In this blog, we are going to describe some of the best vitamins for people suffering from anxiety and panic attacks. First, we will understand how vitamins can help with these mental health issues. Then, we will take a closer look at these vitamins and supplements.

What are the Best Vitamins for Anxiety and Panic Attacks?

Here is a quick list of some of the best vitamins you can take if you suffer from anxiety and panic attacks:

How can Vitamins Help Anxiety and Panic Attacks?

Both anxiety and panic disorders have a physiological aspect to them. They are caused by hyperactivity of the autonomic nervous system caused by excessive stress, fear, or trauma.

While most treatments target either cognitions, behaviour, or pharmacotherapy, there are other natural ways as well that can help control symptom manifestation. Taking vitamins through diet is one such way.

You can either get these vitamins from consuming food sources rich in them. But if that is not an option for you, you can always take them in the form of supplements.

16 Best Vitamins for Anxiety and Panic Attacks

In this section, we’re going to describe 16 of the best vitamins you can take to help manage anxiety or panic attacks.

Vitamin B12

According to research, a Vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to various psychiatric manifestations. Those related to anxiety and stress include slow cerebration, confusion, and memory changes.

Adding Cobalamin, the other name for this vitamin, to your diet can help you overcome these issues. These sublingual drops from the Mt. Angel Vitamins Store are vegan, gluten-free, and non-GMO.

Vitamin B6

Vitamin B6 is one of the essential nutrients for a healthy diet. It aids the body in using and storing energy from protein and carbohydrates in food. This nutrient can be taken through fish, offal, potatoes, and vegetables high in starch content.

Due to dietary restrictions, some people prefer taking supplements for it. The Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research Vitamin B6 supplement significantly reduced the severity of anxiety in premenstrual syndrome.

Vitamin E

Taking medication for anxiety and panic attacks tends to lower the levels of Vitamin E in your system. This can cause nerve and muscle damage that results in loss of feeling in the arms and legs, loss of body movement control, muscle weakness, and vision problems.

Therefore, it makes sense to include this dietary supplement in your daily nutrition if you are under long-term pharmacotherapy for anxiety and panic attacks. These soft gels from Nature Made come in a pack of 300.

Vitamin C

Experts have established an association between vitamin C deficiency and symptoms of depression and anxiety. This implies that dietary supplementation of vitamin C can be preventive for such disorders.

It should also be included in the treatment of major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and depression as a comorbidity of anxiety. Vitamin C can be extracted from citrus fruits or cornstarch. Vitamin C derived from gooseberries is preferred more by customers.

Vitamin B5

Chronic anxiety and frequent panic attacks are often a sign of adrenal distress. This happens because your autonomic nervous system is under constant pressure to produce stress hormones to help you deal with your triggers.

Taking adequate doses of Vitamin B5 helps support your bodily systems and undo this damage. Now Supplements offers a convenient bottle of a hundred capsules of Vitamin B5 or pantothenic acid.

Vitamin B9

Folic acid, or Vitamin B9, is involved in an important chemical reaction in the body that produces the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) enzyme. Polymorphisms of this enzyme have clear links to mood, anxiety and personality disorders.

Hence, it makes sense to inculcate Folic Acid into your daily diet to increase the likelihood of good mental health. Nutricost has a highly-reviewed bottle of 240 capsules containing Folic Acid.

Vitamin D

A 2007 study showed that a common denominator in many individuals dealing with depression and anxiety is Vitamin D Deficiency. This inquiry was done on fibromyalgia patients; a condition also associated with the same deficiency. This finding was further confirmed by a more expansive study in 2015.

The first resource took a much more specific subject group. The latter, however, is an inquiry primarily into anxiety rather than it being comorbidity. Since this study was more generalisable, it is now confidently said that Vitamin D supplements will have an improving effect on anxiety.

Vitamin B1

Vitamin B1 is called thiamine and is found in peas, nuts, bananas, oranges, and cereals. Scientists observed a significantly lower risk of PMS in women, including symptoms of anxiety, with high intakes of thiamine and from food sources only.

If you can’t access these benefits from the foods mentioned because of allergies or other reasons, try supplements. Herb Science supplies Vitamin B1 in the form of a liquid drop that you can add to your food and drink.

Vitamin B2

Vitamin B2 is called riboflavin and is derived from eggs, liver, asparagus, broccoli, and cereals. If you suffer from sleep-related panic, adding Vitamin B2 to your diet can be of help.

Moreover, in combination with Vitamin B1, riboflavin can help prevent symptoms of anxiety and physical manifestations. This bottle of 120 capsules from Nutricost in gluten-free and non-GMO.

Iron

Iron is essential in the production of haemoglobin, a protein that allows red blood cells to carry oxygen to your tissues and muscles. So when you have low levels of iron, less oxygen gets to your cells, keeping them from functioning properly. This often leads to fatigue, weakness, and even anxiety and panic attacks.

Naturelo’s gentle vegan iron supplement contains iron with Vitamin C. It also contains acerola cherries, beet, spinach, kale, swiss chard, and pumpkin seed. Increase your energy and decrease your fatigue without nausea or constipation, using this supplement.

Theanine

Theanine is an amino acid primarily found in plant or fungal species. It is commonly consumed as a component of green tea and has been used historically as a relaxing agent. Lu et al (2004) compared the effect of theanine and Alprazolam on anxiety states in 16 healthy adults.

Alprazolam is a psychiatric drug prescribed for anxiety and panic disorders. The experiment revealed that there was no difference in the influence of the drug or theanine. Theanine supplements are a viable option for anxiety relief if pharmacotherapy is not your cup of tea.

Melatonin

When you suffer from anxiety and panic attacks, it’s very common to experience sleep disturbances. You might have difficulty falling asleep, broken sleep, nightmares, or early awakening.

Melatonin is a hormone primarily released by the pineal gland at night, and has long been associated with control of the sleep–wake cycle. Taking Melatonin in the form of dietary supplements can improve your sleep if affected by anxiety.

Omega 3

Omega-3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fats that play an important role in the human diet. These are exceptionally good for health as mammals cannot produce them on their own. We extract this supplement from fish oil, walnuts, and flax seeds.

Omega-3 has health benefits for conditions like cancer, heart disease, inflammation, mental health, and ageing. Kiecolt-Glaser et al demonstrated that Omega-3 reduced up to 20% of anxiety symptoms in subjects.

Probiotics

Probiotics are live microorganisms consumed to restore the balance of good bacteria in our digestive system. These products are marketed to have health benefits related to immunity and digestion.

A meta-analysis done in 2018 concluded that there is evidence of probiotics alleviating anxiety but it is not enough. The report states that more reliable evidence can be developed using clinical trials.

Zinc

Panic Disorder is associated with a lower concentration of zinc in peripheral blood. A zinc deficiency may make one susceptible to anxiety and the occurrence of it may lead to zinc depletion.

As a method of prevention and treatment, zinc supplements are important for recovery from such disorders. Considering that it mental health issues like anxiety lower our ability to function, it makes sense to advocate the use of zinc in our diets.

Glutathione

This 2013 study reveals that panic disorder patients have considerably lower levels of antioxidant vitamins and glutathione than the healthy control subjects. Glutathione is essentially an antioxidant capable of preventing damage to important cellular components.

This jar of 60 500gm capsules from Amazon Elements is ideal for a two-month supply of Glutathione. It can help you lower the frequency and intensity of anxiety and panic attacks.

Magnesium

Magnesium-containing supplements and other herbal combinations may hold promise, but more research is needed before these products can be recommended to patients. Studies show herbal supplements with Magnesium show potential to be good anxiety relievers.

Sundown’s Magnesium pills are vegetarian, non-GMO, gluten-free, and dairy-free. These are excellent to manage your nutrition levels when your regular diet is incapable of providing you with adequate amounts of Magnesium.

Conclusion

In this blog, we described some of the best vitamins for people suffering from anxiety and panic attacks. First, we understood how vitamins can help with these mental health issues. Then, we took a closer look at these vitamins and supplements.

The vitamins included in our list were Vitamin B12, Vitamin B6, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B9, Vitamin D, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Iron, Theanine, Melatonin, Omega 3, Probiotics, Zinc, Glutathione, and Magnesium.

FAQs (Best Vitamins for Anxiety and Panic Attacks)

How do you know you’re having a panic attack?

If you’re experiencing any of the following, it’s likely that you’re suffering from a panic attack:

Trembling or shaking
Sweating
Sense of coming danger
Fear of death
Difficulty breathing
Chest pains
Palpitations
Chills or hot flashes

What calms anxiety naturally?

Anxiety can be calmed naturally either using a cognitive approach, a body-based approach, aromatherapy, or through natural supplements. The cognitive approach entails challenging negative thoughts and identifying patterns in them.

In a body-based approach, one focuses on reducing cortisol levels and increasing relaxation to come out of ‘fight-or-flight’. Aromatherapy uses the fragrance of certain essential oils known to calm and induce sleep. Finally, natural supplements can help in similar ways by changing our biochemistry.

How can I calm my anxiety fast?

The fastest way to calm anxiety is to make sure that each and every muscle in the body is being relaxed. When the muscles are tense, it is almost impossible to control anxious thoughts. A relaxed body signals to the brain that it need not feel threatened. This activates the parasympathetic nervous system and thus restores our ability to regulate thoughts.

References

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Best Vitamins for Anxiety and Panic Attacks (15+ List)