newbie intro

August 12, 2001

First, you need to know that herbs are medicines when used in the sense that you

are inquiring about, and like medicines, you don't want to get dependant on

them for something that your body should be doing on it's own; second, you don't

mix herbs with medications, as they may intensify the effect, as ideally you

want to wean yourself off of all " crutches " by replacing the medications (under

knowledgeable supervision) with the less toxic herbs until your body can

function normally, and then you use herbs as occasional supportive substances;

third, you said that your anxiety would not let you sleep w/o taking a pill

prescribed by your doctor, buit does that mean that you take it, or no?

Depression and/or depression medication can " kill " your sex drive!

You need to have a thorough examination by a nutritional oriented

alternative-type practitioner, and find if you have a nutritional problem, a

chemical imbalance, a toxic overload, etc.. As the saying goes, you don't have a

deficiency in Valerian, Kava, Prozac, aspirin, etc., so you don't need to

" replace " these, or use them as a " band-aid " , just to help you until you get

your body back in harmopny.

In Health,

Steve

-----------------------------

Hi . My name is nikki. I am 33 married since 1987 ...have four children. I am

looking for a natural way to go for deprssion and anxiety disorder.

My anxiety keeps me from sleeping at night without taking a sleeping pill

prescribed from the doc.

I need info on kava kava, damiana(has anyone taken this for dysfunctional

intimacy in their life and had good things come from it) and valerian.

Thanks for reading.

Nikki

Federal Law requires that we warn you of the following: 1. Natural methods can

sometimes backfire.

2. If you are pregnant, consult your physician before using any natural remedy.

3. The Constitution guarantees you the right to be your own physician and to

prescribe for your own health.

We are not medical doctors although MDs are welcome to post here as long as

they behave themselves.

Any opinions put forth by the list members are exactly that, and any person

following the advice of anyone posting here does so at their own risk. It is up

to you to educate yourself. By accepting advice or products from list members,

you are agreeing to

be fully responsible for your own health, and hold the List Owner and members

free of any liability.

Dr. Ian Shillington

Doctor of Naturopathy

Dr.IanShillington

August 12, 2001

hi. I just joined yesterday and sent an intro but didn't see it come

thru. My name is Nikki. I am 33. Mom of 4 married since 1987.

I suffer from anxiety disorder and had depression and was on meds for

that but the depression and anxiety stem from a childhood abuse that

I had and am in counseling for now. With all that out of the way

I had taken myself off of the depression meds and have been fine

excpet for the anxiety. I cannot sleep at night without a doc

prescribed sleeping aid. I have that problem even on effexor.

I am also needing info on the following herbs

Kava Kava( for help with anxiety)

Valerian(help with sleep)

Damiana(help with sexual dysfunction)

Has anyone had any first hand experience with any of these

herbs...whether good or bad.

Nikki

August 13, 2001

Excellent advice Steve.

Love,

Doc

Ian "Doc" Shillington N.D.505-772-5889Dr.IanShillington

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bigbird3969

herbal remedies

Sunday, August 12, 2001 3:42 PM

Re:[herbal remedies] newbie intro

First, you need to know that herbs are medicines when used in the sense that you are inquiring about, and like medicines, you don't want to get dependant on them for something that your body should be doing on it's own; second, you don't mix herbs with medications, as they may intensify the effect, as ideally you want to wean yourself off of all "crutches" by replacing the medications (under knowledgeable supervision) with the less toxic herbs until your body can function normally, and then you use herbs as occasional supportive substances; third, you said that your anxiety would not let you sleep w/o taking a pill prescribed by your doctor, buit does that mean that you take it, or no? Depression and/or depression medication can "kill" your sex drive!You need to have a thorough examination by a nutritional oriented alternative-type practitioner, and find if you have a nutritional problem, a chemical imbalance, a toxic overload, etc.. As the saying goes, you don't have a deficiency in Valerian, Kava, Prozac, aspirin, etc., so you don't need to "replace" these, or use them as a "band-aid", just to help you until you get your body back in harmopny.In Health,Steve

August 13, 2001

Using the word " disorder " is a way for the medical establishment to justify it

as a " disease " , which " requires " medication(s)! (ie ADD, ADHD, PMSD - unsure of

that one, but it's the attempt to justify anti-depressants for PMS!!)

2 cents worth,

Steve

-----------------------------

There probably isn't any such thing as " anxiety disorder " -- there's just

anxiety. One very revealing thing for me, was to look up the words Anxiety and

Worry in the dictionary, and pay particular attention to their origins.

One of my greatest objections to psychology and psychiatry based counseling is

this fundamental assumption that childhood traumas are more or less permanent,

and that one has to chew over them endlessly in order to handle them. This has

been proven, both through research and experience, to be largely ineffective.

Some of that research was done all the way back in the 1950's and for obvious

reasons has been ignored. It was found in one study (sorry, no reference

available) that simply talking things over with a friend does as much good, if

not more, than hiring a " professional friend " . A steady 22% of patients will

tend to improve even if nothing at all is done. That said, I have noticed that

one particular therapy, done with no evaluation whatsoever for the patient, has

been effective -- but finding competent practitioners of that therapy can be

very difficult. Because of severe controversies surrounding that therapy, I

only mention

it specifically in private posts.

I have personally seen many people overcome anxiety and old traumas simply by

having a strong purpose in life. This is a joy to behold. One of the keys to

this, is to ignore advice by well-meaning (or maybe not so well-meaning) people

who tend to divert us from what we know deep inside are our purposes. Note

that in wartime, the people who demonstrate the most anxiety are those in the

rear guard who have little or nothing to do. My own father demonstrated this

in his war career. But when people were actually shooting at him, he was fine

and survived well.

Of course the drugs tend to make things worse. All the drugs you mentioned

have tremendous negative effects on the physical body, and that damage has to

be handled eventually. Most of the damage is done in the digestive system, and

food allergies are a real concern.

Kava Kava: traditionally used in Polynesian society for diplomatic

negotiations. Its preparation was complex, involving fermentation in cool

water for about three days. Any other use has not been proven. I also

recommend avoiding driving after using it. Modern methods of making a simple

tea or worse, taking capsules, seem to be largely ineffective for most people.

Fortunately, this herb seems to be relatively harmless.

Valerian: very effective for reducing intense anxiety and its physical

effects. It is possibly the worst tasting herb available. Many of us advocate

tasting the flavor anyway. Part of that comes from Shakespeare, where in

several instances he demonstrated a link between bitterness and anxiety.

Apparently tasting the bitterness could force one to be aware of the entire

situation. A good reference would be Henry V and VI. These plays also have a

lot to say about purpose in life.

August 13, 2001

There probably isn't any such thing as "anxiety disorder" -- there's just anxiety. One very revealing thing for me, was to look up the words Anxiety and Worry in the dictionary, and pay particular attention to their origins.

One of my greatest objections to psychology and psychiatry based counseling is this fundamental assumption that childhood traumas are more or less permanent, and that one has to chew over them endlessly in order to handle them. This has been proven, both through research and experience, to be largely ineffective. Some of that research was done all the way back in the 1950's and for obvious reasons has been ignored. It was found in one study (sorry, no reference available) that simply talking things over with a friend does as much good, if not more, than hiring a "professional friend". A steady 22% of patients will tend to improve even if nothing at all is done. That said, I have noticed that one particular therapy, done with no evaluation whatsoever for the patient, has been effective -- but finding competent practitioners of that therapy can be very difficult. Because of severe controversies surrounding that therapy, I only mentio!

n it specifically in private posts.

I have personally seen many people overcome anxiety and old traumas simply by having a strong purpose in life. This is a joy to behold. One of the keys to this, is to ignore advice by well-meaning (or maybe not so well-meaning) people who tend to divert us from what we know deep inside are our purposes. Note that in wartime, the people who demonstrate the most anxiety are those in the rear guard who have little or nothing to do. My own father demonstrated this in his war career. But when people were actually shooting at him, he was fine and survived well.

Of course the drugs tend to make things worse. All the drugs you mentioned have tremendous negative effects on the physical body, and that damage has to be handled eventually. Most of the damage is done in the digestive system, and food allergies are a real concern.

Kava Kava: traditionally used in Polynesian society for diplomatic negotiations. Its preparation was complex, involving fermentation in cool water for about three days. Any other use has not been proven. I also recommend avoiding driving after using it. Modern methods of making a simple tea or worse, taking capsules, seem to be largely ineffective for most people. Fortunately, this herb seems to be relatively harmless.

Valerian: very effective for reducing intense anxiety and its physical effects. It is possibly the worst tasting herb available. Many of us advocate tasting the flavor anyway. Part of that comes from Shakespeare, where in several instances he demonstrated a link between bitterness and anxiety. Apparently tasting the bitterness could force one to be aware of the entire situation. A good reference would be Henry V and VI. These plays also have a lot to say about purpose in life.

Damiana: yes, sometimes it does seem to resolve sexual dysfunction. But some of the drugs mentioned here have a strong impact on sexual systems in the body, and their residues can have an effect after discontinuation. So the often-mentioned flushing methods on this list can do a lot when this is the case. Interestingly enough, most herbs that are said to promote sexual function are actually pretty good for a person in general -- they may clean up the blood, or provide extra energy. And the very few herbs like Opium that suppress sexual activity are very bad for the body in other ways. This is an important point, and should be examined. Damiana is an herb that I would classify as providing extra energy in general, so trying before bedtime would not be recommended.

Now that's Michael's had his say, this is Rose, his wife: My grandmother gets very anxious over little things, not as a disorder but as a choice, and she has found that the Stress Tea you can buy already bottled in the beverages section of your supermarket works really well, if you drink the whole bottle in a few minutes. I can't recall the maker, but you'll see a bunch of bottles marked RX line, Energy, Memory, Stress, Health, etc. Remember that herbs, like any other medicinals, are just that -- they don't solve problems, they cover them up. If your anxiety really stems from troubles in childhood, then this is not a chemical problem, and therefore you do not need medicinals to over come it -- you need emotional healing. It can be done. I did it.

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herbal remedies

8/12/01 12:13:02 PM

[herbal remedies] newbie intro