Social Anxiety Disorder – Best Natural Supplements

Best supplements for social anxiety disorder (SAD) vs general anxiety disorder (GAD)

The word “Anxiety” is used far too often on its own when referring to several different types of anxiety. The feelings and the biochemical mechanisms for the different classes of anxiety are the same, or at least very similar, but the treatment for the different types of anxiety can be quite different.

Social anxiety is one specific type of a broad class of anxiety disorders. People who experience social anxiety experience unusually high levels of stress, panic, and anxiety when around other people, or in certain situations involving other people. It doesn’t mean they are always anxious or having panic attacks when in public, but there are at least certain times or situations where they experience it.

The extreme anxiety may occur only around certain people but not others. It may occur only in certain situations (like a major fear of public speaking) or an anxiety at the workplace. It may occur because of the idea of having to meet a group of new people (or a spouse’s family). The point is that it happens around other people in some capacity. And each case is unique, as is the degree of seriousness. Some people are so paralyzed with fear they will go into a full blown panic attack and have a very difficult time breathing. Other people are just so needlessly nervous and anxious that it causes a major hurdle in their lives.

So as far as natural supplementation goes for treating social anxiety disorder, there are various intelligent ways to try going about it. Every person is different, and there is no single “right way”. But here are some excellent and proven methods.

Some people like to treat their social anxiety “acutely”. This means they would enjoy taking a fast-acting supplement right before they know they will get overly anxious, or take it as soon as they feel anxious. They don’t want to take something every day, so they would instead rather treat the social anxiety the moment it happens, or right before it happens. Some anxiety supplements work very quickly, while others take a few weeks to build up in the system before the effects are noticed. Many people also enjoy a combination – that is taking a supplement everyday to lower their general baseline anxiety levels, and also take a fast acting supplement right before an event which will likely cause more intense anxiety, such as public speaking, taking an exam, flying, being around a large group of people, or whatever.

And since social anxiety is something which happens while around other people, one may wish to take a natural supplement that doesn’t make them sleepy. (Many anxiety supplements, but certainly not all, cause drowsiness). If someone is anxious in the evenings while home alone for example, then drowsiness may be a welcomed side benefit.

Our premium grade L Theanine is an excellent and fast acting supplement for combating social anxiety. It absorbs very quickly and you will notice its effects right away (within 15 minutes) of taking it. It’s also non drowsy and very pleasurable. I mention “premium grade”, because many L Theanine brands on the market sell either cheap L Theanine (which often contains either high levels of the “D” isomer) or certain patented forms of L Theanine which contain high levels of the “L” isomer, but have been processed poorly and stored for extremely long periods of time in huge vats (Thus losing potency). We don’t wish to center out other brands here, but we know that we take exceptional care of our sourcing, processing, and procurement of our L Theanine. It’s extremely fresh, incredibly pure, and works wonderfully. It’s why we sell it directly as a “single” as well as use it in our combination formulas.

Some other single ingredient and fast acting natural supplements for social anxiety are:

Ashwagandha (KSM-66) – Ashwagandha is an amazing ayurvedic herb with a huge range of health benefits in addition to being great for helping with anxiety. Our highly potent organic KSM-66® ashwagandha has been scientifically proven to significantly reduce anxiety. Many of our customers say they can feel it right away, and some other people find that they feel better and better the longer they take it. If they take it daily for a week or 2, they notice that their overall anxiety is much lower than it was prior, and they absolutely love it. This ashwagandha reduces the stress hormone cortisol, and it increases GABA. It’s in our Zen+ formula and it’s also sold as a single.

Note: Many customers who have trouble sleeping in addition to their anxiety like to take both our ashwagandha as well as our herbal sleep blend (SleepX).

5 HTP – This works well and quickly. It’s more of a natural anti-depressant, but many people love it for their social anxiety. It can cause drowsiness in some people but others love it. Be careful of the dosage. Some people like a lot, and some people are extremely sensitive to small doses. Here is our natural source, pharmaceutical grade, 5 HTP. It’s great on its own and in combination with the other herbs mentioned here.

L Tryptophan – Similar to 5 HTP, but it may be more “drowsy”. Some people prefer it though. It has a different “feel” to it, even though the mechanism with 5 HTP is similar.

Magnesium – This works amazingly well and quickly for some. Make sure the form is NOT “oxide”. Many brands sell oxide because it’s cheap. The problem is that it barely absorbs and it doesn’t work in the body. Our non-buffered magnesium bisglycinate absorbs the best. It is very pure and it won’t cause any laxative effects. It’s known as the “calming mineral” and this is a great supplement for reducing anxiety and for health in general.

Rhodiola Rosea – Rhodiola can also be a great herbal supplement for anxiety. It lowers the stress hormone cortisol, and a lot of people feel great from it. It’s also unique in that in addition to helping improve mood and lower anxiety levels, it is also energizing. Many anxiety supplements (and medications for that matter) also cause drowsiness in many people. That’s one reason rhodiola is a great addition to the anxiety mix. Dosing is important here. Too much rhodiola can cause an increase in anxiety, but we sell an organic Tibetan Rhodiola Rosea in a good dose and we have customers all over who love it for their anxiety. It is also great to take in combination with ashwagandha. Both herbs lower cortisol – rhodiola is more energizing and ashwagandha is more calming, but both can lower overall anxiety. Here is a good article on the combination

GABA is another supplement which can reduce anxiety. It doesn’t cross the blood brain barrier. Supplements like 5 HTP can increase GABA indirectly, and since it crosses the blood brain barrier, it will work inside the brain. For this reason, GABA is often considered inferior to 5 HTP and others, but it is important to note that some people do prefer GABA in its pure form based on their own biochemistry and experience.

Acetyl L Carnitine (It gives high energy and improves mood too. Some people actually get more nervous from it because of the increased energy, but it works very well and is an interesting option to try) People respond very differently to Acetly L Carnitine. (Make sure it’s very pure and that it’s “Acetyl” and not “Tartrate”). If they don’t specify, don’t buy.

Another way to treat social anxiety naturally through supplementation is to do it by treating general anxiety and lowering that. Some people would like to take a supplement daily to reduce their baseline (average daily) levels of anxiety. If they reduce their general levels of anxiety day-to-day, they find that they are both less nervous and anxious in general, and also don’t have much or any social anxiety anymore. They are a lot calmer in general, so their social anxiety goes out the window when they clear up their general anxiety. This really depends on the severity of the anxiety and the person.

If you want to treat anxiety in general with supplements over a longer and daily course of action, you can use combination herbal formulas, like our Zen+ Or you can use single herbs which have been known to drastically lower anxiety. Many customers like to buy the entire anxiety supplement stack. They do work great together so it may be something you may want to try together. Here are the individual links and you can get them all on our online store (Our deliveries are fast all over the world)

L Theanine
Ashwagandha
Rhodiola Rosea
Magnesium Bisglycinate
5 HTP
Zen+