St John’s Wort is mainly used for depression. And there might be some effect on anxiety. But the evidence is not clear on that. I currently only take Seroquel for sleep, so no drug interactions. But the evidence for anxiety seems slim.
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I’m in a similar boat and am very sympathetic. Just about every good suggestion has already been mentioned, and some of them have helped me a bit also (lithium and exercise in particular). CBT also helped to some extent when I was in my 30s, growing in my faith helped a lot more as I got older (just mentioning as part of my story, not suggesting to anyone else), but getting on testosterone replacement largely squashed my anxiety almost instantaneously a couple years ago. That’s when I realized how much of it had been a hormonal problem that started with puberty.
About a month into TRT, the internal upwelling of constant anxiety vanished except when my estradiol started to get too high. In that case, I would take a small dose of an aromatase inhibitor or a DHT-derived compound and feel better again. Since starting TRT, I feel pretty calm most of the time. It’s just another possible puzzle piece to consider investigating.
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Have you considered clonodine? It is an antihypertensive, non-sedating but not a beta-blocker. It is an antiadrenergic medication (α2A-adrenergic receptor agonist) which can be taken 2 or even 3 times a day, also comes in a transdermal patch. Used in childhood anxiety, ADHD, autism, tics, hyperarousal and more. Wikipedia has an ok page about how it is used. Of course there may be side effects, etc etc you’d have to work with your provider to see if it might suit you.
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Psilocybin
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Clonidine can be sedating for some people - guanfacine is another good option.
Someone mentioned psilocybin. I agree it is a great molecule against anxiety and a wonderful mood-impoving substance. I recently tried Hollandia magic truffles, a truffle wich contain psilocybin in high amount. It isn’t illegal in Netherlands so I was able to order these from the Internet to my mailbox without any issues.
The farmer said these truffles contain between 0.6-2.5mg of psylocybin per gram, and I took the whole packet of 15g, so about a “normal psychedelic trip experience”.
I tried to chew these but it doesn’t taste great and smell like an old shoe in a cave… So instead I use a mortar to crush them to make a paste and I swallowed them.
It waited about 40min for the first effect to come and the total duration induced by the psilocybin was about 4 hours. I felt really great, really pleasant, unstressed, happy, and warm. BP and HR was unchanged.
Visually, everything was colorful, some distorsions. My sens of touch was improved, my rabbits were really soft. Music was really amazing to hear. I laughed a lot for basic things.
The newt day I was myself again, but felt happier, and less anxious at work. That’s something I didn’t felt with other psychedelic substances like 2C-B or LSD.
I ordered some more, to try 30g of truffles next time and to do a trip a week if my schedule allows it. I started to deep-dive on psilocybin and its active metabolite psilocin and these molecules seems to be incredible for the brain, whatever what you look at, neurogenesis, neuro-inflammation, neuroplasticity, depression and anxiety relief.
Of course, I do not recommend that to anybody, it can carry risks and it might be illegal in your country, so be informed and aware.
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That’s interesting. Are there any aromatase inhibitors of DHT compounds you can recommend? (And doesn’t DHT cause male baldness?).
You’d want to get labs done, of course, and have a competent testosterone clinic interpret them (I use Defy Medical and can recommend a few others), but anastrozole acts quickly and is easy to recover from if you take too much (doses of even 0.125mg can be powerful). I prefer Exemestane, but it’s a “suicidal” inhibitor so if you take too much it takes longer for your estradiol to increase again. I wouldn’t go to a regular doctor, including urologists and endocrinologists, for this sort of thing as most don’t know what they’re doing, don’t use compounding pharmacies to get the necessary dosing, and don’t order the right labs.
In the beginning it wasn’t high estrogen that was the problem, though, it was very low testosterone and very low estrogen. If you happen to have low T you don’t have enough estradiol conversion. I believe it’s the higher T that gave me the calming effect.
I wouldn’t recommend starting with DHT or derivatives (proviron, primobolan) as they’re more subtle and you can’t get them prescribed in the US anyway.
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Dr. Georgia Ede wrote a book “Change Your Diet, Change Your Mind”. You could consider buying this book and deciding whether its recommendations are worth a shot in your case.
A short version is that a highly ketogenic diet may be of use here. Then again, it may not be. This is an area of active investigation in medicine right now, so there are many researchers who believe it may have merit. But the fact is we lack the data that is needed to draw any strong conclusions right now. What we have is anecdotes.
At any rate, if your anxiety is reducing your quality of life in a major way, I think reading the book is worth your time and energy. Then you can decide on your own, in an informed way, if that approach is worth a shot.
Good luck and best wishes!
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I highly recommend Humacology brand in Australia its full spectrum and I am using the CBN for sleep but looking into their CBG. I like they include all the terpenes and are so easy to communicate with. I have tried a few brands and have found them all to be overpriced and ineffective. I like that I can add on with this brand such as melatonin or PEA.
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Thank you for sharing this experience! I’m also very interested in the effects of psilocybin on brain rewiring. It’ll be interesting to hear about your experiences in the weeks and months following the doses.
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Be very careful with psychedelics. Published today by Scott Alexander:
RIP Felix Hill, research scientist at DeepMind and mentor to many in the AI community. You can read his suicide note here, though the obvious content warning applies. He says he took ketamine for mild anxiety and it plunged him into an incredibly deep depression that he couldn’t get out of; he leaves his story behind as a warning for others. I appreciate his warning, but I wish he had said more about what dose he used; different people’s ketamine doses vary by almost two orders of magnitude, I’d previously thought that the low doses were pretty safe and the high doses were sketchy, and I would like to know whether I should update or not.
I think psychedelics are potent and useful but if you use them for a medical condition such as anxiety, it’s probably best to do it with professionals given the risks.
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Hi Bruce4654,
Read my blog post: Theanine: Amazing Herbal Anti-Anxiety Agent & Sleep Aid. Here is the link:
Longevity Blog | Ross Pelton | The Natural Pharmacist.
Healthy regards, Ross
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I didn’t check other replies, but watch the Option podcast with Jon Berner, regarding ketamine and raps.
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Have you looked into the literature on HSP (Highly Sensitive Person)? What you’re describing as anxiety may actually be HSP overload. I’m one. 20% of all people are HSPs.
What helps me is to recognise earlier when I’m experiencing signs of overload and take action to decrease stimulation until my nervous system settles down. Antidepressants (SNRIs) have helped immensely.
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I have found full- spectrum CBD to help my anxiety as well as parasympathetic stimulators at times of increased anxiety. Box-breathing techniques help. Have done years of CBT and only found that helpful for my claustrophobia. Using Finnish sauna most recently and think it helps a bit…My CBD comes from 4 Corners Cannabis in Colorado
I will look up Georgia Ede’s book on Amazon.
Thank you.
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I already take theanine, a few grams, at night. I have tried to use it during the day to see if it alleviates anxiety, but I felt nothing. And I took it on an empty stomach in the morning. I will read your blog.
I’d check the co2 levels in your environment. You may be having a response to those. Especially in your bedroom. There are a few studies referenced in the book breath and some YouTube videos by the author James Nestor. Here’s a meter. Amazon.com: Temtop CO2 Monitor Indoor air Quality Monitor Portable CO2 Meter, CO2, Temperature, Humidity Home, Office or School : Industrial & Scientific