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Trying this natural vitamin for social anxiety!

R

ronpaul3046

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Joined
Jan 24, 2011
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Im 16 year old guy in highschool, and i have somewhat bad social anxiety. sometimes i get really nervous and keep stuttering, etc.

I found this supplement, Theanine Serene, and the reviews people say it seems to help them. I ordered some, it should arrive tuesday, so ill try it out during school wedndsay.

Ill report back on how it goes. Some have said its comparable to xanax (lets hope so!)

anyone else have experience with this?
 
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They do not compare imo , your best bet is to find a good therapist - work with natural remedies suh as breathing techniques. I use these during panick attacks.

Also Valerian Root can be useful, although for me i find its much more affective as a sleepy type aid.. others use it 3x daily. I take it w/other natural supps for sleep help
 
ronpaul3046 said:
Im 16 year old guy in highschool, and i have somewhat bad social anxiety. sometimes i get really nervous and keep stuttering, etc.

I found this supplement, Theanine Serene, and the reviews people say it seems to help them. I ordered some, it should arrive tuesday, so ill try it out during school wedndsay.

Ill report back on how it goes. Some have said its comparable to xanax (lets hope so!)

anyone else have experience with this?
Click to expand...

If you have a serious anxiety issue that is interfering with your quality of life, you need to properly address it. Try therapy. You are sixteen, so your school probably has a counseling center. Go there. If therapy alone doesn't help, then you may see a psychiatrist who may prescribe you appropriate medications. Supplements are usually over-hyped and they aren't supported or approved by the medical community or FDA to treat such things as anxiety issues. Also, natural does not necessarily mean safe or better (http://www.fallacyfiles.org/adnature.html).

You mention that you hope that this vitamin supplement will affect you as xanax does. To be honest, relying upon a sedative to address the symptoms of anxiety issues without addressing the root cause doesn't solve the problem.

I have seen therapy techniques work wonders on people with severe anxiety issues. Give it a try :)
 
^^I wouldn't consider something ineffective because the FDA or medical community do not approve of it. Nor would I consider something to be helpful just because it's approved. There are a lot of medications with plenty of side effects and minimal benefits. Many are probably useless, but some are helpful and I would prefer to at least try a supplement before going on benzos.

But I completely agree that therapy can work wonders. Get to the root of the issue :)
 
What's Relora?
I've gotten some strong effects from Passionflower, but nothing compares to benzos in terms of strength. That's what makes them so evil.
Valerian revs me up and makes me have tremors and go crazy. Up to 5% of people seem to react to it like that.
I would say theanine has beneficial potential, but since I'm in benzo WD it doesn't really adress my issues.
 
Legerity said:
^^I wouldn't consider something ineffective because the FDA or medical community do not approve of it. Nor would I consider something to be helpful just because it's approved. There are a lot of medications with plenty of side effects and minimal benefits. Many are probably useless, but some are helpful and I would prefer to at least try a supplement before going on benzos.

But I completely agree that therapy can work wonders. Get to the root of the issue :)
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I concede that you may be correct, however, I don't see the point in attempting to use a supplement to treat an anxiety issue if there is absolutely no concrete scientific or medical evidence stating that is effective in doing so.

At least the FDA says that L-theanine is GRAS (generally regarded as safe): http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodIngredi...cognizedasSafeGRAS/GRASListings/ucm153810.htm

Also, the OP may want to read some of the scholarly journal articles consisting of medical and psychological studies on the efficacy of l-theanine in treating anxiety issues. Most of the journal articles are available to read for free as full PDFs:

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q...y+anxiety&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart

From what I can tell, the health benefits may be akin to drinking green tea on a daily basis, which does not indicate that it would be effective as the sole treatment for anxiety issues. If the anxiety issues are severe I still recommend seeking therapeutic treatment or at the very least consulting a medical doctor or psychiatrist about the efficacy of using l-theanine as a supplement to help curb anxiety.
 
I'm not trying to disappoint you but It definitely won't be the cure that you desperately want it to be. Theanine does ease anxiety though so give it a shot. It's a benign supplement. Here's a few pointers.

Relaxation exercises- Breathing exercises like theartofwar pointed out. Do not discount them. I've done a bunch of drugs and the well being from deep breathing surprisingly is a strong competitor with them.

Progressive muscle relaxation is another one that makes me feel much better. Gets all that tension out. Massage is the most relaxing in my opinion if you can go in for a weekly session.

Don't resign yourself to the belief that anxiety is inevitable in social situations. Once you've done that, the battle is already lost. You don't experience anxiety in other situations so there is nothing wrong with you. Don't react to anxiety by fearing it. Every thought and sensation you have is not real. Just ride it out.

Avoid avoidance. It sounds contradictory but as a social anxiety sufferer you need to enthusiastically greet every social situation you can. Your anxiety is caused by faulty wiring in your brain. The good news is it can be undone but you will have to feel uncomfortable for a while. Your brain labeled social situations a threat for whatever reason. If you purposely put yourself in these situation without hesitation , your brain will get that it's no big deal.

I highly recommended therapy. I wish I had made the choice to go before I started taking drugs. It will help.

If you still want to take supplements, try aniracetam. It's a positive modulator of the AMPA receptor which facilitates fear extinction(the undoing of that faulty wiring). It also has anxiolytic effects by itself.
 
theanine does help a lot with anxiety..but try counseling to go with it..u gotta root out the cause in addition to the theanine
 
As far as vitamins that help anxiety a good deal I would highly recommend vitamin B complex. It has helped me and a couple friends to varying degrees, and with no noticed side effects you really can't go wrong.

I haven't heard of Theanine Serene before, but as someone who also suffers from anxiety problems I would be interested to know how it works for you.

Best of luck, and hope you feel better.
 
Relaxation techniques...yoga...vitamins...deep breathing....I HATE it when people suggest this shit for anxiety. I get pretty severe anxiety about 5-6 times a month. I've tried:

St. John's Wort
Vitamin B6
Exercise
Relaxation


None of that shit works, and just makes my anxiety worse because whatever I'm doing to address anxiety doesn't work. I've tried Benzos (Valium, Xanax), and they work but make me really sleepy.

The ONLY thing that has worked 100% effectively was Hydrocodone (as needed) in isolated incidents. When I'm stressed out it's usually at work, and I can't afford to take 30 mins off to pullout some yoga positions, and beg a massage from a coworker. Give me a break.
 
I've had fairly severe anxiety issues in the past to the point it was hard to leave the house. I found deep breathing to be very helpful. It gives me an energized relaxed feeling. It's also easy to do in any situation. It only takes 5-10 minutes. You may hate when people suggest these techniques but for some people they do make a big difference. I was fairly incredulous when deep breathing was suggested to me.

Sometimes peoples bodies have been so tense for so long, they've forgotten how to relax. Part of the benefit of these relaxation exercises is to train people bodies how to relax. As a infrequent sufferer of anxiety, they probably would be of less benefit to you. Meditation has been show to decrease the amygdala's volume and activity when practiced regularly. The amygdala is where those anxious responses originate from.

Nutrition and exercise play a role in anxiety reduction. They keep blood sugar better regulated which can have a positive effect on anxiety. Exercise releases endorphins(Endogenous opiates). Exercise causes you muscles to pull in amino acids from the blood stream except for tryptophan which allows it to cross the BBB and increase serotonin. It does take time to see an effect though. Don't get discouraged.

Try replacing negative thoughts that it's not working with positive ones. Condition your brain to think positively. It will happen eventually if you keep at it.

Just try not to discount techniques that do work for people and suggest an opiate instead. I still do opiates too but my anxiety is manageable without drugs right now. Opiates are a slippery slope for people with anxiety issues. Have you tried cognitive behavioral therapy or just medication?
 
ferinox said:
Just try not to discount techniques that do work for people and suggest an opiate instead. I still do opiates too but my anxiety is manageable without drugs right now. Opiates are a slippery slope for people with anxiety issues. Have you tried cognitive behavioral therapy or just medication?
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Agreed...opiates aren't for everyone. I've tried both CBT and meds. Resolving my anxiety through meds is likened to getting to the Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic via the Panama canal. CBT is like going around the south tip of South America...via canoe. =D
 
I would look into valerien root extract in liquid form. Also your 16, it's normal to be a little anxious at that age, I know I was.

My advice would be work out everyday, work on the situations that your not comfortable in by facing them. Talk to a therapist, if it's really bad then go to a Dr. as your last option. Research the herbs you plan on taking, dont buy into these scam "Miracle anti-anxiety vitamin" type crap. no. Good luck mang.
 
I'm always interested in natural mood stabilizers, thanks for the info, everyone!
 
^The relaxation/deep breathing can be very profound but it is not instant like a drug, but not far from it either. Although recently I've been too wacked out to pull it off, I've put myself into some far out states of relaxation through deep breathing. Try many different approaches or modify them any way you see fit. I wish I never gave up on such a wonderful thing!
 
Here's what I recommend you: Call a doctor, tell him/her your problem (roughly) and ask about Lyrica or Neurontin (tell the doctor you saw it on the tv and another doctor friend of somebody recommended it, etc), then make an appointment, and hope he prescribes it.
No anxiety, no dependence, no tolerance; hell, even the wd's it may cause on some people feel like a party in your brain.

After a week, when it usually gets stable constant levels in your blood (ask the doctor), then go to a theraphist.

Regards!
 
I have social anxiety that is terribly bad, I am a cashier and can't find another job,
a few days ago this mother and daughter came through my line, as they were about
to leave they whispered and then the mother said to the daughter out loud to where
I could hear, "He's Retarded", then left. People always give me weird looks like im on
uppers cause I'm so nervous, it really hurts me inside when they treat me like that.
I put these feelings away nine hours a day, five days a week. It's hell. It's not fair,
I'm twenty, have my associates degree, and am stuck there cause of my social anxiety.
wish i could afford health insurance, anyone know of anything to help something this
serious? I can't take benzos cause of possible random drug tests at work. And they
don't help much anyway. I get more afraid of people everyday. People stare cause I
try so hard to distract attention from myself. I need help.
 
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