Was first diagnosed with anxiety many, many years ago and didn't believe it, I guess. I felt depressed not anxious. As time has gone on, I've realized it's anxiety untreated that turns into depression. The anxiety was just so commonplace that I didn't recognize it as anything but normalcy. As I've gotten older the anxiety is overwhelming and completely paralyzing at times. And long-term it still leads to depression. This has really been an issue over this year. I have a feeling I need to get some shrooms. I have historically had bad experiences with pharmaceutical prescriptions, I am not against it totally, but definitely looking for alternative options. Experiences with alternatives to pharmaceuticals or short-term use of pharmaceuticals for anxiety, depression, etc.?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kalms-290-...words=calms+for+anxiety&qid=1692057580&sr=8-6 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kalms-Nigh...words=calms+for+anxiety&qid=1692057623&sr=8-7 I knew a guy once who was very anxious. Before going to a doctor he tried Kalms and it greatly reduced his anxiety level. I have no personal experience of it so feel free to read all the info for yourself.
Thanks for the recommendation. I'll look more into it. I used to take valerian capsules many years ago, either right after my bout with pharmaceuticals or in between different prescriptions, I don't remember but I hated it. I take lavender regularly in many different forms. I love lavender tea and use the essential oil often, but I may need a much higher dose. I forgot I actually got loose-dried lavender to make tea and never did it. I also think my anxiety level might be considered more than mild, which is what these are recommended for...I am using ashwaghanda right now, I'm not sure how much it's helping, since I just started using it. I felt like taking a multivitamin daily was helping with plenty of Vitamin D but that was in the winter. I get plenty of Vitamin D now and I'm still feeling overwhelmed.
Sorry that you're going through this. It might help if you could describe what kind of anxiety you've got (social anxiety, generalized anxiety, health anxiety, etc.), but some of these resources below may apply generally. These links (to pages on HF) might be helpful Alternative Treatments for Physical and Mental Illness Self-Treatment Methods for Physical and Mental Health There are also conventional treatments, like cognitive behavioral therapy. There's some evidence that learning cognitive behavioral therapy on your own can be helpful. I'm putting some titles below that are from the reading-well.org.uk booklist. Books there have been vetted by at least one healthcare professional. The list seems to be heavily skewed toward British authors. I also haven't read the books, so it's not a personal endorsement. You might find other books that you like better. Overcoming Anxiety, 2nd Edition: A self-help guide using cognitive behavioural techniques Helen Kennerley Overcoming Worry and Generalised Anxiety Disorder, 2nd Edition: A self-help guide using cognitive behavioural techniques Mark Freeston, Kevin Meares An Introduction to Coping with Anxiety, 2nd Edition Brenda Hogan, Leonora Brosan There are drugs that can help reduce anxiety, but they are very addictive, and so they're not a good long-term solution. If there's a root cause of your anxiety, addressing that may be one of the best things you can do to treat it. Some people also have emotional support animals to help them deal with anxiety, but there may be limitations on bringing ESA's to many public places.
If self-medicating with psychedelics could cure depression and anxiety, I'd surely be living in a perpetual state of ecstatic bliss by now. That said, some folk like Gabor Maté have been doing some interesting work with microdoses of psilocybin, but that's in a carefully scripted, controlled therapeutic environment, much different than how most people do drugs. Reading some of his work on healing from childhood trauma would probably be more helpful to you. Meditation, tai chi, and forest bathing help me, but it's not for everyone; a lot of anxious and depressed folk are excessively ruminative, and may find that some forms of meditation exacerbates their depression and anxiety, sometimes in catastrophic ways. Best if you can explore these with a good teacher. CBT has been very helpful to me, as has polyvagal theory, they've helped me minimize some of the self-defeating negative feedback loops in my head, and identify and moderate some of the environmental and lifestyle issues that tweak the Central Nervous System and contribute to my "fight or flight" response and feeling overwhelmed. "Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself." Desiderata: Original Text
I've done microdosing mushrooms in the past, this is why I feel it would be helpful. I'm fairly experienced with a lot of these things, but life has gotten very busy and I don't have as much time to find something that works for me anymore. I've been 20 years free from pharmaceuticals and over 10 years free from any psychedelics (including mj). It is definitely childhood trauma, and yet I've worked through a lot of that and I think I need to find a good therapist, that is the hard part. I thought getting mushrooms first would be a good start, although I'm open to all kinds of herbs and treatments. I definitely believe lifestyle has something to do with it too...I've just let things get too busy and chaotic over time that even my best defenses don't work as well or I just don't feel like I have the time to put into them. I have professional experience teaching meditation and have always found it useful, but again, I really only do it at bedtime anymore. I guess my anxiety might be considered general anxiety. I have been told I have PTSD. It is related to this, but as it is, everything I do (almost) causes me anxiety. Any kind of challenge whatsoever. I was never like this before. It may be related to early menopause. I'm just speculating though. Anyway, I will be seeing a doctor soon, I'd of course love relief even faster. My mind is definitely very imaginative and so if I have the time to just be inside my own self I'm totally fine, but when it comes to doing almost everything else, my anxiety gets really high.
Therapy can be good for trauma, especially if you feel a desire to communicate with a therapist about it. There are some therapists that specialize in trauma or particular kinds of traumas. It's ok to "shop around" for a therapist and only decide on the one you'll see regularly once you feel comfortable with one. EMDR is a relatively new treatment method for PTSD/trauma. Some people like it. The acupressure self-massage and dietary changes described in the self-treatment methods link above would be free treatments that you could start right away. I hope something can help.
