Self Anxiety Control

[newport1]

Hello,

I am a male in the early twenties.  Although I have never been clinically diagnosied with any form of anxieity or depression, I've never been tested nor evaulated for either.

I do realize and accept that fact I suffer from anxiety and possibly mild depression, my mother suffers from extreme depression and also mild anxiety (both clinically diagnosed many years ago, beyong my reconigtion.  I also have an older sister who is autistic and sufers from anxiety as most special needs people do.

These symptons do not affect my daily life much, and often with will power I can overcome social related stress and mild depression such as worrying how insignificant future events will turn out.  I know some stress and anexity is normal, but I do not approve much of modern medicine as I do not want my body to become self reliant on foreign chemicals.  

I would like to know if there are any means of self treatment for anexiety and minor depression. I am aware excercise is a good stimuli but I'd like to find a more diverse selection of help.  Also, are they're any dietary means of increasing/balancing the realease of chemicals which controls these sorts of things? :)

Thank you.

[BethanySublime]

yep i got all kinds of bad genes too.  on my dad's side there's a lot of personality disorders & depression, and on my mom's side there's a lot of depression, anxiety, hypochondriasis, OCD, & who knows what else lol.  but i guess that's just the way the cookie crumbles.

[BethanySublime]

you sound like me.  i've never been cilnically diagnosed either, but i know i have anxiety.  it does affect my life pretty much all the time, but it's not debilitating (for the most part).  i don't kow how to control my general anxiety, but i have been able to control my panic attacks on my own (i also don't want to take any meds considering i have drug-related anxiety and i always get a panic attack when i take meds b/c i feel like i'm having a deadly reaction).  i just need to concentrate on other things.  i make myself read something or get in a deep conversation, or even if i can't stop myself from thinking about the panicking, i just don't let myself panic.  maybe i'm panicking inside, so i guess i don't make it go away comletely, but the fact that i'm able to keep it in and not make a scene is an improvement anyway.

i believe a healthy diet in general is supposed to help, but i doubt it makes a noticeable difference.  although, if you're eating right you'll probably feel good about it and healthy which may lessen health worries/anxiety anyway.

as far as your mild depression, have you ever heard of 5-HTP?  it's a natural root extract that helps your serotonin reuptake.  it's used for mild depression, and it's not a drug, so you might have some luck with that.  i just started taking it daily about a week ago, but for insomnia not depression, so i don't really have any results to tell you about yet.  

[suzi-q]

There are books you can try...like the Anxiety and Phobia handbook...there is also a program called the "Linden Method"...I have purchased it, but truly have no time to sit and really understand and follow it.  It is suppose to be very good in helping people beat anxiety....I am on medication and without it, I never would have been able to live a normal life...however, I hope to come off it one day for I also do not like that I have to rely on it...but for now, I must do what I have to do.

[newport1]

Thank you for the wonderful replies.

I think I will look into that herb.  I am especially interested in wether or not the reabosrption claims are true and I'd be willing to  try it.  That maybe some of the cause of how I am as sometimes I feel like I unfortunately got some bad genes.  No fault of my mother, who is a great woman but I do belive she has some nueral problems... apparently because like I said she has been treated for depression and anxiety since I was young, I believe the brunt of it was triggered by my sisters diagnosis, but also belive it was lingering and waiting to happen.

Thanks again.

[torque]

Hi, I too wanted to try and beat this naturally. I am giving myself a couple of months of eating right and exercising to see if it helps, if not, I might decide to try a mild drug. I, like you, do not really want to rely on chemicals. Anyway, in searching for different natural remedies, I found these two great websites, listed below. I hope this helps!!


http://www.anxiety-and-depression-solutions.com/articles/complementary_alternative_medicine/diet/diet.php

http://www.nativeremedies.com/articles/treating-depression.html