Supplements for Anxiety

[petpeeve]

Does anyone take or know of any supplements that help with anxiety? I've always been paranoid about speaking in front of people - break out in sweats, etc etc. i am finding i do this even when talking with certain people on the phone, and its worse in person.....its embarrassing too which makes it even more difficult, and i may have to spend a day with people i have never met the end of this week, for work, i am just dreading it!!! any suggestions are welcome

[Tiny]

PP-- do you mean over the counter or prescription? Not sure of over the counter but many of the newer anit depressants address anxiety as well. If you are having those types of reactions or syptioms in social situations I would recommend seeing a doctor as there are meds out there that can help you...

[Cinders]

Petpeeve,

TNT, Beatle and Determinator may be able to help you more with this. You might want to pm them if you don't get an answer here.

However, I believe TNT told me Lithium Orotate. She recommended it for my daughter's panic attacks/tremors.

Hope you get a better answer than this!

Love,
Cindi

[KAT20]

Petpeeve Hello, I have terrible social phobia. A few years back I developed a panic disorder in social situations. My doctor at the time prescribed Paxil which did not completely make them go away. I have learned to control them most of the time with deep breathing exercises. I recently saw a psychiatrist recomended by my therapist and she put me on Cymbalta. Too soon to report anything but I feel alittle more at ease. My therapist talked about meds in the benzodiazapem family like valium for immediate panic situations. Unfortunately they make me sleepy. I will ask the psychiatrist when I go back. I did not realize that some times they are more suited to prescribe these mind meds that my general practitioner. Hope this helps.

[beatle]

Cymbalta is an SSRI (actually an SSNRI, but let's not get into details) anti-dep, and if you do a search on this forum, you will find a lot of discussion about it, mostly (if I remember correctly) people had terrible experiences with Cymbalta (I think the problems were when they tried to quit it).

Anyway, I have never tried Cymbalta (though I was prescribed it-- I've been prescribed just about every anti-dep and anti-anxiety drug available), so I can only speak from experience with other anti-deps, ALL BAD (for me). Now, I know many people are helped by them, so I'm not going to preach here, all I want to say is that they don't work for 30-50% of the people (depending on whose studies you choose to believe). And, let's face it, they are all addictive and they all have side effects, the extent of which vary from drug to drug and person to person.

I have had depression issues and anxiety issues for many years (hence all the prescriptions) and the one thing that has helped the most is to stop drinking. But even that has not cured me, and sober, I have continued to suffer (though less than when I have been drinking).

However, there are many natural, non-addictive aids out there. I'm not going to go into great detail, I'll just list them (There is a lot of discussion about these on the Holistic Healing forum):

lithium orotate -- my main crutch for calming and depression-- no side effects, not addictive, very effective NOTE: Lithium orotate nose spray is great for unexpected anxiety/panic attacks. It works immediately.

Valerian -- calming and relaxing, but doesn't make you sleepy. I take it night or day, when I feel myself getting stressed or tense.

Melatonin -- at night for sleeping better through the night

Calms Forte-- I use occasionally on an as-needed basis -- the children's formula is better because you put it under your tongue and it absorbs faster, which means it takes quicker effect.

Magnesium (under the tongue is also good)-- a muscle relaxant, good for twitching muscles at night.

Taurine -- amino acid good for problems with trembling/shaking often associated with anxiety

GABA is also supposed to be good (haven't used it enough to know).

L-Tryptophan/5-HTP-- helps a lot of people. I have had hallucinatory dreams from this-- a rare side effect. Most people love it.

sAME-- again, I don't tolerate this well (ha! at all, I mean), but it helps a lot of people with depression. It reportedly has a higher success rate than anti-dep drugs. Not good for bi-polar, though.

Also, a lot of herbal teas especially for relaxing are very helpful.


You can get something called True Calm from MWO. It has a mix of Valerian and Gaba, some B-vites and a little Taurine. I like this a lot, though the recommended one capsule is not enough to notice any effect. I take 2 and then even top it up with another an hour later if I don't feel an effect.

I'm happy to answer any further, more specific questions about any of these, i.e. about dosage, etc.

Hope this helps.

[beatle]

p.s. Good healthy balanced eating and lots of supplements are also HUGE helps... sometimes they can solve the problems completely.

[Seacailin]

Thank u for sharing all of that info. It was very helpful to me. I have been on several anti-depressants and anti-anxiety agents over the years. Hated the anti-depressants because I felt like I had NO feelings. The anti-anxiiety meds, Addictive. Had to be hospitalized to get off of Klonopin twice. I would much prefer to try some natural remedies. Thank u very much.

[viking1975]

Great thread!! I also suffer from anxiety and I am VERY much looking for a natural approach rather than prescription meds. any help for me would be greatly appreciated! i suffer from at times general anxiety and have panic attacks at least once every 4 to 6 months...the cessation of AL i am sure will have a immediate impact but i also had these issues before AL thanks in advance!!

[Tiny]

Beatle -- thanks for taking time out for sharing such detalied information. I found it to be very helpful!

[beatle]

I'm glad it was helpful. Depression and anxiety suck and it took me a long time to find relief naturally, so if my experience helps anyone else, it makes me happy.

As I said, feel free to ask more specific questions.