Reducing Anxiety

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*updated occasionally 
Originally published Feb 15, 2022

Yoga
52% reduction (study with anxious women)
(See drive other)

44% decrease in anxiety (46% reduction in depression) from Isha Kriya meditation 
Isha yoga seemed to help women's cycles
https://f1000research.com/posters/1089484 (need to find second study)

Regular exercise reduces anxiety risk by 42%
Svensson M, Brundin L, Erhardt S, Hållmarker U, James S, Deierborg T. Physical activity is associated with lower long-term incidence of anxiety in a population-based, large-scale study. Front Psychiatry.2021;12:714014. doi:3389/fpsyt.2021.714014.
(Also see drive other ski anxiety exercise)
Meta review
(Highly competitive sporting can increase anxiety in women though)

Probiotic yogurt (or even more effective the probiotic capsule) reduced stress anxiety and depression by the following amounts:
Conventional yogurt: 24% reduction in six weeks
Probiotic yogurt: 44% reduction
Probiotic capsule: 50% reduction
In this study, the probiotic yogurt contained two strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus LA5 and Bifidobacterium lactis BB12 with a total of min 1 × 107 CFU. The conventional yogurt contained the starter cultures of Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus. Both yogurts’ PH was in the range of 4.3–4.5 and their fat content was 2.5%. The multispecies probiotic capsule contained seven probiotic bacteria spices Actobacillus casei 3 × 103 , L. acidophilus 3 × 107, L. rhamnosus 7 × 109, L. bulgaricus 5 × 108, Bifidobacterium breve 2 × 1010, B. longum 1 × 109, S. thermophilus 3 × 108 CFU/g, and 100 mg fructo-oligosaccharide with lactose as carrier substances. 
(see drive other)

Fish oil supplementation (2.5 grams a day) led to a 20% reduction in anxiety but not depression. Was given to non-diagnosed medical students (likely a larger reduction in those with active anxiety)
(Also see drive other fish)

Maladaptive coping
Better coping strategies reduce anxiety
1 point worse coping equaled 1 point worse anxiety, depression, stress
Examples: Avoiding, Seeking distractions, Alcohol/drugs, Denial, Self blame
(see other folder) 
Low emotional intelligence was associated with a 2x risk for moderate to severe depression (24% vs 12% risk) and a 28% increase to moderate to severe anxiety (41.3% vs 29.8%). (Indian high school students: 68% girls, 38% guys)

Lifestyle
People with better lifestyles have lower anxiety
Friends, family, happiness with school, financial resources(?)
1 point worse lifestyle equaled 0.11, 0.36, 0.30 worse anxiety, depression, stress
(see drive anxiety in other folder)

Sauna (far infrared)
17% reduction
Non-anxious (fatigue syndrome)
(See drive other)

Forest bathing 34% reduction in anxiety, reduced confusion, reduced depression/frustration, reduced fatigue

Meditation 
15% to 20% reduction
Healthy subjects

Inositol (serotonin response molecule) 7X reduction in panic score (2.5x better than placebo) as good as benzodiazepines, except not addictive or hard to withdraw from (could pop some in an emergency)
(see drive)

Lavender
Slightly more effective than a benzodiazepine in a double blind study (see drive other) (could use in an emergency)

Sarcosine
Helps anxiety more than an antidepressant (and an antidepressant helps anxiety more than a benzodiazepine)
Help depression more too
Less side effects (but still some side effects)
(see drive other)

Passion flower
Increases GABA 
Just as effective as a benzodiazepine in a double blind study (see drive other)

Lemon balm tea helps increase GABA (like passion flower) and reducing or stops stress in 70% of people and helps sleep in 80%

Ginkgo biloba
40% reduction (19% placebo)
(See drive other)

Viome microbiome analysis with prescribed nutrients meal plan and probiotics
40% improvement in severe cases of anxiety 
15% moderate
18% mild

EFT (emotional freedom technique) helps 10%, or 40% in another study
(see drive other folder)

Brahmi
18% reduction
Healthy subjects
(See drive other)

James Greenblatt
Magnesium very important
Vitamin D (or Sunlight)
B3
Inositol

Gut bacteria Lactobacillus helveticus R0052 and Bifidobacterium longum R0175 led to 25% improvement in anxiety and depression when supplemented
(see drive other)

Progesterone bioavailable saliva test (a hormone that's often deficient that helps with stress, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, fatigue) 
Interesting that it's linked to zinc and b6 like pyrugulia in my schizophrenia article

Stress reduced 71% when ashwagandha supplemented, spearmint increased working memory and focus. Ashwagandha reduces cortisol. Does help anxiety too.

Helminth therapy helps
70% reduction in symptoms (small study though)

Post menopausal women with a high waist to hip ratio had 27% more anxiety (and also 27% more depression)
(See drive depression folder mercola)

Hops
13% reduction in anxiety
Non-alcoholic beer (333mL)
Time to fall asleep reduced by 41%
24% reduction in another study
14 days of beer (both studies)
Could be placebo
Alcohol before bed reduces sleep quality
(See drive other beer)

Night time light exposure is linked to mental illness (1.3x increased risk for depression in most exposed quartile vs. least exposed (1.27x self harm, 1.23x anxiety, 1.34x PTSD, 1.21x psychosis)) and daytime light exposure is preventative (0.81x risk of depression in most exposed quartile vs. least exposed (0.76x self harm, 0.82x PTSD, 0.69x psychosis, 0.96x anxiety (not statistically significant))
(also see drive mercola night time)

Multivitamin
May help 

You should be anxious if you are actually in a dangerous situation to keep yourself safe
-Take precautions
-Be situationally aware
-A constantly dangerous situation is not ideal, and seems unlikely unless you live in a more dangerous area (USA and Latin American do have dangerous areas, a couple Africa countries are dangerous (though homogeneous countries tend to be safer))
*Not my area of expertise
Scott Adams reframing technique might help with understanding that you are not being pathological you are just being vigilant, aware, and ready for a rare confrontation. (he did a video on reframing for anxiety (that I have not seen, but I've heard it was helpful)
Being drunk is the number one risk factor for sexual assault (82% of sexual assault victims were drunk when the assault occurred, 0.6% were drugged, 1.7% thought they might have been drugged, (some non-traditional date rape drugs might not have been included in the study (update: numbers likely generally accurate)). The perpetrator was also drinking in 97% of alcohol related assaults. (college students)
(Note: up to 25% (this number is too high (update)) of rapes may have occurred with a drug not usually associated with date rape drugs (cocaine, marijuana, morphine/heroin, benzodiazepines, amphetamines (like meth), ecstasy, (these drugs are often still very effective, often consumed with alcohol)) (alcohol 69%, marijuana in 18% and cocaine in 5%, date rape drugs GHB 3%, flunitrazepam in less than 1%) (lost good numbers, thought cocaine was more like 10%) (non-meta analysis; canadian medical association numbers (2009, 2001)) 
"Between June 2005 and March 2007, a total of 977 consecutive sexual assault victims underwent screening for suspected drugging at 7 hospital-based sexual assault treatment centres."
"In total, 882 victims were eligible for inclusion in the study. Of these, 855 (96.9%) were women, and 184 (20.9%) met the criteria for suspected drug-facilitated sexual assault."
Alcohol consumed immediately before in 88.3% of drug facilitated rape (62.5% had total amnesia as a result of the drugging), alcohol consumed in 58.6% in non-drug facilitated rape.
(not sure why the other studies didn't pick this up) (73.3% of the women were 29 or under, population wide sample (of the areas the 7 hospitals were located))
(Update: this is likely explained because only 2.7% to 36% of rapes are reported, due a number of reasons, whereas rapes that you feel were definitely inappropriate get reported at an extremely high rate (these rapes were reported at a hospital (46.4% of drug induced rapes sustained physical injuries, 36.6% of non-drug induced rapes sustained physical injuries) (should probably read the other studies methodology).
(another study had 50% of rapes occurring when atleast somewhat drunk (50% were also done by someone who was drinking) (usa overall, and college students)) (81% of the time both parties were drinking (college students)), with 50% of all violent crimes being committed whilst drinking (usa overall))
"74% of the perpetrators and 55% of the victims of rape in her nationally representative sample of college students had been drinking alcohol"
"Two thirds of male perpetrators had committed multiple sexual assaults" (college students)
"Both men and women agree that there are circumstances that make forced sex acceptable. For example, McAuslan et al. (1998) asked college students to indicate the extent to which it was acceptable for a man to verbally pressure or force a date to have sexual intercourse. More than half the men thought verbal pressure was acceptable if she kissed him, if they had dated a long time or if he felt she had led him on. More than 20% thought verbal pressure was acceptable if either of them was drinking alcohol or if they met at a bar. Force was viewed as less acceptable than verbal pressure, although 17% of men accepted force as a strategy under some circumstances. Overall, fewer women than men perceived pressure or force as acceptable, although the rank ordering of circumstances was comparable for both genders. Malamuth (1989) asked college men how likely it was that they would rape a woman if they were certain that there would be no negative consequences. On average, one-third of college men indicated that they would be at least somewhat likely to rape a woman if they could be certain they would not be caught."
"Common rape supportive attitudes include the following: women say “no” when they mean “yes”; women who dress provocatively, drink alcohol, or go someplace alone with a man are asking to be raped; women can resist a rape if they try; women falsely accuse men of rape; and a husband cannot rape his wife."
"The legal threshold for rape used to require physical resistance by the victim. Today, it means sex without "consent" and doesn't require any force to be considered rape."
"Eighty-four percent of the women knew their assailant; 57% were dates." (college students)
"74% of the women had engaged in consensual kissing or another form of sexual contact prior to the forced sex" (college students)
"Unfortunately, if the woman is not direct and forceful about her lack of interest in sex, her companion is likely to perceive her behavior as flirtation or coyness, rather than as a refusal. Even a direct “no” is often interpreted as “try later” (Byers and Wilson, 1985); thus repeated, direct refusals are often needed for a woman to make her intentions clear to a persistent man. As the longer a man continues to believe that consensual sex will occur, the more likely it is that he will feel justified forcing sex because he feels that he has been led on (McAuslan et al., 1998; Muehlenhard and Linton, 1987)."
In 90.7% of rapes the women tried to resist (verbally, or physically, or both) (college students (1985)) 
44.44% of attempted rapes fail (female population (USA, 2022))
"Only 14% of these rapes were committed by a stranger; 76% were committed by a spouse or date" (population wide sample)
13% of women have been the victims of rape during their lifetime (78% to 90% knew their assailant)
Rape costs the US economy 59 billion a year, sexual assault 18 billion, assault 78 billion (45% more common than rape), homicide 52 billion, (tangible costs, non-tangible damages are much higher) (19,510 homicides committed, 4,938,892 rapes, 3,856,756 sexual assaults, 8,909,594 assaults, (2017 numbers))
Rape increases poor health outcomes in women (1.70x more ulcers), increased substance abuse (2.05x more smoking), 17% more depression 24 months later, 2.13x more PTSD 24 months later
17.3% of reported rapes resulted in an arrest, 22.2% of sexual assaults (not involving rape), 36.5% of assaults, 70.6% of murders resulted in an arrest
91% of murders were considered solved in 1965 in the usa, this declined to 54% by 2022 (FBI data)
98.2% of homicides were considered solved in finland, 77.1% in the netherlands, 82.6 sweden, 95% switzerland, 72% uk, 91.2% germany, 77.9% canada, 79.4% russia, 22% brazil, 2% in mexico, no data africa (?), little data asia (?) (english data?) (potentially: 50-60% india, 90+% japan china, low in nigeria, low in Indonesia)
The USA homocide rate is 12.8x greater than china, but 3.33x safer than brazil, 4.08 safer than mexico, 1.34x safer than ethiopia, 3.39x safer than nigeria, rwanda is 1.77x safer compared to the usa, kenya is 1.30x safer, saudi arabia is 8.00x safer, uk is 6.4x safer, canada is 2.78x safer, italy is 12.8x safer, india is 2.21x safer.
Women are 10x more likely to be raped, 5.51x less likely to be murdered, lesbians 25% less likely to be raped overall, bisexual women 2.65x more likely than heterosexual women, 27.9% of gay men were raped compared to 2% of heterosexual men, lesbian women had more abusive partners generally: more likely to be raped (29% more) physically assaulted (20% more) emotionally abused or stalked by an intimate partner, (bisexual women 1.86x more likely to be abused than lesbians), bisexual men more abused (22% more rape violence stalking, 7% more emotional abuse), gay men 10% less rape violence stalking (23% more phycological abuse), (USA data)
Gender and sexual minorities were 6.33x more likely to be a victim of a violent crime (7.35x relative, 6.75x intimate partner, 2.57x stranger) 4.09x more likely to be injured, 10.08x more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted, 2.16x more household property stolen, (USA data)
"According to a report conducted by the University of Pennsylvania, anywhere from 100,000 up to 300,000 American children at any given time may be at risk of exploitation due to factors such as drug use, homelessness, or other factors connected with increased risk for commercial sexual exploitation."
"According to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report, over 300,000 of America’s young population is considered at risk for sexual exploitation. It’s also estimated that 199,000 incidents occur within the U.S. each year."
"According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, there were over 8,000 reported cases of human trafficking in the United States in 2020, with the majority being sex trafficking cases."
"“We're also driving the demand with our own people, with our own kids,” Geoff Rogers, co-founder of the United States Institute Against Human Trafficking, said. “So there are tremendous numbers of kids, a multitude of kids that are being sold as sex slaves today in America. These are American kids, American-born, 50 percent to 60 percent of them coming out of the foster care industry.”"
"The International Labor Organization estimates that the global profits from sexual exploitation are around $99 billion annually, with the United States being one of the largest consumers of commercial sex."
"In 2003, the State Department report estimated that a total of 18,000 to 20,000 individuals were trafficked into the United States for either forced labor or sexual exploitation."
"While Wilkett and other law enforcement officers focus on arrests and sting operations, leaders in the nonprofit realm take a more holistic approach to healing survivors. Brook Bello, the founder of anti-trafficking organization More Too Life in Florida, focuses on helping develop skills to lead a successful post-trafficking life.
“We work with victims that are 3 years old and up,” Bello said. “The average victim that we work with, that’s over 18, started being raped at three. Trafficking in America, if you are trafficked in the United States, 85 percent of victims that are trafficked here are from here.”"
"A report from the Human Rights Project for Girls, Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality and Ms. Foundation for Women supports that finding. Titled “The Sexual Abuse to Prison Pipeline,” the report found that girls who grow up in the instability of the child welfare system, particularly those placed in multiple homes, are “vulnerable to the manipulation of traffickers who promise to love and care for them. Indeed, some traffickers purposely troll for youth in certain group homes because they are aware of this vulnerability.”"
"In 2018, the DOJ began 230 federal human trafficking prosecutions, a drop from 282 in 2017. Federal convictions rose from 499 in 2017 to 526 in 2018. More than 70 percent of the cases resulted in jail sentences of more than five years, according to the State Department report."
"Of those who entered sex work under the age of 18, 67.9% started to get drugs, 39.6% to get basic necessities such as food or housing, 28.3% entered to get extra spending money, 18.9% entered to support their family, 9.4% entered to pay off debt, 9.4% saw no other job opportunities, 7.5% to support their regular partner, 1.9% for pleasure, (3.8% other). In the previous 3 months (at mean age 35 [range 18 to 61]): 70.8% used street opioids (heroin), 30% used prescription opioids, 80% used cocaine, 35% binge drank, 33% used benzodiazepines. Overall, 62.4% of the women reporting being homeless within the last 3 months and 61.2% reported going hungry over the same period. 83% had been arrested before. Of significance, 20.8% of those aged < 18 years at entry reported being either coerced, threatened, pressured, misled, tricked, or physically forced into trading sex compared to 4.6% in those who entered at an older age group. The mean age of entry into the sex trade was 24.7. The most common reasons for current sex work (mean age 35) were to get drugs (86.0%), to get food (53.6%), and to get a place to stay (36.4%). (66% were white, 23% black, 11% hispanic)." (survey of 250 cisgender women involved in street-based sex work in Baltimore City, Maryland, USA. (2017))
--this is an incomplete analysis of human trafficking--
(A number of missing persons reports have an unknown outcome. 26 women, 28 men, 12 girls/teens, 6 boys/teens, were known to be abducted by a non-relative (2021, canada). 22 women, 0 men, 25 girls/teens, 2 boys/teens, were classified as being trafficked. With 20,000 adults and 6,000 youth being classified as unknown for their reason for missing (potentially a catch all term) in the police reporting database. A portion of these could have been found (the data I was looking at didn't make this clear). There were 796 homicides in canada (2021)) (haven't looked up what percent of missing people might be dead, haven't looked up what percent might have been trafficked (likely a small number), some may be estranged mentally ill homeless fugitives debtors suicides (some may have been declared found), 33 adults and 4 children/youth were classified as presumed dead in the database. 56% of adult missing persons were males, 59% of missing youth were females, 72% of missing young people were runaways (92% were found within a week) (runaway youth often have a higher risk of being exploited))



Master list:

Eating ultra processed food leads to worse mental health

Getting a pet (couldn't find a good study to back this up)

Lions mane?

40% of young women have anxiety

adjust environment to better cope

Lsd can reduce anxiety (dont recommend though)


Benzodiazepines
3% less effective than antidepressants (but more effective short term)
Not for long term use (more than two weeks (else will have symptomatic withdrawal))
Addictive
Increased risk of death (1.04x to 1.23x to 1.74x for low to moderate to high exposure)
Long list of side effects
Long list of withdrawal symptoms
Ashton manual for withdrawal tips
90% withdraw successfully
50%(?) may have zero withdrawal symptoms 
Benzo withdrawal may be reduced if agmatine sulfate is supplemented (tested on rats though)
Agmatine sulfate may also help generally with anxiety (tested in rats and mice)
Supplementing GABA may have the same general effect as a benzodiazepine while being non-addictive, less side effects (hits system in 1 hour?)
Taking benzodiazepines leads to a 69% increased risk of miscarriage

Antidepressants
20 to 25% effective (35% in another study)(CGI-S) 46% (HAM-A) (7% better than placebo)
Don’t recommend
Slightly more effective than a benzo
70% improved moderate to high vs. 66% benzo vs. 47% placebo
NNT (number needed to treat (to cure one patient)) 5.15 (moderate to low effectiveness)
Low dose natural lithium may help balance an unbalanced mood (NOT when pregnant or breastfeeding though)
For tapering antidepressants see HERE:

Anxiety disorders currently cost the US economy 0.64% of total GDP (2023)




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