How I conquered my anxiety

Disclaimer: I’m no doctor, everything I say is based on my life and what I have experimented to cure my anxiety. This blog is provided for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute providing medical advice or professional services. The information provided should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, and those seeking personal medical advice should consult with a licensed physician.

Now let’s begin. If you clicked on this blog, I know you’re looking for answers and I’ll do my best to give them to you.

First, let’s put some context on my experience with anxiety and maybe you’ll find some similarities. I’m a 22 year old student. Like many students, I have to live with a constant feeling of anxiety due to many things. Fear of failing, social anxiety etc. I’ve always been an introvert so every social situation makes me nervous and literally sick to my stomach. Simply having to answer a question in front of the class makes me overthink everything ( not cool ). But this kind of anxiety has always been there so I kinda know how to live with it.

The thing is, I’ve discovered another type of anxiety I have never felt before. I’ll be honest, as a man I’ve always looked down on people who always deal with anxiety, stress and depression. I’ve always felt like it wasn’t that bad. OBVIOUSLY I WAS WRONG.

A month ago was the beginning of my third year in college. I became anxious out of nowhere. I already knew the teachers and my classmates but I was still anxious going to class. But even in non stressful situations, I felt awful, nauseous, I couldn’t breathe, I started to get panic attacks while watching dramas ( yes you read that right ). One day, I even had to run to the toilet to throw up… My body was giving me alert signals for literally no reason whatsoever.

I started to get frustrated : I didn’t understand why I was physically anxious but mentally nothing had changed. So I looked for supplements for anxiety relief. I tried magnesium and omega-3 fatty acids, still using them and I can’t say they had any impact on my anxiety. But the one that did, is Ashwagandha.

Before, I insist on the fact that you should never start using any medications nor supplements without talking first to your general practitioner.

Let’s continue : I started using Ashwagandha a month ago and I can genuinely say I went from a state of daily anxiety ( day and night ) with nausea loss of appetite difficulty breathing to a state of full control, confidence and less overthinking. I saw a change in my anxiety levels two weeks after I started using Ashwagandha.

Now you think “alright I’m gonna try this out”, and I understand but there’s something else… Ashwagandha can, and in my experience it did for me, cause anhedonia. In simple terms, it means you won’t be able to feel pleasure, you’ll feel numb, less motivated. Me personally, I felt empty and honestly it sucks.

I made the decision of trying Ashawagandha knowing it could cause anhedonia because I could not handle days and nights feeling anxious that’s not how I want to live my life. So yes it’s not a magical solution, it has cons but for me it has been a positive supplement I don’t feel anxious anymore and that was my goal.