alternative treatments for anxiety

[Christ_empowered]

hey y'all...

...I do Orthomolecular. Its loads of vitamins--mostly C, b-complex, niacin and/or niacinamide--in high doses, with some other stuff if you want/need it.

OK. So agitation and anxiety have always been big problems for me. Right now and for the foreseeable future, I'm on psych meds, including an "atypical" antipsychotic (contrary to popular belief, that atypicals aren't much safer than old drugs; they're mostly just more tolerable...and more expen$ive).

My favorite supplements for anxiety and agitation are: high dose time release C, b-100 complex, taurine, niacinamide. I don't take herbs, personally, but some people swear by them. I've taken to popping 1 gram green tea extract+200mgs grape seed extract 1-2 x daily to help with appetite control (one sad fact about atypicals: they mess with appetite regulation). Seems to help...I also feel a bit calmer. Weird. One good thing about all these antioxidants, besides stress relief: no "tardive dyskinesia" yet, and I had mild TD in my early 20s. That's the tics and such that come from antipsychotic treatment. When the atypicals first came out, everybody assumed there'd be much, much less TD. Surprise, surprise...when the long term, better data started coming in, it turned out that they're not much better (especially when used in multi-drug cocktails) and, just like with the older drugs, dosage and length of treatment are important factors in the risk for TD. Clozapine may be the best atypical in terms of TD, but it has serious side effects and requires a lot of blood work.

What, if anything, do y'all take for anxiety? I've heard good things about kava kava (apparently, its back on the market), but I haven't taken that stuff in years....

...

 

[Kathi]

Queen of anxiety here Stay away from Ativan or any benzodiazepines.Get rid of all caffeine.Pray alot.

 

[Willie T]

I have taught classes that deal with a person learning how to handle this, for 24 years. But, if you are a person who wants to ingest something instead, Papaya juice is great.

 

[Kathi]

Here are some other foods that can help anxiety
1) Foods with tryptophan such as turkey,chicken and bananas
2) Foods rich in whole grains
3) Chamomile tea( I can't drink it because it makes me itch)

 

[Claudya]

I'm on SSRI's right now which do help against anxiety, but can barely be called alternative.

St John's Wort may help. It's a herb that grows here everywhere and is proven effective against mild depression and anxiety symptoms. I'd gather plants and make tea from them but since I'm on chemical antidpressants I'll stay away from it.
They sell St John's Wort as capsules that are way more concentrated than tea, too. If you decide to try it you will have to take it regularily for results. And do talk to your doc before you use it because there may be some interaction with the meds you are already taking.

Also, practice relaxation. You could learn stuff like Progressive Muscle Relaxation. It's save spiritually.

 

[Kathi]

I'm on SSRI's right now which do help against anxiety, but can barely be called alternative.

St John's Wort may help. It's a herb that grows here everywhere and is proven effective against mild depression and anxiety symptoms. I'd gather plants and make tea from them but since I'm on chemical antidpressants I'll stay away from it.
They sell St John's Wort as capsules that are way more concentrated than tea, too. If you decide to try it you will have to take it regularily for results. And do talk to your doc before you use it because there may be some interaction with the meds you are already taking.

Yes,definately ask your physican there are several side-effects to it.

 

[Kathi]

I have heard that Passionflower tea is good for anxiety.But do your research about the side effects and ask your physician.

 

[Kathi]

Foods that are not good for anxiety.
1) Coffee,high caffeine tea.I drink white tea that has the least amount of caffeine.
2) Candy.High sugar is not good for anxiety.I am not so good about staying away from this stuff .I am trying to stay away from foods with food coloring which can affect behavior.
3) Alcohol
4) Hot dogs and all highly processed foods.I am also not so good about staying away from this stuff.

 

[Christ_empowered]

The niacinamide (I take 3 grams a day, when I actually think about it) has been a real godsend for me. I get it for cheap-ish from an online, discount vitamin place. You have to take it with c and a b-complex, according to the alternative health people.

Anyway, its like...just as effective as Klonopin for me, but not sedating. Also, it somehow helps rosacea (weird, huh?) both orally and topically, so that's a big plus, since I have inbred European skin, lol. Combined with the taurine, I stay calm and actually *do* things, so that's a big plus. There's some indication that high dose antioxidant cocktails prevent TD, so I'm all over that...TD can be disfiguring, you know.

 

[tim-from-pa]

And when you address the physical end of anxiety, keep in mind that it's still fueled by a certain mindset, perhaps suppressed anger or depression of someone that feels they lost control, and are trying to live up to some standard, like someone who surrendered to an oppressor for survival. It keeps going around and around hard to get out of your head, like a tune running thru the mind.

But when all is said and done, and life draws to a close, you become like I did, a cantankerous ol' man and all that anxiety turns instead to grouchiness. (But you do also become happier -- better days are ahead in old age as we mellow out emotionally. Trust me on that, and I'm not really that old yet, just older)

 

[Christ_empowered]

yeah...there's something to be said for addressing the underpinnings of "psychiatric" problems. My problems, though, have often been fueled by excessive introspection. I think the excessive introspection somehow made me more prone to some forms of psychosis, if that makes sense.

The vitamins are helpful and relatively inexpensive. I don't have nearly as much agitation or anxiety now and my thoughts are clearer. I'm getting ever closer (thanks to Christ) to the big "N"--Normal.

I'm not big on too many psych meds, but I'm also wary of too much therapy. My last bout with intensive therapy triggered a fun episode of "psychotic depression." That may be the last time I do intensive therapy, lol.

I've heard that a lot of things get better as you get older, even big problems like Schizophrenia. We shall see.

 

[jeff77]

hey y'all...

...I do Orthomolecular. Its loads of vitamins--mostly C, b-complex, niacin and/or niacinamide--in high doses, with some other stuff if you want/need it.

OK. So agitation and anxiety have always been big problems for me. Right now and for the foreseeable future, I'm on psych meds, including an "atypical" antipsychotic (contrary to popular belief, that atypicals aren't much safer than old drugs; they're mostly just more tolerable...and more expen$ive).

My favorite supplements for anxiety and agitation are: high dose time release C, b-100 complex, taurine, niacinamide. I don't take herbs, personally, but some people swear by them. I've taken to popping 1 gram green tea extract+200mgs grape seed extract 1-2 x daily to help with appetite control (one sad fact about atypicals: they mess with appetite regulation). Seems to help...I also feel a bit calmer. Weird. One good thing about all these antioxidants, besides stress relief: no "tardive dyskinesia" yet, and I had mild TD in my early 20s. That's the tics and such that come from antipsychotic treatment. When the atypicals first came out, everybody assumed there'd be much, much less TD. Surprise, surprise...when the long term, better data started coming in, it turned out that they're not much better (especially when used in multi-drug cocktails) and, just like with the older drugs, dosage and length of treatment are important factors in the risk for TD. Clozapine may be the best atypical in terms of TD, but it has serious side effects and requires a lot of blood work.

What, if anything, do y'all take for anxiety? I've heard good things about kava kava (apparently, its back on the market), but I haven't taken that stuff in years....

...

I think you should avoid the green tea cause it has caffeine in it. I think the best way to get rid of anxiety is to face the situations that cause you to have it. Having positive experiences from the situations that normally cause you to have anxiety will cause it to go away over time.

 

[Christ_empowered]

yeah...and..sometimes I think the supplements are overkill. Its one thing to reduce stress and what not (OM people are always talking about how beneficial these high dose vitamins are), but I'm feeling and looking kinda....placid, lol.

 

[tim-from-pa]

And also keep in mind, people who are suffering from very great anxiety and negative emotions may be empaths, but do not know how to control their feelings or shield out negative emotions. Some days, for example, I'll feel inexplicably angry, or depressed or something similar, and then when I listen to what's going on around me, I find that I'm picking up on other people's emotions like an antenna-- I can always tell when something big is about to happen in our business, or around the world in the news. Empaths tend to be introspective and need a lot of alone time to "recharge" to get away from the noise. Being in nature, such as water, the sun, or out in a garden or whatever is helpful.

I learned to realize that many of my feelings are not mine, but other's. When I do my errands, I'll always smile and help people at such places like the supermarket, but one place I can't stand is WalMarts. I rarely go there, and the negativity I feel is tremendous, but as I always joke, the place is riddled with entitlement types or sickly old people needing cheap drugs, so they are about as empathetic as a brick. There's a lot of hostility and anger that seems they blame their self-induced problems on other people.

Here's some traits of an empath: I know I fulfil virtually all of them:

http://www.wikihow.com/Know-if-You-Are-an-Empath

 

[Christ_empowered]

I don't know that I'm empathetic to that point, so much...I get overwhelmed by stuff easily and I freak out. Also, I get psychotic depression, which is not fun.

 

[Claudya]

That's a thing you find in many people with some sort of psychotic disorder: Their perception filters are weak or switched off. So the sense things most of us would filter out of their perception (without even being aware of it) because it's not relevant. It can increase anxiety (being overwhelmed by too much/ barely comprehensible sensory input is scary) or kinda sense other people's feelings in an empathic way.

 

[Kathi]

Don't you think that stress can make the symptoms of a mental illness worse?

 

[Christ_empowered]

yeah, stress makes MI worse. I think that's one reason so many people with more severe illnesses--bipolar I, schizophrenia, schizoaffective--are on long term benzos.