Re: Anything helpful for paranoia?

I'm sorry to hear that you are having such a rough time.

EMDR has been very helpful for post traumatic stress disorder. You might try taking GABA- which is an amino acid that is very calming to help out a little bit with all of the worries. It's naturally in the body, and it won't make you sick.

If you are on Welbutrin, sometimes that can make people very paranoid, I took it for a brief time, to help me stop smoking, and decided that people were following me, so I got off of it.

If you are unhappy, my suggestions are St. John's Wort, 5-HTTP, and L-tryptophan. Usually when you are anxious, you are also somewhat depressed. These will help, also take an omega 3 oil, that also helps generally with anxiety and depression.

Also take lecethin, it helps the nervous system in general. I've used this combination for Depression and PTSD, and it's been helpful.

I've also found acupuncture helpful for both anxiety and depression, another herb that works for anxiety is Kava Kava, although I've never taken that one, I've just read about it.

My father was very paranoid, and it only got worse as he got older, but he had been a habitual abuser of drugs and alcohol, so stay off of that stuff, or just use it in moderation- it was his downfall I'm afraid.

This is going to sound dumb, but the best way to deal with being anxious is to try to reduce your stress as much as you can, take really good care of yourself, try to do one happy fun thing a day. PTSD IS a stress disorder, anything that reduces stress or the physical effect of the stress to you will help a little bit with the mental condition. I've had severe (chronic) PTSD, from a rotten childhood, and it is something that can be overcome, no matter how severe.

It's true that the anti psychotic drugs will get rid of your symptoms, BUT you will still be left with the damage from the experiences you've been through that have been so hard to live with. If you can hang in there, the natural substances might work, and as a last resort, you can try the anti psychotics. They are really only a benefit when the side effects are worse than the problem, and it sounds like you've got some willingness to try alternatives or you wouldn't be writting the cure zone.

I'm not an expert, but I do have a lot of sympathy for you, it's a very tough thing to deal with. You might also try writing Doc Sutter,on the ask Doc Sutter forum, he's a decent guy, and he's also had to deal with some of this.

Oh, take the L-tryptophan before you go to bed, it will help you sleep.

My very best wishes to you and your family,

Julie Tweet