Natural Remedies for Anxiety

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No cigarettes or weed.

I go walking almost everyday. I tend to write or listen to music. But it doesn't necessarily help me, when I am in high social anxiety zones.

Are there other natural ways of me dealing with my anxiety in high anxiety zones?

When out of a situation, I use strenuous exercise that really wears me out - usually has to be cardio that burns off the excess stress and energy.

When in a situation, I have a necklace with a cross (but it can be anything) that I move back and forth. I'm also getting a "spinner" ring that spins to remind me to pray, but the "spinner" part I can use to reduce stress.

I used to use alcohol to help relax and sleep, but I stopped that 2.5 months ago and I take no other drugs. My sleeping is good now. I don't have any TV in my bedroom - I use it to read and listen to the radio and sleep, of course.

Strenuous exercise is my biggest stress reliever.

I have supplement stack that I take; magnesium, GABA, Theanine, 5-htp, and some other stuff, but the ones I mentioned specifically have a hand in reducing anxiety. I take them in the morning, then the Theanine and 5-htp during lunch, and the magnesium, along with melatonin, before I go to bed. I noticed I'm able to cope in social situations a lot better opposed to when I wasn't taking anything. At the end of the work day, I rarely feel emotionally exhausted anymore.

All the supplements I mentioned are, I believe, natural except for the 5-htp, which is actually a precursor for serotonin.

I'm with nurseangela on this one. I do cardio almost daily to "flush out" all my anxiety. As I'm working out I imagine my sweat to be all the yuck build up inside me that's finally getting out to make me clean again. I'm not really sure if that works for other people, but it works for me. I play a lot of PS2 DDR games with workout modes on them. Each program is seven songs, which equals to about 15-20 minutes. I don't have time to pause and think about anything else but concentrate on the arrows on the TV, so it's a nice brain break, too.

Another thing I do is play with pipe cleaners when in a social environment. My wife made me puzzles out of pipe cleaners that I untie and unwind from knots and loops and then put back together again. It keeps my focus elsewhere and doesn't bring a lot of attention to me. I use them a lot at noisy restaurants.

Going back to my roots as a kid also helps. Playing with toys, playing make believe, playing positive video games, especially with close friends, like Nintendoland or something.

Also green tea. I've noticed an improvement in my mood every time I drink green tea. And I'm talking the real stuff--not the stuff that comes in bottles loaded with sugar.

I like to eat a small amount of licorice after work, and then work in the garden.

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/5-herb ... xiety.html

Also pay mind to what you are putting in that maybe you shouldn't be. It's not always adding something new that helps. You may know all of this and do it already because they are simple. But it can't hurt to mention.

Try eliminating or drastically reducing caffeine and sugar if you do not already.

Drink plenty of water. Dehydration makes you confused. If you're anything like me, when I start getting confused I get overwhelmed. Overwhelmed then leads to anxiety. You should not pee dark yellow. I used to be bad with drinking water until my wife made me about 8 years ago. I know now when I'm not drinking enough. And WATER. Not vitamin water. Not sports drinks. Not tea. Straight water.

Consider keeping a food journal. While situations naturally play a huge part, most likely the largest part, of triggering anxiety, mild food allergies can do very weird and unexpected things to people's behavior and emotional regulation. Perhaps eating certain foods makes you "weaker" to the onset of an anxiety attack. Knowing this may help you avoid certain foods when you know you are entering stressful situations.

In the adding department, take a good quality multivitamin if you do not already. Avoid the ones that come in the hard pills because the body doesn't use a large percentage of that pill and the ones that come that way usually use real garbage.

Also I agree with trying more rigorous exercise than just walking. Try running a bit. Or hike somewhere difficult if it's near you. Really wear yourself out. Your body and mind are less prone to anxiety when they don't have the spare energy for it. If you know you're going into a social situation, try making a rigorous exercise part of your pre-planning for such events.

I thought I edited my post to say what did what and where it comes from, but I apparently forgot to submit. To further explain my stance: I work a very active job, so exercise isn't an issue and at my job, where I get most of my anxiety, stimming isn't option. So doing things like fixing my diet and using supplements that can work throughout that day is my only options.

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Theanine is in tea. It's thought to be the major player in the calming effect that tea produces. I read that black tea has more, but it also has more caffeine too. It does have to be actual tea though to get any health benefits. That canned stuff is essentially tea flavored sugar.

Magnesium is, of course, in food; green veggies like spinach and nuts like cashews and almonds. It's an essential mineral and plays many parts in the body, especially cellular function. It's thought that majority of people lack it and it's associated anxiety disorders, among other health problems.

For GABA; many studies have demonstrated a link between Autism and GABA deficiency. I've read that the majority of usable GABA is produced in the gut by good bacteria and since we with Autism have abnormal gut bacteria, it would make sense we would lack it. To address it on a dietary level, you have to consume probiotics, but aim for brands that have a lot of strains. Personally, I drink kefir from Lifeway, as it's the only brand I can find that is both unsweetened and has L. Reutreri.

So, I guess the crux of this post is: fix your diet, even if you take my advice and look into supplements. I personally do both and have seen massive improvements in my life. My anxiety has gone away for the most part, my executive function has improved, and I feel like can actually function.

There are natural herbs that are beneficial for getting rid of anxiety . Most of the folks feel more comfortable talking to a doctor with whom they already have a relationship. There are senior housing nj members who usually avoid treatments & diagnosis for this problem and try to find natural solutions like following their healthy diet, exercise , spending time with lovable person and many such activities .

CBT exposure therapy/systematic desensitization, along with challenging your anxious thoughts by cross checking them against cognitive distortions as they come in your head and adopting a "IDGAF"(I dont give a f**k) attitude towards real or perceived judgement while out and about in public have worked the best for me. The "IDGAF" attitude works well for those who you have never seen before and will likely never see again, or those who you really do not need to interact with again or be their friends.

If you are anxious while out in public because of someone, ask yourself "have I seen that person before?", "am I likely to see them again?". If the answers to those question's are "no", then why do you give a damn what they think? Consciously thinking this along with realizing that most people are preoccupied with their own lives and likely won't even remember you 60 seconds later as you will be long forgotten.

The more I expose myself to my social anxiety triggers, the easier it gets. The more I avoid, the worse it gets. Social Anxiety is either getting worse because you avoid or better because you confront it, it doesn't stay the same.

For systematic desensitization therapy, write a list of anxiety provoking situations. Rank them in order from least anxiety provoking to most anxiety provoking. Start at the least anxiety provoking situation and work your way up the list. Rate your anxiety our of 10 after 30 second, 1,3,5,10,15 minute intervals, on paper to start with. Consciously be mindful and notice that your anxiety will drop, even if by a couple points. The human body physiologically cannot sustain a constant state of anxiety forever, it will drop. Notice your progress over time to motivate you to continue to confront your anxiety.

Adaptogen herbs. Rhodiola Rosea works well. Aswagandha works better better causes GI issues.

Guided imagery
I like michael sealy on you tube

Playing ukulele

Listening to comedy
You pick what is funny

Swimming laps or swimming underwater


Rocking

Kava kava tea
Chamomile tea
Above are not actual teas by definition but that us what I call them

Christian Radio
You pick your own spiritual source

I had a similar thread about this last year and people made some useful suggestions in it, here is the link:
viewtopic.php?t=275285&hilit=anxiety

Valerian root comes in supplement form. Just make sure you do your own research before merely taking my word for it.

Grateful for sharing such an useful information.

You could try kratom ("Mitragyna speciosa" to be precise) which is an evergreen tree related to coffee and it's effects resemble an opioid high. I have never tried it but it's on its way to being banned for sale. I don't imagine it's a very good thing to consume on a regular basis but that is up to the consumer to decide. It is natural and helps with anxiety (I guess lol) so there you go, that's my rant on kratom.