Anyone know any good herbal remedies that might be useful for my paranoid psychosis? Although I've been very sceptical of alternative remedies in the past, I've always thought herbalism was a case where there was a body of knowledge that was very useful. In any case, it has to be worth a shot. So far, I drink peppermint tea and jasmine tea. I'm thinking of getting some essential oils and stuff like that. I think some valerian root would be worth trying for the insomnia instead of relying on valium and zopiclone. Any hints?
One therapy that is working rather well is auriculomedicine, this is something that research is showing is able to change the brain waves as well as chemical imbalances. There is pretty good research going into this field of the medicine. As for herbs, I for one don't like to suggest many herbs w/o knowing much more of what is going on. But that is more b/c of a TCM b/g as there is always more tied into it than just one thing. Personal recommendation is (if you haven't already) seek professional help, then look into other alternative methods. Most alternative methods would agree that you cannot take "one thing" and take that for the rest of your life w/o ever changing. If due to a chemical imbalance you are looking at varying degrees of an imbalance at any one time, so by assuming one thing with one dose would work all the time is a bit faulty (imo).
OK, so lots of different treatments depending on how it's going? I've sought professional methods- and I'll clear whatever I'm going to do with the psychiatrist who manages my case. Unfortunately, I can't have anything expensive or if it is expensive it has to be on the NHS. Just to give you a general picture, there's no cognitive behavioural therapy in this area and there won't be for years. Thanks for the reply.
Camomile tea is very soothing and relaxing. but beware its tastes abosultely foul. A teaspoon of honey does help. Or you can do what i do and that is to do a double brew using a peppermint and a camomile teabag in a cup. As for essential oils i used lavender to help me sleep with varying degrees of sucess. A few drops behind the ears or onto your pillow might help. What may be useful would be to get a cotton cloth/tissue with some lavender oil dabbed onto it, and for you carry it with you and prehaps take a sniff of it when needed. Hope this helps, if there is anything else i can help you with drop me a pm and i'll see what i can do.
Cheers. I reckon if I could get to sleep regularly the actual symptoms would abate a lot. Problem is, it's more like the mood disturbances cause the insomnia than the other way round.
Just for insomnia? You can't sleep on Vs and Zopiclone? Mate, I wouldn't bank on sleep as a 'cure'. Man, I've not slept well, for a good 20 years, who needs it Mixing up herbal meds with prescriptions might not be a good idea. However, kava kava does a good job but there is evidence it can stuff up yer liver...be careful! Otherwise, NO alcohol, but take fish oils and B vits. Sometimes you just have to accept your symptoms are merely a chemical imbalance! Y'know, if you're a diabetic it's socially acceptable...if you are low on insulin that's OK. Now, low on seratonin society isn't quite so kind eh? Biochemical prejudice....I hate it
I know, but I'd like to try anything the doc says is OK- I may even try, god help me, homeopathy The thing is, I don't want to get used to this condition, I want to get rid of it. Some day, I may need to accept that that will never happen. Even the diagnosis is dodgy. It looks like schizophrenia, but there are problems diagnosing me with both that and the asperger's. My notes make very confusing reading
Essential oils: http://www.youngliving.com/ Yeah I agree that keeping it simple will be the best bet. You start mixing to many things and you could be in for a world of hurt. There is so much stuff out there, that it simply is impossible to know what combined side effects could be (either combined with western/eastern herbs or drugs). This is why I recommended auriculomedicine b/c at least this is a physical modality that usually does not require herbal supplements (Depends on the practitioner mostly). Also I don't know what it is like in the UK, but a psychiatrist in the US is mostly a western medical doctor with some psych background. Have you thought about counseling more? Or seeing a psychologist? Just a thought, w/o knowing the severity of the condition you might be on the right track already. Anyways, check out the youngliving oils, they are natural and pure with no additives (dangerous if you plan to inhale anything ) they have a large selection of oils that I have found clinically to be pretty good for people. Hope it helps!
Cool. Yeah, I'm getting counselling. She's great- I feel really relaxed after talking to her and she's taught me stuff like mindfulness relaxation. The great thing with that is, the more you do, the better you get at it. I was supposed to see a psychotherapist, but there's no provision for that in the area I live in. Thanks for the link. I'm not sure what to buy, but I'll take a look. What exactly is auriculomedicine then?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auricular_therapy It is pretty much the same as auriculomedicine, it is just auriculomedicine uses micro/macro currents to stimulate the ear at certain frequencies discovered by Nogier. As I mentioned before there have been studies shown that auriculomedicine can change brain wave patterns etc. So it may help with some psychological problems.
Cool. Uh, I've no money except for my student loan, so it'd have to be self-administered or done by a willing friend (surprisingly for my personality, I have plenty of willing friends, but not necessarily ones that would willingly stimulate my ears)
lavender http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/lavender-000260.htm Yea, little info on the lavender would be nice right. http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/l/lavend13.html
Cool. One of my mates at college has suggested lavender too. Maybe a few drops in the bath or something like that?
The cool thing about oils is you could also do a little dab on a cotton swab and place it over a light bulb to smell through a whole room. Or put it on a cotton swab in a heat vent, dab a little on a pillow case, or a shirt collar etc. There is a lot you could do with oils that make them versatile.
