Posted by nolvas on October 13, 2007, at 11:38:57
In reply to Derealization/depersonalization --- Revisit, posted by Norrin Radd on October 13, 2007, at 10:19:04
Im 37. I've had anxiety since I was 11 or 12. Didn't affect my lifely badly until I was 21/22 around 1992. In the last couple of years it's come back and hit me hard. Derealisation is a normal part of anxiety, it's horrible as are the other symptoms. I get agitation, panic, severe vertigo. Really nasty I hate it. Let me tell you what works for me to some extent, I'm afraid I can't recommend much that you can rely on 100%.
Ok here's what works 100% but I list as dangerous to be used with caution or not at all >
Benzodiazepine drugs :
Mainly valium (I live in the UK and you won't get this prescribed very often, if I ever get any I take as emergency only, it's very effective but you must not rely on it because it will turn on you and make things much worse)
Alcohol : Again this is very effective, but I totally advise against this for self medication, it's known to make anxiety and phobic conditions worse, it can be an emergency measure, the potential for addiction is frightening though.
Ok alternative remedies that I've tried in no order of effectiveness, just as I remember them :
Theanine : Almost no effect in calming severe anxiety or agitation for me.
Taurine : Mild effect, sometimes makes me feel worse and dizzy once the effect has worn off.
Magnesium : Mild to reasonable effectiveness in calming. Some people recommend balancing it with a small amount of calcium.
Kava : Moderately effect, raw root, you know when you have the proper stuff as the mucous membranes of the mouth go numb. No addiction potential as far as I know.
Passionflower : No effectiveness at any dosage for me.
Nicinamide : Just gives me a hangover effect the next day, always feel horrible from it.
Inositol : Tried it for 3 months using powered form at 8 to 12 grams per day, anxiety progressively worsened.
Gingko Biloba : 2 x 60 mg per day standardised extract 24% glycosides, 6% terpenes. This is not a high dosage, but it's effective for me to reduce agitation. Next I want to try itcombined with a standardised ginger extract.
Bacopa : Effective if used sparingly, I can do a couple of days of bacopa with mood elevating effects any more and I anxiety starts to worsen.
Rhodiola : No noticable effectiveness for me.
Ashwaghanda : Increased anxiety and agitation or didn't help to lessen it.
Magnolia : Slight effectiveness in reducing anxiety. I think the dosage should be more like ten times the amount in the relora products. I mean to test this at some point.
You can see I've tried a fair amount of natural treatments and very few are of any use for me.
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and NLP including the Fast Phobia Cure, these are effective indeed but personally I feel you need to keep practising them and get a top up every now and then to reduce the negative thoughts.
I hope my post isn't too negative for you, there are things that work, keep trying, never give up, remember you control your anxiety, you make it worse, once you realise that you can make the anxiety work for you.
There is a highly recommended book I've seen on various sites including Amazon and I will be buying it. It's called "The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook" by Edmund J Bourne. This is potentially the highest rated book for treating phobic and anxiety states. Looks like a must purchase.
There are many many people with anxiety and phobic states, and there are many people who have successfully countered or cope with their anxiety. You definitely can deal with it and it's never hopeless. You will have good and bad days.
I recommend Kava and Gingko Biloba, changing your though patterns using cognitive techniques, also very importantly learn the correct way to breathe to control anxiety. I wish you well.
poster:nolvas
thread:788924
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20070923/msgs/788939.html