Taking benadryl for anxiety

[sunflower232425]

Hello Everyone,

I am new to this forum, but I am a long time anxiety sufferer. Over the past month I have been taking benadryl or diphenhydramine to relieve my anxiety symptoms at night and to relax me before bed. I have never taken anxiety medication before and I honestly don't desire to, but has anyone taken benadryl and anxiety medication before at one point in time? I am asking because I want to know how similar and how different anxiety medication would make me feel in comparison to the 50mg of benadryl I self-prescribe myself every night. When I take benadryl I worry less, i'm more relaxed, and less anxious. Benadryl makes me feel like i'm on a oxytocin high a little bit. Is that what anxiety meds do?

[MainerMikeBrown]

I'm now only on one psychiatric medication, a drug called Clozaril. It doesn't make me feel high. But it does help make me feel emotionally balanced. It helps me with my bi-polar disorder. And it really helps keep me calm all day and all night.

[Two One]

I find it interesting that you made this post. When my anxiety was at its worst during the first half of 2014 I strongly considered trying to self-medicate with Benadryl. It's the only medication available over the counter that's considered "sedating". If it makes you less anxious that's great. However, speaking from a scientific perspective, Benadryl doesn't actually do much to relieve anxiety. Benadryl (diphenhydramine) is an inverse agonist of histamine. There are some studies that suggest histamine may be one of the neurotransmitters involved in anxiety disorders but definitely nothing conclusive. It has also been shown inhibit the reuptake of serotonin, though. Which is what SSRIs do and they are generally the first line pharmaceutical treatment for anxiety disorders. So I can see how it's possible to experience some benefit from taking Benadryl.

Anxiety medication on the other hand, mostly benzodiazepines, enhance the effect of the neurotransmitter GABA. GABA is the chief inhibitory neurotransmitter in our brain. It is responsible for reducing CNS excitation and producing a sense of calm and aids in sleep. Speaking from experience, benzodiazepines definitely do not produce a similar effect to Benadryl. I've taken Benadryl for allergic skin reactions, and it didn't do much for me in the way of my anxiety. It didn't make me very drowsy either. But that's just me, like I said, if Benadryl eases your anxiety that's great.

[sunflower232425]

Thank you for the thorough overview of the similarities and differences of anxiety medication versus benadryl. That cleared up alot for me.