St. Johns Wort for anxiety

In the USA I have found major variability in the quality of the St. John's Wort and that the strength listed on the supplement is simply not to be believed. I have found that if the color of the supplement herb is a very dark green it works for me. But if the color is a lighter color it is completely ineffective for me. Unfortunately because it takes a week or so to take effect, you do not always notice that you have a bad batch until your mood has deteriorated.

i suspect that the major problem with the variability of St John's Wort is due to the common use of UV light to "standardize" the strength. If the herb is stronger than usual the manufacturer exposes the herb to UV light that breaks down some of the active portion of St John's Wort and that this is why the lighter colored versions are ineffective. I suspect that either the process goes further than the manufacture intended or that the breakdown products interfere with the action of the herb. I have had cases where one brand worked for quite a while and then later purchases drift lighter in color and become ineffective for me. The other possibility is that the manufacturer uses a different variety of plant - but I suspect the real problem is usually the standardization. There is also a slight difference in smell between the good and bad versions. When I buy capsules I always buy a version that uses clear capsules so I can see what I am getting. Unfortunately the bottle has to be dark to protect the contents from light.

My own history with depression has been that I started with St John's Wort at my doctor's reccomendation. I was having variable results until I notice what I shared with you about some batches being better. After doing that I had more predictable results. Unfortunately I went through some life issues that made things much worse and went onto a prescription antidepressant Celexa for several years along with psychological help. I changed my situation to get out of a bad marriage and moved on with my life. Years later I got off the antidepressant with some difficulty and went back on St John's  Wort and am at a much better place. I still find I have to be careful about the St John's Wort that I buy due to the issue I mentioned.

i learned from my psychologist that depression can have different symptoms. In some people, especially men, the underlying depression can turn you into a cranky a-hole mad at the world. In some people it makes you want to just hide under the covers and avoid the world. Or you can exhibit the full range of these symptoms at different times.

While depression and anxiety are not the same thing, I have found that depression can make you unusually anxious at times.

I hope this helps someone. Figuring out why some manufacturers worked and some didn't and why sometines a good brand stopped working for me was not easy. It takes a lot of self awareness to figure out what works for you and what doesn't. It also requires attention to details you might not connect at the time.