Thursday, March 12, 2015

The only time music doesn't help me is when I'm too worried about someone, too anxious, too keyed up, too lost in real emotions to enjoy other equally real emotions found in most of the intense music I tend to favor.

So, tonight, I fixed myself some chamomile tea and that didn't work. Then I remembered I had some wine in the fridge so I went and poured myself a whole glass and an hour later it sits next to me only half full, which I am kind of relieved about since having more than that is not my thing and it would worry me if suddenly it did become my thing.

I am out of sorts with how to beat anxiety lately. A few years ago I was taking trazodone, which helped some at first, but soon stopped working, then somehow made me more anxious. My doctor said he didn't think it was a good fit and I decided to return to herbal medicines and teas, which help some, but nowhere near as much as music usually does.

I feel more anxious since I started drinking the wine tonight and I wonder: does alcohol make anxiety worse rather than help one unwind at the end of the night?

This article seems to think so:

http://www.anxietyguru.net/why-alcohol-causes-anxiety/

For those who do believe wine helps anxiety, this writer urges caution:

The key signal is flexibility. If you're disappointed there's no alcohol and you're having trouble not drinking at a party or a friend's house, you likely have a problem. "That's a sign of dependency," says Landau.
 
Says Sher, "If you're using any drug as a primary way to regulate emotion, you're in big trouble."
 
 
When I started to Google "natural remedies for anxiety" I hadn't even gotten past "remedies" when it came up with anxiety...that means it is the most common search made for the use of natural remedies. I don't want other people to suffer, but it's still interesting that that is the most popular search result when typing in "natural remedies."
 
I find that Ashgawanda helps with anxiety, much more than chamomile tea does for me:
 

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