Medication

Your mental and physical health is more important than anything else. If docs prescribe medication then don't feel guilty if it's not strictly vegan. Also having suffered anxiety and depression disorders myself, I've found therapy to be quite helpful, but if you take that route then shop around for a good therapist. There are soo many crap ones out there and it's so worth while finding one that is right for you.

I also suffer from a number of mental health conditions, and i would not be alive without my medication. I don't feel guilty for taking it as i have no other options. No ongoing harm is happening to animals because of the medicine i take - the harm is done, so to speak. It is horrible to think of how animals have been harmed for my medication, but i can't do anything about it now. At least in the future medication will be available without any harm coming to animals.

Also, long-term medication is generally not used at first in the treatment of anxiety - they try therapy and coping strategies first. So don't worry, you won't go on anything to start with and they will definitely respect your wish if you choose not to go on medication - though i would highly recommend it, if necessary.

If you have any more questions about mental health and medication I am more than willing to talk to you

gelatin is often the dissovable capsule componen.. also.. try positive eating, not guilt eating first. you might find your anxiety solve itself. instead of digging up underlying problems, maybe make new, fresh and better memories to replace those qualms.

*shrugs* worth a try.

Also instead of manufactured highly dosed drugs... the Vegan secret is the traditional way which we don't much get to experience being born into a controlled market.

Most people probably don't even realize they can grow plants...

I'd recommend making your own herbal teas and planting herbs for cooking yum Vegan meals with:

Valerian ~ for colds, gas, sleep, anxiety (can be made into tea)

Meadowsweet ~ nausea, cramps (anti inflam - origins of aspirin)

Chervil ~ skin cleanser, blood purifier (and hiccups apparently)

Chamomile ~ calmative "healing"
Feverfew ~ anti inflam, headache, arthritis

Hyssop ~ good effect on nervous system and lung conditions

Motherwort ~ relive anxiety and palpatations, has been used to ease pregnancy, but also for abortions. so avoid if pregnant, just to be safe without knowing how to use.

Borage ~ concentrates potassium and 'gladdens the heart'

Caraway ~ calmative, useful for stomach, intestinal cramps

Yarrow ~ fight colds, blood builder

wormwood ~ anti parasitic

And plant some colorful flowers to cheer you up.

If you are going to plant fruit and veges though, the bonus of herbs is they can be companion plants to even protect your fruits and veges, make them feel less anxious

As in... pyrethrum daisies deter leaf eaters and such, garlic deters moth grubs from eating roots.

BUT. Your Borage is a Strawberry, Tomato, Legume and general companion. (It apparently confuses the search image mother moths use to find places to lay)
Caraway promotes wasps which deal with caterpillars but keep it away from Dill and Fennel.
Yarrow is a general insect repellent. (and compost activator of organisms breaking down)
Hyssop lures away cabbage moths.
Valerian attracts eathworms and helps make healthy soil.

Also Comfrey used for joint inflammation is great compost activator.

Alot of these things are considered weeds by the wrong people, but they wouldn't be there if they weren't doing something for the soil (most of the time). Even sour sobs are legumes so they put nitrate into even the poorest soil.

Anyway.. there are some ideas: I just found this site too when double checking Caraway for Strawberries: http://www.ghorganics.com/page2.html


If you've never planted anything before, let me put it into perspective.

Plants like sun and water, they have a tendency to tolerate it to the extents they have been exposed to it in the past.

1. it is almost spring, so in next couple weeks is the best time to plant.

2. these herb seeds can be found on ebay for about 1$ each packet.

You could get all of the ones I mentioned for about the same as a pack of smokes.

3. all you do is put soil in a put and pop the seed in, as of the instructions on the pack.

Some seeds like it a little covered, some 1cm, some 5mm, some on top to get direct sun.

The heat and moisture triggers them to sprout so just keep them damp until they pop their leaves up.

4. they don't need alot of space to grow in, just decent sun time and some moisture...
I use an old spray top from Earth choice multipurpose house spray (rinsed off) to lightly mist the soil every when ever.

5. you get to make yum tea and fell better.

It is a shame many doctors don't recommend simple measures, because they are difficult to test and in a constant state of emergency where they are liable for making crisis decisions, it doesn't occur. Also... drug companies who inevitably pay their bills, don't get customers.

I trust how I feel more than I trust someone drugging Rats, to see if something is SAFE, let alone... actually useful to my whole mentality, not just subjectively quelling ONE Symptom of one an underlying issue which could be a lack of trace elements not readily documented in food or needed by the body.

Which is a two headed problem, because foods are tested for levels of 'protein' 'salt' and 'sugar' so a candy bar and an apple are compared on this basis and people go "oh the candy bar is fat free and has less sugar, I'll eat that'.

I mean look at how to make a calcium tablet or a lolly pop, then look at:

http://tribalscientist.wordpress.com/2010/10/18/how-to-make-a-strawberry/

Don't ever take medication - for anything. Look into The Gerson Therapy, it is a proven cancer cure so it will help you out too

urgh. Cancer is not ONE illness it is the Symptom of many things. When a tree gets mistletoe or diseases it is generally due to it already struggling or lacking trace elements, like iron, copper, potassium, magnesium. Funnily enough, an extract from Mistletoe can be used to treat cancer.

But that doesn't say it is good for general (unknown) anxiety, though it is apparently good for bed wetting. . . . . .


Apparently aloe vera is effective against cancers... which isn't hard to believe as it contains ALL essential amino acids and in a really nice balance for the body to use.

Also Wiki look briefly into Toona Sinesis (a common deciduous tree of China):

"Toona sinensis can induce apoptosis of cancer cells, reduce plasma glucose in diabetic rats, and improve lipolysis of differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocyte and its uptake of glucose.[7] It has also been shown that TS may increase dynamic activity of human sperm.[8]
Toona can safely prevent and alleviate lung cancer proliferation in vitro and in vivo. It has the potential to be developed as an anti-lung cancer drug.,[9][10] Leaf extracts of Toona sinensis have cytotoxic activity on several cancer cells including prostate cancer cells. Gallic acid has been identified as the major anti-cancer compound. It is cytotoxic to DU145 prostate cancer cells.[11] Intraperitoneal injection of Toona extract suppressed the proliferation of ovarian cancer cells without toxicity.[12]"

This is why deforestation is such a sorrowful crime against humanity...

If you don't know what you're looking for, you can't find it... because you don't know what you're seeing, unless you have a context to decipher the noumenon into reality.

It is such a horrible thing to cut down these beautiful trees, because we get sicker because of it, thus more paper is needed if the system we use to document, manage and think about curing this sickness... is xerox (bastards) they can replant wood all they like. It won't bring the forest back to life.

It's great to see you're giving so much thought to the animals!
I agree with what other people have said, though - you need to do what's necessary to take care of yourself. Beating yourself up about it will only make things worse.

However, I need to stress to you the importance of doing your research before you start taking any psychiatric medication.

I would urge you to find an integrative GP and/or a qualified naturopath who will explore your health holistically, to see if there are any underlying mental/physical causes for your anxiety.
You can find one here:
https://www.aima.net.au/find-a-practitionar/medical-practitioner/

I think psychotherapy should always be explored before considering chemical treatments. Seeing a psychologist for cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) or similar can produce the same or better results than medication.

If you go to a regular GP, chances are they will do a standard mental health assessment, where you rate 10 questions on a scale on 1-5, and solely based on that, they will diagnose you with X condition and potentially prescribe medication. More often than not, they will not discuss the numerous other options you have, let alone the pros and cons of taking medication.
This is standard procedure and I do not blame the doctors for doing this, but please realise that most GPs are not experts in mental health, and may not be aware of the potential complications that these drugs can cause.

If you do some research on psychiatric drugs, you will find a number of facts that the doctor probably won't tell you:

- The chemical imbalance that psychiatric medication aims to treat has never actually been proven to exist. Doctors will often tell you that it may take a while to find the 'right medication' for you. This is because treating mental illness with chemicals is a total guessing game, because there is no test or scan that can actually tell you whether there's a chemical problem to correct in the first place.

- Psychiatric drug trials generally last between 4-12 weeks. Given that most medications take at least a few weeks to even start working, chances are you will be taking the drugs for a lot longer than that. Studies are not conducted to assess the safety for use beyond the trial period, which is worrying considering many side effects only appear with longer-term use. The trials are also conducted on physically and mentally healthy individuals, so they are not an accurate representation of the type of patients who will be taking them.

- Even in the short-term trials, a huge number of side effects have been reported. Some of these include symptoms of the illnesses they are trying to treat, including anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, irritability, aggression, emotional numbness, insomnia, nightmares, fatigue, sexual dysfunction, changes in appetite/weight, mania, psychosis, hallucinations, and literally hundreds more. These symptoms are often experienced by healthy individuals in trials, so imagine the damage they could cause someone with a mental illness. This also makes it difficult to distinguish between symptoms of the illness and side effects of the medication once you start taking it.

- Drug trials are not independent or objective. They are paid for by the pharmaceutical companies who make the drugs, and many members of the FDA (who first approve the drugs) have financial investments in the same drug companies. This is a fact, not a conspiracy theory - Google 'big pharma FDA revolving door'. Drug trials approved by the Australian TGA are also sponsored by drug companies.

- For a medication to be approved, a pharmaceutical company must submit the results of 2 trials proving its safety and efficacy. However, the companies are allowed to conduct as many trials as they want with the same medication until they get the desired results. Many trials for approved medications showed repeatedly that the drugs were no more effective than a placebo and caused many more side effects, but those studies were allowed to be discarded, and instead the 2 trials with positive results were submitted and approved.

- Psychiatric drugs can be extremely difficult to stop taking. With most types, you won't feel 'addicted' to the drugs in the same sense that you might crave other substances, but many people experience severe withdrawal symptoms if they try to stop taking the medication. This is a well documented condition called 'discontinuation syndrome', and applies to many types of psychiatric drugs, particularly SSRI and SNRI antidepressants, which are commonly used to treat anxiety. Another class of drugs used for anxiety is Benzodiazepines, which have a fast onset of tolerance and physical dependence, and take a very long time to taper off.
The following website, Surviving Antidepressants, is a forum full of people struggling with the withdrawal symptoms of various anti-depressant and anti-anxiety meds. There is a members-only section called Benzo Tapering Discussion which will become available if you log in.
http://survivingantidepressants.org/

The reason I have looked into all this is because I was medicated on various psychiatric drugs myself for 11 years. I am not claiming that there are no benefits in taking these drugs, but for years, the side effects I was experiencing were mistaken for symptoms of mental illness by numerous health care professionals, resulting in increasingly higher doses of medication being prescribed, until I eventually began doing my own research. Psychiatrist Dr. Peter Breggin has a number of books on the dangers of psychiatric drugs, and has developed a method for safely withdrawing from them, which I followed, and slowly tapered off my medication over the period of a year. Even reducing the dosage in such small increments caused many withdrawal symptoms for me, including sweats, chills, fevers, pain, electric shock sensations every time I moved, lethargy, agitation, and sadness causing me to cry frequently for no apparent reason. This made it extremely difficult to stay positive and motivated to continue, but I persevered and the symptoms passed a short time after each reduction.
I also began trying more holistic treatment options, and found many to be very helpful.
I now feel better than ever, after 3 months free from psychiatric drug dependence.

Some alternatives to medication include:

- psychotherapy (I agree with Steph, shop around for a good psychologist)
- self help techniques, eg. mindfulness
- meditation
- herbal remedies (available at health food stores if you don't want to grow them yourself)
- improved diet
- regular exercise
- relaxation and breathing techniques like qigong, tai chi, yoga, etc.
- hypnotherapy
- aromatherapy
- lifestyle changes to reduce stress

There are also a number of physical causes of anxiety, eg. thyroid problems and nutrient deficiencies, which can be tested for by your doctor.

GPs are great at treating symptoms, but they often fail to look at the whole picture. Just look at the number of people taking medication for high cholesterol or type 2 diabetes. The medication treats the symptoms, but the underlying problem is still there, and could be fixed with a simple change of diet rather than medication. I believe the same goes for most mental health problems - masking the symptoms is possible, but I feel it's much more beneficial to explore the possible psychological/physical causes before deciding to take medication.
Obviously you don't have to take my advice, but please do some of your own research, and make sure the sources are unbiased (ie. not written by someone who is trying to promote/sell the drugs!)

Either way, I hope your health improves, and I wish you all the best for a positive recovery! xx

please try to stay away from pharmaceuticals i was on anti-depressants and while they can make you less... bad... they numbed me so much that i can't even remember anything from the period i was on them. medications do nothing but cover up the symptoms, rather than solving them! like stated earlier in the thread, there are tonnes of herbal remedies which can help with your anxiety, and practicing yoga or meditation are wonderful for those kinds of illnesses. i have anxiety and nothing helps me more than practicing yoga.

also if it's your thing, i recommend a book called "the power of now" by eckhart tolle. that book changed my life. it sounds like a self help book but in reality it's to teach you how to tap into your true essence. to be present and free of judgement. something which we all need! we all suffer from being controlled by our thinking, just some people are more affected than others! there will be parts of it where you sit and laugh because it's all so simple.

+1 for The Power of Now. Eckhart Tolle is brilliant. The follow up book, A New Earth, is also good, and both are available as audiobooks if you're not into reading.

The main thing is to try and solve whatever is giving you the anxiety in the first place. In the meantime you can take the drugs if you need to.. but remember they won't help the cause of it. Give yourself a break and don't worry too much!