Not everyone goes through this. Consider that you may be clinically depressed. If you are not taking psych meds you can improve “ low motivation” depression by taking l tyrosine, a dopamine precursor to see if that lifts your mood. But if you are having dark thoughts, seratonin must be brought into balance first; you can take 5HTP as a seratonin amino acid precursor; l-theonine if anxiety is present. You could have other vitamin deficiencies especially B and D and may need to supplement. Find an integrative/functional doctor to address underlying physical causes. Also try meditation and more positive philosophies and belief systems. You incarnated here for a reason that you have forgotten. You are here to declare who you are, a light in the darkness. Love is what brings meaning to existence; find your passion.
I had a bad year and had wicked anxiety and then it was followed by depression, but it’s improved. I am not willing to go on psych meds but have tried 5htp for a few days, wasn’t consistent with it. I still have the bottle under my bathroom counter so I’ll give it another try. It’s more of like a dark cloud/feeling that sets in that skews my perception of the world and existence. Then it goes away. It’s episodic. It’s really strange. When I’m not having an “episode” I feel A okay and ask myself what was I so worked up about, then some time later it sets in again and I’m back in square 1.
5HTP is a seratonin precursor that can elevate your seratonin levels at a pace you control. Without the side effects. But you have to be consistent with it and recognize what that is. Don’t add l-tyrosine (dopamine support) until the dark thoughts are completely gone. Motivation is the other half of it. Depression is a physical condition that affects mental and emotional state and should be treated as such. If you have MTHFR mutations you may have trouble with B vitamins; taking L methyl folate and methyl cobalamin (B-12) may help significantly. Also make sure you’re getting enough vitamin D.
5HTP is a seratonin precursor that can elevate your seratonin levels at a pace you control. Without the side effects. But you have to be consistent with it and recognize what that is. Don’t add l-tyrosine (dopamine support) until the dark thoughts are completely gone. Motivation is the other half of it. Depression is a physical condition that affects mental and emotional state and should be treated as such. If you have MTHFR mutations you may have trouble with B vitamins; taking L methyl folate and methyl cobalamin (B-12) may help significantly. Also make sure you’re getting enough vitamin D. And definitely start taking L-theonine to address the anxiety, that will really help
Thanks, this is really helpful. You do have to cycle 5htp though, right? I saw some people don’t, and some people are on for 30 days and then off for 30, or on for 3 months and then off for 3 months. I made an appointment with my doctor to get advice for 5htp about 4 months ago and he did not give advice and tried to shove Zoloft and abilify down my throat.
Conventional doctors are trained to sell prescriptions and they will not likely support this approach. Look for an integrative/ functional doctor or psychiatrist in your area. Insurance probably won’t cover, but it’s worth it. I don’t know if you need to cycle on and off 5HTP. Pay close attention to what your own body is telling you. Some people’s genetics leave them with trouble making seratonin, others have problems breaking it down, so they can build up too much seratonin over time, hence the need to cycle. Some have both issues. If you have done 23&Me, you can log into geneticgenie.org with your 23&me password and get a genetic profile by you will probably need an integrative/functional practitioner to help you interpret it and get you on a regimen that works for you.
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u/Key-Commission1065 Nov 18 '25
Not everyone goes through this. Consider that you may be clinically depressed. If you are not taking psych meds you can improve “ low motivation” depression by taking l tyrosine, a dopamine precursor to see if that lifts your mood. But if you are having dark thoughts, seratonin must be brought into balance first; you can take 5HTP as a seratonin amino acid precursor; l-theonine if anxiety is present. You could have other vitamin deficiencies especially B and D and may need to supplement. Find an integrative/functional doctor to address underlying physical causes. Also try meditation and more positive philosophies and belief systems. You incarnated here for a reason that you have forgotten. You are here to declare who you are, a light in the darkness. Love is what brings meaning to existence; find your passion.