Lavender (Silexan) for Anxiety
Of all the medicines for anxiety, a natural supplement is among the top 2 most effective treatments! That supplement is lavender extract (Silexan) and is sold over the counter (if you care to know, Seroquel/quetiapine is the strongest treatment according to the research). Lavender is very safe and well tolerated. It takes some time to build up but after 3-4 weeks you should notice some benefit for generalized anxiety. Besides helping for anxiety it can also help with impaired sleep, somatic complaints, comorbid depression and decreased quality of life.
Except for mild gastrointestinal symptoms, it usually does not induce any adverse effects and does not cause drug interactions, sedation or withdrawal symptoms when stopped.
There is a hypothetical risk that lavender oil can act as an agonist on estrogen receptors (an "agonist" is something that activates a receptor). At the time of this post, we have not been able to obtain any actual data discussing the risk this lavender supplement poses to patients with a history of estrogen related cancers (or any aarticles that discuss any risk of lavender oil supplementation to clients with any other hormone related disorders), but if you have a history of such cancer please consult with your oncologist prior to starting lavender related supplements.
This is the brand I recommend as it is made in Germany and is approved by their regulators as an actual prescription medication over there (here it is over the counter). For those 17 and older, the goal dose should be 2 pills per day (not 1, like the package says). Start with 1 per day for the first week and if there are no issues, go to 2 per day after that:
https://www.vitacost.com/natures-way-calmaid-30-softgels?ta=lavender+capsules&t=lavender+capsules
Other online stores in case the above store is sold out:
https://www.naturesway.com/Product-Catalog/CalmAid-30-Softgels
https://www.pharmaca.com/nature-s-way-calmaid-30-softgels?gclid=CjwKCAjwmv-DBhAMEiwA7xYrdws2_2HaCTB4FsoxQWM9IeAEw1uBHzZbx-zKAtoEsfhorpex8TIlgxoCsfgQAvD_BwE
Here is another link with the exact version that was tested in the study, that you can get directly off of Amazon:
Integrative Therapeutics – Lavela WS 1265 - Clinically Studied Lavender Essential Oil Supplement - Calms Nervousness* - Reduces Stress* - 60 Softgels https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0072POIB8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_P084NHE6R7JNTG07DWKS?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Here is some research backing it up:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15622975.2017.1331046
