Supplements for mild anxiety and to lift mood

[Cherryblossom200]

Hi everyone,

I wondered if anyone can recommend anything for mild anxiety and to just generally boost the mood. I’m a terrible over thinker and want to feel calmer.

Thanks to everyone who replies 😊

Make sure you are getting a high dose of vitamin d

Why vitamin d?

Ashwaganda, vitamin D and a vitamin B complex. A bit of fresh air and gentle exercise every day helps me a great deal.

I’ll google those thanks!

Vitamin D deficiency can cause anxiety or make anxiety even worse.

Oh no! Not sure I want to make it worse! I’ve just turned 44 so it may have something to do with my hormones too. But I’m a single parent and find life sometimes a bit stressful, so it would be good to have something to help.

Cut out caffeine if you can, it's drastically improved my anxiety.

Second vote for Ashwagandha. Probiotics also help e.g. live yoghurt (lots of non dairy options), tablets or prebiotic foods. A lot of anxiety and stress comes from the gut, in a brain/body feedback loop. Also B vitamins, magnesium, zinc, calcium, omegas.

Thank you, I’ve tried Maca root and that made me feel like happy and hyper. I didn’t enjoy it. I just want to feel more balanced and less up and down.

Vitamin D and 5- HTP are both good. The later was recommended to me to aid sleep and low mood symptoms. Seems to work a bit with DD who is taking them daily and has very high anxiety and low mood. HTH

Do either make you drowsy? I don’t want to feel drowsy or hyper either! Sorry, those are the side effects I’ve found with a few supplements x

Nope, they don't. Mind you it's hard to tell- my teenager sleeps all the time

Surly 😆😆

I take Passionflower for mild anxiety and it works brilliantly. It can make you drowsy so I take it before bedtime. Really helps me sleep and I feel much calmer the next day.

As well as ashghawanda, I really rate L-Tyrosine and rhodiola rosea: if you are going to start with one, though, I would go for with Tyrosine. Good luck!

Thanks Hefzi. Why tyrosine?

Magnesium.

I found it worked the fastest! I read some book about gut health and mental health, and it was the one supplement that wasn't contraindicated for someone already on medication from there, which is how I got into it. It's also not expensive, and you can get it in H and B - they do have rhodiola, but I find it's quite expensive, and it also has more of a cumulative effect, I think.

Of course, it's entirely possible it's all placebo - but I do find it helps. I add in a packet's worth of rhodiola and ashghawanda if I am anticipating a particularly stressful time, but probably only take them three or four times a year, for around 30 days at each time. I discovered both a few years ago when struggling with circumstances, and I feel they definitely helped, but I do find them quite expensive, so save them for Christmas and parental visits emergencies!

5htp,
50mg or 100mg before bed. I swear by it.

Hi,

My DH swears by CBD Oil. He has a mega stressful job and is almost permanently anxious and struggles to sleep but he’s been much better the last month or so taking a supplement. Have a look round as there’s loads of different types available but he likes the champagne flavour (bit of a diva) from www.thecbdproject.com

Not the cheapest but usually have offers on if you join the mailing list.

He also swears by exercise (running) but I think that is just to get him out the house

Rhodiola Rosea works for me as a mood balancer. It was recommended by a friend.

I have just given up on cbd oil, it seemed to work for the first couple of weeks, but my insomnia has come back even worse than before.

Running is also amazing.

Starthistle oil apparently. I bought some...never took it...so no idea.
Make sure you are okay....see a doctor. You want your thyroid and blood pressure and blood glucose checked. Don't just assume it is the perimenopause etc to blame.