[An excerpt from this post: Help for Anxiety, Depression, and Suicidal Thoughts]
... Also, if you need it, do not be ashamed to get counseling or medication. I think it's far worse to fall into a pit of despair than to get a little help. After one of my most recent anxiety attacks which caused me so much stress that my neck got all tight, which caused me to have such a neck pain that I threw up every hour for half a day, which caused me to not have any food or water or sleep, which caused me to wake up at 3 in the morning and pass out into my husband's arms on the bathroom floor (I laid there barely able to move, thinking "I could die right now if I wanted to," and then my husband fed me ice chips till I felt a tiny bit better) ... I decided that I had to try taking something to help my anxiety. I am not ready for medication yet, but I did look into herbal remedies. While they don't take away the anxiety fully (can anything really?), they do take the edge off or help me sleep easier.
Research everything for yourself, but I like herbal teas for stress or sleep (particularly with chamomile or passionflower or ashwaganda) ... and chamomile or lavender pills ... and Herb Pharm's "Relaxing Sleep" herbal supplement (it's disgusting but it helps, so put a dropperful in a tiny bit of orange juice before bed and take it like a shot) ... and Herb Pharm's "Passionflower" and "Good Mood" herbal supplements ... and Genexa Stress Relief tablets, and Bach's "Rescue Pastilles" (little homeopathic "candies" you suck on when you feel anxiety coming) ... and Bach's "Rescue Sleep Liquid Melts" ... and those little homeopathic "pearls" that you put under your tongue, particularly chamomilla, coffea cruda (my husband takes this when he starts buzzing after too much coffee, which can feel like anxiety coming on) and, my preferred one to take at the first tickle of anxiety, ignatia amara. (I actually prefer Ollois brand of organic homeopathic pearls when I can get them. FYI, I am linking to these sites just to show you the product, not because I order from them. I get mine from our local Fresh Thyme store.)
I believe God put a lot of good, healing properties in plants, and we would be fools not to utilize them. And you know what? Even if this stuff was just placebo, which I don't believe it is, I wouldn't care. I'd still take them. Because when you suffer from anxiety or depression, you'll take any help you can get, even if - especially if - it's just in your head. Because, oftentimes, that's where the anxiety and depression stem from anyway.
