Natural Anxiety Reducers
 

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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?

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

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

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.

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

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".

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

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.

whats benadryl?

Benadryl is Dramamine. An antihystamine.

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

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.

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.

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 :lol:

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

a multivitamin has seemed to help me quite a bit

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

what exactly is TetraHydraCannabinol, and what does it do?

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

HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! It makes ya hungry!

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