What is Reddit's opinion of The Chemistry of Calm: A Powerful, Drug-Free Plan to Quiet Your Fears and Overcome Your Anxiety?

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I am so sorry that you live in a country where you can't get good theraputic help for your anxiety. I have had depression so deeply that I was almost catatonic, and I wouldn't trade you for anxiety, that is really hard.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - research shows that it has similar benefits to medication. It also works really well for self-study (my sibling got themselves out of a moderate depression on their own, with no therapist.) There are so many options now, look for a combination book and workbook.

I also had good luck with The Chemistry of Joy, using meditation, detailed nutrition and supplements, and exercise to work with depression. The companion book for anxiety is The Chemistry of Calm. https://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Calm-Powerful-Drug-Free-Overcome/dp/1439129061

Again, best of luck on your journey.

Well, the reason you can't find a definitive answer is because there ISN'T one!

You will never find a true answer to 'which antidepressant will not numb my emotions?', because no answer exists. We do not have enough scientific knowledge. And each person who takes an antidepressant has a different reaction to it - again, because we do not have enough scientific knowledge to predict who has which type of biology and which type of metabolism and which type of brain, and how that will affect their body processing the drug.

I am a creative writer too, and I guess I don't fully understand what you mean by a drug 'obliterating your creativity'? Maybe you and I see writing differently, but I thought writing was the ability to put good words in a clever order, and describe an idea/memory/imagined scene....not the ability to feel deep emotions? When I write a scene with two characters having an argument, I don't necessarily need to be in a furiously angry mood myself. I just have to remember/research/imagine what being furiously angry sounds like? But to me, I don't have to imitate my characters emotions. I can write well without constantly feeling deeply moving feelings.

If you mean that the Setraline stops you thinking clearly, then sure, that would be a problem. Writers need to think clearly about language.

My personal experience is that I still wrote an entire book whilst taking Anafranil/Clomipramine. I don't feel the drug changed my writing ability at all. But your personal experience with Anafranil/Clomipramine could be different, if you tried it.

If it came to a choice between feeling emotionally blunt and suffering my awful OCD symptoms, I would probably choose to feel blunt and NOT suffer OCD. Just personally, for me.

If you want to find a drug that helps your OCD but does not kill creativity, you may need to go to your doctor and experiment? Try a new drug for three months. See how you feel. If you still feel emotionally blunt and you think this feeling is worse than having OCD, ask the doctor to try a different drug.

OR you could experiment at home with non-prescription substances instead of conventional drugs? Things you can buy in health food shops or on Ebay. Again, you may need to experiment. And you may still need to ask a doctor if you are unsure. But you could try:

+ Magnesium Citrate supplements (i take these and they're excellent)

+ Omega-3 supplements

+ Zinc tablets

+ Inositol powder (a type of b-vitamin that acts like an antidepressant)

+ Cannabidiol Oil (CBD oil), a plant extract that's well documented to calm anxiety and un-learn old fear habits

+ N-Acetyl Cystiene

or Vitamin B6. An excellent book on brain science and changing diet/supplements to overcome anxiety problems is Henry Emmon's 'The Chemistry of Calm', if you're interested in this route: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chemistry-Calm-Powerful-Drug-Free-Overcome/dp/1439129061/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+chemistry+of+calm&qid=1553254328&s=gateway&sr=8-1

i just read a book on how to deal with anxiety without medication. the author suggests three main areas of focus.

1) Diet/Supplements: make sure you eat a well balanced diet. Lots of fruits and vegetables (antioxidants) and lots of variety. No refined sugar, caffeine, chemical preservatives, artificial sweeteners or colorings. Try to eat organic if you can afford it. This takes a load of your body because it doesn't have to deal with all these chemicals. It lets your body deal with stress instead.

Supplements: try taking all of the following (as much as you can afford): L-Theanine, Rhodiola, GABA, N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), Omega-3, B-complex, Vitamin D, Magnesium and L-tyrosine. Take St.John's Wort if you're also feeling depressed or like there's no hope for the future. If you're feeling just the anxiety and no depression take 5-HTP instead. Don't mix St. John's Wort and 5-HTP.

I would go into more detail about what each of these supplements and vitamins do but it would take to long. The short version is that they help your body's natural resilience (it's ability to deal with stress).

2) Lifestyle. Try to exercise 3 times per week. At least once where you get your heart rate fast enough that you can't speak a full sentence without taking a breath. At least once with strength training and one that involves focusing on control over your body (Yoga, stretching, tai chi, etc). It's really hard to feel depressed or anxious when you can barely breath you're working your body so hard.

3) meditation. Haven't finished reading this section yet, but the short version is that you should try to focus on what's right in your life and not on what's wrong. Try to sit down every day even if it's only 2 minutes. Close your eyes and take deep breaths. Let your thoughts wander for a bit. Then try to focus them on each thing that's bothering you. Work through them mentally and try to come to some kind of a solution. If you can't get to that point then at least try to get to a point where you don't feel like these issues need to be addressed immediately. Journaling works really well for this too. Take a few minutes to write out the specifics of what's bothering you. Sometimes just the act of externalizing all your problems can be very therapeutic. Knowing that they're written down somewhere and that you can return to them later kind of helps you let go a little bit for the time being and lets your mind rest.

I know it seems like a lot but I read this book 2 months ago and it seriously changed my life. It's called Chemistry of Calm. I highly recommend it. I used to feel just like you do. I stopped taking my meds and I felt this crushing weight of all these problems in my life. There were a few significant stressors (end of a long term relationship, family tragedy) but i felt like i couldn't handle anything in my life. After two weeks of taking all those supplements, exercising, eating properly and meditating I felt so much better. start with just the vitamins if you feel like you can't eat properly or start exercising.

Hope you feel better! PM me if you have any specific questions about the supplements. Or try wikipedia.