Are there any herbal or dietary remedies for anxiety?

[MountCleaners]

I am already seeing a psychiatrist for anxiety and depression. I have to take my medication at night. I seem to be fine in the morning, but by afternoon, I start to have anxiety again.

I've told the doctor, and she increased my dosage. It's helping a little, and I sleep better and feel better in the mornings, but the afternoon anxiety is still there. In the evening I take my meds and am feeling better again.

I am not one of those people who is anti-medication, if you're wondering. I'd just like to know if there is anything additional, like an herbal tea or something, that I could ingest in the afternoon that might calm me down or take some of the edge off my anxiety.

Thanks in advance!

[irisblue]

1. I have a mug of cammomile tea in the afternoon. nt

[samnsara]

2. can you get a med card in your state?

[shenmue]

3. St. John's wort

[CanonRay]

15. Yes, this works well

[worstexever]

21. Recommend caution with St. John's wort

I had a friend who used it for anxiety and when she wanted to stop she couldn't without feeling suicidal. I've learned that is a common side effect.

[elfin]

29. Plus, it triggered photo sensitivity in me

Got it bad on my face and arms and chest - heat rash with benefits of stinging discomfort.

Now not using anything, but wouldn't use it again.

[DonViejo]

4. here....

http://www.homeopathycenter.org/anxiety-or-fear

[Jane Austin]

5. I like L-theanine for focus and anxiety.

It's in a lot of sleep formulas with melatonin, but it doesn't make me sleepy.

Also, the Bach flower remedy Rock Rose is great for panic or mind racing, like when your mind races instead of letting you go to sleep at night.

[triron]

40. lemon balm helps with l-theanine

[BlancheSplanchnik]

42. That's interesting to know. Thanks! n/t

[Freethinker65]

6. consult with your Dr. if adding herbal supplements to your Rx meds

[marylandblue]

7. Sounds like you are taking the wrong medicine

You need something that stays in the system longer. Have you tried Prozac or.another SSRI?

[Mrs. Overall]

8. Many people have found that magnesium can offset anxiety symptoms.

[Control-Z]

34. I was going to add magnesium to the discussion.

My daughter and her father both swear by it. They buy it packaged as a product called "Calm". I think it comes in either packets or capsules. I know the magnesium is a powered substance. The only time I thought about using it all we had was the powered. I was turned off by the need to stir it into a liquid of some sort.

Frankly, it probably wouldn't work on me anyway. I'm kind of hard core when it comes to meds. Or overly sensitive. It's one extreme or the other for me. Lol.

[postatomic]

9. Ask your Psychatrist

Anxiety can be a strange bird. I'm all for alternative medicines, but when you mix natural remedies with your regular meds you need to check with your doctor. All my 'people' know that I smoke a little flower from time to time.

I'd be asking myself what is happening in the afternoon to flip the anxiety trigger.

Wish I could offer some suggestions for ya'. Maybe do one of those internet search things.

Take care

[WhiteTara]

10. Here's something

that you can do anytime, anywhere and I find it very effective. The simplicity is amazing. You simply breathe in and then you breathe out. Follow your breath and place your concentration about 4 inches below your naval. Breathe In Breathe Out. If you need to, say to yourself, breathing in, breathing out. Don't force your breath or anything like that. Thoughts come and go. Don't hold onto them, just see them as thoughts. Breathe In Breathe Out.

One thing that is even more wonderful is to sit and consciously do this for anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes a day. Just breathe in and breathe out. Focus on your diaphragm. As thoughts come, allow them to go. They are just wind. Breathe In, Breathe Out.

This is an anxious time.

[Warpy]

11. If you're taking it at suppertime, delay it until bedtime.

If you're taking more than one pill, consider taking them in divided doses, part at night and part with breakfast. Sometimes fiddling with the time you take a medication can have a profound effect.

Physical activity helps anxiety, so if you can possibly take a walk during your lunch hour, try that. Also reconsider caffeine in the morning, if you drink it. That caffeine crash would hit in the afternoon and trigger anxiety. Non caffeinated teas can be soothing in the way that any hot drink is soothing.

Someone suggested calcium and magnesium. They can't hurt, especially if you're female.

Although I know a couple of herbs that are good anti anxiety drugs, they can be very toxic and the toxic dose is very close to the effective dose. It's why they went out of use in favor of safer and more predictable drugs.

[ghostsinthemachine]

12. Pot, indica's especially.

https://www.leafly.com/news/strains-products/what-are-the-best-cannabis-strains-for-anxiety

Lightly dose. My story is that I had anxiety, depression and pot really heightened it if I did too much. Edibles especially, which dosage then was impossible.
I started on Zoloft which ruined my life. Horrible experience.
I went back to pot. And only ate edibles that I made and knew dosage and dropped the Zoloft, and I don't have THAT problem anymore.

[CentralMass]

30. I had a rough year leading into 2016. Multiple deaths of close loved ones.

A divorce and relocation of my job. I was having borh anxiety and depression issues. The state i moved to legalized and i tried a recommended strong indica with a THC concentration of around 28%. I used just a little on a Friday and sometimes Saturday night when i didnt have the work week to distract me. It helped. I was able to relax and get some sleep and did not find myself impaired the next mornimg. .i used it only briefly and started to run regularly to fend off my issues instead. I dont like to be reliant on anything.

[2naSalit]

13. some of the remedies above and...

Potassium Phosphate.

[bettyellen]

14. Kava kava- the tea is mild enough. Helped a friend through her rough divorce.

[bettyellen]

19. Interesting becasue while I think a cup of tea occasionally is nice....

I'd be worried to be so into in that I'm going to a forum.
My friend actually ended up loving it she went to the island off Australia where it comes from and said there were tons of addicts. I thought that was pretty funny!

[Adsos Letter]

16. Not an herbal remedy, but...

Not an herbal remedy, but are you able to get some mild cardio exercise in the afternoon? I lived with severe depression/anxiety/ocd for over 30 years. Even 20 minutes of mild cardio helped take the edge off. Not a substitute, but an adjunct to other therapies.

[MountCleaners]

22. Thanks for the advice

I will wait until I see my doctor again. In the meantime, maybe I'll just try the chamomile tea. I thought that exercise would help, but I had a full-blown panic attack at the gym today and had to leave. It was really bad. I never thought it would happen at the gym. Usually exercise takes my mind off the fear. Since this has happened, I am going to wait until my next doctor's appointment, since the anxiety is worse than I'd thought.

But chamomile sounds non-threatening enough, and I'll try the breathing thing. I have a hard time with breathing exercises and meditation, since I am an energetic and impatient person.

Thanks again for all of the advice!

[elehhhhna]

18. Not without a doctor's okay - some of that stuff interacts poorly with head meds.

[Bayard]

23. Rescue Remedy

Sold at health food stores. Good for most species, including humans.

[steve2470]

24. you probably know this already but....

in the interest of thoroughness, ANY kind of very mild to moderate stimulant will produce feelings of anxiety if over a certain threshold.

Caffeine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stimulant (yes yes it's wiki but a good start)

Some teas have stimulant in them, per https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea


At any rate, DO NOT JUST COLD-TURKEY OFF caffeine or any other stimulant. Talk to your doctor before you do that. If you've been drinking, for example, 4 pots of coffee per day, doing cold turkey can, um, not make you feel that great. Seriously. I had a client cold turkey off that much coffee one time and she ended up in her doctor's office.

I'm not saying having a cup of coffee or tea in the morning is bad, just.... know what you're doing.

Hope this helps someone.

eta: corrected post

[still_one]

25. chamomile tea and many herbal teas are naturally caffeine free

[steve2470]

26. good info, thanks! nt

[Skittles]

27. try some Hyland's Nerve Tonic

you can get it at Walmart

[DK504]

28. Kava Kava is one that is amazing. It is like nature's valium and it doesn't

make you sluggish. Gaba is also very good.

[emulatorloo]

31. Have your doc try a different anti-anxiety med if the one you're taking isn't working for you.

A med that might work well for your neighbor may not work at all for you.

You and your doc just need to figure out which of the meds work best for >you<

Best Regards and everything is gonna work out.

[DeadLetterOffice]

38. You may also need a med that you take 2X/day

I take one of my antianxiety meds half in the morning and half at night, ON THE INSTRUCTIONS OF MY DOCTOR (I put this in caps because you really shouldn't do anything, including herbals, without discussing it with your prescribing doctor. And if they don't know, ask your pharmacist).

[lovemydogs]

32. Lavendar, Chamomile, Vitamin B and E

Just about everyone in my family suffers from anxiety and depression.
Sometimes, even on meds or while searching for the right one, we need something to help keep us.
Lavendar and chaomile are known for calming properties.
I've taken B and E as well and they are great.
Another thing that really helps is yoga and doing some meditation.

[mopinko]

33. sometimes it takes some tinkering to find the right dose.

i agree w warpy's comment that you could split your meds into 2 doses. maybe even uneven split.
i take lyrica for pain, but i felt i was sleeping too much, so doc gave me a pill size for that i would take 2 in the morning and 1 at bedtime.

and agree w what everyone here says that you need to talk to your doc about any herbal meds you are taking. the trouble i have w a lot of these remedies is that you dont always know what is in them. i know there were a couple boner pills nailed for having generic viagra from china in them.

[Control-Z]

35. If you don't mind

could you tell me which med you're taking?

I'm a wreck. Have been for years and nothing seems to work. Well, actually Clonazepam does somewhat but it's terrible to stop taking. It stays in your system forever so I'd rather not start that again.

The biggest reason I ask is because I don't sleep and it sounds like it's helping you at least get some sleep.

If you'd rather not say I will understand. I hope you find the dose or combination that works for you.

[steve2470]

36. gabapentin works for me

https://www.drugs.com/gabapentin.html

[TheDebbieDee]

37. What do you think about hypnosis?

I mean, I used it to stop smoking and give myself relaxation suggestions to avoid relapsing 14 years ago... I think the relaxation suggestions might work for whatever behavior you're trying to control or alter.

[steve2470]

39. Good suggestion! nt

[triron]

41. try gui pi pian, a chinese herbal

get it thru amazon