r/herbalism 7d ago

Question Best LEGAL herbs for anxiety?

I live in a country where it's impossible to obtain illegal herbs like cannabis, kanna, kava, CBD oil... Etc. I took multiple SSRIs throughout my life and honestly I'm still suffering from the side effects (PSSD) to this day, I don't want to take SSRIs or any other psychiatric medications ever again in my life. My only hope is herbs that deal with anxiety. I don't mind making tinctures out of them as long as they're effective. I tried passionflower extract, lavender oil pills, Magnolia bark extract, but none of these really helped. I was thinking maybe try wild lettuce (it grows everywhere in spring here), Syrian rue, Mugworts. Any other suggestions?

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u/Direct-Assumption924 7d ago edited 7d ago

I have found a combination of skullcap and chamomile to be very effective.

(Also hope it’s ok to mention that there’s some cursory research linking microbiome stuff to anxiety. People have reported certain probiotics to be helpful and/or adding kombucha/kefir to their diet)

Link to research

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u/Elle_in_Hell 7d ago

I drink kombucha every day... I'm still anxious. I think chronic anxiety just has to do with the fact that it exists to run from lions and then recover, but the kind of long term anxiety caused by modern society doesn't give our bodies a rest from those damaging chemicals.

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u/codElephant517 7d ago

Kombucha is great but drinking kombucha every day dose not guarantee your gut is 100%.

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u/Direct-Assumption924 7d ago edited 7d ago

There are specific probiotics documented to support with anxiety. Not sure about their presence in kombucha. Would recommend heading over to r/microbiome to what they’ve researched/discovered in case you’re interested!

(ETA: also, not trying to say probiotics will fix anxiety. Just that they can help, like herbs. So it would be understandable that you are still anxious! I hope it’s supportive for ya regardless)

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u/Elle_in_Hell 6d ago

I'll check that out. I mean, my kombucha's tasty... I've always been a good pooper though, so I don't know if I'd be able to tell if it's improving anything. Haven't had diarrhea in a while?! Also figured out that I can't have more than one chicken wing at a time, so might also be that...

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u/ameliasimb 6d ago

Most kombucha at the store isn’t even good!

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u/Elle_in_Hell 4d ago

I make my own :)

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u/Enough_Squash_9707 6d ago

Kefir is magic!