time to settle down.

3. Harness the power of acupressure

One acupressure point in the wrist, termed the P6 (or Nei Guan in Chinese medicine), can help relieve nausea and upset stomach when pressure is applied. With a specially designed wrist band from Sea-Band Nausea Relief, this acupressure point is stimulated by a plastic stud attached to the inside of the band. You can adjust the soft, comfortable wrist band to fit snugly on your wrist (or on a child age 3 and up) to help relieve nausea within minutes. The bands even come in child-size packs.

A University of Pittsburgh Medical Center study showed that using Sea-Band acupressure wrist bands on post-operative patients reduced the incidence of nausea to 10%.

“Sea-Bands are a low-cost, effective and drug-free alternative that I often recommend to patients,” said Dr. Cracknell. “They are clinically proven to reduce nausea in patients due to a variety of causes — from anxiety and migraines to motion sickness and morning sickness.”

Former high-risk maternity nurse, acupuncture student and mom Sheri H. used Sea-Bands to reduce her morning sickness, and she recommends them for anyone experiencing nausea, no matter the cause: “I highly recommend them personally and professionally, for all women who experience nausea during pregnancy. And I’m sure these help with all kinds of medical nausea — post-operative, chemo, etc.”

Whether your children are stressed about their new school routine or you’re feeling anxious managing the “new normal,” Sea-Band provides one easy-to-use source of relief to reduce those queasy feelings.

For more information on Sea-Bands and how they work, visit Sea-Band.com/FAQs.

4. Enjoy the benefits of aromatherapy

Recent interest in essential oils and aromatherapy has caught the attention of the medical establishment. For example, patients at the Mayo Clinic who suffered from nausea were offered cotton balls with a few drops of ginger or spearmint to breathe in, which helped them cope with feelings of queasiness.

A recent study published by the National Institutes of Health concluded that controlled breathing exercises and peppermint aromatherapy can be helpful, with over half (57%) of the participants discovering that the peppermint helped them feel less nauseated, and 62% finding relief with the breathing exercises.

Others have found that inhaling citrus scents, like that of a freshly cut lemon, can help.

5. Inhale fresh air

Breathing exercises do help many who suffer from anxiety-related nausea, as does simple exposure to fresh air. Walking outside, meditating or doing deep breathing exercises are all worth a try for relieving not just the nausea, but some of the underlying stress or anxiety as well.