Those who suffer from anxiety

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Posted by MrsG

I have xanax prescribed to me, but I try only to use it for panic attacks, and only at home when I can sleep it off.

Lately the attacks have been more frequent.

A stiff drink helps me, but I am not recommending alcoholism.

Stay away from things like coffee or medication that makes you hyper. Remove yourself from situations that cause the bad, frustrating types of stress. Learn not to pick up the cell phone.

My cell phone triggers it. When i hear the text message alert, I want to throw myself out a closed window. I blame one of my bridesmaids and my best friend for that.

Be honest with the people around you about how much crap you can take right now; you will need them to lay off you in the coming months/weeks/days.

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My sis and I were just discussing this last night. I have learned what triggers my anxiety and I avoid it at ALL COSTS. I am also very very vocal to my loved ones especially about how hard it can be for me, For the most part they are very supportive. I would like to one day live anxiety free. Perhaps when a lobotomy is less invasive I will try it!

i try to concentrate on my breathing and relax my entire body - even though it feels like my heart is racing and i can't breathe i have to tell myself over and over in my head to relax, and that its 'all in my head' and that 'i can control this' sometimes when i have bad panic i cant close my eyes because it makes me feel worse - like almost nauseous - but i try to lay down and relax if its possible - i used to get panic attacks at work, while driving, etc. and they would come out of nowhere and i wouldnt really know what i was nervous about - i felt like a lunatic and went on medication (lexapro and xanax) - that year i took an amazing class on meditation/stress/the affects on the body and i learned some techniques and learned how to meditate....i stopped taking meds because they made me get chubby and they numbed me - so used what i learned and have been fine - every once in awhile i need the occasional xanax but i hate taking medication so i try to avoid it....now my anxiety/panics really only happen when im trying to relax and i realize where they come from - because im thinking of something that makes me nervous - they used to come out of nowhere - now i know why i have them - its because i have these (usually ridiculous) thoughts about running out of money, getting into an accident, something bad happening to FH or my family, something happening to the dog, running into somene i dont want to see, etc etc - but that makes them easier to control because i can tell myself that whatever it is i am thinking about its not going to happen and its all in my head.....
good luck!!

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Posted by Songstress

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Posted by MrsG

I have xanax prescribed to me, but I try only to use it for panic attacks, and only at home when I can sleep it off.

Lately the attacks have been more frequent.

A stiff drink helps me, but I am not recommending alcoholism.

Stay away from things like coffee or medication that makes you hyper. Remove yourself from situations that cause the bad, frustrating types of stress. Learn not to pick up the cell phone.

My cell phone triggers it. When i hear the text message alert, I want to throw myself out a closed window. I blame one of my bridesmaids and my best friend for that.

Be honest with the people around you about how much crap you can take right now; you will need them to lay off you in the coming months/weeks/days.

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I have been keeping away from coffee since it makes me so jittery. But I have been enjoying a stiff drink way too much lately and in that case I might as well go on meds lol.

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yeah youre supposed to stay away from caffeineon alot of meds, the meds wont do what theyre supposed to and thats what will make things worse

i cant drink coffee for me thats the worst - i do drink soda and tea and eat chocolate - i thought all those things had more caffeine in them than coffee - it might be b/c i overload my coffee with sugar/sweetners or it could all be in my head (which is more than likely) in any case i stay away from coffee....

and alcohol def helps - its so bad, but it relaxes me - i used to drink wine everynight but i cut myself off real quick b/c it was getting to be an every day thing....when we go to really crowded places like games, concerts, clubs, bars, i always have to get a buzz going or else i cant deal but its ok since we hardly go out hahahahaha

I've pretty much cut out all caffiene except for chocolate.

My anxiety got to me so bad 2 years ago that I literally developed stomach issues and the onset of panic attacks. So basically that's when i stopped anything caffinated

The answer to all of this is BIO FEEDBACK. It is a program you would see a doctor for and you will learn how to breathe. Once you learn the technique, there is no reason to have another anxiety or panic attack ever again. I had a panic attack, started this program, and I almost had another but I was able to use what I learned and I haven't had another episode since then.

Medications are only temporary and you don't want a temporary fix, you want to say good bye to it forever.

Like other women said before me, caffeine is a no-no...drink decaf.

Also, once you find out what the reason is for the anxiety to come on, take yourself out of it and do not put yourself there again. Everyone's reasoning for it is different, so I am generally speaking when I say to take yourself out of it.

If you work or live in the city and are interested in Bio Feedback, call Dr. Caroline Boutin. Here is her website. She works out of Yaffee, Ruden and Associates.
http://www.yafferuden.com/html/biofeedback.html

If you do not work or live in the city, see if your doctor can recommend Bio Feedback doctor to you. Any good doctor will reccomend this program to you....or maybe they are not knowledgeable about it.

I don't have anything to treat it..I try to sike myself out at times...other times I get really sick...

Leaaaaaaaaaa...........................

i find that when i am anxious, it helps to exercise or to basically just get up and do something physical-clean the house, start a project ect...at night benadryl sometimes helps enough to calm down to sleep. i find alcohol can help or sometimes can make it much more worse.

I've done the whole therapy thing, and that didn't help me much at all. I was on Zoloft for about a year, and it helped... but I gained 15-20 pounds. So as soon as I felt my anxiety was under control I weaned myself off of it. I was fine for a year, but now with the wedding getting closer and everything else going on in my life... finishing up school, graduation, working part time, finding a job for after school, finding out where FH is doing his residency and knowing where we're going to live, moving, taking the board exams... I'm getting bad again. I don't really want to take another SSRI at risk of gaining weight before the wedding. I don't know if I should try out Xanax, or just try to deal with it for now and hope I'll get better though after everything is done... the only thing that works for me now is if I can cry myself to sleep when I get really panicy.

I have very bad anxiety too...

I tried to see someone at student health in college and it didn't help a drop.

I find that being in absolute silence helps me block out my anxiety and also helps me block out pain (my appendix ruptured ~ 5 years ago and this was how I managed to deal with the pain). However, when I'm feeling anxious music makes it much much worse so it's a double-edged sword.

I am also a nail biter but have been trying very hard to quit. I've gone over a week now

I try to avoid the situations that stress me out (one is driving) but i'm ok with driving to/from school and other places i frequently go to. I have a GPS that plugs into my car which also helps with my anxiety about getting lost, and my anxiety about being late (it displays an estimated arrival time).

I really wish that exercise could become my new habit, especially since I hear it's good for stress + endorphins but that has not happened yet and i don tknow if it ever will

My friend tried the meds & gained weight from it also.

I obsess quite a lot. But I have started to listen to self meditation to go to sleep.

I went through a couple. Now I can't go to sleep without them. I guess the soft drowning on of someone saying positve thoughts helps direct my nighttime thoughts.

I am listening to the The Secret Universal Mind Meditation now for a few months. It helps. I can get anxious if left to my own thoughts.

Aww hon we are here for you