Beyond Pharmacology: A Narrative Review of Alternative Therapies for Anxiety Disorders.

Anxiety disorders harm quality of life, and standard drugs like benzodiazepines and antidepressants cause side effects, prompting a search for gentler alternatives. This review examined evidence for physical activity, mindfulness, virtual reality, biofeedback, herbal remedies, transcranial magnetic stimulation, cryotherapy, hyperbaric therapy, vagus nerve stimulation, MDMA, electroconvulsive therapy, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. From 116 studies, the authors assessed which methods can support standard treatment or stand alone, weighing risks and benefits. Alternative treatments broaden options for patients and clinicians, often as adjuncts. Among them, mindfulness shows the most significant therapeutic potential.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Anxiety disorders significantly reduce patients' quality of life. Current pharmacological treatments, primarily benzodiazepines and antidepressants, are associated with numerous side effects. Consequently, there is a continual search for alternative methods to traditional therapies that are less burdensome for patients and broaden their therapeutic options. Our objective was to determine the role of selected alternative methods in the treatment of anxiety disorders. In this review, we examined recent evidence on alternative treatments for anxiety disorders, including physical activity, mindfulness, virtual reality (VR) technology, biofeedback, herbal remedies, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), cryotherapy, hyperbaric therapy, vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. For this purpose we reviewed PubMed and after initial search, we excluded works unrelated to our aim, non-orginal data and animal studies. We conducted second search to cover all minor methods. We included 116 studies, which data is presented in Tables. We have investigated which methods can support treatment and which can be used as a stand-alone treatment. We assessed the risks to benefits of using alternative treatments. Alternative treatments significantly expand the options available to patients and clinicians, with many serving as adjuncts to traditional therapies. Among the methods presented, mindfulness has the most significant therapeutic potential.