Stress and Anxiety

[Jsme]

I have been experiencing an extreme amount of stress and anxiety lately. I do know my triggers and have had a long discussion with my family. I started researching stress and anxiety and how to deal with both. One is finding your triggers and I have already done that and it appears I am on the correct path thus far. I have learned in my research that thru herbs, mediation and other relaxation methods it is possible for me to reduce my stress without medication. I do not want to take perscription medication at this time.

I really was hoping someone could help me with suggestions on herbal remedies. In my research I have found that there are a bunch of various complex herbal remedies that are rather expensive. I also have become confused in the various herbs that will help. It seems each and every website for herbal anxiety relievers have another herb to try. I do not wish to spend over $100 for a months supply of this or that. I do not wish to purchase a lot of herbs. I would rather try a herb supplement that I can buy in a local store. It can be one herb or it can be several in one pill. I just really need someones help who knows more about this then I do.

 

[vanyel]

Not too much help here but a suggestion. Have you gone to a local health food/herbal shop and asked if they have anyone there that can advise on the herbs? There used to be one in my area that did a good job on helping customers with kinds of questions. My massage therapist also did some work in that area and would give his clients recommendations.

Besides herbs and medications, have you looked into massage therapy, meditation, yoga etc?

 

[Nette]

Aromatherapy.

I find that lavender, rosemary, and eucalyptus (in combination or not) definitely help me to relax.

(But I've been known to take a few Xanax in my time too! )

 

[crisi]

Valarian is pretty helpful as an anti anxiety herb. I'd start there. Its often used as a sleep aid. It apparently tastes horrible as a tea, I've always used it for sleeping in a pill form - no taste at all.

Also, make sure to take care of the other end as well - cut out caffeine or any other stimulants you have going.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

My children go to a doctor who is big into this. When my DD was down and dealing with stress and all of that , he recommended that she take 5-HTP. He said that it's a natural way to increase your serotonin levels, which will make you feel better. It does the same thing as prescription med's for depression, or something along those lines.

I have been taking 5-HTP, fish oil, and now B-12, and I am feeling much better. I got it all from Walmart. Hope this helps.

 

[Jsme]

Not too much help here but a suggestion. Have you gone to a local health food/herbal shop and asked if they have anyone there that can advise on the herbs? There used to be one in my area that did a good job on helping customers with kinds of questions. My massage therapist also did some work in that area and would give his clients recommendations.

Besides herbs and medications, have you looked into massage therapy, meditation, yoga etc?

Yes I have looked in to all of the above. I do not know of any herbal store in my area. I know we have a couple of vitmain shops that I can look into and have already thought in that directions.

I must be a strange bird because massage and exercise only stresses me out. Most of my triggers are family related. I just need more help from the family to do things around the house. My kids have chores but like normal teens they push this issue to the max causing me more stress. While I have a good husband he will put the XBox above anything else. So for me to take an hour to myself only causes me to lay or stand there (not really standing but exercising) thinking of all the things I will have to do when I am done. It does not give me any relaxation. I have tried both and found the massage is a total waste for me. I still attempt to exercise because it is suppose to be good for me.

 

[micheleq]

Fish oil and calcium work for me! I have PMDD which makes me stressed out and anxious. If you think it is in any way related to hormones/your cycle, see your OB/GYN. I also switched my birth control pills which has helped tremendously.

Good luck

 

[Jsme]

Valarian is pretty helpful as an anti anxiety herb. I'd start there. Its often used as a sleep aid. It apparently tastes horrible as a tea, I've always used it for sleeping in a pill form - no taste at all.

Also, make sure to take care of the other end as well - cut out caffeine or any other stimulants you have going.

I do not drink caffeine so that is not an issue. I am sleeping just fine. Just having anxiety and stress that is causing panic attacks. I have had them before and was on medication and do not want to go that route this time. Will this make me sleepy? I am more anxiety at work.

 

[Jsme]

Aromatherapy.

I find that lavender, rosemary, and eucalyptus (in combination or not) definitely help me to relax.

(But I've been known to take a few Xanax in my time too! )

I use to take a long hot bath with lavender. I probably need to do this. I use to do this when my DH was away on business and I had younger children. When they would go to sleep I would take my hot bath. Now the situation has changed. Dh rarely travels much and the kids stay up later than me. I can always try it again.

 

[RobinFabulous]

Rescue remedy. I've never used it, but we did in nursing mother's support group with excellent results

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

Honestly, I think you really need to talk to a qualified professional.

We folks on the board, while we may have the best of intentions, are probably not really qualified to diagnose you

 

[westjones]

Yes I have looked in to all of the above. I do not know of any herbal store in my area. I know we have a couple of vitmain shops that I can look into and have already thought in that directions.

I must be a strange bird because massage and exercise only stresses me out. Most of my triggers are family related. I just need more help from the family to do things around the house. My kids have chores but like normal teens they push this issue to the max causing me more stress. While I have a good husband he will put the XBox above anything else. So for me to take an hour to myself only causes me to lay or stand there (not really standing but exercising) thinking of all the things I will have to do when I am done. It does not give me any relaxation. I have tried both and found the massage is a total waste for me. I still attempt to exercise because it is suppose to be good for me.

Wow! This sounds a lot like me. I hate the idea of a massage and thinking about exercise is stressful for me (but honesting, doing a small amount of walking does help some).

The whole teen/chores issues is one that I have had to deal with, and to be honest I haven't done well with it because I decided lowering my stress was more important than teaching my kids they had to do their chores. So I do more of them by myself.

NOW I have made a rule that they can not have friends over to the house unless the house is clean. THAT seems to motivate them (at the last minute) to step in and help just so they can have a friend over. Otherwise, no one is allowed to see our messy house!

One other thing that I have done from time to time is have a 15 minutes Family Cleaning Session. Doesn't sound like a lot but it can help with the mess. On Saturday or Sunday I will sometimes turn off the TV/Computers, crank up the music and set a timer and all of us (DH included) run around the house for 15 minutes putting things in their place and cleaning up a bit. There are 4 of us so that 15 minutes x 4 equals an hour's worth of cleaning.

I have found supplements to be very helpful for me, but I have been tested to see what supplements I need (taking too much of something can cause stress too). You can read about supplements on different websites. I use the B Vitamins (a B Complex is good) and I am low in Zinc. But different people will need different things. But it might be helpful for you to add a B-Complex vitamin to your regular vitamin. But do some research first.

This book was VERY helpful for me:
http://www.healthrecovery.com/HRC_2006/Depression_06/DepressionFree_TheBook.htm

I didn't order it from their website. I went to my local Books A Million and had them order it for me.

My other advice is to eliminate whatever things you can that are causing you stress. Just this weekend, my family decided together to elminate a program that my two DDs had started at church. We all thought it would be something that would last about 90 minutes on Sunday afternoons and would be a nice fellowship for them. Instead, it has turn into something that requires a lot of reading and homework, and they aren't enjoying it, and they have enough reading/homework from school and we all talked and decided to drop this from our lives for now. I am really big on getting rid of commitments that cause stress when we can.

Good Luck,
DJ

 

[Jsme]

Honestly, I think you really need to talk to a qualified professional.

We folks on the board, while we may have the best of intentions, are probably not really qualified to diagnose you

Done that and they recommeded if I did not want medication to try mediation, massage and/or herbal remedies. I work with a few doctors that are licensed in this area. I have spoke with them this morning. Nice to have free sessions.

 

[Jsme]

Wow! This sounds a lot like me. I hate the idea of a massage and thinking about exercise is stressful for me (but honesting, doing a small amount of walking does help some).

The whole teen/chores issues is one that I have had to deal with, and to be honest I haven't done well with it because I decided lowering my stress was more important than teaching my kids they had to do their chores. So I do more of them by myself.

NOW I have made a rule that they can not have friends over to the house unless the house is clean. THAT seems to motivate them (at the last minute) to step in and help just so they can have a friend over. Otherwise, no one is allowed to see our messy house!

One other thing that I have done from time to time is have a 15 minutes Family Cleaning Session. Doesn't sound like a lot but it can help with the mess. On Saturday or Sunday I will sometimes turn off the TV/Computers, crank up the music and set a timer and all of us (DH included) run around the house for 15 minutes putting things in their place and cleaning up a bit. There are 4 of us so that 15 minutes x 4 equals an hour's worth of cleaning.

I have found supplements to be very helpful for me, but I have been tested to see what supplements I need (taking too much of something can cause stress too). You can read about supplements on different websites. I use the B Vitamins (a B Complex is good) and I am low in Zinc. But different people will need different things. But it might be helpful for you to add a B-Complex vitamin to your regular vitamin. But do some research first.

This book was VERY helpful for me:
http://www.healthrecovery.com/HRC_2006/Depression_06/DepressionFree_TheBook.htm

I didn't order it from their website. I went to my local Books A Million and had them order it for me.

My other advice is to eliminate whatever things you can that are causing you stress. Just this weekend, my family decided together to elminate a program that my two DDs had started at church. We all thought it would be something that would last about 90 minutes on Sunday afternoons and would be a nice fellowship for them. Instead, it has turn into something that requires a lot of reading and homework, and they aren't enjoying it, and they have enough reading/homework from school and we all talked and decided to drop this from our lives for now. I am really big on getting rid of commitments that cause stress when we can.

Good Luck,
DJ

OMG OMG I did not read all of this but you hit on a few things within your first few paragraphs that is what I did this weekend! I talked to the family and told them for now on we will have a time period each day that we all do cleaning. Your 15 minute time frame is one of the amounts I mentioned!!

I agree also that sometimes it is much easier to do it yourself. I also have the rule in our house that if the kids do not do their chores they get to do nothing until they are done. They know the deal. With that what kills me is the fact I leave before anyone else in my house and I come home after all of them. I walk into a messy house. I hate mess. I am working on that too. Even my DH has admitted I am more relaxed in that area than ever before.

OK I am going to finish reading your post.

 

[Jsme]

I really think I am already on the correct direction to relieving my stress.

As my co-worker said this morning, that if I do not want medication then I have to take a long hard look at my life and find the root of my stress. Whch I did this weekend. She also said my stress is what is causing my anxiety and the panic feeling. I instantly come into work and I have a lot of anxiety. I am just waiting for something to happen and with this thought in my head it causes the panic to set in. I love my job and it only recently became stressful for me. It is not my job's fault as more I am not dealing well with the stress. Frankly I have not dealt with it at all. Anyway, she said I had to find a way to reduce my stress levels and with doing that it will help to eliminate the anxiety levels. She suggested the mediation, massage, aromatherapy, vitamins and herbs. Which is what I had researched. I have started a new breathing technique that has helped me already today.

Over all I am a very healthy person. I rarely drink caffeine. I eat healthy and I exercise a bit.

For now I am going to continue with the new changes of my breathing technique, I am going to attempt to do the hot bath with aromatherapy and find an herbs and/or vitamin and minerals to help me.

Thanks to everyone for the open advice. If anyone else wants to post please do.

 

[crisi]

I do not drink caffeine so that is not an issue. I am sleeping just fine. Just having anxiety and stress that is causing panic attacks. I have had them before and was on medication and do not want to go that route this time. Will this make me sleepy? I am more anxiety at work.

It doesn't make me sleepy. I cannot tell what it may do to you. I take it to sleep in combination with melatonin.

 

[vanyel]

Is there someone you could talk to - therapist, minister? Sometimes people need a professional to help them manage stress etc.

 

[pixie921]

Valarian is pretty helpful as an anti anxiety herb. I'd start there. Its often used as a sleep aid. It apparently tastes horrible as a tea, I've always used it for sleeping in a pill form - no taste at all.

Also, make sure to take care of the other end as well - cut out caffeine or any other stimulants you have going.

Just a warning on the valerian. In some people (I'm one of them), it has a paradoxical effect. Rather than calming, it makes you more anxious. It doesn't hurt to try it, though. I'm sure it helps more people than it doesn't.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

I have some issues with stress and anxiety as well. The state of the house is one thing that causes me stress and I had to first learn that DH and the kids are not going to see something that needs done and do it, they just aren't, so I have to ask. If I'm going to be gone when they're home in the evening I will leave a list. Some might find that insulting, but DH finds it helpful so he doesn't forget what I've asked him to do. I'm not going to berate him or anything if he doesn't do all of it, I just want him to work on it.

Something else I've done is let everyone know that at 8:00pm I am OFF. My shoes come off, I'm done. I will not pack lunches, sign papers, find your missing whatever, or wash your favorite shirt after 8:00. I need that time to relax. The kids go to bed and I sit down. DH understands that I need that time and when he's home he will help me clean up from dinner and get the kids ready for bed, etc. so I can have that time. When he's not home I have to force myself to take it some days, but I do because I know I NEED it, it's my kid-free time (I'm a SAHM).

I'm also working very hard on fostering more independence in my kids. It is so much easier for me to just do things myself, but I'm doing way too much and they should be doing them. I've decided to work on it one task at a time. Right now, the first responsibility they're practicing is packing their own snack for school. Next we'll work on picking out their own school clothes and so on.

 

[eeyorethegreat]

OP it sounds like you are on a route to managing your stress I just wanted to add something that people tend to forget. Herbal remedies supplements are "drugs" natural perhaps, they do have side effects just like prescription drugs. Be careful to research exactly what the herbs are you are taking and what the side effects can be. Also if you have to go on a medication for some reason ie say you get an infection that needs to be treated, some herbal supplements can interact with each other and with other medications you are taking. Make sure you talk to your DR about any herbs you are taking. I am not against using herbal remedies at all but I do think that one needs to be well informed about them just as they would be with any other drug.