If you want to stay with natural stuff, I agree with most other posts here. If you've had bad experiences with pot, it's probably best not to push it. I have had, too. If you go with something like St. John's wort, I would definitely get it from a place that has knowledgible herbalists. Apparently, a lot of the Sy. John's wort on the market is pretty much useless. I tried it before giving in to meds, but for depression, which is what it's best known for. I think, but I'm not sure, that I used Traditional Medicinals brand. Anyway, it did help some. Also, again really for depression, there's something called 5-HTP which is supposed to work well. A worf of warning, though. If you use any natural remedies and then end up giving in to allopathic meds, give yourself at least a day in betwee, stopping the herbals and starting the meds, because they can interact in unpleasant ways, as I found out!

I really wish you luck--it would be great if you can do this naturally. Also, as someone mentioned, meditation really helps. Be patient with yourself; meditation uses the brain in unfamiliar ways, and it's kind of like strengthening new mental muscles. It might be really hard to focis at first, but gradually, it will get easier. A good way to start is simply to concentrate on your breathing. Try to breathe so that your stomache rises, but not your chest and count 33 breaths before stopping. This is really relaxing for me. Also, yoga would probably help a lot.

And if, in the end, you need to do the meds, don't feel like you've failed or something. There is only so much control we can have over our brain chemistry and we can't help that. I have found that allopathic (Western medicine) meds are the only thing that will really work to decrease my anxiety.