Natural alternatives to Xanax, a widely used anti-anxiety drug, are not only effective, but avoid this medication’s serious side effects and addictiveness.
Anxiety is the most common mental disorder in the United States.
Worldwide, roughly 260 million people have an anxiety disorder, and a third of us will experience one sometime during our lifetime.
The top two medical treatments for anxiety are anti-anxiety medication and psychotherapy.
If you talk to your doctor about your anxiety, it’s likely you will go home with a prescription for Xanax or similar medication.
But there are compelling reasons that should make you think twice before filling that prescription.
Xanax: The Most Widely Prescribed Anti-Anxiety Medication
Xanax is a brand name of the generic drug alprazolam.
It belongs to a family of drugs called benzodiazepines that work as sedatives.
Besides Xanax, there are several other drugs in this group that you may have heard of such as Valium, Librium, and Ativan.
It’s not fully understood how benzodiazepines work, but it’s widely agreed that they enhance activity of the brain chemical GABA.
GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that slows brain activity, enabling you to relax.
Millions of prescriptions for Xanax are written every year.
It is the most popular anti-anxiety medication and the third most popular psychiatric drug overall.
“ Benzodiazepines, including Xanax, are among the hardest drugs to quit, along with hardcore drugs like heroin, cocaine, and crystal meth.
There are multiple reasons that Xanax is so widely used for treating anxiety.
First, it enters the brain quickly to deliver fast relief.
It has a shorter half-life than similar drugs and so gets out of your system faster.
And finally, doctors write a lot of prescriptions for Xanax.
In the US alone, they write around 20 million Xanax prescriptions every year.
But in spite of its popularity, this drug has some very serious drawbacks.
4 Reasons to Avoid Xanax
There are many excellent reasons to trade your Xanax for natural alternatives if at all possible.
Here’s a look at the biggest problems with Xanax and similar anti-anxiety medications.
1. Xanax Has Serious Side Effects
Xanax comes with a long list of side effects that range from unpleasant to life-threatening.
Drugs.com lists over 100 of them.
Some of the most common and less serious side effects include:
- feeling weak, dizzy, drowsy, or confused
- digestive upset
- insomnia
- muscle weakness
- change in appetite
- diminished sex drive
- headache
- blurred vision
- mental confusion
- lethargy and brain fog
More serious side effects include:
- depression and suicidal thoughts
- change in urination
- chest pain
- seizures
- hives, breathing difficulty
Note: If you take Xanax and experience any of these side effects, contact your doctor immediately.
2. Xanax Is Highly Addictive
One of Xanax’s worst side effects is its addictiveness.
Generally, you can safely take Xanax for a few months.
But after this point, two things happen.
First, it often stops working as you build a tolerance to it.
This tolerance is a common hallmark of an addictive substance.
Second, by this time, addiction has set in and it becomes extremely hard to quit.
Alarmingly, benzodiazepines, including Xanax, are among the hardest drugs to kick, along with hardcore drugs like heroin, cocaine, and crystal meth.
Ironically, withdrawal symptoms that occur when quitting Xanax include anxiety and panic attacks — the very reasons it’s prescribed in the first place.
Other withdrawal symptoms are restlessness, insomnia, nausea, blurred vision, muscle tightness, and irritability.
Some worst-case scenarios include hallucinations, delusions, and seizures.
3. Xanax Should Not Be Mixed With Alcohol and Other Drugs
Xanax does not mix well with other substances.
It should certainly not be taken with alcohol or other drugs, either prescription or recreational.
However, 70% of Americans take at least one prescription drug, and two-thirds of us consume alcohol regularly.
For these two reasons alone, the majority of people should not be taking Xanax.
According to a US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration report on drug-related emergency room visits, Xanax and other benzodiazepines are responsible for over 123,000 emergency room visits every year.
Over half of these visits are due to interactions between Xanax and alcohol or other drugs.
These reactions range from serious to fatal.
There are over 500 prescription medications that should not be taken along with Xanax.
You can see the full list of these medications at Drugs.com.
4. Demographics That Should Never Take Xanax
There are a few other large segments of the population who should not take Xanax under any circumstance.
Women who are pregnant, considering getting pregnant, or are breastfeeding should not take Xanax.
Taking Xanax while pregnant increases the risk of birth defects.
It can also cause your baby to become addicted in utero and face withdrawal immediately after birth.
Xanax is not appropriate for children or teens and should not be prescribed to teens since they commonly abuse this drug.
There’s growing evidence that Xanax is particularly dangerous for older people.
It increases their risk for dementia and Alzheimer’s.
And since older people often take other medications, they are at greater risk for interactions.
Disturbingly, benzodiazepine use is higher among older people than in any other age group.
Natural Xanax Supplements
Note: If you currently take Xanax or any other anti-anxiety medication, do not stop taking it or attempt to wean yourself off it on your own. In addition, do not add any of these supplements to your treatment regimen without talking to your doctor first.
Clearly, there are many good reasons to avoid Xanax if at all possible.
Fortunately, Xanax is not the only viable option for anxiety.
There are many natural Xanax alternatives proven to reduce anxiety effectively and safely.
You’ll notice that the majority of these work like Xanax, by increasing the calming brain chemical GABA.
Amino Acid Xanax Alternatives
Amino acids are building blocks of proteins, and two are among the top natural alternatives to Xanax.
They can be found in food, but often not in sufficient amounts to provide therapeutic value.
Both are readily available as over-the-counter supplements that can be taken for anxiety.
Taurine
Taurine is an amino acid found mainly in seafood and poultry.
It exerts numerous effects on the brain’s GABA system.
Taurine stimulates the release and formation of GABA.
And since its structure is similar to GABA, it readily binds to GABA receptors in the brain.
Taurine is considered very safe and, in fact, naturally occurs in high concentrations in the brain.
L-Theanine
L-theanine is an amino acid that is rare in nature.
It is found almost exclusively in “true” teas from the Camilla sinensis bush — black, white, oolong, and green teas.
It is highly regarded for its ability to induce a desirable state of mind that’s been described as “calm attentiveness” or “focused relaxation.”
Not only does l-theanine relieve anxiety by increasing levels of GABA, it brings about a relaxed brainwave state similar to that achieved during meditation.
How L-Theanine Benefits Stress, Anxiety and Focus
In one study, participants were given either l-theanine or Xanax and subjected to artificially induced stress.
Participants who received l-theanine had lower baseline anxiety than those who took Xanax.
Moderate anxiety symptoms often improve within 30 minutes after taking l-theanine and the effects can last up 10 hours.
While you can get l-theanine from drinking tea, it’s not practical to rely on tea alone to reduce anxiety.
A typical supplemental dose for anxiety would be 200-400 mg, while a cup of tea contains only 25 mg.
Herbal Alternatives to Xanax
It’s recently been discovered that many traditional relaxing herbs work, in part, by increasing GABA.
These include feverfew, passionflower, valerian, and lemon balm.
These herbal remedies have been used for centuries as sleep aids and to bring about a state of relaxation.
But of all the naturally relaxing herbs, two are standouts for anxiety.
Kava
Kava (Piper methysticum) is a traditional relaxing tea that’s been an important part of South Pacific culture for thousands of years.
It’s also available as an over-the-counter herbal remedy for anxiety, stress, and insomnia in the US and many other parts of the world.
Kava is a well-studied herbal remedy that has been found to be a safe and effective alternative to prescription drugs for anxiety, without the side effects of benzodiazepines.
Like many other relaxing herbal remedies, it works, at least in part, by increasing GABA.
One study pitted kava against two popular anti-anxiety drugs (buspirone and opipramol) and found that kava worked as well as either of them.
You may come across warnings that kava can cause liver damage, but this an unfounded, overblown fear.
The US National Institutes of Health reports that the risk of liver damage from taking a kava supplement is less than one in one million.
This makes it dramatically safer than Xanax and most other prescription drugs.
However, if you have any liver problems, we suggest you err on the side of caution and skip taking kava.
Gotu Kola
Gotu kola (Centella asiatica) is a Chinese herb whose name means “fountain of youth.”
Traditionally, it has been used to treat anxiety, depression, and mental fatigue.
While the “kola” part of its name suggests that it contains caffeine, it is an important relaxing herb that contains no caffeine whatsoever.
Gotu kola can reduce symptoms of anxiety and increase calmness by reducing levels of the stress hormone cortisol and increasing levels of feel-good neurotransmitters.
If your anxiety keeps you up at night, gotu kola can help that too since it’s also an effective natural sleep aid.
Psychobiotic Xanax Alternatives
Strange but true: What goes on in your gut affects your brain and your anxiety levels.
Psychobiotics are probiotics that offer specific mental health benefits, including alleviating anxiety.
A review of 38 studies found that taking psychobiotics can effectively reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other mental disorders.
One way psychobiotics work is by synthesizing neurotransmitters, including GABA.
To date, over two dozen strains of bacteria that produce GABA have been discovered.
Theses GABA producers are mostly strains of Lactobacilluswhich facilitate communication between your brain and your intestines via the vagus nerve.
So far, Lactobacillus brevis and Bifidobacterium dentium have been found to be the best GABA synthesizers.
Additionally, these gut bacteria help anxiety by significantly reducing levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
Interestingly, prebiotic foods that encourage the growth of beneficial gut bacteria can also reduce anxiety.
So the next time you feel anxious, skip your favorite junk food and grab a food high in prebiotic fibers instead.
Most prebiotic foods are vegetables, but bananas and chocolate are two prebiotic foods that also make healthy “comfort food” snacks.
Vitamin and Mineral Xanax Alternatives
Vitamins and minerals may not sound heavy-duty enough to take the place of Xanax, but if you are lacking certain core nutrients, your brain can’t function at its best.
While all vitamins and minerals are essential for ideal mental health, here are a few that are particularly critical if you have anxiety.
B Complex Vitamins
B complex is a group of 8 essential vitamins which all play a significant role in mental health and the ability to deal with stress.
Many people experience significantly fewer anxiety symptoms when taking a B complex supplement.
Here are some of the ways individual B vitamins contribute to anxiety relief:
Vitamin B3 (niacin) modulates neurotransmitters, bringing those associated with anxiety into balance.
The Vitamin B6 is an essential cofactor required for the synthesis of GABA, serotonin, and dopamine — three neurotransmitters that have a strong impact on mood.
Vitamin B12 deficiency affects almost 40% of the US population and can be quite serious.
Deficiency has been linked to anxiety, depression, panic, memory loss, and other physical and psychiatric symptoms.
If left untreated, it can lead to permanent nerve damage.
Vegetarians, older people, and those who use acid-suppressing drugs are most at risk for B12 deficiency.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is the most popular vitamin supplement of all and is usually taken for preventing colds and reducing allergy symptoms.
But it also has some powerful anti-anxiety properties.
Low levels of vitamin C have been linked to both anxiety and depression.
Vitamin C is also a well-known stress buster that can significantly reduce anxiety symptoms.
Magnesium
There’s a strong link between a lack of magnesium and anxiety.
Magnesium is an essential mineral that’s been called “nature’s Valium” because of its ability to make you feel more relaxed.
Magnesium stimulates GABA receptors in the brain.
It also helps anxiety symptoms by stabilizing blood sugar levels and reducing chronic brain inflammation.
There are many forms of magnesium supplements to pick from, but most barely enter the brain, where the magnesium is needed to impact anxiety.
One form which does readily enter the brain is magnesium l-threonate.
Zinc
Zinc is an essential mineral found in high concentrations in the brain.
It is a cofactor required to create GABA and balance its activity.
It’s also needed to synthesize serotonin, the neurotransmitter associated with a positive mood and happiness.
Zinc deficiency is alarmingly common.
An estimated 2 billion people are deficient worldwide.
Zinc deficiency is linked to both anxiety and depression.
Multivitamin Supplement
Surprisingly, simply taking a multivitamin supplement can make you more resilient to stress.
Research shows that taking a high-quality multivitamin can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, and improve general well-being.
There are many reasons you may be lacking in one or more essential nutrients.
Our modern lifestyle is rife with nutrient drains including sugar, processed foods, caffeine, stress, toxins, and drugs (both prescription and recreational).
What About GABA as an Alternative to Xanax?
A common thread among these Xanax alternatives is that the majority work by increasing the level of GABA.
So you may be wondering whether taking a GABA supplement directly would make sense.
While GABA supplements are available, their effectiveness is questionable.
The scientific consensus has been that these supplements cannot work because GABA molecules are too large to enter the brain.
Yet some people swear that GABA supplements work for them!
New theories are emerging to explain why GABA supplements may work in spite of this obstacle.
It’s been suggested that some areas of the brain may allow small amounts of GABA in or that GABA binds to receptors in the peripheral nervous system, rather than in the brain.
The only way to know if a GABA supplement will work for you is to give it a try.
Lifestyle Alternatives to Xanax
Just as anti-anxiety drugs don’t work for everyone, no single supplement is 100% effective either.
If you try some of these ingestible natural Xanax alternatives and don’t get the relief you’re looking for, don’t get discouraged.
There are still some other things you can do.
Eliminate Caffeine
Any supplement you take to relieve anxiety has an uphill battle if you continue to consume caffeine which inhibits GABA.
The American Psychiatric Association recognizescaffeine-induced anxiety as a genuine mental health disorder.
The link between caffeine and anxiety is so strong that it’s been recommended that a caffeine intake assessment be included as part of psychiatric exams.
Many people find that cutting back on caffeine, or eliminating it completely, is one of the most effective anti-anxiety measures they can take.
If you don’t want to quit caffeine completely, switch from coffee, soda, or energy drinks to tea.
The presence of calming l-theanine in tea softens the effects of caffeine, making it a better choice than other caffeinated drinks.
Get Physical Exercise
Physical exercise helps anxiety in two major ways.
It burns off stress hormones and increases feel-good endorphins to help you handle daily stress.
Interestingly, research confirms that the exercise you do today provides a buffer against anxiety for years to come, even if you eventually stop doing it.
There’s no pill that can make that claim!
Anti-Anxiety Techniques to Try Instead of Xanax
Taking pills, either drugs or supplements, can get tedious and expensive, so few people want to rely on them forever.
Here are some of the mind-body techniques that help address underlying causes of anxiety. They may ultimately free you from taking Xanax or any other anti-anxiety pills:
- acupuncture
- autogenic training
- biofeedback
- breathing exercises
- cognitive behavioral therapy
- guided imagery
- hypnotherapy (including self-hypnosis)
- meditation
- neurofeedback
- progressive muscle relaxation
- qi gong
- tai chi
- tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique)
- yoga
Recommended: Upgrading brain health is key to making your brain work better.
Brain supplement can help you:
- Improve your mental clarity and focus.
- Boost your memory and your ability to learn.
- Increase your capacity to think critically, solve problems, and make decisions.
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