Posted by bleauberry on August 20, 2011, at 13:19:55
In reply to Anxiety: exposure the only permanent solution?, posted by Zonked on August 18, 2011, at 21:19:09
What you describe does not sound to me like a psychiatric problem, though it makes itself obvious in psychiatric ways. What it looks like is an inability for your body to handle stress...any and all stress...no matter how small. The body has some rather spectacular stuff going on the allows us to deal with stress. It sounds to me like yours isn't working.
I disagree with your comment about obsessively searching the internet for cures only to discover there are none. Well, the obsessive part, yeah, I think we all do that or have done that. It comes with the territory no matter what the disease. But the cure part....I think you are wrong. There are cures. Well, let me back up, some diseases or problems can never be cured....but they can be greatly improved. Quality of life is the goal. We can't turn the clock back to the healthy carefree days. That just isn't reality. Life isn't that way. Many diseases aren't that way.
I do completely understand how all the info on the net can be overwhelming, which worsens the whole situation because then you become paralyzed and don't do anything at all, for simple lack of knowledge, lack of direction, or fear of ingesting anything besides food. Been there, done that, very familiar with that whole concept. It's ok.
But you have to take steps forward. No cure or improvement is going to happen if you don't. That is guaranteed.
Based on what little I know, what is in your post, I would start by aiming at the adrenal regulating plants, also called adaptogens. There are some good ones. In my own experience with them, the top 3 are rhodiola, eleuthero, and ashwaganda. Dosing is tricky with all of them....for example rhodiola is stimulating at low doses and can worsen anxiety, psychosis, etc, but is calming at higher doses. That's kind of scary...say you take a small dose to start with because you are afraid of the unknown, and it goes really bad, and then you are supposed to take a higher dose???? Wow, that's scary. But with rhodiola that's exactly what you want to do so as to get into the calming range and out of the stimulant range. The other herbs have their own little quirks as well. If you want something that is just naturally calming and good for adrenals and stress control and healing of the whole works, then I would go for ashwaganda. There are others, these are just the ones I personally found worthy. Many things are made to look like the next greatest miracle on the net....and I try them...but only those three actually met or surpassed what was said about them.
Lemon balm, valerian, passionflower, skullcap....a combo of any 2 or 3 of these is far better than any benzo.
I wish I could suggest a med to help with your problems, but if I am reading the situation correctly pretty much all of them will ultimately make the whole thing worse not better, with the lone exception maybe of parnate.
poster:bleauberry
thread:994256
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20110809/msgs/994402.html