I'm a 27 year old male. I was addicted to Valium/Xanax for several years. Other things too, like opiates, but benzos were my favorite. I quit about three years ago and have been free of it since, but I've always chased after that feeling of tranquility I got from using these drugs. I felt so relaxed that nothing could bother me; I was effectively invincible against any kind of emotional upset and so could have a great day, every day. Of course, being drugs, that wasn't sustainable and eventually my tolerance rose, then my addiction, etc. But I still wanted to chase that feeling. I've just about got it back, using supplements, dietary changes, and nutrition.
I'm going to talk a little about chemistry and psychology here, but I'm only a layman. I wish I had found a guide like this before I spent a few thousand dollars testing different herbs and supplements, so I've compiled what worked for my particular body chemistry in the hopes that someone else may find this and save themselves a lot of time and money. These are just starting points, please research the herbs/supplements I write about on your own to verify things for yourself.
Right now and for the past several weeks, I have been able to go sit on a chair on my back porch and just completely melt away any stress or thought. I can recreate the heavy-body feelings and even the chills I used to get on Valium and Xanax. I can feel as though I am backfloating down a warm river without a care in the world, and that feeling goes with me as I go to work, etc., assuming I am able to stay mindful of my emotional states. I feel I have successfully recreated the sensations I was seeking without the use of a hard pharmaceutical drug. You may opt to try this without the dietary or meditation components, or mix and match as you see fit. I can only vouch for the results of combining all these things, however, as that's what I'm doing now.
What I'm doing right now to feel tranquil:
Valium and Xanax (any benzodiazepine) works by enhancing your GABA-A receptors, which are your brains inhibitory neurons. This is the part of the brain we want to focus in on if we want to recreate the sensations of using a benzo. Because everything in your brain has an opposite, it's important to note that glutamate is the opposite of GABA - glutamate is your excitatory neuron, and GABA is your inhibitory. GABA = good. Got it.
My routine:
- low-carbohydrate diet. This puts your body into a state of ketosis. This diet was originally formulated because of its stabilizing effect on the brain; it actually reduces the rate at which epileptics have seizures. This has been well-documented. It is thought this occurs because fat creates a more stable, "cleaner-burning" energy source for your brain than using glucose (carbohydrates.) Google "Ketone diet" for the exact science on this.
- Meditation! I personally am Buddhist, but meditating has been proven to raise GABA. It's no wonder that controlling your brain and quieting it down exercises your inhibitory neurons. You don't need to be religious to meditate, though. The current psychology buzz-word for it is "mindfulness" and you can find plenty of non-religious self-help books on mindfulness and meditation and how they can change your brain. I highly recommend the book "Buddha's Brain" (available on Amazon and for Kindle) which gives a neuroscientist's perspective on meditation.
My stack:
This stuff is subtle. These are supplements I take every day to slowly support my brain's GABA systems, and form the baseline of my efforts (along with diet and meditation.)
- A good B vitamin. Particularly one with lots of P5P, which is necessary to build your GABA.
- A lot of magnesium. Potentially a supplement that doesn't also have calcium, which shares the same channels as magnesium. Chelated magnesium is going to absorb the best.
- American Ginseng. Expensive, and hard to prove its efficacy. However, some experiments have shown it potentiates GABA.
- Theanine. A compound found in green tea, an amino acid with an effect on GABA.
- Picamilon. A form of GABA synthesized with niacin, available online. Has been proven to pass the blood-brain barrier, where standard GABA does not.
Some other good, non-GABA supplements are: Fish oil, huperzine-A, and a good multi-vitamin.
Things to avoid:
Raising your GABA naturally isn't just about taking steps to increase it, it's also about recognizing the things you do which reduce it.
-Caffeine. I still use caffeine to get by, but I try to drink primarily green tea. Matcha tea is amazing for this - it is about 20x stronger than standard green tea and is absolutely one of my best finds on my journey to reduce anxiety without hard drugs. Matcha tea is green tea in a finely powdered form, prepared for thousands of years by Japanese monks. You mix the green tea powder (has the consistency of flour) into warm water and actually consume the tea leaf, rather than simply steeping it in water. You can easily get the same amount of caffeine from a cup of Matcha as from a cup of coffee, but the Matcha will be loaded with l-theanine, which will help balance out the caffeine and give you less jitters. It is also loaded with more vitamins and minerals than I can count. Research Matcha.
-Alcohol. I still drink, but it's important to recognize that hangovers are going to wreck your GABA supply. A few drinks are fine, but if you are waking up every morning feeling dry and brittle and hungover, then you will not be able to reach the state of calm you are seeking.
-Marijuana antagonizes GABA, and will reduce your feeling of calm while under its effects.
-Other powerful drugs. GABA is subtle and requires clarity to experience. You cannot be tranquil and also racing along with a rush of opiates or adrenaline, so recognize that you aren't going to naturally maintain a feeling of calm, alert tranquility while you are using these other drugs. This includes Kratom, which will cause anxiety in its withdrawal stages.
-Sugar! Sugar is a stimulant.
Things that help for occasional usage:
- Phenibut. This is a pretty powerful way to calm yourself down, though it also makes me sleepy. It is a prescription drug in some countries (Russia) and shouldn't be taken daily. However, if I am having a panic attack or know I'm in for a really tough day, I rely on Phenibut to get me through. I personally only take one or two pills a week, and I wouldn't recommend taking more than four a day and never two days in a row. It does not bring the feeling of euphoria or relaxation that benzo's do, and is not a very pleasant drug to take - but it can get the job done.
-Taurine. You can buy a bottle of a 100 pills for about $7 at most nutritional stores. At times when I feel I have a very high, jittery energy level, taking about ten of these will cause an intense calming effect. Taurine has shown to be harmless and seems to affect your brains inhibitory systems. They put this stuff in energy drinks to try and balance out the jitteryness you get from so much caffeine. Again, it only works situationally, and taking this every day seems to lessen its effect. Another one to add to the arsenal for a bad day, but not to take every day.
- Valerian root. Valerian Root contains valeric acid, which is very very similar to valproic acid, which is the anti-seizure medicine Depakote. There are many other compounds at work in Valerian root, and it never seems to work for me after extended periods of time. Perhaps the body builds up a tolerance quickly, but it just don't work for me as a daily supplement. However, if I get a good strong (standardized) brand and take 4-6 of them at once, maybe once a week, I will get a very strong "Xanax-esque" feel. Warning: Valerian root STINKS AWFUL.
- Skullcap. Another great herb that has definite anti-anxiety qualities. Again, like with Valerian, tolerance seems to come on very quickly. It's a great one to combine with Valerian (more later). Skullcap feels much "lighter" than Valerian, whereas Valerian can come with a heavier, sleepy feeling.
- Lotus Flower. I use this primarily in tinctures, which I will explain below. It definitely has a sedative effect, though it is very subtle. Sometimes subtle is best, though. Ignore any reports that this is a hallucinogen, because it's not, but it will definitely act as a mild sedative. Another good one to use occasionally if things get bad. You are looking for the active compound 'nuciferine' here, and this comes in a few forms. Pink Lotus/Blue Lotus are the names you're looking for, the exact plant I use is 'nelumbo nucifera.'
All of these solutions work much better on an empty stomach!
TINCTURES: Because I use the herbs above primarily as "emergency measures" to stack atop my meditation/nutritional/vitamin regiment, I like to make tinctures out of them. Take a giant glass jar, fill it half-full with dried herbs (order online, perfectly legal) and then fill it to the brim with vodka. Shake it up every few days. I filter out a little to drink after about 5 days, as needed, but leave the herbs/vodka together for up to five or six weeks as it will continue to get more potent. Right now I have a combination skullcap/valerian tincture that will cause a very strong GABA-ergic effect if I drink less than a shot of it. Tastes awful, so have a chaser ready.
Things that didn't work/backfired on me:
- Adjusting my serotonin levels was my first attempt at capturing a feeling of calm. This is mainly done by taking either 5-HTP or Trytophan, both of which will boost your serotonin. St. John's Wort is a natural and somewhat effective SSRI, as well. Serotonin works to regulate your mood and is the opposite of Dopamine, which is your brain's pleasure/reward system. Raising Dopamine will make you horny, emotional, and may cause feelings of euphoria and friendliness. Raising Serotonin will cause a sort of emotional deadening. If you have ever taken an SSRI (Paxil, Zoloft, etc.) then you know the feeling of having artificially enhanced Serotonin.
Ultimately I did not like having enhanced serotonin. It caused erectile dysfunction (much like prescription SSRI's) and left me feeling very sleepy and dead inside. The sleepiness is probably because melatonin (makes you sleepy) shares a lot of the same precursors as serotonin, and raising one might raise the other. I did not feel alert or mindful with enhanced serotonin, like I do on my present GABA plan.
- Taking a GABA amino acid. The idea that you can just eat whatever substance is happening in your brain, and that it will simply appear in abundance in your brain because you ate it, is flawed. Eating GABA actually made my heart race and gave me a coppery taste in my mouth, and gave no anti-anxiety effect. Do not recommend. Picamilon is the better choice, here, and even its effects could be placebo.
- Enhancing my dopamine. I did this with tyrosine/mucuna pruriens. Felt good in some ways, sorta opiate-like, but increased cravings and anxiety.
- Things that sorta worked/failed:
Kava Kava: Pretty weak on me, mixed results even trying from multiple suppliers. Definitely GABA-ergic, though. Others have reported much better results, so it could be a result of my biochemistry.
Chamomille: Very mild, causes as much sleepiness as anti-anxiety.
Melissa/Lemon Balm: Meh. Almost no anti-anxiety effects I could notice. Does make a delicious tincture though.
St. John's Wort: More of a long-term SSRI. I was able to get some of the same side-effects as a prescription SSRIs. Leads me to believe this works, but only as a mood stabilizer and not as a way to achieve tranquility.
Sam-E: Felt like a stimulant/upper. Not bad, but not going to make me calm. Also, very expensive.
Rhodea Rosea: Excellent herb for general energy and well-being, but not for inducing calm.
Phosphatidylserine: No noticeable affect on calmness.
"Calms" supplements: Made by Hylands. Did nothing for me.
One of the most important things about capturing a feeling of calm is to remember that it's as much about what you do not do, as what you actively do. Meditation is very important here, as is staying away from stimulants and hangovers. Because I am not taking any sorts of drowsiness-inducing drugs during the day, I feel fine subsisting on small amounts of caffeine from green tea and matcha. It is worth noting that I have an otherwise healthy brain, except for the years of drug abuse I put it through. I do not think I am naturally prone to ADHD, depression or mania. I have some generalized anxiety disorder which this has treated nicely.
Anyway, I hope this helps anyone else out there interested in finding a calm state of mind. If you have any questions, I will do my best to answer. I tried pretty much every herb or amino acid that claimed to calm anxiety, and these were the winners for me.
![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
