Anxiety disorders are the most common types of psychiatric disorder. The diagnosis of an anxiety disorder is based largely on its symptoms. However, symptoms identical to those of an anxiety disorder can be caused by a medical condition (for example, an overactive thyroid gland) or by the use of drugs (for example, corticosteroids, amphetamines, cocaine, or excess caffeine).
Subscribe to a FREE Supplement Research Update newsletter. Once or twice a month we email a brief abstract of several studies on various supplements and natural medicine topics, including anxiety relief, and their practical interpretation by Ray Sahelian, M.D.
Patients with generalized anxiety disorder experience worry or anxiety and a number of physical and psychological symptoms. The disorder is frequently difficult to diagnose because of the variety of presentations and the common occurrence of other medical or psychiatric conditions. The lifetime prevalence is approximately 4 to 6 percent in the general population and is more common in women than in men. It is often chronic, and patients with this disorder are more likely to be seen by family physicians than by psychiatrists. Treatment consists of pharmacotherapy and various forms of psychotherapy. The benzodiazepines are used for short-term treatment, but because of the frequently chronic nature of generalized anxiety disorder, they may need to be continued for months to years. Buspirone and antidepressants are also used for the pharmacologic management of patients with generalized anxiety disorder. Patients must receive an appropriate pharmacologic trial with dosage titrated to optimal levels as judged by the control of symptoms and the tolerance of side effects.
There are several supplements and herbs that may help reduce anxiety and stress, including:
5-HTP
works by increasing levels of
serotonin. You can buy
5-HTP here.
Kava from the South Pacific islands.
Click
Kava Kava if you wish to buy this product.
Fish
Oils help stabilize mood
Valerian is able to reduce anxiety.
For better sleep, try
Good-Night-Rx
an hour or two before bed.
Ashwagandha
may be helpful in some people at a dosage of 250 mg of the extract.
SAM-e, in high doses, may increase anxiety.
Anxiety questions
Q. I have tested ALC choline and
CDP-Choline for anxiety but
they don't give me an overall calm and focused effect. Also tried St John wort
but that gave me horrible effects even on a 10 mg dose. Then i tried
Vinpocetine-5mg,
bacopa and fish oil and they gave me a very good serine and focused effect but
that lasts for a few hours only.
And i gathered that when i take anything that has to do with increasing only
serotonin (but NOT dopamine or acetyl choline) it works wonders for me so i think
i should start trying 5htp with a low dose of 5 to 10 mg as i am very sensitive
to supplements.
Q. Since childhood I’ve had a problem with anxiety. Panic
attacks when I was 10, and in my 20’s left some bad scars. If I feel even a
little tense and anxiety sets in, I feel terrible. Psychiatrists just want to
give you benzodiazepines, which work but I think this is trauma related, and
when I talked to my holistic Dr., he said to work on the adrenals, and
pantothenic acid mellows that anxiety down, a little. Can you add to that. That
you – anxiety is a terrible feeling.
A. Some of the nutrients and herbs listed above may be helpful for
natural anxiety treatment.
Q. So my medical problems can't be handled with allopathic medicine. I have researched my panic and anxiety problems from childhood, and suffered tremendously with anxiety all my life, including low self-esteem, shyness, medication with alcohol, fear and worry that can't really be put into a laymans reasoning because they wouldn't understand unless you've experienced, agoraphobia because of the depression of being tired of worrying about everything. Nonstop endless thinking in circles because the mind is driven by adrenalin your secreting yourself by trying to figure out your fears that are nothing more than being in the fight or flight mode. Years of study taught me this problem was genetic. My brother almost committed suicide, I used small amounts of alcohol, but not large because the problem would only increase 10 fold in the morning, so I learned to drink about 3 or 4 beers, and then fight my mind to try to stop because it felt so good. Having no trouble at all during the day, because I had my face in a blueprint all day, building high profile places where your attention was outside yourself all day, and there was no time to remember the fear you felt the night before, until you got off work. Well after I quit drinking 10 years ago I got on clonozapam, which helped more knowing a fix was available if needed that finding the cause. I nailed it down to dumping to much adrenalin, due to my brain always thinking to much. As a child, I was always on my bike and skinny as a rail. Anyway fight or flight is what I told an Ayurvedic Dr., an M.D. in India, and she said it was't adrenalin, it was to much cortisol. So she had me take a combo of herbs from Himalaya Herbal Healthcare called Stresscare and Bacopa which is the first time I've gotten some relief from something other than pharmaceutical drugs or alcohol. Bacopa is Bramhi (Bacopa monnieri), and StressCare has a blend of many. Chyavanprash Concentrate - changed my mind, there are to many. Its such of a long history of fear, worry, fear of anxiety, which means fear of the memory of those panic days. I haven't had a full blown anxiety attack which means the ER., but the fear of the memory, or fear of fear is just as bad, because your memory stays so clear of those days. However in all my studying and research there are constants, like I am so self aware, no ego, just years of practicing it. I know its so uncomfortable that I know there something physical going wrong. To much adrenalin which the parasympathetic nervous system is supposed to handle is what I thought it was, but a clue to you is ashwagandha triggers anxiety in me. I thought it would help, and MindCare by Himalaya also triggers anxiety, or the awareness of something chemically wrong, or to much of something in me, starting in my stomach.
Anxiety questions
Q. SAM-e has a great effect on me but even at very low doses of a quarter of a
200 mg pill it causes anxiety. Should i eat something with it or take more water
or something?
A. It is possible that taking a SAM-e supplement with food could
help, but anxiety is a SAM-e side effect and one could take less of a dose or
perhaps every other day.