Mental Health Would 5-HTP benefit me?

[Jackeh]

I'm 17 years old, 18 in about 3 months (in case 5-HTP use may be dependent on my age).

I've never gone to the doctors about anything I feel that is wrong with me. Recently I've learned I can make a doctors appointment and nothing should be said to my parents, so I'm hopefully going to do that some time soon, but until then:

Depression runs on one side of my family, my mum was on anti-depressants, I'm not sure if she is on different ones now but she stopped one time because of how they made her feel (well, her lack of feeling). She told me that even if you felt inside that you really wanted to cry, you just couldn't because of them. I've had periods of depression every so often growing up, but the last month I've been feeling extremely depressed and unenthusiastic about anything. I also have self-diagnosed derealisation/depersonalisation, but because this isn't confirmed I'm not sure. I've definitely got some form of dissociative problem, especially when I'm in new places or when I get angry. I also have social anxiety that is triggered in certain situations, my doctor told me I have "situational social anxiety" but he didn't seem to ask many questions about it.

I saw a shop near me sells natural supplements (kind of a health shop) and in one section they have 5-HTP for sale. Would 5-HTP possibly be useful for someone like me as described above, or would it be a waste of time?

If not, are there any other things people have personally tried that are helpful with feeling depressed?

 

[ad lib]

hey jackeh,

check this out! it's a list of natural vitamins/herbs that can be used to promote a good mood and feeling of well being.

what i always recommend too is to make sure you get adequate sleep (6-8hrs per night) and exercise (at least 30mins per day) and at least 30mins of sunlight exposure per day if possible. sleep "recharges" your body, exercise releases endorphins and can help burn off norepinephrine (which can sometimes attribute to anxiety) and then sunlight can stimulate the production of vitamin D, which promotes good mood.

since you are young, i strongly suggest looking into some talk-therapy to talk about what may have you feeling depressed and anxious. even though i am only a few years older than you, this is something i wish i did when i first started feeling the way i did because it may have been extremely beneficial to me.





*as always, please consult with a healthcare professional before starting, stopping or altering any exercise regimen and/or intake of medication, either natural or pharmaceutical.

 

[Jackeh]

Thanks for the link and the great reply. Sadly I have tried talk therapy with a group called Mens Action Network, it helped a tiny bit for the anxiety but once it helped to a certain point, it didn't do any more use and I decided to leave (I felt bad because I noticed a card saying the group deals with people trying to commit suicide, etc. and there was me taking up appointment time for anxiety).

 

[ad lib]

Thanks for the link and the great reply. Sadly I have tried talk therapy with a group called Mens Action Network, it helped a tiny bit for the anxiety but once it helped to a certain point, it didn't do any more use and I decided to leave (I felt bad because I noticed a card saying the group deals with people trying to commit suicide, etc. and there was me taking up appointment time for anxiety).

Hmm have you ever thought of one on one therapy? Myself personally I don't think could benefit from a group setting because...well...I have social anxiety It'd be a bit hard for me.

Do you know where your anxiety stems from?

And I don't think you were wasting the time of the group, I'm sure they were happy to have you there. Anxiety is a real emotional and psychiatric issue which can cause real problems- I'm sure the other men there are sufferers of anxiety, too. I encourage going back since you mention it helped a bit. Try to stick to it though! You may even develop some great friendships

 

[Jackeh]

Oh, sorry I should have explained that better. It's a group that helps men with mental problems and other related things, usually they do group talks with each other and occasionally one on one. Because I was underage he didn't want to put me into any form of group talk so I was one on one with him.

I don't know where it came from, I was very confident and outgoing back when I was in primary school, once I moved to secondary school that all changed and I don't know why.

I thought I was wasting time because the group had such limited resources that it was hard for people to get appointments, I was lucky to get one but that means someone else who has worse problems had to deal with themselves for a bit longer. :/

 

[herbavore]

Lots of people (in fact, most) experience a loss of confidence going into adolescence. I think it is primarily because when we are young children our identity is still shaped more by our family than our peers and as we move out farther into the social world on our own it gets scarier. Also bear in mind that the modern culture actually wants you to feel ill at ease with yourself--it makes you buy more! So, while it makes sense that you might feel this way (and almost everyone does--some people are just better at covering it up), it doesn't feel good at all. The best advice that I can give you is to seek out information on mindfulness. It really helps with anxiety of any origin. You can get a lot of helpful links to explore in this thread.

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

5htp is harmful to the heart if taken every day for several months and also cause post-synaptic depletion of endogenous serotonin after chronic use. Tryptophan is a good alternative, but it takes a few days to work and is Rx. Try eating a lot of bananas.

 

[Jackeh]

I'll try that instead. Heart disease runs in my family and I also smoke (I've tried to stop).

Would you recommend St John's Wort or would it carry the same problems as 5-HTP?

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

Sjw is supposed to be pretty useful too