Drugs to reduce anxiety?

[Shitfacenelson]

Alright so I have pretty bad anxiety. I don't really know what brings it on but most of the time it's caused by being around people, I just get super self conscious and nervous about what they're thinking or what I'm doing, how I look, ect. I try not to think to much but I can't help it. I was just wondering if anyone knew of any drugs that would help with my anxiety or help me think differently. I'm not a pill person at all. I've tried shrooms a few times to open my mind a little bit more, have kind of a spiritual experience but every time I've tried I just tripped my face off and got bad anxiety when I was around people and it sort of gave me a uncomfortable trip but when I was alone I was totally fine and was having a good time. I toke down on the regular but depending on what strain it is it either helps a little bit or makes it way worse. Does anyone know of anything that could help me?

 

[Mycophile]

Well, most people will probably tell you not to try Benzos but for me Klonopin was a god send and worked incredibly for my anxiety for 11 years.

Yes they are addictive and can have bad long term effects but if Nothing else works...really NOTHING ELSE, benzodiazepenes like Klonopin, Xanax, Valium etc can be incredible for anxiety.

SSRIS like Lexapro and Prozac can also be helpful for certain kinds of anxiety.

Kratom can be helpful for anxiety but is an addictive opioid so you shouldn't use it more than twice a week IMO.

There are all kinds of other drugs that can help for anxiety as well.

 

[Smoky]

Certain beta blockers can help physical sx which can lesson the mental - for short term use in social situations. Therapy and looking at the causes and conditions of the origins of concern as to why or what others think might be helpful. Family of origin stuff.

I would be very careful and stay clear from any benzos. Maybe once in a while for a panic attack if necessary but not to help anxiety, ime.
It might heighten it actually, long term

 

[llama112]

Benzos are very helpful if you're close to a panic attack but it's not something you should be using daily. You DON'T want to get addicted to them. Benzos have helped prevent panic attacks for me but I have never used them for more than a couple days in a row.

Have you tried the GABA supplement? I have severe anxiety and it's mostly social anxiety. I see a therapist and take GABA supplement daily and it helps a lot. A doctors prescribed me SSRIs but that's not something I wanted to get myself into. If you end up going to them, do a LOT of research. Sure they can help but they could also ruin your life. A few of my friends have been on SSRIs and the common thing I've gotten from them is "you just don't FEEL anything". Good, bad, whatever. You just go through the motions of life. So yeah I wouldn't recommend it unless it's a last resort.

I do love benzos myself. There really is nothing like having zero anxiety. But it's not practical to be on them daily. They would be better than SSRIs (in my opinion) but not daily use.

I take 750 mg of GABA supplement every morning and it works great. It took about 1-2 weeks for it to fully help. I find that if I don't take it for a few days (3 or more days) then I get more anxious. I started off taking 500 mg per day and upped to 750. I've been doing this for a couple years. It's not magic, I still get anxious, but I do find it helps. Plus it's legal and non-addictive. So I would definitely say it's worth a try.

 

[Mysterie]

iv been reading good stuff about tianeptine an SSRE, its has very minimal side effects, almost no discontinuation effects.

classic anti-deps like ssri/snri/maoi/tca all seem to come along with a barrage of sides which to me, make them not worth the trouble for anxiety or mild-moderate depression

benzos are for short term use and thus are not a suitable treatment for GAD

 

[Mycophile]

iv been reading good stuff about tianeptine an SSRE, its has very minimal side effects, almost no discontinuation effects.

classic anti-deps like ssri/snri/maoi/tca all seem to come along with a barrage of sides which to me, make them not worth the trouble for anxiety or mild-moderate depression

benzos are for short term use and thus are not a suitable treatment for GAD

Everyone and their brother says this but I think it is bullshit.

I was on Klonopin EVERY SINGLE DAY for ELEVEN YEARS and it REALLY helped me and was also easy to get off of with almost zero withdrawal.

I know that my experience is unique as most people do get severe WDs, but I would never preach the old tag line that "benzos are only for short term use" when they were so incredibly effective for me for 11 years.

I don't really know why this has become the tag line that most psychiatrists stand by, but I don't support it or believe it.

It CAN be ok in SOME instances to use Benzos for extended periods of time and if someone wishes to go down that route it should be their choice.

I would of course warn people that being on them long term CAN have serious side effects, but so can most drugs and for me those side effects never appeared other than some tiredness which caused me problems due to killing my REM sleep. Therefore, I was glad to finally get off them, but it was still WELL WORTH it being on them for that period of time for how much they helped me and my anxiety is better than it had been before I started even though I am now off them.

Lets think for ourselves please and not always reiterate the same statements which have become common place.

If we happen to have any first hand evidence that these statements are not ALWAYS true lets speak up about it so people aren't always afraid to try things which may in fact be VERY effective in certain situations.


Also, despite all the side effects they say classic SSRIs have I haven't experienced many of them and I'm currently on Lexapro which I am beginning to find helpful.

All drugs have side effects so you won't escape them with anything you try.

 

[Mycophile]

Benzos are very helpful if you're close to a panic attack but it's not something you should be using daily. You DON'T want to get addicted to them. Benzos have helped prevent panic attacks for me but I have never used them for more than a couple days in a row.

Have you tried the GABA supplement? I have severe anxiety and it's mostly social anxiety. I see a therapist and take GABA supplement daily and it helps a lot. A doctors prescribed me SSRIs but that's not something I wanted to get myself into. If you end up going to them, do a LOT of research. Sure they can help but they could also ruin your life. A few of my friends have been on SSRIs and the common thing I've gotten from them is "you just don't FEEL anything". Good, bad, whatever. You just go through the motions of life. So yeah I wouldn't recommend it unless it's a last resort.

I do love benzos myself. There really is nothing like having zero anxiety. But it's not practical to be on them daily. They would be better than SSRIs (in my opinion) but not daily use.

I take 750 mg of GABA supplement every morning and it works great. It took about 1-2 weeks for it to fully help. I find that if I don't take it for a few days (3 or more days) then I get more anxious. I started off taking 500 mg per day and upped to 750. I've been doing this for a couple years. It's not magic, I still get anxious, but I do find it helps. Plus it's legal and non-addictive. So I would definitely say it's worth a try.

Interesting.

I'd wanted to try it but some other people on here said that it did absolutely nothing for them so I lost interest but now i am interested again.

Do you find that it is close to as effective as any kind of benzo?

 

[Mysterie]

Everyone and their brother says this but I think it is bullshit.

I was on Klonopin EVERY SINGLE DAY for ELEVEN YEARS and it REALLY helped me and was also easy to get off of with almost zero withdrawal.

I know that my experience is unique as most people do get severe WDs, but I would never preach the old tag line that "benzos are only for short term use" when they were so incredibly effective for me for 11 years.

I don't really know why this has become the tag line that most psychiatrists stand by, but I don't support it or believe it.

It CAN be ok in SOME instances to use Benzos for extended periods of time and if someone wishes to go down that route it should be their choice.

I would of course warn people that being on them long term CAN have serious side effects, but so can most drugs and for me those side effects never appeared other than some tiredness which caused me problems due to killing my REM sleep. Therefore, I was glad to finally get off them, but it was still WELL WORTH it being on them for that period of time for how much they helped me and my anxiety is better than it had been before I started even though I am now off them.

Lets think for ourselves please and not always reiterate the same statements which have become common place.

If we happen to have any first hand evidence that these statements are not ALWAYS true lets speak up about it so people aren't always afraid to try things which may in fact be VERY effective in certain situations.


Also, despite all the side effects they say classic SSRIs have I haven't experienced many of them and I'm currently on Lexapro which I am beginning to find helpful.

All drugs have side effects so you won't escape them with anything you try.

i would guess you are in the minority in regards to your experience of using klonopin every day for 11 years

ive lost faith in ssri, i think if you can get a drug which has less side effects, then its worth pursuing it

i think that all good drugs have very few side effects, and the ones that will be there should have minimal impact on quality of life

from my experience of reading about peoples drug experiences for a long time, and some experiences, i wouldn't wish benzo wd on my worst enemy, and ssri are a dirty class of drugs

if you feel they help you, more power to you, my opinion is that of trying to reduce harm for other people, i think there are alternatives to long and drawn out withdrawals, and long lists of side effects.

 

[Mycophile]

i would guess you are in the minority in regards to your experience of using klonopin every day for 11 years

ive lost faith in ssri, i think if you can get a drug which has less side effects, then its worth pursuing it

i think that all good drugs have very few side effects, and the ones that will be there should have minimal impact on quality of life

from my experience of reading about peoples drug experiences for a long time, and some experiences, i wouldn't wish benzo wd on my worst enemy, and ssri are a dirty class of drugs

if you feel they help you, more power to you, my opinion is that of trying to reduce harm for other people, i think there are alternatives to long and drawn out withdrawals, and long lists of side effects.

Hey if you can find things that work better with less side effects more power to you but in my experiences both Benzos and SSRIs have helped me a lot.

This ISN'T meant to be a jab at you at all because I also suffer from GAD, but I read one of your posts in another thread where you said you had a hard time working because employers couldn't deal with your level of anxiety?

If that is true your anxiety doesn't sound so mild to me and I don't understand why you wouldn't try either an SSRI or a benzo.

Both of those drugs get very bad reputations and I don't understand why.

I mean I get it with benzos somewhat even though my experience was different but not with SSRIs.

You call them a "dirty class of drugs" but WHY??

They've helped MILLIONS of people out.

Have you done any drugs that HAVE helped you with your anxiety that WEREN'T benzos or SSRIs and if so, what where they and do you take them daily??

I have generalized anxiety disorder, some OCD and social phobia and after I got off my Klonopin I found that the prozac I was on wasn't helping enough with my social anxiety so now I got on Lexapro and most of my social anxiety is gone.

Not to mention that Prozac was a LIFE SAVER for me in my teenage years and got rid of most of my social anxiety back then till it got worse and I needed Klonopin.

I think that bluelight in particular just has a lot of people who are biased against SSRIs and benzos but if you look outside this site you'll find TONS of people helped by both classes of drugs.

Me personally I've never noticed a SINGLE bad side effect from Prozac or Lexapro.

Of all the drugs out there that can be used every single day for years and even POSSIBLY help with anxiety I haven't heard of any that work so much better than SSRIs other than benzos.

I guess the exception would be that people have mentioned SNRIs or tricyclics having fewer side effects than SSRIs, but you class SNRIs, MAOIS and tricyclics along with them as things you'd never consider!!

What else is there left after you rule out every single SSRI, benzo, SNRI, MAOI and tricyclic?!?!

You mentioned Tianeptine but that's an opioid that is VERY addictive from what I've heard and I doubt you'll find that that has fewer side effects than SSRIs.

I guess you could go the Kratom route but then you'd get addicted to that also.

I hope you don't take offense to this, but you sound to me like someone who has GAD but who is also kind of fearful of taking drugs and that that may be a reason you haven't found something that works for your anxiety.

I am probably much the same as you in terms of my anxiety except I'm not that fearful of drugs and that has led to me finding ones which work.

Eventually if you are too afraid to take anything it will get to a point where you have ruled out almost anything that can be helpful.

 

[Erikmen]

Alright so I have pretty bad anxiety. I don't really know what brings it on but most of the time it's caused by being around people, I just get super self conscious and nervous about what they're thinking or what I'm doing, how I look, ect. I try not to think to much but I can't help it. I was just wondering if anyone knew of any drugs that would help with my anxiety or help me think differently. I'm not a pill person at all. I've tried shrooms a few times to open my mind a little bit more, have kind of a spiritual experience but every time I've tried I just tripped my face off and got bad anxiety when I was around people and it sort of gave me a uncomfortable trip but when I was alone I was totally fine and was having a good time. I toke down on the regular but depending on what strain it is it either helps a little bit or makes it way worse. Does anyone know of anything that could help me?

I believe some of that will diminish as you grow older. After being 30, our perspective about being with people change as we are not normally so into ourselves like we once were.
I really think we should pass through this totally sober so you have more chances to mature and it won't be an issue later.
Don't get hooked to benzodiazepines or strong drugs right now. It does matter what people think about you.

When I was younger psychedelics and weeds actually made it a lot worse as my self perception would be so much greater.
Having that in mind and knowing yourself will help you find you what suits you best, or not at all.

 

[Mysterie]

Hey if you can find things that work better with less side effects more power to you but in my experiences both Benzos and SSRIs have helped me a lot.

This ISN'T meant to be a jab at you at all because I also suffer from GAD, but I read one of your posts in another thread where you said you had a hard time working because employers couldn't deal with your level of anxiety?

If that is true your anxiety doesn't sound so mild to me and I don't understand why you wouldn't try either an SSRI or a benzo.

Both of those drugs get very bad reputations and I don't understand why.

I mean I get it with benzos somewhat even though my experience was different but not with SSRIs.

You call them a "dirty class of drugs" but WHY??

They've helped MILLIONS of people out.

Have you done any drugs that HAVE helped you with your anxiety that WEREN'T benzos or SSRIs and if so, what where they and do you take them daily??

I have generalized anxiety disorder, some OCD and social phobia and after I got off my Klonopin I found that the prozac I was on wasn't helping enough with my social anxiety so now I got on Lexapro and most of my social anxiety is gone.

Not to mention that Prozac was a LIFE SAVER for me in my teenage years and got rid of most of my social anxiety back then till it got worse and I needed Klonopin.

I think that bluelight in particular just has a lot of people who are biased against SSRIs and benzos but if you look outside this site you'll find TONS of people helped by both classes of drugs.

Me personally I've never noticed a SINGLE bad side effect from Prozac or Lexapro.

Of all the drugs out there that can be used every single day for years and even POSSIBLY help with anxiety I haven't heard of any that work so much better than SSRIs other than benzos.

I guess the exception would be that people have mentioned SNRIs or tricyclics having fewer side effects than SSRIs, but you class SNRIs, MAOIS and tricyclics along with them as things you'd never consider!!

What else is there left after you rule out every single SSRI, benzo, SNRI, MAOI and tricyclic?!?!

You mentioned Tianeptine but that's an opioid that is VERY addictive from what I've heard and I doubt you'll find that that has fewer side effects than SSRIs.

I guess you could go the Kratom route but then you'd get addicted to that also.

I hope you don't take offense to this, but you sound to me like someone who has GAD but who is also kind of fearful of taking drugs and that that may be a reason you haven't found something that works for your anxiety.

I am probably much the same as you in terms of my anxiety except I'm not that fearful of drugs and that has led to me finding ones which work.

Eventually if you are too afraid to take anything it will get to a point where you have ruled out almost anything that can be helpful.

i probably have a one sided view of ssri, i find them dirty because i can feel the drug in my system when i'm on them, i lose all of my empathy, my emotions/motivation/inspiration all dwindle away to nothing, i become okay with doing nothing, i get heart palpitations, the only positive is that nobody can say anything to affect me, but thats also a negative. i think there is also a noticeable change in personality which is unnerving for people close to me.

i think in the future, newer antidepressants with less side effect profiles will be available, and there are already some on the market now. (agomelatine and tianeptine are the two i have read about)

i probably did generalise, i'm sure antidepressants can have a positive affect on people, i also see those drugs as being meant for short term intervention as well though, 6 months - 1 year. my view is that anxiety and depression is not something like cancer or w/e where you just have to try medicate it to keep it at bay, but it can become more manageable through personal growth and therapies.

i took 1.5mg of xanax a day for a week, it obliterated all of my anxiety, i remember it as one of the best weeks of my teenage years because it felt so different to not feel that anxiety, it was like i could breath again and a huge weight was lifted off me.

when i was 17 and had that happen i would have signed up for a prescription, now i am 22, i would not want to be prescribed a benzo at all, anxiety is a good feedback for me and i think that it will be a great teacher for me to learn from in the future, so i don't want to chemically reduce it.

tianeptine has a somewhat questionable opiate high due to some more significant mu receptor activation in high dosage ranges, like 10x - 20x the recommended dose, taken at once. or IV'd or plugged, which i don't recommend, its not actually an opiate, rather its an SSRE (selective) serotonin reuptake enhancer. if taken at the recommended dosage of 12.5mg, three times a day, there isn't going to be any withdrawal symptoms after discontinuing usage.

i don't really mean to come across as combative or judgemental, this is just my view on things, i don't want to impose my will on anyone else, and my opinion will change day to day.

everyone has a different path to follow

 

[Mycophile]

^^^

Yeah for sure.

You make tianeptine sound kind of interesting though, especially since it has a high associated with it.

I guess SSRIs just had a very different effect on you and me.

I was on Prozac for 20 years and never had any negative side effects I was aware of and now I'm on lexapro which is helping and I get no numbing of emotions.

Everyone is effected differently though.

 

[ThePharmacist4925]

Well to answer your question benzodiazepines, gabapentin, propranolol, Intuniv/Tenex, (Seroquel helps me, but I wouldn't really advise it for anyone else unless all other attempts had failed), well alcohol works but that's definitely not advisable. Your best bet is psychoanalytic insight based therapies, but that is super expensive. Look, benzos work but most doctors aren't down with it. It's possible that SSRIs might work but I'm not really inclined to recommend those to anyone, especially considering I'm ineligible for them due to massively negative side effects whenever I take any of them. IDK if you have real anxiety nowadays treatment is a crapshoot in many respects. Best bet is to find a way to build your confidence, whatever that may be. If you build your confidence the odds are that you'll be less anxious.

 

[Erikmen]

Well to answer your question benzodiazepines, gabapentin, propranolol, Intuniv/Tenex, (Seroquel helps me, but I wouldn't really advise it for anyone else unless all other attempts had failed), well alcohol works but that's definitely not advisable. Your best bet is psychoanalytic insight based therapies, but that is super expensive. Look, benzos work but most doctors aren't down with it. It's possible that SSRIs might work but I'm not really inclined to recommend those to anyone, especially considering I'm ineligible for them due to massively negative side effects whenever I take any of them. IDK if you have real anxiety nowadays treatment is a crapshoot in many respects. Best bet is to find a way to build your confidence, whatever that may be. If you build your confidence the odds are that you'll be less anxious.

I think that sums up quite well!

 

[kylo1984]

Having been prescribed klonopin for two years, I can honestly say that the medication helped alot with my anxiety, although when it came time to stop taking them, I was totally unprepared for the hell that was in store for me. It has been over a month since I stopped taking them daily, and about two weeks since I last took any. From what I remember, the klonopin helped the most when I first started taking it. I felt a great sense of relief and was able to socialize and interact with others with much less discomfort. Having dabbled with other benzos in the past, namely Xanax, I felt that the klonopin was much more subtle, yet more effective and longer lasting. The downside to this medication was that after having taken it for several months daily, it seemed to be much less effective. I had definitely built a strong tolerance to the medication and they seemed to be ineffective, although, if I had discontinued taking them, I would crave it and would tell myself that I could not function. Having gone through a medical detox for another substance, I was titrated off of klonopin and having left the hospital, no longer had them. Let me tell you, I have experienced withdrawals from opiates and benzo withdrawal is far worse. About two days after having discontinued the medication, I was experiencing extreme panic, confusion, blurred vision, muscle cramping, nauesea, sleepless nights, agitation, and really bad neck and shoulder tension. This lasted well over two and a half weeks. Day by day these symptoms seemed to lessen, but I was not really able to function well until presently. To this day, I am still fighting with my anxiety and depression, although the physical withdrawals seem to have passed. I guess what I am trying to emphasize is that this medication and others of the same class can be very helpful for a person who suffers from anxiety which can often make it difficult to conduct day to day tasks, although, it is only a band-aid. They seem to temporarily mask the problems that cause the anxiety, but unless they are treated, they will continue to be present, although masked by the medication. I am currently attending a lot of self help groups and plan on seeing a Psychologist to help me address my anxiety and get to the route of their cause. It has been extremely difficult, but not impossible. All I can say is that Benzodiazapines are extremely addictive and powerful drugs and I do not recommend taking them for any extended amount of time. If you are prone to panic attacks, I believe that it would be safe to take them when needed, but take it from me, do not become accustomed to taking them everyday as a cure for your anxiety! You do not want to build a tolerance to them.

 

[SixBuckets]

I take an SNRI (amongst other things) following many years trying different SSRIs. I certainly don't find either class "dirty" (wtf?) and the SNRI has been helpful for my anxiety. It makes me a little tense (as in physically - my muscles tense up when I'm at rest) but not really to an extent that I'm persistently conscious of. I think that's the only noticeable side effect I have from them.

 

[KerryRangel]

I see that most people have recommended using benzos like what I was told too when I had my issues with anxiety. Initially it worked out well but then I found out that I was consuming way above what was prescribed for me. I felt a great sense of relief to begin with and helped me a great deal in getting back to normal life but then when I discontinued medication, I was given a reality check. I felt confused and suffered from insomnia together with other problems like pain in the joints. Day by day my condition worsened and I ended up fearing the worst for me. I decided to enroll for a drug addiction treatment program. Although initially I struggled to get to grips with things, everything started to fall into place as days wore on. I was able to get back to normal. I would not recommend you to consume benzodiazepines as they are addictive and would lead to different problems. Always remember, prevention is better than cure.

 

[maxade]

Don't know if it's been mentioned but Phenelzine. Bad side effects though.

 

[AlwaysHighandMad]

Not trying to be "that guy" but if you have anxiety just from being aroumg people the best medicine is to well...be around people.I know I sound like a mom against drugs but lets be honest you are on a drug site asking about drugs to cope with anxiety.I thibk the last thing you need is some valium.yes benzos can work wonders if taken correctly but no one needs to be on xanax till there 60.its just not healthy,so just go work out(helpppsss alot with anxiety,stress etc,)talk to a good friend and think about how great life is :D

 

[laugh]

exercise. get high on life.