*Nikki*

Does anyone know of/have experience with some natural supplements to reduce anxiety?

I would be interested to know of people who have actually used them and their experiences with them.

mastertakana

exercise is the best. screw all that snake oil ass shit. except for multivitamin.

__________________
All I know the time it is gettin dread
Need alot of trees up in my head

amonkie

Having a stress ball handy never hurt anybody - gives you a way to release energy. As far as natural supplements, I haven't tried anything. Aromatherapy always relaxes me though.

__________________
Calling from deep in the heart, from where the eyes can't see and the ears can't hear, from where the mountain trails end and only love can go... ~~~ Three Rivers Hare Krishna

ryfo

deep breathing make sure your stomach moves up and down it sort of calms you and clears "buzz" thoughts from your head

bing bing

I tried valerian root tablets and they didn't so much as even have a placebo effect. i give them 1/10

pinkie

A Calcium/Magnesium supplement works great! Besides that you could try Chamomile tea, Kava kava, Passion flower, and hops. Lavender (especially through aroma therapy) is very stress relieving and good for anxiety. I have a Lavender sleeping mask, and use Calcium/Magnesium almost like sleeping pills.

VitaminH

Kava is supposed to be an anxiolytic, but it also causes liver toxicity, so I'd avoid it were I you.

Exercise is great for stress, and meditation helps too.

__________________
"Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever."
- Napoleon Bonaparte

*Nikki*

I would be interested to hear more about this Calcium Magnesium supplement.

pinkie

You could also take Benadryl for anxiety. My doctor ok'ed that for me a while back and it has similar effects as taking a Valium for me.

Just try it. Go buy a C/M supplement.

f6twister

This can work but be careful with it. These types of OTC medications can also have the opposite reaction. It varies with each person. My dad would get hyper and fidgety. I have a friend who takes it and is out for 2-3 days.

Have you tried anything like yoga, meditation, etc?

__________________
A little rudeness and disrespect can elevate a meaningless interaction to a battle of wills and add drama to an otherwise dull day. Calvin

inharmony

My thoughts are exercise and possibly meditation if you are able. Exercise is how I handle anxiety and/or stress.

__________________
"You can't shake hands with a clenched fist."
Ghandi

"Things do not change: We change"
Henry David Thoreau

maleficent

Truly natural methods are probably the best way to go, deep breathing techniques, meditation, exercise are the best ways to go...

Benedryl I take for allergies occassionally, and even a very low dosage makes me extremely groggy, when I'm groggy, it seems that the anxiety increases

__________________

Grasshopper Green

I have to agree with the exercise. I can have a totally crappy day, exercise, and feel much, much better afterward. It doesn't have to be high intesity, kick your ass kind of exercise, just a brisk walk will do the trick.

munchen

A Proper diet can be as important as excercise. If your not eating healthy it will cause alot of problems. I used to eat badly and when i stopped my anxiety/depression went down dramatically

__________________
"Love is a perky elf dancing a merry little jig and then suddenly he turns on you with a miniature machine gun" -Matt Groening

anleja

200 mg of vitamin C a day can help with stress. Also try 1 B-50 pill daily for anxiety. The pill "should supply 50 mcg vitamin B12 and biotin, 400 mcg folic acid, and 50 mg all other B vitamins".

zen_tom

Exercise and sex - if you're sensible, then a glass of wine mid evening can work wonders too.

JumpinJesus

I suffered from severe anxiety several years ago and pretty much beat it off, until about 8 months ago when it came back with a vengeance - full blown panic attacks and irregular heart beats (I think they're called pvps).

I've pretty much beaten it this time around without any medication. I do take a daily dose of magnesium (250 mg) which has helped with the heart, and I drink green tea daily now. The biggest help was relaxation, deep breathing, and exercising.

Before that, I tried kava, valerian, st. john's wort, and a homeopathic remedy (can't remember what it was called, though). None of them worked.

__________________
"I can normally tell how intelligent a man is by how stupid he thinks I am" - Cormac McCarthy, All The Pretty Horses

AfterBurn

whats benadryl?

__________________
smoking weed everyday keeps the doctor away

thinktank

Benadryl is Dramamine. An antihystamine.

AfterBurn

and it's OTC? what's it made for?

__________________
smoking weed everyday keeps the doctor away

thinktank

It's sold to reduce nausea, to fight allergies, and as a sleep-aide. Benadryl itself is the allergy medecine (it's a specific brand, i buy "Wal-Dryl" from walgreens).
Edit: Yes, all three are OTC.

VitaminH

Benadryl is NOT Dramamine. They ARE both antihistamines. Benadryl is Diphenhydramine. Dramamine is dimenhydronate, or meclizine depending on which one you buy (the 'less drowsy' formulation is the meclizine).

They are in the same class, but they are not the same drug, and they act slightly differently on your body.

__________________
"Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever."
- Napoleon Bonaparte

shortynickel

i would also have to agree with the exercise and i have noticed that if its been a week or so since i had sex last, i seem to be more anxious....I used to work for Earthlink and that is when the panic/anxiety atks started. Well i got away from that place, tho not many ppl in the states work for them anymore but, THAT also can help on the anxiety, if you can get away from it thats ur best bet along with exercise of course.

I havent had to take a Xanax for a good while so cheers to me

pinoychink790

i heard that natural anxiety reducers actually increase your anxiety, because when they don't work, you get angry for 1) they didn't work, 2) you still have anxiety, and 3) you just wasted your money on something that doesn't even work. Leading to you having more anxiety than before you tried the natural anxiety reducers

doubleaught

a multivitamin has seemed to help me quite a bit

greyeyes

I've tried Kava Kava, which works pretty well, though I wouldn't use it often especially if you drink. Exorsize helps me alot, I usually exorsize almost every day of the week, just to keep me in a positive mood. When I miss a day or two I really can tell the next day, I feel all tired and down. When I finally convince myself to go to the gym I might feel weak/tired while I'm there but when I'm done I feel great!!

__________________
I'm kind of jealous of the life I'm supposedly leading.
- Zach Braff

nickynicole

I spent about a year trying to beat down anxiety with exercise and diet, but I never quite felt ahead of myself. I always felt trapped... like if i wasn't doing everything right, then my world would fall apart. I finally gave up and went to a therapist.

munchen

If all else fails, and before you try drugs, find a neurofeedback clinic and tell them you have anxiety problems. Its completly uninvasive, there's no drugs, it just helps you get awareness of your problems and identify how to beat them.

__________________
"Love is a perky elf dancing a merry little jig and then suddenly he turns on you with a miniature machine gun" -Matt Groening

pig

Nikki,

In my experience, I've never found a natural supplement that totally eradicates panic attacks. I would agree that generally following a good diet is a strong supplement to aid in mental / psychological health, but from the times I've suffered panic attacks the only way I've been able to eradicate them is through "meditation" (use the quotes because the term has become so vague) on the root cause, then eradication of the root. I'm sure you're already aware of that, but I'm just saying beware of the silver bullet. If you're not into cardiovascular exercise, then I would suggest that there are several other physiological disciplines which encourage introspective thought and mindfulness of your emotions.

__________________
You don't love me, you just love my piggy style

Ilow

Many people who have anxiety, also have mild or moderate depression, if this is the case for you I would recommend more caution when looking into supplements as the treatments are contraindicated. If it's only anxiety, then I would also recommend meditation (the more buddhist mindfulness also works) or Cognitive Behavioral based therapy to try to establish the root causes of your feelings.

__________________
"Religion is the one area of our discourse in which it is considered noble to pretend to be certain about things no human being could possibly be certain about"
--Sam Harris

joemc91

I definitely recommend the exercise and walking outside. Whenever I feel like shit, this seems to do it for me.

__________________
I prefer desert wines to dessert wines.

Dry and red

Slavakion

A cup of chamomile tea usually works for me. And a couple chapters of a good book.

NCB

The B vitiamins seem to be the key with stress/anxiety, especially B-12.

__________________

SparklingDot

I like yoga, a walk and a good book, though not all at the same time. Yoga helps to regulate and elongate breathing, with not only helps your body get enough oxygen, but also helps to get rid of toxins. The physical part helps to calm your mind and relax your body. THink about how bunched up your muscles get during the course of a normal week. Yoga every few days really helps, even if it is only for 20 minutes.

__________________

17 seconds is all you really need
- Smashing Pumpkins

Manuel Hong

Nikki, in my professional experience, the reason herbs don't work for some people is because they are not used properly. Every individual is different. Assuming that this herb or that suppliment is good for anyone with a certain symptom is utter shit. Just 'cause an article was written about it or Aunt Selma said it helped with her problem is the reason herbs end up getting a bad reputation when they don't work for you. I treat many patients with anxiety, all are different. If you want to go the natural route, seek someone who has the proper education and accreditation, make an office visit and do it right the first time. Herbal medicine is complex and effective, but only if utilized by someone with the proper training and experience. (this would be at least 4 years of school for herbal medicine and another 5 years in professional practice) I know this thread is old, but I'm willing to do a brief Q&A w/ you if you'd care to PM me to pursue it. I'd at least be able to give you some ideas that would help your individual condition.
Best of luck,
Manny

__________________
Believe nothing, even if I tell it to you, unless it meets with your own good common sense and experience. - Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha)

Suave

I'm surprised no one has mentioned TetraHydraCannabinol yet. If there was ever any natural substance that reduced anxiety...

__________________
"Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions." - Albert Einstein

"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." - Plato

pinoychink790

what exactly is TetraHydraCannabinol, and what does it do?

Manuel Hong

THC for short and as for what it does....ask Flyman.

__________________
Believe nothing, even if I tell it to you, unless it meets with your own good common sense and experience. - Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha)

sillygirl

HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! It makes ya hungry!

__________________

Anyone can be passionate, but it takes real lovers to be silly-Rose Franken
....absence makes me miss him more...

samcol

If you drink caffeine or intake too much sugar, it can cause axiety and panic attacks. Just fyi.