Anxiety - St Johns Wort

[Jazzy1984]

Hi,

Just wondering if any one has tried St Johns Wort?? I have mild anxiety. NOT DEPRESSION. I actually want to live and enjoy my life, I believe I just have mild anxiety and fear that sometiems stops me from doing the things i want to do.

 My doctor recommended it to me and im unsure. I have never been on any medication before as I don't believe in it - but I am at the stage now in my life where doing nothing is not working and I need to start trying some things to live a normal life and actually start to enjoy the things I do.

Over the past 2 years I have tried Acupuncture, Kinesology, Home path. I feel some 'natural' tablets i have taken from my home path have sent me on a roller coster ride and im getting worse. Getting worse as in - more headaches/time off work/nausea/fear/anxiety/panic attacks - i am getting better as in im more confident to try new things and more aware of it , but find it very hard to relax.

Any tips would be appreciated what actually works and how long does thing take to happen? If not St Johns wort, what else will or can help with fear/anxiety - sometimes i dont even know why or what im worried about???

[optimistic]

Do try Yoga, Meditation, Mindfulness or Tai chi.

Get hold a psychologist who can offer CBT.

Take care and God bless.

[CarinaB]

Hi, thank you for your posts, I have just joined these forums, somebody recommended them to me recently.  I am having a bad time with anxiety at the moment, I'm exhausted. 

It is interesting that your doctor recommended St John's Wort, no doctor that I have access to will mention anything "natural".  I think I might try it and I like optimistics suggestion of yoga and Tai chi etc., I would really like to do that.  

[Mishka]

Hi jazzy

      I have taken swisse calming tablets which contain st. Johns Wort and they have worked for me for my anxiety.

[Marie_Marie]

Hi there,

I suffer from anxiety and panic attacks and have been taking st John Wort. Its amasing, after 3 days I noticed the difference. If I had to pick between antidepressants and st john wort definitely st john wort.

[Sophie_M]

Hi everyone, available evidence suggests that St John’s wort does not appear to
be effective for OCD or social phobia. No scientific studies have been conducted into its effectiveness for generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). There is also no evidence on whether St John’s wort works for PTSD, panic disorder or specific phobias.

When taken alone, St John’s wort has very few side-effects. However, St John’s wort interacts with many prescription medications, either affecting how these medications work or producing serious side-effects. Anyone who is taking any other medications and wishes to use St John’s wort is advised to check with their doctor first. 

You can read more on this in the beyondblue resource A Guide To What Works For Anxiety: http://resources.beyondblue.org.au/prism/file?token=BL/0762

[aegidius]

Tried SJW for a depressive episode 20+ years ago. It had no discernible effect on the depression and just gave me nausea. SSRI  was much more effective against the depression, but again the side effects were worse too: it completely wiped out my libido, and gave me a recurring skin rash that persisted months after stopping medication. So my brief foray into AD's was not something I'd care to repeat!

[Guest_554]

Yes, I would love to go on st.johns wort, but I take prescription medicine for reflux. The chemist said it would interfere with the medicine.

😞

So I take blackmores executive B stress formula. Seems to help a tiny bit.

[geoff]

hello Jazzy, one thing that's good is that you're more confident, that's the strength you need to keep pushing you onwards.
It's hard to believe that your doctor has suggested St Johns Wort, although I did ask my psychologist about trying them, she said I could, but with my condition they may not help with my OCD and deep depression, however if you have mild anxiety then you could ask your pharmacist what they think, but they can't be taken with any prescribed AD's and that's what they will tell you. Geoff.

[solabear]

Hi Jazzy, if you're not taking any prescription drugs then it's worth a try. It did help me in the past when I wasn't on any meds. It did have a calming effect on me and I was sleeping better.

I hope this helped, take care

Hugs from Sola