Ashwagandha
(Withania somnifera )
All five studies concluded that WS intervention resulted in greater score improvements (significantly in most cases) than placebo in outcomes on anxiety or stress scales.
Our results provide evidence indicating that key constituents in WS may have an important role in the development of pharmacological treatments for neurological disorders associated with GABAergic signaling dysfunction such as general anxiety disorders, sleep disturbances, muscle spasms, and seizures.
300 mg twice a day.
Final BAI scores (anxiety test) decreased by 56.5% in the Ashwagandha group. Significant differences between groups were also observed in mental health, concentration, fatigue, social functioning, vitality, and overall quality of life with the Ashwagandha group exhibiting greater clinical benefit. No serious adverse reactions were observed in either group.
250 mg 2x/day
500 mg/day for bipolar, effective.
Each capsule contained 300 mg of high-concentration full-spectrum extract from the root of the Ashwagandha plant. Each person took 2 capsules a day. The treatment group that was given the high-concentration full-spectrum Ashwagandha root extract exhibited a significant reduction in scores on all the stress-assessment scales on Day 60, relative to the placebo group. The serum cortisol levels were substantially reduced in the Ashwagandha group, relative to the placebo group. No serious adverse events were reported.
W. somnifera extract is effective in treating obsessive compulsive disorder
The results suggest the protective effect of WS in the management of ethanol (alcohol)withdrawal reactions.
Preliminary results suggest that Withania root extract can be used in the management sleep loss and associated oxidative stress.
Effective for anxiety
WSG also exhibited an antidepressant effect, comparable with that induced by imipramine in the 'behavioural despair' and 'learned helplessness' tests. The investigations support the use of WS as a mood stabilizer in clinical conditions of anxiety and depression
It has a Cognition Promoting Effect and was useful in children with memory deficit and in old age people loss of memory. It was also found useful in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, Huntington's and Alzeimer's diseases. It has GABA mimetic effect and was shown to promote formation of dendrites. It has anxiolytic effect and improves energy levels and mitochondrial health. It is an anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic agent and was found useful in clinical cases of Rheumatoid and Osteoarthritis.
1,250 mg/day × 10 days
All volunteers tolerated WS without any adverse event.
Safety and side effects
This product is comparative to lorazepam in its ability to control anxiety. That is impressive.
250 mg twice a day.
At 6 weeks, significantly more patients met a priori response criteria in the drug group (88.2%) as compared with the placebo group (50%). The drug was well-tolerated and did not occasion more adverse effects than did placebo. It is concluded that this ethanolic extract of Withania somnifera has useful anxiolytic potential and merits further investigation.
This study provides scientific validation to the anxiolytic, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic properties of ASH-WEX, which may serve as an effective dietary supplement for management of SD induced stress and associated functional impairments.
Members Comments
One member reported taking it during withdrawal and said it was very beneficial.
Brz - ashwagandha update:
had to stop - bummer.
definitely allergic. just like sk8ermama. i couldn't figure out why my allergies hadn't gone away even after the pollen count dropped way down. stopped the ashwagandha and my congestion and headaches subsided. not to mention i had a very tight chest feeling. very uncomfortable. my side effects are not uncommon from what i've learned. i may try again way down the road but now that i'm battling reflux, i don't want to complicate things. i've heard rhodiola is a similar adaptogen, but don't want to introduce anything new into my system right now.
Many other members have had good success with it but your body does build up tolerance to it so it must be used for short periods of time.
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Deep breathing, sighs, yawns....
These activities cause an increase in the release of dopamine, endorphins and serotonin. This fact has been used by psychologists for decades to help control anxiety, depression and sleep. By causing yourself to yawn several time over a 10 or 15 minute period it will release enough of these neurotransmitters to help relax and induce sleep. Sighs work much in the same fashion but to a lesser degree, Breathing exercises are the most effective. A good psychologist should be used to teach the most effective techniques.
Member comments and tips -
deep breathes, breath(ing) - 22 comments all positive
Raven - Breathe it deep calming breaths and hold them for about 5 seconds before slowly letting them out.
Gail - you need to breathe, yes breathe in and out slowly.
FH - Deep breathing. Close your eyes—and try taking deep, slow breaths— making each breath even deeper than the last. If you have a psychologist who could teach you relaxation techniques, controlled breathing and heart rate, etc. These techniques really do work.
Raven - Just do you best to stay calm and use breathing techniques. My husband and FH have given me great tips on breathing when anxiety strikes. FH because he is a veteran and my husband because he has asthma.
Keys to breathing:
** Take slow deep breaths (breath in deeply and slowly)
** Hold for at least 15 secs if you can
** Exhale slowly
***repeat as needed*
FN - What helped me the most with this was yoga ...the breathing exercises ... once learned, they can be done anywhere, anytime .... the release of the built up anxiety in my body was tremendous ...
Janson - . i've learned a few breathing exercises via yoga and that helps immensely to calm down those nerves that are about to snap. even without knowledge of specific breathing exercises, just take deep full breaths with hands on your stomach and see your tummy rise on the breath in and then fully breath out. so simple, so effective.
Note - There must have been well over 100 members that had posts similar to the one below. Shortness of breath, heart pounding, skip beats, tightness in the chest or chest pain. these are classic anxiety symptoms and are the result of elevated adrenalin e levels. Adrenaline is a vasoconstrictor and bronchiole constrictor. These shallow rapid breaths allow CO2 to build in the lungs and worsens the symptoms. Alpha-agonists (eg. clonidine) and beta blockers (atenolol) work well t o block the effects of this excess adrenaline. Breathing exercises also help considerably in breaking this Cycle. As you can see below ZA got it really right.
Snap87 - Just scared with the shortness of breath and heart palpitations more than anything.
ZA - the 'out of breath' symptom is actually shallow breathing and I had that for about 2days it is very exhausting as it causes your oxygen saturation to drop. what worked for me 'was awareness -slow deep breathing -then a little aerobics. it helped to up my b/p and neutralize by blood gases.
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