# My supplement stack for social anxiety and depression



## b12345 (Mar 8, 2015)

Hi all,

I've fought depression and anxiety for most of my life. I've tried many different combinations of supplements since 2009 and they would work ok for a while but then I started to get imbalanced again (too much serotonin in relation to dopamine, too little GABA in relation to serotonin and dopamine, etc).

Anyway, since just last year I seem to have finally found a stack that works really well and consistently for me. Around 2009 I was so bad that asking somebody a question in a shop would make my hands sweat, my heart race and my voice shake and I had no job because of my depression. But I am so much improved now that I was able to reduce my depression enough to go to university and I done a presentation in front of 80 people just before Christmas. I'd like to share exactly what I've been taking which has helped me resume my life, in the hopes that someone else might find some benefit.

Upon waking (empty stomach):
.Quercetin 1g (also has 1g of Vitamin C in it) - Reduces histamine levels. Histamine is linked to anxiety.

With breakfast:
.Pantethine 150mg (great for adrenals and possibly my most useful supplement. Adrenal fatigue is often a big factor in anxiety. This reduces the amount of adrenaline in my body and my voice hardly ever shakes anymore when I'm talking to people because of this)
.Kelp 225mcg (great for thyroid. I have low thyroid function which was causing a lot of my depression)
.Vitamin D3 500 IU (increases serotonin)
.Phosphatidyl Choline 2 tablets, 800mg approx (increases acetylcholine which can be helpful for anxiety. Taking all these other supplements for the other neurotransmitters was starting to make my acetylcholine levels go quite low. Too much acetylcholine can cause depression so I just take this small amount to keep my levels satisfactory)

Night (empty stomach)
.GABA 1g (for anxiety and sleep. I don't care what anybody says, for me it definately does cross the blood brain barrier. Without it, my other neurotransmitters dont seem to work as well, which would make sense as GABA is supposed to be kind of like a "police man" for regulating all the other neurotransmitters)
.D-Phenylalanine 500mg, sometimes 1g (one of the best things I have found for social anxiety specifically. It increases endorphin levels in the body. For whatever reason, my social anxiety is usually at it's lowest levels when my endorphin levels are high...or when I have taken opiate painkillers which are just temporarily increasing your endorphin levels anyway 

I also found some benefit from N-acetyl-glucosamine. It reduces inflammation in the body and brain. Inflammation is starting to be considered as a possible factor in anxiety.

I also take a daily health drink which also helps a bit. 
.1 tablespoon Spirulina (a super green with loads of nutrients), 
.1 teaspoon Turmeric (reduces inflammation, really great in loads of other ways, also a mild MAO-I), 
.1 teaspoon ginger (great for digestion. Digestive issues can play a part in anxiety)
.2 tablespoons of coconut oil (all that good fat is great for your brain).

I also take a digestive enzyme and Betaine HCL with some of my meals. My anxiety is often worse after I eat and this seems to help a lot. Apparently a lot of people have low stomach acid (even though doctors don't test for this and just give people tablets to lower their stomach acid, whether it's low or high) and this can be related to anxiety, asthma, allergies, candida (which is another factor in causing anxiety).

I'm sure a lot of this info won't be new to many people here but I just thought I'd share what has been helping me a lot. I've absorbed a huge mental "library" of info about anxiety, depression, nutrition etc over the last few years so if I can be of any help in giving info or advice about stuff to anyone, don't hesitate to ask me


----------



## Anxiolytic (Nov 20, 2014)

b12345 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I've fought depression and anxiety for most of my life. I've tried many different combinations of supplements since 2009 and they would work ok for a while but then I started to get imbalanced again (too much serotonin in relation to dopamine, too little GABA in relation to serotonin and dopamine, etc).
> 
> ...


This information is incredible! I can't believe not one soul commented on this particular post. You really did your homework on anxiety and depression. After reading this, I'm convinced I suffer from adrenal fatigue. I have taken many different supplements to combat anxiety/depression, but never had too much longterm success. If you see this, I'd love to discuss more with you.


----------



## zoslow (Jun 2, 2014)

Anxiolytic said:


> This information is incredible! I can't believe not one soul commented on this particular post. You really did your homework on anxiety and depression. After reading this, I'm convinced I suffer from adrenal fatigue. I have taken many different supplements to combat anxiety/depression, but never had too much longterm success. If you see this, I'd love to discuss more with you.


Please be aware that adrenal fatigue is not a real medical condition. There are to my best knowledge no scientific data to prove such a condition exists and I would not assume that's your problem if I were you. If you suspect you suffer from adrenal insufficiency which is a serious medical condition I advise you to try to have your adrenal glands effeciency tested ASAP by the doc.

Also anxiety is not really a typical symptom of adrenal glands not working properly. It's pretty logical when you think about it. You would be more likely to experience anxiety with a normal or high amount of adrenaline in the body than with a low amount.

There are however many other interesting and accurate pieces of information in the OP and I would like to thank him for posting it on here.


----------

