Topic Title: Going to Start on 5-HTP for Social Anxiety
| |  "Going to Start on 5-HTP for Social Anxiety"
, Wed 12 Nov 18:09
Hi everyone!
I'm so happy I came accross this forum. I have doing alot of reading on alternative medicine for anxiety. For the past 2 years I have realized that when I am in a social situation, especially speaking in front of public, meeting a new person and staring at them in the eye, eating with strangers, singing solo in front of others. These are most of the things that I have noticed that make me feel physically tense and when I get so tense I get a tick or tremor on the right side of my neck.
I have then been feeling anxious and worrying that no one sees this tick when I am in a situation where I am the center of attention. I have read about 5-htp and have just ordered it in veglife. I have read what people have said about 5-htp and I have come up with some warning signs, like not taking it with vitamin B-6 and also that I should find the right amount for me. I am currently on no medication, but I accept the fact that I have social anxiety. I normally don't avoid situations, because I have positive beliefs about learning from my disorder. The thing is that anxiety is physically hurting me, and I have noticed that I can't live like this. I'm 21 years old with a lot of hopes and dreams.
Does anyone have the any similar experience with social anxiety like me?
I'd love to hear anyones story if you have tried 5-htp or any natural supplement and if this is helping you.
Thank you,
Mayra.
Posts: 0 | | Registered: Wed 12 Nov 2003 17:32 |
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| |  "Re(1):Going to Start on 5-HTP for Social Anxi"
, Mon 4 Oct 09:23
You are so lucky to have found 5-HTP being you are so young. I am 45 and have struggled with anxiety, especially social, at least since I was 6. No one told me there was anything that could be done. "Just deal with it." Try harder." "Other people can do it." These are the things that killed my esteem. I used to be the one at the party that would pat the cat or clean up or serve food and beverages. I just started on 5-HTP and it has changed everything. I used to hate the sun, now I will take my kids to the playground and be happy about it, even when it is sunny. When someone gets aggravated with me at work, I can provide an effective solution. My dosage is low (often 30-50 mg a day). I take it at night before I go to bed. And always take it for my five PMS days each month. I don't yell at my sons anymore (even though they do really stupid things almost every moment). I don't get mad at people driving on the freeway even if they almost hit me. I let people talk to me without interrupting. I can look at them. Oh, and the one really great side effect is that I crave vegetables instead of carbohydrates! Let all the young people know because many are suffering silently or don't even know there's something out there that can improve their lives dramatically.
[email protected]
Posts: 0 | | Registered: Mon 4 Oct 2004 9:23 |
| | "Re(1):Going to Start on 5-HTP for Social Anxi" , Sun 11 Jan 03:12
Noticed your post and I do have an experience to share. It's a shame that no-one else has responded yet as this is an important subject and distressing for anyone who has these feelings. I wish I had found the right kind of help when I was 21 - I'm female in my late 30s and spent years feeling crap. Hopefully we can get a discussion started!
I have been taking St John's Wort for about 4 years now and I just feel transformed. I'm now looking for alternative herbs/supplements that may also work as I've noticed a few annoying hormonal side-effects, but I still think SJW is an amazing thing. I havn't tried 5-HTP - I was a bit put off by the cost, but also I don't think I have a seratonin problem anyway so it may not be the thing for me.
My problem may be a bit different to yours, but I guess I do (or did!) have trouble with "social anxiety". I was very lacking in confidence, but also felt slow and dim-witted and distant from people. Sometimes I would have trouble even speaking - the words just wouldn't come out. It would be just as bad with people I knew well as with strangers, so nervousness wasn't the problem, it was more a constant feeling of "wading through treacle". I wasn't actually "depressed" as such, but after years of feeling this way (despite loads of "couselling") I was very lonely and fed up.
I tried taking SJW to cheer me up, and noticed a difference within a week - I felt like a human being for the first time. Like the fog had lifted and a light had come on. I now actually enjoy talking and laughing with people, and going out. I havn't been turned into an extrovert overnight, I'm still a fairly quiet person and enjoy solitude, but I can cope with life whereas I couldn't before. I take quite a low dose, if I take the recommended dose (about 900mg a day) I feel a bit manic and giddy ao I stick to 300mg. If I stop taking it all the old problems come straight back.
However I have had a few side-effects like very heavy periods, and and it's supposed to stop the pill from working. These are more nuisanses than *major* problems, but it's also been 4 years now which is quite a long time, so I'd like to try something else. From looking around the internet I've worked out that I may have a deficiency of the dopamine/norepinephine neurotransmitters (SJW also helps with these apparently). I'm going to try taking tyrosine and something called rhodiala which I've read about elsewhere on this forum - seems like it has a similar effect to SWJ but more geared towards social phobias.
I don't know if you've come across this link? It lists the various brain chemicals, their effects and how to boost them.
http://www.hbcprotocols.com/chart.html
It could be the cause of your problem is different to mine - one thing I've noticed from reading this forum is how individual everyone is. I would say that things like public speaking and singing in front of people are fairly daunting situations that would make most people anxious. If you go through with them anyway then you are very brave! It's good that you have such a positive attitude.
I would very much like to hear how you got on with 5-HTP, if it helped, and if you tried anything else. And I will let you know how I fared...
Good Luck
cici
Posts: 0 | | Registered: Sat 10 Jan 2004 13:11 |
| | | "Re(2):Going to Start on 5-HTP for Social Anxi" , Thu 22 Jan 04:59
That's a great link - thanks much!
Posts: 4 | | Registered: Mon 5 Jan 2004 7:6 |
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