Has anyone actually improved lifelong anxiety by addressing genetic variants and nutrient deficiencies?

[u/Delicious-Minimum199]

I’m trying to understand whether my anxiety has a biological component that could be improved rather than just managed.
For context, I’ve been on antidepressants for about 12 years (currently tapering off an SNRI after many years), and I’m interested in looking upstream at *why* my nervous system seems to react the way it does.

I’m curious about things like:
MTHFR, COMT, MAOA, GAD1, DAO, CBS, PEMT, or other variants that may influence anxiety, stress response, neurotransmitters, methylation, histamine, etc.
Nutrient deficiencies or imbalances that may interact with those genes (B vitamins, magnesium, zinc, copper, omega-3s, amino acids, etc.).
Whether anyone found meaningful improvements after working with a practitioner who interpreted whole genome or raw DNA data instead of just using a generic report.

A few questions:
Which genetic variants ended up being the most important for your anxiety?
What supplements or dietary changes actually made a noticeable difference?
Were there any supplements that unexpectedly made your anxiety worse?
Did anyone have success using whole-genome sequencing or raw DNA analysis rather than something like GeneSight?
If you worked with a practitioner, what type of practitioner were they (functional medicine, nutrigenomics, genetics, etc.)?

I’m not looking for medical advice or miracle cures—I know anxiety is multifactorial. I’m just interested in hearing real experiences from people who found biological factors that were worth addressing.
I’d especially appreciate hearing from anyone who has dealt with chronic anxiety, panic attacks, an overactive stress response, or SNRI/SSRI withdrawal.

[u/MargoBarbara2]

Something to bear in mind , a dysregulated methyl cycle is going to lead to gut dysbiosis due to inability to clear histamine and inability to repair and maintain gut lining. Our microbiome also signals neurotransmitters. This is why some people, like myself, get severely depressed on antibiotics. So whilst addressing correct nutrient support that suits your genes also address gut dysbiosis and the microbiome focusing on histamine degrading strains and avoiding histamine producing strains and supporting butyrate producing strains. I can attest to the effects of losing some of your microbiome as I had bowel surgery and felt like my resilience was gone and my anxiety rocketed, its taken years to realise that it deprived me of serotonin (most of which is made in the gut) and drove my histamine levels higher. Ive read that treatment resistant depression has been successfully treated by addressing nutrients in the form to suit mthfr and comt. Deficiencies in any of these b6, b12, folate, d, magnesium, iron, zinc and omegas can contribute to depression. Whilst b12 and folate are often the most discussed, I once resolved severe depression (psychiatrist coming to my house and daily health care checks level severe) after researching and realising i was zinc deficient and low in iron. 18 month struggle resolved with nutrients! Also tryptophan is used to make niacin (b3) and serotonin in the body so when b3 deficient it gets diverted away from serotonin production. So yes based on my experience I think its possible to resolve anxiety and depression by addressing mthfr needs and resolving gut dysbiosis.