Hey everyone,

While fortunately I have enough benzos, I do not want to abuse them or even use them that frequently because of rebound anxiety.

I've been researching compounds that help with anxiety and are **evidence-based (**mentioned in guidelines and literature) - Here's what I came up with

1. Pregabalin/Gabapentin - No brainer. Calcium channel blocker. Very helpful and often mentioned in guidelines
2. Buspirone - Supposedly they're as effective as benzos (didn't say what dose) after a few weeks. For me they even work after 1 hour. 5HT1a partial agonist to both presynaptic and postsynaptic
3. Hydroxizine - This one is a H1 Antagonist but for some reason it doesn't give me somnolence at 25mg (usual dose) and doesn't increase my appetite so...Nice
4. Propranolol - Great for physical anxiety - Beta blocker. Not a fan but it can work
5. Clonidine - Alpha-2 agonist. Lowers norepinephrine. In theory it should help but it only makes me more sedated and still anxious. Still, good to keep in mind.

Combining a few of them (pregaba, hydroxizine, buspirone) often in combination with supplements such as l-theanine works very well for me even when I have methylphenidate-induced anxiety.

NOTE: SSRIs are first-line for anxiety and they work very well. If I had severe anxiety I would definitely give them a try too. However because I don't like the sexual side effects, and there are some worries about emotional blunting, I prefer not to take them (although ironically enough, I AM taking Vortioxetine which is a ssri of sorts, but with no sexual dysfunction or emotional blunting - but it also does jack shit to anxiety)

Hope this helps