I have a family member with stress and anxiety issues. Since I am an internet doctor (got my degree from the Net University) I try to help. I will use this thread as a journal, bloging about my findings and results. If you have any experiences, you can join me and share them. The point of this thread is sharing and helping others with similar problems. I already learnt a lot from other sites... My goal is to find a cheap, harmless (well, less harmful), easy to get, legal, hopefully natural substance, that has few or no side effects and no withdrawal symptoms and is effective to treat stress and/or anxiety. Now that is a tall order, but I have the time and the inclination, not to mention I am willing to test anything what I find on myself. Since I don't have stress/anxiety, I can only test the side effect part. So far I have found and ordered 3 different substances that are good candidates. They all elevate mood, lessen anxiety and help with memory and concentration.Here they are in order of dangerousness, less harmful first: 1. Rhodiola Rosea (RR from now on): This is a completely natural plant, that grows at high altitude in Siberia. If this works, this would be my favorite, since it fulfills every characteristics what I am aiming for: legal, cheap, no side effects, natural. The question is, does it work at least as much as the others? A month supply is $16 at Amazon. 2. Aniracetam: This is a nootropic of the racetam chemical class, similar to piracetam, but more powerful. Not natural at all, but no dangerous side effects either. Fairly cheap, costs about twice as much as RR. 3. Phenibut: This is a derivative of the naturally occurring inhibitory neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). The addition of a phenyl ring allows phenibut to cross the blood brain barrier. They sell it in the USA as a supplement, but make no mistake, this is a dangerous drug. It is a prescription drug in Russia, where it was originally developed for relaxing cosmonauts while their focus still remains the same. This is actually a cheap substance, if you buy it in powder bulk form. The main issue here is, can it be used more effectively than prescription drugs (Xanax) without triggering extra risk like withdrawal symptoms? As I said I ordered all 3, two of them already delivered. Since #2 and #3 are in bulk powder (cheaper), I also ordered a digital scale so I will be able to measure out small quantities. The scale has arrived too, it has a 0.01 g calibration and error range. So I am almost set. I might order empty capsules too, for now, I just empty a capsule of something that I don't need and fill that up. Mainly I will examine and experience with these 3, although I am open for more suggestions. Lemon balm would be another good candidate, I ordered the tea form. I think it only helps mild cases, but still worthy to give it a try. So in the upcoming posts I will introduce these substances and diary my personal opinion and results with them... Join me for the journey!!!
Camomile tea (also spelled Chamomile) is readily available in most grocery stores and is a remarkably effective relaxant for many. I also have a family member with anxiety issues, given to worry about things that may never transpire, who finds this tea to be helpful in some measure. The only caution of note with Camomile is that it should be avoided if someone has allergies with it or with any other member of Ragweed Family, to which Camomile belongs. For some time now I have been wondering how much our modern diet of largely processed foods and lack of outdoor activities may be contributing to our stress and anxiety issues. The pressures of population density and greater competition for employment and living space cannot be helpful either, in my opinion.
I put Chamomile into the Lemon Balm category. I am sure they help in mild cases and with sleep, but in serious anxiety/stress, we need something stronger. I started to take RR 2 days ago, 1-1 240 mg pills, that has 5% rosavin in it. Although I took a test yesterday, I don't think I noticed much in the concentration department. But last afternoon I did have more energy than usual. It sometimes takes up to a week to get the full benefits. So I will take it for a week before I make the final evaluation. Also, it shouldn't be taken before bedtime, because it might give too much energy for a good night sleep. I took phenibut twice (1-1.2 g), so far, just to see the side effects. After the first time I got slightly dizzy, but otherwise I didn't notice anything. Again, I wasn't under stress, it was actually a very nice sunny day, so not particulary good to evaluate anti anxiety properties. I won't take this substance in the future, it is kind of a last resort, if all else fails and the family member gets real low. Still better and less harmful than Xanax... In this thread I am not going to go into details about the substances, there are plenty of info on the net. One good website is erowid.com, where people share their experiences. Most of them who got bad experiences either overdosed or took it for extended period. Phenibut is not supposed to be taken continuously, only 2-3 times a week...
Hm, I wrote a lengthy reply, but I assume because of a bug, it needs to be approved by a moderator, so let's wait if it shows up... this test post went through without a problem... Edit: The post showed up, the one above this one....
I guess I must be old fashioned in thinking that addressing the cause of the stress or anxiety would be more effective that treating the symptoms. From my own observations, some persons seem genetically predisposed to anxiety in which case it may not respond to either resolution or substance as these people seem capable of merely transferring their anxiety to another source or cause. They seem to get some kind of 'high' from the anxiety itself and some use their stress as a reason to avoid matters with which they would rather not deal. :shrug:
Well, in a perfect world, I agree. In the real world, the cause could be beyond our reach. What if it is caused by a combination of genetics and work related stress? You can't change your genes, and you probably need a job, specially if it is a well paid job, so you are stuck with treating the symptoms... Or what if we don't even know the cause? Then how would we treat it? And even if we know, what if it can not be treated? The bottom line is, at this point, I take a good treatment of the symptoms, and we will go from there... Also, with #1 and #2 substances, they help with general concentration, focus and extra energy. So they could be fine supplements for a healthy person too.
I have noticed that older women can have emotional problems with chemical menopause treatments while herbal menopause treatments can be better as they tend to balance emotional extremes. The chemical treatments have also been shown to be related to cancer. My late mum went onto the herbal treatment at 65 and two years later she started painting watercolors and winning first prizes in the local show (population 500,000 and 1,500,000 during holidays). Unfortunately she was diagnosed with inoperable cancer of the upper pancreas when she was 71 and passed away within 6 months. Note: these changes should only be made by a doctor who is experienced. Older men can also have these problems via their medication if they are overweight, suffer from high blood pressure and or sleep apnea. The best way to solve this is just losing weight until the medications etc are not required.
I took the Aniracetam yesterday with choline (to prevent headaches). I didn't notice anything special. But again, it was a gorgeous sunny day, a holiday, so there wasn't much there to be improved.
I ate 3 celerty sticks and walked for 8 miles yesterday (to keep things rolling in my body). I didn't notice anything special, but for the money I saved not buying drugs at CVS. But again, it was a gorgeous sunny day, a holiday, so there wasn't much money to spend on drugs or time on internet.
