Anti-anxiety/panic Attack Potion? Options

Hey.. again, i feel like ive been posting a lot lately, but thats what happens when your a beginner right? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/harhar1.gif)

Anyway, I have a couple of friends who have been feeling VERY stressed lately, one has been having panic attacks and the other anxiety attacks. Is there a potion I can make to help them? (please no alcohol, as they are both underage lol)

Actually alcohol can exacerbate anxiety problems... make them worse I mean. Sure the alcohol can have a calming affect at first. But when you come down you're stuck with either drinking more (potentially becoming an alcoholic later on in life) or suffering a hang over. See the liver produces enzymes that break down alcohol. When you drink enough that your liver cannot keep up with it, the alcohol turns toxic. This enters your blood stream and hits every major organ in your body - especially your brain and central nervous system. These toxins from the alcohol are actually what induce the "drunk" feeling. But they also bond to proteins in the brain and inhibit neurotransmitters (chemicals that regulate mood in the brain) from functioning properly; basically CAUSING depression and anxiety. So drinking is the LAST thing you'd want to do to deal with anxiety and expecially panic attacks. The other thing to keep in mind is that a healthy teenage male, who turns to regularly drinking, physical dependence to alcohol can occur in as little as 6 months. Compared to your average adult male, it can take *up to* 8 years for physical dependence to occur.

I just wanted to point that out.

As far as anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication, at your age taking such medications would not be a good idea. I do think that in extreme cases of severe anxiety and depression pills work as a last resort. Even then, most people taking such medications still feel some symptoms of some type of mood disruption. And eventually they require higher doses to manage the same level of mood disruption. That and pills only do 1/3 of the battle. 2/3 of the battle to curing mood disorders is fixing the cause of the mood disorder. Pills just mask the problem.

That takes me to herbal remedies, tincturies and potions - be careful my friend. Although I have not seen any one suggest anything I would consider dangerous or addictive, keep in mind such remedies are also only a temporary relief. In one sense depression and anxiety are a fact of life. Everybody feels both to some degree. Its only a problem when people can't cope with it or do self destructive things to deal with it.

In my humble opinion I think things like St. Johns wart, Chamomile tea and certain root extracts are fine to use for moderate anxiety problems. If the anxiety is bad enough that your friend is having straight *panic attacks* I don't think any herbal concoction (or medication for that matter) is a permanent solution. Medicines (herbal and medical) can help ease symptoms but really it comes down to facing some inner demons. Preferably with the help of a trained professional. In most situations where a person is dependant upon any kind of medication to cope with a real mood problem they end up having to take more and more of whatever in order to manage the same level of symptoms. Sometimes to the point where the same medication is no longer effective at all. Its true too with alcohol and other drugs. I've never met an alcoholic, a true alcoholic, who was happy to be one.

Panic attacks are not the same as anxiety attacks. I'll assume you know the difference. But true panic attacks at your age are not normal or healthy. I would recommend your friend at least consult your school's counselor.

Now that I've got my preaching out of the way this is another method to manage moderate anxiety anxiety AND panic attacks (key word being moderate)

Two types of oils, levender and some stuff called spice of life (which is a blend of extracts from a variety of both flowers and herbs). First lay in a comfortable position on your back with your feet elevated about 1 foot above your chest. Place one drop of spice of life over your third eye (the center of your fore head just above your eyes) rub it in for about 1-3 minutes then use two drops of lavender oil, one for each side of your temples. Rub in the lavender oil for an addition 1-3 minutes. Then rest in this comfortable position until the anxiety/panic subsides. If you cannot get spice of life, lavender oil alone can still help. And its fairly cheap too.

The key thing to bare in mind when dealing with anxiety/panic attacks is to control your breathing. It may be hard at first but try to breathe as normally as possible. The other simple way to deal with panic attacks is to hyperventilate into a small paper back.