Thankyou for sharing your introspective experience. I’m always interested in how the human brain works and I find that the more I am able to instantiate the model of ‘human’ for a specific person the more I am able to empathize, comprehend their meaning and cross the inferential gap when trying to express my thoughts in a way that translates accurately.
I too have a particularly active inhibitor in my brain, although through experiences and active personal development have significantly reduced the negative effects. The challenging part was removing the maladaptive inhibitions while keeping the ‘perfectionism’ benefits that for me came hand in hand with that overactive system.
Thank you for the pointers to those three “supplements”; I didn’t know that such effective anti-anxiety substances were available OTC in the US! I’ve tried some supplements that “support positive mood” via effects on neurotransmitters, but not the ones you’ve listed; I’ll have to check them out.
I should clarify somewhat what I am suggesting the supplements can be useful for.
Aniracetam
Very safe. As in, it is more or less impossible to overdose on the stuff and it isn’t going to mess you. It is probably safer than just about anything you can get in a pharmacy, including the glucose lollies they sell the front desk. It also doesn’t seem to come with significant tolerance/dependency problems that anxiety drugs are notorious for.
… But the anxiolytic properties are not the primary use of aniracetam. It is a cognitive enhancer that happens to have some anti-anxiety effects thrown in as a bonus. It isn’t going to completely counter serious anxiety problems but most people find that it makes socializing more relaxing and flow better. More significant to me is that the primary effect is just what is needed when socializing too. It boosts verbal fluency in particular and (by subjective reports) makes the subtleties in communication and the naunces of music more salient.
Picamilon
“Mostly Harmless”—It is just Niacin and GABA hooked up together in a way that will get it through the blood-brain barrier before it falls apart. Reports tend to be that it has a mild but reliable effect on reducing anxiety without a nasty rebound. People tend to ‘cycle’ on and off so that they can maintain the effectiveness.
Phenibut
“Use Responsibily”—Phenibut is safer and way healthier than either benzos or booze but at the same time it is not a toy. With aniracetam you can casually eat a tablespoon of the stuff just to see if you notice the difference. You do not do that with Phenibut. This is a real drug, you show it the proper respect.
In terms of effect this stuff is powerful. It isn’t a ‘oh, yeah, that is a bit better’ kind of thing. When used to treat anxiety it is basically a drug with reliable and significant effects (and effectiveness). It does, however come with side effects when used excessively. Specifically it has unpleasant withdrawal effects if you stop using it suddenly after long term, high dose use. it also builds up tolerance relatively so you can not use it every day. It is better to use it once a week or so, when you are out socializing. ie; as an all round superior replacement for alcohol.
In comparison to alcohol: The effects on inhibition are extremely similar. This isn’t surprising since it approximately the same mechanism at play (boosting GABA). It also tends to boost confidence and mood (as alohol sometimes does). Unlike alcohol Phenibut makes you smarter, not dumber. It also doesn’t eliminate your sound judgement, ruin your liver and kill your neurons. (A note—if you combine phenibut with alcohol expect each drink to have twice as much effect as you are used to.)
Benzodiazepine (diazepam, Valium)
THIS STUFF FUCKS YOU UP! Yes, I am both yelling and using an expletive. Whenever I lament the flaws in the medical system or suggest taking personal responsibility for your medical needs the misuse of benzo prescription is right up her on the list of reasons. I’m not being particularly contrarian here. This uncontroversial medical science (that isn’t reflected in medical practice in a sane way).
In terms of effectiveness this stuff will work to knock out anxiety (come to think of it it’ll knock the rest of you out too if you bump the dose). If you are having a panic attack or a seizure you want someone to be injecting it into you. What it also does in the short term is to impair all of your brain functions. What it does in the long term is permanently deteriorate both your physical health and brain activity. If you want to shock yourself look up some ‘before and after’ SPECT scans of the brains of benzo users.
To the usual disclaimer “I Am Not A Doctor” I will add “and you shouldn’t put your faith in what I say all that much even if I was.”
Thankyou for sharing your introspective experience. I’m always interested in how the human brain works and I find that the more I am able to instantiate the model of ‘human’ for a specific person the more I am able to empathize, comprehend their meaning and cross the inferential gap when trying to express my thoughts in a way that translates accurately.
I too have a particularly active inhibitor in my brain, although through experiences and active personal development have significantly reduced the negative effects. The challenging part was removing the maladaptive inhibitions while keeping the ‘perfectionism’ benefits that for me came hand in hand with that overactive system.
I should clarify somewhat what I am suggesting the supplements can be useful for.
Aniracetam Very safe. As in, it is more or less impossible to overdose on the stuff and it isn’t going to mess you. It is probably safer than just about anything you can get in a pharmacy, including the glucose lollies they sell the front desk. It also doesn’t seem to come with significant tolerance/dependency problems that anxiety drugs are notorious for.
… But the anxiolytic properties are not the primary use of aniracetam. It is a cognitive enhancer that happens to have some anti-anxiety effects thrown in as a bonus. It isn’t going to completely counter serious anxiety problems but most people find that it makes socializing more relaxing and flow better. More significant to me is that the primary effect is just what is needed when socializing too. It boosts verbal fluency in particular and (by subjective reports) makes the subtleties in communication and the naunces of music more salient.
Picamilon “Mostly Harmless”—It is just Niacin and GABA hooked up together in a way that will get it through the blood-brain barrier before it falls apart. Reports tend to be that it has a mild but reliable effect on reducing anxiety without a nasty rebound. People tend to ‘cycle’ on and off so that they can maintain the effectiveness.
Phenibut “Use Responsibily”—Phenibut is safer and way healthier than either benzos or booze but at the same time it is not a toy. With aniracetam you can casually eat a tablespoon of the stuff just to see if you notice the difference. You do not do that with Phenibut. This is a real drug, you show it the proper respect.
In terms of effect this stuff is powerful. It isn’t a ‘oh, yeah, that is a bit better’ kind of thing. When used to treat anxiety it is basically a drug with reliable and significant effects (and effectiveness). It does, however come with side effects when used excessively. Specifically it has unpleasant withdrawal effects if you stop using it suddenly after long term, high dose use. it also builds up tolerance relatively so you can not use it every day. It is better to use it once a week or so, when you are out socializing. ie; as an all round superior replacement for alcohol.
In comparison to alcohol: The effects on inhibition are extremely similar. This isn’t surprising since it approximately the same mechanism at play (boosting GABA). It also tends to boost confidence and mood (as alohol sometimes does). Unlike alcohol Phenibut makes you smarter, not dumber. It also doesn’t eliminate your sound judgement, ruin your liver and kill your neurons. (A note—if you combine phenibut with alcohol expect each drink to have twice as much effect as you are used to.)
Benzodiazepine (diazepam, Valium) THIS STUFF FUCKS YOU UP! Yes, I am both yelling and using an expletive. Whenever I lament the flaws in the medical system or suggest taking personal responsibility for your medical needs the misuse of benzo prescription is right up her on the list of reasons. I’m not being particularly contrarian here. This uncontroversial medical science (that isn’t reflected in medical practice in a sane way).
In terms of effectiveness this stuff will work to knock out anxiety (come to think of it it’ll knock the rest of you out too if you bump the dose). If you are having a panic attack or a seizure you want someone to be injecting it into you. What it also does in the short term is to impair all of your brain functions. What it does in the long term is permanently deteriorate both your physical health and brain activity. If you want to shock yourself look up some ‘before and after’ SPECT scans of the brains of benzo users.
To the usual disclaimer “I Am Not A Doctor” I will add “and you shouldn’t put your faith in what I say all that much even if I was.”