Effective Natural Remedies for Anxiety

5-HTP

Posted by Jasonmchicago (Chicago, Il (usa) ) on 06/12/2011
★★★★★

Serotonin is a vital neurotransmitter for all types of things... From mental to physical health. I had severe anxiety and tried different things from Velirium Root to different aroma therapies... The one thing that works amazingly was 5-HTP. It helps one get serotonin and serotonin helps with anxiety, depression, sleep problems (converts to melatonin), and muscle health (let's you get delta sleep so that your body can release growth hormone and repair muscle tissue). In the book "Pain Cure" there's a great recap of all the benefits of serotonin.

I HIGHLY recommend it for anxiety/depression. It helped change my life... Along with Yoga, MSM (joint pain), etc.

Thanks EC!

Cold Showers

Posted by Jon (Monongahela, PA) on 09/30/2008
★★★★★

Oh God...this is the most greatest thing in the world. I embrace the Eastern philosophy of medicine which talks about natural and organic treatments to the ailments that we all suffer. Unlike Western medicine that gives you toxic pills to swallow only to treat the symptoms and not to cure you. I feel great. I've never been so happy and energetic in my life and I feel like I'm high all day long...of course with out the impairment of psychotropic drugs. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED...yeah, there is the hesitation associated with jumping into a swimming pool, but please, just "bite the bullet" and do it.....every day.

THANK YOU EARTHCLINIC.COM!

Niacinamide

Posted by Cordell (Minto, New Brunswick, Canada)
★★★★★

I would like to share a remedy I successfully used to cure schizophrenic thoughts. I was always shy as a kid, and little bit "paranoid" I guess you could say. But when I turned 24 I gradually began to have more paranoia, coupled with anxiety, and sometimes felt I was hearing voices. No, not the audible kind that people usually hear, but more or less I felt there were more thoughts in my head than my own; too many to deal with at once. Some very hateful thoughts had emerged and I sometimes became obsessed over certain angry thoughts, feeling like I couldn't relax and eventually would have a panic attack and feel out of control, possibly cry from too much stimulation etc. I soon found myself trying to figure my thoughts out, but they often made no sense, and I would play psycho-analytical games with other people thinking I really knew what they were thinking about me. I was always suspicious, and eventhough I didn't want to feel this way that's what happened.

Anyway, I know there are others out there that share a similiar story: how they once felt normal than started having some sort of mental illness, be it brain fog (which I also had from the obsessive paranoia), or adhd or whatever it may be. Niacinamide could be the answer to your problems. On the advice of Ted, a famous contributor to this site, I began taking 2000mg - 3000mg of Niacinamide (niacin can be used, but the flushing may become too annoying at such doses for some people). I noticed within a couple days my excessive paranoid thoughts dimnished almost completely, but I continue to take 500mg tablets everytime I feel them coming back.

I also continue to take at least one B 50 tablet a day to prevent deficiencies. It works~! I realize not every form of schizophrenic thoughts may be cured this way, but its worth a try for anyone seeking help like I did. High doses of niacinamide have cured my excessive anxiety, paranoia, and schizophrenic thoughts and even helped to solve stomach ailments I have had for years along with keeping myself more alkaline.

The alkaline remedy I used with most success in over-acidity was 1/4 sodium bicarbonate, and 1/4 potassium citrate (a 99mg tablet) in a glass of water 3x a day. This also helps to keep me much more stable. When I added sodium carbonate to this mixture sometimes it also helped with over-anxious thought patterns, and to calm the brain down. I hope this helps someone like it did for me.

Peace and love. Cordell

Acetyl L-Carnitine

Posted by Sandi (Arizona, USA) on 06/20/2021
★★★★★

Thanks to the info on here, I just tried acetyl L carnitine for my anxiety. I am pleased to say I think it's helping. My husband took it years ago for neuropathy and it was great. My son is trying it for his neuropathy as well. My anxiety has been so bad because my husband died six months ago after fighting lung cancer for 14 months. My checkup showed elevated blood pressure. High blood pressure causes anxiety which raises blood pressure which causes more anxiety and round and round. So I am so happy to find something besides Xanax that actually makes me feel somewhat better. Now hopefully I can get my blood pressure down. 🤪🤪

Holy Basil

Posted by Mel (California) on 05/02/2016
★★★★★

Many years ago I haphazardly tried Holy Basil capsules and or the tea and I had felt that they didn't "work" for me and my stress, anxiety, and depression during my job. Fast forward a few years and I realize that my depression and anxiety have been pretty much chronic since I was a teen. I think that I always just feel nervous about things and recently it has held me back in doing many things.

Now that I am middle aged, I feel desperate to find some sort of relief for my depression, and anxiety and other symptoms. I have tried many different supplements and activities but I did them in a haphazard way So this week I decided to go to the health food store and look around. The only thing on sale happened to be Holy Basil capsules from a well known brand containing 536 mg strength. So I decided to try them again. This time I did a lot more research and reading on HB.

At first I chewed 1 capsule let it sit in my mouth as long as possible and then swallowed everything with water. I didn't feel anything amazing. The next day I still had that task I was dreading and it was making me feel really nervous. So I chewed 2 capsules back to back let it absorb in my mouth as long as possible and then some water.

Lo and behold, about half an hour later I realized that my feeling of nervousness had gone away. I felt "normal" or "ok". It is hard to describe, because I haven't felt "not nervous" for a very long time. It didn't make me sleepy like some other supplements do. I do feel that the effect is short lived though kind of like when I take a xanax, and I am not sure how to keep that "not nervous" feeling for a longer period of time.

Ashwagandha

Posted by Cathleen (Los Angeles, Ca) on 11/24/2014
★★★★★

I have found myself to dramatically feel less burdened by daily stress when I'm taking Ashwagandha twice a day. My counselor suggested the improvement was attributable to other changes I've made in life but when I tested by ceasing Ashwagandha I returned to having more tense feeling days including clenching of teeth. I have tried both Organic India brand which is available at Whole Foods and Swanson's Ultimate Ashwagandha and while both were effective I believe the Swanson product worked best. Both of these products were only made from the root of the herb and I would love to hear from others if results have been better from taking both the root and leaves (I haven't yet tried).

GABA

Posted by Kathy (L A) on 07/04/2014
★★★★★

Hello!

My husband has been using GABA for a few years....maybe 5 years and there have been NO side affects at all, except to calm him down...I even take a pill when I'm going to be in a stressful situation, like visiting his mother, for example! lol

5-HTP

Posted by Joe (Sterville, Co) on 03/11/2013
★★★★★

I've read a few posts on the use of 5HTP and unusual symptoms (headaches, pains, etc) after using for awhile. Just wanted to recommend The Mood Cure book which helps to explain that these symptoms could possibly be caused by too much serotonin (serotonin syndrome). The gist of the 5HTP part is just using it long enough, and in proper doses, to where you feel better. Once you start getting abnormal symptoms, it can indicate that you are getting too much of a good thing, at which point you would stop or cut back.

5-HTP

Posted by Marigold (Anchorage, Ak) on 04/10/2010
0 out of 5 stars

5-HTP for anxiety/depression

After reading some posts on this website, I decided to try 5-HTP for my general depression and social anxiety. After taking it the first time, I really noticed it made me feel kind of happy and giddy, so I was excited, and I also felt less anxious and more able to be what I consider myself. However, about a week taking just 50 mgs twice a day, I noticed I would get headaches. Then after about a week and a half I got a horrible headache, which I think might have been a migraine. It came on suddenly and lasted for about an hour of excruciating pain and nausea, and more mild pain and tension the rest of the day. Afterwards, for about a week, I started getting strange pains all on the left side of my body, in my leg and hip and shoulder. The migraine was on the right side of my head. I was pretty sure the 5 HTP was causing my everyday headaches, and was starting to feel like it lead to the migraine and subsequent left-side-of-the-body pains. I stopped taking 5-HTP and and my head-aches and body-aches have subsided completely. I am glad this supplement has worked for some people, but I just wanted to share my experience.

Acetyl L-Carnitine

Posted by Caricater (Smyrna, Ga) on 12/30/2011
★★★★★

Please note that L-Carnitine and Acetyl L-Carnitine are different! L-Carnitine can help you lose weight and improve heart function, but for anxiety and depression, ALC is the one you want. ALC may benefit those with glucose issues and has been shown to improve memory and cognitive function. There are studies that an increase in oxidative stress while taking ALC is possible. If so, 100-600mg of alpha lipoic acid (ALA) will not only combat this side effect, it will increase the anti-aging effects!

Rhodiola

Posted by RR (Vancouver, Canada) on 02/21/2008
★★★★★

Rhodiola is amazing! I've been taking rr for about 6 months with fantastic improvements. I suffer from major anxiety/stress disorder, minor depression, was taking effexor xr for 5 years prior to this wonderful herb..the effexor caused me to gain 35lbs, made me sweat heavily, and actually gave me more anxiety, the sweating is still a problem, but is getting much better since taking rhodiola, almost gone, except when i get really anxious - socially, i start to sweat from my head/face..which is pretty dam embarrassing..DONT TAKE EFFEXOR! as this never happened before even with the anxiety i had.
Since taking rhodiola and stopping the effexor..i've lost the 35lbs that i gained..alot faster then iv'e ever lost weight before...so YES..it does help you lose weight..as long as you exercise hard and eat reasonably healthy. I dont eat that great, still eat pizza,wings, and drink beer occasionally. Just cut that deep fried food..mcd's etc to a minimum. EXERCISE is the key to losing weight with this herb, although when i took a break from working out...i still dropped a couple pounds.

Thanks to rhodiola, i'm almost back to my old self, except for this lingering little bit of anxiety. rhodiola works best with other herbs, acutally makes those other herbs work better then if u were to take them alone. My stress is so dramatically reduced, i almost feel normal again.

I'm currently on the search for the best combination to combat this left over anxiety issue, looks like i'll try 5-htp as people seem to have success with this combo.

I've been using the Arctic Root brand, from proactivebio, and currently trying out the
Ameriden brand..just google ameriden..you'll find it...apparantly its from Siberia where this
root was first discovered.

And as far as i know..you cannot grow it properly here, the active compounds will not be present
if grown here, needs that cold arctic condition to grow properly.

U have nothing but to benefit from taking this herb. I'm getting my whole family on it now!

and usually takes about 2-3 weeks before you really notice the effects!

L-Theanine

Posted by Joseph A. (Stockton, Ca.) on 09/01/2021 73 posts
★★★★★

I have read a lot about L-Theanine and just want to get this info out to people who take L-Theanine for Anxiety, Relaxation, and how to search for interactions with supplements and or prescription medicines.

First of all, when purchasing L-Theanine, it is imperative that you purchase only the companies that list Suntheanine on the front container, it represents the best of L-Theanine. Theanine without the name Suntheanine is very, very inexpensive and it will not be the product you want to help your problem.

Dosages, companies supply 100mg, 125mg, 150mg, 200mg, you can safely take approximately 8,000mg L-Theanine (Suntheanine), I have found that 400mg (2 capsules each with 200mg each) in the morning and same in the evening. With or without food is fine. Of course, you can take less, depending on your reason for taking it. If you want to check for interaction(s) then Google that question yourself, it is not necessary to ask, just know that many of your questions can be answered by Googling your question.

Anxiety searchers can find relief from Severe Anxiety with Serpina (Indian Snakeroot) (Amazon) or 500mg-1000mg of N-acetyl-L-Carnitine, Amazon sells 500mg, 1000mg and 1500mg pills. Magnesium glycinate also helps but not as good as the other two products.

Acetyl L-Carnitine

Posted by Joseph (Stockton, CA) on 10/22/2021 73 posts

Hi Sandi,

I am very sorry for your painful loss, I know it can take its toll, however life goes on and I want to explain a few things to you. First of all there is a book out called “Medication Madness” by Dr Peter Breggin, you will learn a lot. Now Serpina I used for my ill son with Schizophrenia, mental illness, insomnia, psychosis, etc., it is an herb developed in 1934 in India as the worlds first Anti-hypertensive medication, it restores normal blood pressure in hypertensives. This pill also fights Anxiety (best), reduces fevers, calm the nerves, used as a sedative in some psychotic disorders. Almost no side effects except when taking Antipsychotics or cold flu medicines. Sold at Amazon for $7.00 for 100 pills 4mg. I took my son off of antipsychotics and replaced with Serpina for 8 successful years, he did well until OCD entered his life, then medication was given Antipsychotic poison again, needless to say I learned the hard way with interaction so I stop Serpina. You can stop cold turkey, no food is needed prior to taking. I will reply to questions. Joseph

Magnesium

Posted by Monacoluna (Atlanta) on 09/26/2016
★★★★★

I have anxiety and irritability. Magnesium is a life saver. I can really feel myself mellow over the course of the day when I take it regularly. Very grateful I found it.

Magnesium

Posted by Ryan (Texas, US) on 09/04/2014
★★★★★

Those of you with anxiety issues, start taking magnesium. every day take at least 250 mg; I personally take 500 mg. It will make you go to the bathroom a lot if you take too much. You won't notice any effect on you for maybe a week. Then bam your anxiety is gone.

Magnesium

Posted by Doris (Murfreesboro, TN) on 12/05/2007
★★★★★

My son suffered from anxiety and depression after his divorce. I read an article by George Eby about Magnesium Glycinate for depression. I bought my son some of the magnesium and after a few days he started feeling better and talked about having more energy and concentration. He took 800-1000 mgs. for a few days to build it up in his system, then backed down to 400 mgs. The Magnesium Glycinate really changed his life.

Cold Showers

Posted by Marc (Toronto, Canada) on 02/28/2007
★★★★★

I've been suffering from anxiety and depression for years, and recently I've started to get panic attacks. I finally got motivated to start researching my problem on my own because I've discovered that doctors (at least the ones I've been too) are useless.

I've discovered a lot of useful information on this website, but what really caught my eye is the cold shower therapy. I've never taken a cold shower in my life so I tried it today. Honestly, I've never felt so great. I don't know what it did to me, but I got a terrible fit of the giggles that lasted half an hour. I feel a lot better, and motivated, which is rare for me especially in the morning. I'll keep it up and see what else happens, but I definitely recommend trying it, for whatever reason. And Thank You for this great website!

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Berry (Washington,DC) on 08/29/2005
★★★★★

a tablespoon of vinegar in a half glass of warm water is good for calming my emotions. if i drink it when something has gotten on my nerves. It takes effect immediately. Try it