Natural Remedies and living healthy helps ALOT

[Tag4575]

So, I was pretty much at my wits end a little while ago. I was struggling so so bad with my OCD and anxiety, that living from day to day was becomming a very hard battle. I was and still am on Lexapro (20mg) and in therapy. I had some pretty bad habits- Chewing tobacco, eating out a lot, avoiding working out. I have always been in pretty good physical shape. So I did some research and decided to take some steps to try and see if this hell would improve. And wa-la! It has been a very very good outcome. So here is what I changed: I quit the chew. I was at 2- yes two, cans of snuff a day, and I am currently still doing the nicotine patch since my dependence on nicotine was so high. I probably saw a 20-30% difference in my anxiety after I quit ingesting all those chemicals. Im calmer, and more collected. I also started working out 4 times a week and taking a multi-vitamin every morning. And in addition to that, I drink herbal tea with 30 drops of passionflower mixed in before I go to bed. Passionflower is hard to find, but I found it at a local vitamin shop. It is supposed to induce a natural state of relaxation, and it actual is having an effect. So if your in a real bad rut like I was in, take this into consideration, eat good foods, kick bad habits, and be social and surround yourself with supportive loved ones. it really does a world of good for you. Not saying that I am cured, I still have a long road ahead of me, but at least im trying as hard as I can !!!

[afuser11]

So, I was pretty much at my wits end a little while ago. I was struggling so so bad with my OCD and anxiety, that living from day to day was becomming a very hard battle. I was and still am on Lexapro (20mg) and in therapy. I had some pretty bad habits- Chewing tobacco, eating out a lot, avoiding working out. I have always been in pretty good physical shape. So I did some research and decided to take some steps to try and see if this hell would improve. And wa-la! It has been a very very good outcome. So here is what I changed: I quit the chew. I was at 2- yes two, cans of snuff a day, and I am currently still doing the nicotine patch since my dependence on nicotine was so high. I probably saw a 20-30% difference in my anxiety after I quit ingesting all those chemicals. Im calmer, and more collected. I also started working out 4 times a week and taking a multi-vitamin every morning. And in addition to that, I drink herbal tea with 30 drops of passionflower mixed in before I go to bed. Passionflower is hard to find, but I found it at a local vitamin shop. It is supposed to induce a natural state of relaxation, and it actual is having an effect. So if your in a real bad rut like I was in, take this into consideration, eat good foods, kick bad habits, and be social and surround yourself with supportive loved ones. it really does a world of good for you. Not saying that I am cured, I still have a long road ahead of me, but at least im trying as hard as I can !!!

Yeah, I remember chewing as well and eventually quit basically because it increased my level of anxiety.

[kcg13]

Good for you Tag!  I don't know too much about natural remedies but I do believe God put answers in plants.  Have your positive changes continue to be helping your anxiety?

[mantooth]

Awesome man, quitting dip was super hard for me, but now i smoke soooooo...........


Anyways yea, bettering yourself physically never hurts you mentally.

[stevo1111]

It's great to hear that other's aren't just jumping into drugs to mask the problems in their lives. Medication is great but it must be used along with the changes you've made, Tag4575, otherwise you end up on a cocktail of drugs, some to fix the side effects of other drugs, just to fix something that is greatly exacerbated by underlying lifestyle issues!

I completely had to overhaul my lifestyle at 24 because of panic attacks, anxiety, OCD and depression. I would run myself ragged at work, almost gave up on working out and smoked. So far I'm 5 months and 16 days free from smoking, I probably haven't had a panic attack in longer, my anxiety is at a level I think the average person experiences. I still struggle with obsessive negative thoughts and the resulting depressing, but I'm finding that the root cause was perfectionism and trying to shift the repetitive thoughts to things like working out, family and friends. I got my life back all from lifestyle changes: taking time to meditate, exercising every day, quitting smoking, cutting back on the coffee and stopping the weekly binge drinking. The best thing for bringing some calmness and quiet to my brain is running. I used to be a heavy lifter and that helps only a little.

I was on an SSRI for about 4 months and it didn't agree with me, cutting that out was the final step in feeling good, not perfect, but at least good most days.

The best supplements I've found are 1. Valerian root is a great tranquilizer, puts me right to sleep. and 2. Inositol has been clinically studied with improvements in OCD, depression and panic disorder. I'm just starting it, a few days in, but I actually notice my repetitive negative thoughts are becoming fewer in between.

I would suggest anyone who is interested in going an alternative route do some research on Inositol, it seems to be quite promising. It's a shame drug companies won't pursue something that won't give them huge profits.