Nature Remedies For Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Overthinking And Insomnia

[J_trustno1]

Hi all,

It's been a long time since I've posted here. So pardon me if I'm posting in the wrong thread.

I've been on antidepressants from the age of 16. The first one was paroxitine which worked well on and off for 11 yrs when it finally stopped working.

Then was given seroquel, mirtazapine where both caused hallucinations at low doses.

Recently been on Venlafaxine 75mg for 4.5 yrs. Took me 1 year to wean of it. Finally off it since December 2018.

However, I'm now suffering from insomnia, panic attacks, somtachaches and overthinking.

I'm not as depressed as I used to but panic attacks and insomnia are getting me. I have been to the doctor and he's given me Escitalopram (20mg) and temzapam for insomnia and moderate depression.

Temzapam has helped with sleep only when I didn't takw Escitalopram that day. Ever since I started taking escitalopram, I can't sleep.

Do you know of any natural medications or remedies that can help with sleep. I know yoga, exercise and meditation can but i really need help with my sleep and anxiety.

P. S. I've had counselling for 5 yrs already. I'm now after natural treatment.

 

[Teamwork]

The two most natural remedies for me were mindfulness of breathing techniques that came with the spire stone. Its not unlike the trackers people wear for walking. This stone clips on the waste band of clothing and is on my ipad. It vibrates when my breathing has been tense for two minutes and gives me a choice to do some breathing with the ipad app or hit not now. Overall this device has increased my ability to catch early tense breathing and bring it down before it hits panic mode. The other is called TappingSolution and I also use the free portions of the app, because I don’t want to spend a lot. Just understand how to tap, let it guide me through a tapping set. I also do a breathing exercise in the shower every morning, simply because I hooked it into that time, otherwise I wouldn’t do it. I reminds me to take the deep breathes that can be done in a nice hot relaxing shower environment. Might sound kinda of silly but tense breathing and panic breathing are not the time to try to figure out what a good breathe in and slow breathe out really are. I know this isn’t what you wanted, but I wanted to share my experience with just awareness of good breathing and tense. I didnt know how tense I was until I started wearing the tracker and that has changed my over all tense, panic patterns to much improved, after wearing the device for a full year now.

 

[Fadeaway]

Be careful with temzapam, it just f*cked my world over, causing severe cognitive decline. The withdrawals are a bitch on steroids. Keeping it tame, but I could express myself hatred for this drug far more colorfully.

I prefer natural, but not having much luck with managing insomnia and anxiety this way is why I turned to prescription meds. Natural remedies do exist and do help depending on things like body chemistry and low external stress.

Kava Kava works on the gaba A receptor.

Magnesium tarurate is a glutamate antagonist.

Cutting sugar to less than 16 grams a day

A new one I just learned is that calcium excites glutamate receptors so don't supplement.

Passion flower
Valarian
Oatstraw
Chamomile (diuretic which end up interfering with sleep)

 

[blackemerald1]

I know yoga, exercise and meditation can but i really need help with my sleep and anxiety.

Oh you sound like you have come a full 360 with meds and yet still you have no relief. :sorry:

How much exercise, yoga and meditation are you able to do? You may require a lot more than you are currently doing.

If you can handle staying off the meds for a while and really up the level of exercise you are doing and I am talking way past where you might ordinarily pull up... your anxiety may gradually abate. It takes weeks to months rather than seconds (meds).

Same goes for sleep. Once you are physically exhausting yourself and follow a sleep hygiene routine and suffer through the first few weeks or months - it may right itself.

But there are other things to do too. Eat properly, cut out alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine, drop sugar and calorie intake.... the list is endless but all may be impacting your anxiety and sleep.

This is the really long (natural) way around the problem. I hope you can get some relief.

 

[Fadeaway]

I think that is the key word, long.
The lack of imeadiate response makes it harder to stick to.

 

[blackemerald1]

I completely agree with you @Fadeaway . It is a very, very long road when using the all natural methods and yeah it's so hard to maintain the motivation to keep going because the benefits don't begin immediately.

Though in saying that... one only has to stop consuming some things once and then stay off them - and that's hard in itself, but the effects may be more immediate depending on the levels of consumption.

The exercise, yoga, meditation routine takes time to build up because otherwise it is unsustainable and well, it hurts too much. :rolleyes:

But with the right encouragement and self-discipline the all natural approach may reap lots of benefits and help reduce anxiety and increase length and depth of sleep.

I'm no gym enthusiast. I need long periods of cardio., to get relief and see benefits. So agree, not immediate but still worth it? :)

 

[Friday]

Do you know of any natural medications

I think you already know this... but just in case not... keep in mind that natural medications are

a) just as reactive with Rx’s as other Rx’s
b) where most Rx’s come from
c) considered a “beauty aid” in most countries (unless schedule 1 or 2) and therefore not monitored by any regulatory body for truthfulness or quality control; so you’ll need to get each bottle tested if you want to know it’s actual dose & efficacy (as medications grow stronger or weaker over time, depending on their chemical composition & how they were handled from harvest to manufacture to storage. What’s printed on the bottle is -at best- viewed as a general idea, and often wildly incorrect.
c2) because they’re not motiored are frequently contaminated with toxic substances, or microbial “blooms” as they’re not aeseptically processed or sealed. Because it’s cheaper to produce them fast & dirty.
d) have just as many -if not more, as one is dealing with multiple compounds instead of isolated compounds- side effects as Rx’s, including organ damage.

“Natural” doesn’t mean gentle or safe, when one is discussing herbal pharmacology. TBH, it really means “self prescribed”.

It’s a super exciting, really awesome field :D ...That’s unfortunately circa 1800 as far as health & safety goes.

 

[blackemerald1]

“Natural” doesn’t mean gentle or safe, when one is discussing herbal pharmacology. TBH, it really means “self prescribed”.

^Agree entirely. Actually concentrating any natural substance and ingesting it isn't very natural anyway. Plenty of ppl have come unstuck with natural (remedies) unfortunately.

The temptation to look to a manufactured substance, even naturally occurring types, to give immediate relief is so strong and I understand that but they still may not ever work and may do just as much damage too, sometimes more.

 

[Mach123]

I on pot a few years and it works for me but I'm starting to plateau. Everyone is blah blah now about CBD oil and edibles and strains and all that. Of course you become a pot head, but pot heads are sorta nice mostly. It's not for everyone but Ive had some luck with it.

 

[blackemerald1]

Of course you become a pot head, but pot heads are sorta nice mostly.

Oh Mach that's a :hilarious: thing to say...

And tbh that is the first time I've heard anyone admit that using medical cannabis has that pothead effect. lol

 

[J_trustno1]

How about magnesium glycinate and chamomile tea?

This time I'm really sick of antidepressants and any other medication. Don't want to be in this trial and error of medication they give.

 

[Fadeaway]

Magnesium - Which Type Should You Supplement for Maximum Benefit?

Take a look at the the different magnisum compounds in the link above.

Chamomile as I mentioned before is a diuretic which causes people who use it for sleep to wake up to use the bathroom. Also it is a bloodthinner, lowers blood pressure and increases insulin sensitivity and lowers blood sugar. So if you are on any medications that treat these issues, it could be dangerous.

Also you need to know which type of chamomile German or Roman. They contain very different compounds.