Natural Remedies?

[buffbillsman31]

I'm new to panic attacks/anxiety.

I'm a 30 yr old male, happy with life, except with this new pain.

Daily headaches, crushing chest pains daily.  And million dollar checkup on health proved everyone okay.

Right now I'm taking Valerian Root, but does anybody else have any success stories?

[Sarahsue]

I have never taken any kind of herbs or anything to help with my anxiety.  Things that have helped me though are exercise, progressive muscle relaxation, and cutting back on the caffiene.  I actually don't do a very good job with the less caffiene thing, but it helps when I do it.  I have a book called Natural Relief for Anxiety by Edmund J. Bourne that is also very good.

[katoka]

I've had anxiety for many years.  First I was on Welbutrin (for about 2 years) as well as xanax.  Welbutrin stopped working so I switched to Zoloft in addition to the xanax.  I still had some anxiety but the worse part was being sedated all day.  In addition, the Zoloft made me an insomniac so I was then put on trazadone and lunesta.  I also had the great side effect of no libido and was about to get married, so what did I do???  I said screw modern medicine and screw doctors, bought a few books on natural medicine and low and behold, I'm healthier mentally than I have been in years, no thanks to doctors. I've been drug free for three years now.

Anyways, what I found works best for me is a combination of things and it seems as individual parts, these things work okay, but put together I feel great and have no anxiety.

First is vitamins.  I've found that it's critical for me to take a B-complex, omega 3 fish oils and a calcium/magnesium supplement every day.  Liquid seems to be more effective than pill form.  If I start feeling good and stop the vitamins, the anxiety is back within a few weeks and then takes a few weeks on the vitamins to calm back down so I've learned that taking them consistantly is important.

Second is herbs.  Kava seems to work best for me.  I've used tincture form, tea form (yogi brand), pill form and the traditional preparation of massaging ground kava root in water to release the kavalactones.  Tea form is most convenient and tastes the best, but I've found they all work in some degree.  The traditional preparation is the most effective but can be messy to prepare and doesn't taste that great.  Other herbs that have worked for me are passionflower (tincture), chamomile tea (yogi brand) and valerian (both tincture and yogi tea).  I stopped valerian only because it caused me to have very vivid dreams that would otherwise not be bad except I just didn't care for having such vivid and realistic dreams.  In addition, I also take Chinese herbs as needed.  An Mien Pien is effective for insomnia and anxiety; Serenity and Tranquility Remedy seems to work well in the midst of an anxiety attack.  Although I take chinese herbs, I'm not very familiar with the usage and indications so if interested, either find a book (I recommend Prescription for Herbal Healing by Phyllis Balch) or find a Chinese doctor.

Third is meditation and deep breathing.  I find that when I am feeling anxious, taking deep slow breaths is extremely effective in calming me down, expecially if my mind is racing.  Perhaps this will help the chest pains as the pain is usually associated with a tightness in the chest and deep breathing to relax the muscles may help with that.

Fourth is exercise.  Regular cardiovascular excercise makes a big difference in keeping the body calm and relaxed.

Fifth is diet.  Avoid caffiene and other stimulents as well as limiting alcohol.  Alcohol may help in the meantime but over a long period of time, drinking will only add to the problem.  I also try to eat a good diet with veggies, fruits and lean meats but honestly haven't really noticed if it makes a difference with the anxiety, but it does help me to physically feel healthy.

And lastly, if your physical symptoms are associated with racing and/or negative thoughts like mine are, I've found journaling to be extremely effective.  Essentially giving the thoughts or even just the physical feelings some life can actually help them go away.  Maybe when you feel the chest pains, try writing out how the chest pains make you feel or what may be going on around you that are contributing to the pains.  By writing it out, sometimes you can find out what your triggers are and therefore avoid or at least be better prepared when you are around those triggers.

Hope this helps!  I know my life completely changed for the better when I took control of my health and used natural methods of treatment to control and prevent anxiety.  I hope it works for you too!

Katie

[AOKAY]

I've tried Valerian root extract (28 drops/1ml.) with passionflower extract (56 drops/2ml.) in 8 ounces of water.  The effect is more drowsiness than calm, but individual results may vary. 
Chamomile tea also seems to have some calming effect.
If prone to panic, why not ask the doctor for a low dose Xanax for use in high anxiety moments?  This works better than any natural remedy I've found thus far.