You're looking at Less Wrong's discussion board. This includes all posts, including those that haven't been promoted to the front page yet. For more information, see About Less Wrong.

DeVliegendeHollander comments on Open Thread, Jun. 8 - Jun. 14, 2015 - Less Wrong Discussion

4 Post author: Gondolinian 08 June 2015 12:04AM

You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.

Comments (153)

You are viewing a single comment's thread. Show more comments above.

Comment author: [deleted] 08 June 2015 01:43:06PM 2 points [-]

Are you taking any supplements? For normal levels of anxiety, a lot of people like l-theanine or suntheanine. For example my mother, who would be so anxious talking to people that her voice would tremble, can do it without trembling when taking such a pill an hour before. Magnesium combined with vitamin b6 is also said to have calming effects. BUT these are for normal levels of anxiety, not disorder levels. Still they may help a bit while you are looking for a real solution.

For me: I am so strongly affected by l-theanine that I wonder how ti is legal. Combining it with caffeine, which obviously don't do if you have abnormal levels of anxiety, I feel very much running in high gear, similar to what people report about illegal central nervous system stimulants e.g. ephedrine.

Comment author: Cariyaga 08 June 2015 05:45:17PM 0 points [-]

Not presently taking any supplements, no. I'll take those under consideration, though I'm kind of hesitant toward mind-altering drugs. Was a bit burned by previous SSRIs, and would rather get better under my own power. Still, it's an option, and those are always good!

Comment author: James_Miller 08 June 2015 11:17:06PM 0 points [-]

would rather get better under my own power.

Your problem might be exasperated by a deficiency in some nutrient.

Comment author: Cariyaga 08 June 2015 11:31:32PM 0 points [-]

What would I ask for the next time I visit my GP to determine that? Would a CBC suffice, or would I need to ask for some more specific blood test?

Comment author: James_Miller 09 June 2015 12:34:34AM 0 points [-]

I doubt a CBC is sufficient since there are lots of things to test for. I'm far from an expert on this but my rough guess is the two most important are your magnesium level and potential vitamin B methylation problems, although again this is way out out my area of expertise. You could ask your doctor to test everything possible that might be contributing to your problem, then after he tells you the tests say "are you sure there isn't anything extra you could add?".