Anybody tried natural stuff for anxiety that works?

[Manu79]

Im just curious if anybody tried natural remedies that actually work for anxiety, im scared to continue taking alprazolam i dont want to get addicted, i been taking only .25 like once every other day but its not helping much, i know is a low dose but i dont like to take more because it makes me sleepy too.

[Pugglesworth]

Hi Manu.

There are many herbal remedies for anxiety: Lavender, Chamomile, Passion flower, Valerian.

As with anything, your mileage will vary. The above work for me.

Valerian makes me sleepy.

[Manu79 in reply to Pugglesworth]

Thank you i will try them🙂

[HereWeGoAgain72]

How long have you been taking it and is once every other day what was prescribed?

In my opinion, there are some things that can help with anxiety: sleeping well, exercise and a good diet however I think these are only successful to a degree in isolation and often things we can’t manage very well when anxiety is overwhelming. I don’t personally believe anything works better than therapy & medication where recommended.

There’s lots of herbal things that are sold at great cost...but without any concentrated proof that they alone will work.

[Manu79 in reply to HereWeGoAgain72]

Well the doctor prescribed it twice a day but like i said im scared to become addicted to benzos, i wanted to see if somebody had good results trying natural stuff for anxiety, i did some research on line and you are right there is no concentrated proof that those products work ..im looking for a therapist near my area hopefully that will help. Thanks for your advice

[HereWeGoAgain72 in reply to Manu79]

Ok, it is very important that if your Dr prescribed you a certain dosage that you follow that dosage and then give it 6 weeks to work, that’s how long the system takes to get used to drugs. Then when you’re ready in the future to stop taking them, you can work with your Dr how to safely reduce the dosage (also very important to come off them safely and not just stop taking them). Are you an addict, which is causing you to worry particularly about addiction?

If you haven’t tried therapy and don’t want to take the drugs then work with your Doc to come off them and proceed with the therapy alone. Well done for looking for a therapist - that’s a very smart idea! Good luck

[mvillarreal]

Unless medication (such as sertraline/zoloft) or emergency medication (like hydroxyzine) give you a bad reaction, these might be good to consider, as there is not a lot of evidence to show that they do any harm; however, if you really want alternatives or complementary medicine to go with that, I (and most scientific evidence) find passionflower helpful for preventing panic attacks, chamomile helpful for preventing panic attacks and promoting sleep (although to promote sleep, it's better to take both chamomile and melatonin), lavender oil for promoting relaxation through aromatherapy, valerian with melatonin helpful for promoting sleep and preventing panic attacks, Halls cherry cough drops for promoting relaxation when anxious (especially for anxiety after eating), ashwagandha (I probably spelled that wrong, but whatever) for helping with depression, and fennel for helping with anxiety-related stomach aches or other gastrointestinal upsets.

[Blue333 in reply to mvillarreal]

Just curious how you feel that Halls cherry cough drops relax you when anxious and why especially for anxiety after eating?

[mvillarreal in reply to Blue333]

I don't know. It might just be me. It's mostly the taste and the menthol that helps me relax and helps ease anxiety-related nausea, which I tend to get a lot after eating. It also keeps me from dry-heaving, especially if I'm in a situation where that would be embarrassing.

[Blue333 in reply to mvillarreal]

When I saw your post I wondered if it was "Menthol" Cherry Halls, that's why I asked. It's not just you, I had thought it was probably just me. I've been using them for quite a while because it helps me relax. Maybe because I can breathe better because of the menthol. The Halls Honey Lemon doesn't do the same for me even though it has a little bit more menthol. One thing that also used to help me calm down was taking a blanket or something and keeping it wrapped tight around me, kind of like a straitjacket and just lay still on my back for a while until I relaxed. I was watching TV one night and saw someone else that does this too.

[mvillarreal in reply to Blue333]

Yeah. It's something about the cherry flavor. Not sure what it is. I tried Vicks cough drops for it once, and it didn't work as well.

[Manu79]

Hello mvillarreal, thank you for your replay

I was on SSRIs for a while but i dont think they work for me, im going to try the natural stuff that you mention above hopefully i can get some relief

Thank again