7 replies to this topic

[GhostBuster]

My problem is that if I feel that I need to perform very well in an exam, I can get very excited to the point of severe anxiety. This can be disastrous, since all this stress and anxiety hurts my working memory pretty badly. For example, I may have a hard time to understand anything written text that is even a little bit complex in this state. And in the middle of the calculations/reasoning i keep on forgetting what I am doing and why. Generally speaking, I think that the decline of working memory hurts my over all mental performance/IQ. I have experienced this numerous times. I have found that for example niacinamide has a slight calming effect on me, but in these situations, it has no effectat all. I suppose that the same goes with all the supplements.

 

But is there any drug that keeps you calm without hurting general mental performance? I dont plan to use all the time, but it would be nice, if there was the one, that could be used in anticipated highly stressful circumstances.

[renfr]

Magnesium helps a lot.

Low dose benzo can help too however go easy on it as it can dull you if the dosage exceeds certain limits.

Maybe you can look into Picamilon too as it has calming and cognitive enhancing effects.

Also you can try Bacopa but only a low dose, bacopa inhibits dopamine spikes and can prevent that kind of stress.

Edited by renfr, 23 April 2014 - 09:52 PM.

[gamesguru]

Benzos? For OTC anxiolytics there's magnesium, kava, ashwagandha, passionflower, skullcap, bacopa, or rosmarinic acid. Valerian would be too sedating, ginseng too stimulating.

[Ritchie]

Definitely look into kava. It has an effect similar effect to alcohol except more "calming" than alcohol in the sense that it does not make you rowdy like alcohol. It's infamous for its ability to cause sedation and euphoria without disrupting mental clarity

Kava also has very little abuse potential in comparison to alcohol and benzos

Edited by Ritchie, 23 April 2014 - 10:26 PM.

[ta5]

Propranolol

[FW900]

Phenibut is reported (here and elsewhere) to be useful on infrequent occasions for anxiety. If I were you, I'd look at this first, simply because it's widely available, purportedly effective, and very cheap. This being said, personally, I seldom feel the sensation of anxiousness, so I don't really feel "calm" or much of anything taking Phenibut. I've sampled with it mainly to see if it has much of a nootropic effect. There are papers indicating that it does have a mild nootropic effect and can result in increased cerebral blood flow. If you do decide to take Phenibut, only take it during tests as it's mechanism of action as a GABA-B agonist will lead to a downregulation of GABAergic neurons; simply put, google 'Phenibut withdrawal'. If you take it infrequently, only for tests, down regulation and consequently withdrawal will not be a concern.

 

I suggest you avoid benzos; you might loose anxiety at the expense of cognition.

 

 

ScienceGuy has an excellent thread on treating anxiety, even though I believe Phenibut is on the list of anxiolytics to avoid.

http://www.longecity...ly-effectively/

Edited by FW900, 24 April 2014 - 01:16 AM.

[blood]

As ta5 said, propranolol could be helpful.

 

Your doctor might even prescribe it (show him the study, below).

 

 

http://cpj.sagepub.c.../30/7/441.short

 

The Effect of Beta Blockade on Stress-Induced Cognitive Dysfunction in Adolescents

 

Harris C. Faigel, MD

 

Abstract

 

Test anxiety is severely disabling to students whose fear of examinations causes cognitive dysfunction that paralyzes their thinking the way stage fright impairs actors ability to act. In studies using subjective evaluations among actors and musicians, beta-blockade relieved stage fright and has been used informally to treat test anxiety in students without objective measures of effectiveness.

 

The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) was chosen as an objective test instrument to confirm the effect of beta-blockade on test anxiety and performance. Thirty-two high school students who had already taken the SAT before enrolling in this study and who had stress-induced cognitive dysfunction on exams were given 40 mg of propranolol one hour before they retook those tests. Mean SAT scores with beta-blockade were 130 points higher than on the initial SAT done before entering the study without medication (p=<.01). A single dose of propranolol immediately before the SAT permitted improved performance in students prone to cognitive dysfunction due to test anxiety.

 

 

[GhostBuster]

Thank you for all the advices.

 

I went to see a doctor and she was willing to give a prescription for propranolol. I would have liked to experiment with kava kava also. However, my request for it was not accepted (prescription needed in my country). Now I planning to experiment with different doses of propranolol. We'll see if I try to experiment with other possible substances in the future.

Edited by GhostBuster, 24 April 2014 - 02:32 PM.