The SSRI Exit Plan

The Anxiety Cure You’ve Never Heard Of

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For obvious (and unfortunate) reasons, I see many people who struggle with anxiety. I want to cover a couple of things about anxiety that hopefully with help.

Anxiety is a Good Thing

First, anxiety is a good thing. Yep. You read that correctly. It wasn’t a typo. Anxiety is a good thing. It drives us to focus on a difficult task ahead. That feeling you get when you are about to go on a first date (yes, the one where you feel like need to get to a bathroom fast)—anxiety. The feeling you get when you’re about to go on stage—anxiety. The feeling you get when you are about to a take a test—anxiety. All driving us to be our best.

Daily Anxiety

Next, there is daily anxiety. Worry that our neighbor is going to mow his grass onto my driveway. Worry that I may hit traffic on my way to work, knowing I can’t afford to be late again. This may surprise you, but the counseling/therapy industry has pathologized this. That really makes no sense, but it’s true. This is not a clinical issue. This is a Tuesday.

Social Anxiety

Then there’s social anxiety, which is the most common. Very possibly from being nursed by devices. We haven’t had to look up from them, so when it’s time to react in real time, where we can’t backspace or just hit “block”, we freeze. Social anxiety has a fairly simple fix. When you are in a social setting, find someone to talk to and immediately start asking them questions about themselves. People love talking about themselves. Also, self-consciousness and absolute misery are difficult to distinguish on a mental health questionnaire. So asking them questions takes the focus off of you, relieving your anxiety symptoms rather quickly.

Clinical Anxiety

Then there’s clinical anxiety. This is debilitating. You can’t go to the mailbox without fear. Going to a public place is almost out of the question. You can’t hold a job or a solid relationship because of your crippling anxiety. We often turn to Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) to relieve us of this fear and anxiety. Here’s the problem. These medications do the job, but they trim your range of emotion and they rewire your brain to need them. This dependency is not healthy.

Possible Solutions

[This is not medical advice] I’m going to give you a method that I have used for every client that has expressed a desire to come off of SSRIs. And so far, we’re batting 1.000. It hasn’t missed. This regimen needs to be practiced every day for at least 21 days consecutively.

1. Circadian Rhythm: Wake up at the same time every day. This helps release neurochemicals into your brain that were being withheld because of the unpredictability. It doesn’t matter that much when you go to bed but wake up at the same time every day for at least 21 days consecutively.

2. Protein: Consume some form of protein within 30 minutes of waking. The protein is going to help absorb some of the release on insulin if an anxiety trigger hits, preventing a hypoglycemic reaction. It doesn’t even matter what type of protein. Just take some within 30 minutes of waking up.

3. Walking: Walk like you’re late for at least 30 minutes per day at least 3 days per week. This sends proper blood flow to the brain, which helps everything from anxiety to dementia.

4. Saffron: I use a saffron gummy that also has vitamin D in it (this can be found at Walmart as well). Head-to-head, Saffron has been shown to have similar effects of SSRIs, but without the restriction of range of emotion.¹²³⁴

5. Omega 3: consuming some form of Omega 3 will help reduce blood pressure, brain development, help in managing depression, and help protect against cognitive decline.

Caution

So far, it’s working. There are obvious risks with this. Let me share a couple. First, your body may react differently to saffron. Highly rare, but possible. So pay attention to your body and act accordingly to what’s right for you.

Here’s the big one. The first 3 days of coming off of SSRIs will be very difficult. Be in a safe environment. Inform those closest to you that you are doing this. Be ready for an emotional rollercoaster for 2 or 3 days. For most, by the time you get to day 3, things start to lift. And by the end of the first week, you feel better than ever. Then it lifts from there. This is what I have seen in every client.

I hope this helps. Thanks as always for supporting my work.

Stay Classy GP! (← God’s People)

Grainger

The is a free publication. But if you really enjoyed this post and want to support our work, I would enjoy a good craft beer after writing an article. Thanks!

1. Saffron for depression: Noorbala, A. A., Akhondzadeh, S., Tahmacebi-Pour, N., & Jamshidi, A. H. (2005). Hydro-alcoholic extract of Crocus sativus L. versus fluoxetine in the treatment of mild to moderate depression: a double-blind, randomized pilot trial. Journal of ethnopharmacology, 97(2), 281–284. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2004.11.004

2. Saffron for depression: Akhondzadeh Basti, A., Moshiri, E., Noorbala, A. A., Jamshidi, A. H., Abbasi, S. H., & Akhondzadeh, S. (2007). Comparison of petal of Crocus sativus L. and fluoxetine in the treatment of depressed outpatients: a pilot double-blind randomized trial. Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry, 31(2), 439–442. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2006.11.010

3. Saffron for MDD and GAD: Ghajar, A., Neishabouri, S. M., Velayati, N., Jahangard, L., Matinnia, N., Haghighi, M., Ghaleiha, A., Afarideh, M., Salimi, S., Meysamie, A., & Akhondzadeh, S. (2017). Crocus sativus L. versus Citalopram in the Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder with Anxious Distress: A Double-Blind, Controlled Clinical Trial. Pharmacopsychiatry, 50(4), 152–160. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0042-116159

4. Saffron for post partum depression: Kashani, L., Esalatmanesh, S., Saedi, N., Niroomand, N., Ebrahimi, M., Hosseinian, M., Forooghifar, T., Salimi, S., & Akhondzadeh, S. (2016). Comparison of Saffron versus Fluoxetine in Treatment of Mild to Moderate Postpartum Depression: A Double-Blind, Randomized Clinical Trial. Pharmacopsychiatry, 50 https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0042-115306