anxiety - Michael R.

August 5, 2002

>It would be wise to exercise extreme caution with 5-HTP. I don't think

this

>product is fully proven yet. And when you start playing around with

serotonin

>levels, all sorts of havoc can result. This idea that people are

undergoing

>anxiety because of low serotonin levels is probably the opposite of what

is

>happening.

Totally agree with you here, Michael. It's nice to have backup.

>Due to intensive training on this subject, i personally have found that

the

>best way to reduce anxiety is to figure out WHO is causing it in my life,

and

My training, which is 100% hands-on (*lol*) has shown me that the answer to

that question is always the same: ME. If I allow myself to proliferate

negative or anxious thoughts, I will be anxious; if I don't, nobody but

nobody can *make* me anxious. There have been days when a broken shoelace

has sent me into a downward spiral of emotional hell; and one sparkling

example of a day when I just happened to receive some very bad news when I

had *just* finished a very productive meditation. Not only didn't it

depress me, but I was heartened and proud of myself for the compassionate,

rational and pain-free way I was able to handle it.

>Most of these methods of handling anxiety-producing people are spiritual

in

>nature, and thus are included in religious contexts.

Whether it's done in a religious context or not, as far as I can tell,

makes no difference whatsoever. But that the answer to such mental pain is

spiritual-- " of the spirit " --is a plain-old unavoidable fact.

The trick is that the only complete, lasting cure for

stress/anxiety/depression is to learn to control _your own thoughts_. That

begins with being willing and able to *watch* your thinking without judging

it, which funnily enough is also Buddha's Step One on the road to

Enlightenment.

And what is Enlightenment, says Buddha when asked? " The end of suffering. "

Coincidence? I think not! Wah ha ha!

--Sara T

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