Can Natural Non-Prescription Supplements Help You Tackle Anxiety?

Depression and anxiety can be a terrible bane on any person, impacting day to day life in a more profound way than non-sufferers could ever truly understand.

In this article we’re going to look at the question of whether or not you can tackle your own anxiety with the aid of non-prescription supplements.

• 5-HTP
  The neurotransmitter known as 5-hydroxytryptophan, or 5-HTP, has already been established as a rather potent sleep aid.

  Two studies, one from 1985 and the other from 1990, showed that suppressed levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine, or 5HT, may be involved in anxiety and panic disorder. Subjects administered with 5-HTP demonstrated significant improvements in major markers of depression and anxiety.

  Recommended doses of 5-HTP are usually in the 100 – 300mg range; however, calming effects may be experienced with doses as low as 50 – 60mg. This is ideal for those of you who still want to remain functional rather than dozing off on the job!

  Our 5-HTP supplement is a great way to help keep anxiety at bay without having to resort to pharmaceutical prescription based drugs which may come with a long list of side effects.

• Amino Acids
  The amino acids taurine, tyrosine, and alanine have all been shown to exhibit antidepressant and anti-anxiety effects in animal studies.

  A 2009 study published in Communicative and Integrative Biology showed that after 4 – 6 weeks of tyrosine supplementation, tyrosine kinase receptor neurons,which play a large role in the development of anxiety in later life, exhibited greater activation.

  Simply put, this translates to greater levels of dopamine, a calming neurochemical, and therefore lower levels of anxiety.

• Melatonin
  Another powerful sleep aid, melatonin, has also shown great promise in relieving anxiety.

  Melatonin has application in everything from insomnia to Alzheimer’s disease and even breast cancer, and appears to aid the body in returning to its natural cycles and a greater state of hormonal equilibrium.

  People having trouble sleeping typically will use doses starting in the 1mg range before gradually working up to doses as high as 3 – 5mg. For anti-anxiety effects a more reasonable dose would probably be in the region of 0.5- 1mg, but it would be advisable to experiment in your home initially in case of any drowsiness you may experience.

…and the Rest

Herbal supplements such as kava, passionflower, and lemon balm have also shown some promise, with one 2000 review of seven independent trials clearly demonstrating the superiority of kava extract over a placebo.

Another 2001 study published in the Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics was tasked with looking at the efficacy of passionflower, and concluded: “The results suggest that Passiflora extract is an effective drug for the management of generalized anxiety disorder, and the low incidence of impairment of job performance with Passiflora extract compared to oxazepam is an advantage.”

This is very encouraging for those of us who suffer from anxiety but live under constant work and familial demands.

Whichever way you look at it, there is a very strong possibility that you do not need pharmaceutical intervention to treat your anxiety, so unless you are feeling utterly overwhelmed it may be a very good idea to try some of these non-prescription alternatives first.