What natural supplements are REALLY good for anxiety/panic

I am currently taking a low dose of Xanax 1 to 3 times a day. It works well but only for a short time and takes quite awhile to kick in. For some reason my anxiety/panic are at an all time high and i don't understand why. I don't want to go on antidepresants even tho i know my therapist wants me to. i see so many ads on the internet about natural suppements that help anxiety. It gets confusing after awhile to know which ones might really work, and I can't afford to buy All of them! Does anyone use one that they feel actually helps? Any advice would be appreciated.

I've read that St. John's Wort should not be taken with anti-depressants. If you do plan to take natural supplements, please make sure it will not interact with your meds.

Might I ask why you don't want to take medication?

So many people are hesitant about taking a medication that can really help them manage their anxiety and depression, and I am never sure why. They often say "fear of side effects." But, until the drug is taken, they do not have any idea of how they will be affected. It seems that the prospective benefit is far greater than the potential problems.

Other people will state that they prefer "all-natural," and don't want the medication, since it is man-made.

I guess I am always confused by people turning down a chance to feel better.

I found out in 2004 that I would be on medication for the rest of my life for Ulcerative colitis. I was seriously unhappy about this, at first. Then, after I saw how much better my life was after taking Asacol, I understood that if I stopped, the disease would come back.

It is a really hard thing to accept, and I really do respect that. You say you are having a hard time right now. I am sorry to hear that. What are you doing in terms of self-talk and coping mechanisms?

I noticed a significant decrease in anxiety and panic attacks when I started taking 700mg of magnesium (spread out through the day- 400mg in a daily vitamin and 3-100mg tabs), taurine and Ribes Nigrum (it is a supplement of blackcurrant- my Integrative MD said it also helps balance hormones, is high in vit E and several unsaturated fatty acids including alpha-linolenic acid and gamma-linolenic acid.). That's my daily ritual. I stopped it for a month because I didn't think it could really be helping, and wow did I notice a difference.

I forgot about Rescue Remedy! I carry a spray bottle in my backpack at all times. When I start feeling the dizziness of anxiety creeping in, I do a couple sprays and some breathing. It usually helps. Is it the spray, the breathing? Who knows, it makes me feel better and that's all that matters...ike Merrida said. I also like lemon balm tea. Very calming.

thanks for all your great advice. It's not that I'm totally against meds, as I do take Xanax and it does help, although only for a few hours. It's just that I've come to believe that many of the right natural supplements can help people with anxiety - just look at all the testimonials from the people who've posted above - the secret is just finding the one that works for you. I did recall that my mother had horrible anxiety for awhile until finding out from blood work that her potassium level was very low. She started on a regimen of potassium supplements and before long she was fine again. I seem to take after my mother so I decided to just add that to my daily regimen and within a week I was feeling better - not perfect mind you - but much less anxious with less intrusive thoughts and feelings of depression. Now grant you, I have not had a blood test to confirm that I have low potassium so I'm willing to admit that it might just be the "placebo" effect but darn, it certainly FEELS like it's helping. I also have tried Magnesium in the past - for a long while it seemed to help so I eventually stopped, thinking that I didn't need it anymore. Now that I'm going through another bout of bad anxiety, maybe I should start taking it again. I don't want to flood my system with TOO many supplements because I've read that that can be harmful too but I've come to believe strongly that our anxiety/panic is oftentimes caused by an imbalance in one or many compounds in our body so I'm trying desperately to sort out which ones are the best for me. Thanks again for all your great advice - I'll keep updating on what I find out.