Natural/herbal remedies for anxiety - do any of them actually work?

Thanks for this - I hadn’t thought of cold showers etc - you’ve reminded me of something I read about this years ago saying this was effective. I think you’re right also that a combination of approaches might be a good idea - rather than thinking any one thing is the answer. I’ve never heard of Kaana - I’ll look into that - thanks! 

I think it's a combination of things rather than a golden bullet. Cutting out caffeine and alcohol is a must. Removing as much refined sugar from your diet as possible. Regular exercise is also important, ideally with an end goal or part of a sport to help with focus and motivation. It also gives something to do obsessive research into!

Also daily cold showers can help, or some sort of cold immersion. I've tried CBD. Waste of money! I've used 5-HTP, Rhodiola Root and St Johns Wart, as a combination, but it takes a few weeks to build an effect. I've also used Kaana. Which is faster acting (usually in a few hours), but you can build a tolerance to it quite quickly so not one for sustained daily use.

Me too, if and when. Interest doesn't always translate into action for me..

I’ll report back once I’ve given it a bit of time to see what transpires.

'tablet' form that should say

I would be interested to hear the experience's of those who are going to try the L-theanine.

JuniperFromGallifrey said:

One really need to be mindful of turmeric for instance!

Fortunately for me one of it's main side effects of anticoagulation is actually of benefit to me due to my persistent high platelet levels, I've also found it quite remarkable for joint pain. When I stop taking it for a while as you need to apparently, I notice a big difference. I take it in spray form inside the cheek due to gastro issues, I was unable to tolerate it after 5 days taking it in table form.

I would start with a minimum of 200 mg, in my experience only of course.

You're welcome, I hope you find it of some help.

I think that the dangers can be mitigated if we realise that we're neurodivergent.  Plus in many ways things can be improved because we'll have more knowledge and awareness to draw upon, alongside any support or reasonable accommodations that we can access IF we know we're autistic. 

In my wider family, there were repeated patterns of alcohol problems, mental health issues and one suicide.  And within my immediate family growing up we faced isolation, poverty and sometimes even ridicule and other kinds of bullying.  We became very ashamed and hid from the world even more because, of course, we were blamed and misunderstood.  And we couldn't have friends round because the house was in such a state.  Meanwhile I was a bit of a nerdy swot at school and got bullied for that too, with people assuming that I came from a privileged background (I got free school dinners and wore the cheap version of the the school uniform but everyone, including the teachers, thought we must be well heeled because I was well spoken, polite, no trouble at all and very academic).

I honestly think, though, that much of this could have been avoided with better knowledge and even just a bit of extra support.  And you're probably in a much better position to parent these days, with identification. more resources and forums like this one.  My parents did the best with what they had.  It's just that what they had was very little - emotionally, practically and financially.         

Actually one of the first self help books I read.  That and "How to Win Friends and Influence People".  I wonder how many of us have built up a whole library of self help books...   

As autistic parents of autistic children I worry about our parenting. Lots of love here but also not very organised and added mental health issues mean that I often feel that ‘my best’ as a parent is not as good as I’d like it to be. We muddle along but it’s not ideal. 

Yes, I agree this can help.  Before my diagnosis I attended yoga classes for a while, then tai chi (chi kung, mainly) classes and a lot of this focussed on meditation and breathwork. 

Not sure about the pooing.  Certainly it can affect bowels bu what I mostly found was that I developed a really loud and embarrassing tummy rumble, of the sort that could be easily heard across a room.  Maybe I was somehow swallowing air?  Anyway, I can remember a lot of classes where my focus was on avoiding loud rumbles, shifting around and coughing to disguise it, then having to catch up on the actual learning later on.    

That sounds really tough - your poor mum must have been through a terrible time. It must have been hard to go through that as her child. Claire Weekes is really good - I had her book recommended to me years ago and it really helped me - pulled me back from the brink! I still sometimes refer back to it even now. 

NB  Compare and contrast with one bit of advice from the Retreat in York after my son's diagnosis in his last year at university: 

We both attended the follow up appointment which covered options for support while he was still studying.  And one thing that was mentioned was that an appropriate accommodation would be for presentations to be done on a 1:1 basis just with the tutor, or prerecorded, or turned into another piece of work covering the same subject (i.e an essay or report to be shared with the rest of the group).  I couldn't help quipping, "Wow!  You mean we don't have to drink half a bottle of whisky to get through it after all?"   

Yes, it probably was a long shot me getting to university, but I didn't realise that I was autistic and I actually believed that my anxiety was due to me being brought up in a very socially isolated family.   So I just read loads of self help books and kept using my own version of exposure therapy to try to "improve myself".  Some it it actually helped a little but it was mostly doomed and I got into some situations that were deplorable and which I'd never want anyone else to fall into (mostly fueled by self-medicating with alcohol).

My dad had a severe burnout/depression for around 10 years and I also desperately wanted to escape a really bad home environment.  My parents were lovely, caring and as supportive as they could be.  But I now see that they were both probably neurodivergent themselves, with  no support, no knowledge and no money and the dire and shabby circumstances were actually the best they could do.  :(   I feel really sad about it all and they'd have been really shocked if they'd ever discovered that I basically nearly drank myself to death in order to quash my nerves. 

When I went to sixth form and university, there were no allowances made for anything either.  I was expected to speak up and perform, then blamed when I couldn't.  Apparently, I was reliably informed, "Everyone gets butterflies but they just stick with it".   Either that or I was just "being silly". 

Another desperate situation involved me taking one of my dad's valium tablets (which at the time were massive capsules, not the tiny dots of it you get now) just so that I could do a brief presentation, one which lots of others treated as fun.  I sweated for weeks beforehand, with waves of nerves and fear and really unable to sleep properly until it was over.  The valium did work but, of course, is now considered addictive and only given in a small course.  (This was all in the late 70s and early 80s for university).   

So yes, I'm glad I've found something.  Just very put out that that something is illegal and there's not going to be a grow-your-own feature on Gardeners' World any time soon. 

Thank you for your kind thoughts and likewise I hope you can find solutions to help you too.

You are right that alcohol doesn't help, one glass of wine is enough for me too these days. In my younger years I used to consume copious amounts at work social events, just to get through them, but it never made them any easier.

There is a real lack of understanding of autistic anxiety in the medical profession. I hope that more research will be done, so that in future autistic people don't have to suffer like we have without any effective help or support.

Kate Kestrel said:

I want to enjoy my life again

That's how I feel too. Strive to hold on to the belief that if you have been able to enjoy life before then you will be able to again in the future, however difficult things are right now.

You did really well just to make it to university with your anxiety. I had to drop out of sixth form because mine was so bad at the time. I expect the lecturers were quite used to students turning up under the influence of something! 

I think my earliest conscious memory of that anxious feeling would have been around 4 or 5 years old like you. I'm in my early 50s now and have had more than enough of it.

Throughout my childhood I was observing my mum's battle with her severe anxiety and I guess I just thought that was normal at the time. I used to attend relaxation classes with her and listen to the 'self help for your nerves' recordings by Dr Claire Weekes. 

My mum was on high doses of anti-depressants and benzodiazepines for years, including throughout her pregnancy with me. Watching her repeatedly trying to come off the Valium throughout my childhood was horrible. I believe I would have been suffering the withdrawal symptoms during my first few weeks of life and have often wondered if that has contributed to my high baseline anxiety. 

I'm pleased you've finally found something which helps. I'm not sure I'm brave enough to try that currently but if I get desperate enough maybe. I'm not ruling anything out.

Me too. I wonder is the trick to some of this to have some things on rotation rather than in continuous use. I think I just start to metabolise stuff when my system is no longer 'caught out' by it, so taking breaks from one thing while substituting another may be the key?

I’ve ordered some L-theanine too - a type that’s mixed with lemon balm. Fingers crossed :)