Coping With Anxiety - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information

Lukey · 11-28-2004, 04:16 PM

Hey everybody. I was wondering what methods y'all use to cope with anxiety. I have an anxiety problem. Many times, anxiety will consume my entire day. Other days, I will have virtually none. It seems like I have acute attacks over threatening or potential threatening situations. I, like many others here, am a former benzo abuser (xanax mostly). If I were not an abuser, this would be the perfect drug for me because it puts the anxiety spells at bay. Since I can no longer use those, I am looking for a solution to my problem. Do you guys/gals think you can help? It seems there are no other meds to my knowledge that work really well for anxiety. I am on 300 mg of Wellbutrin and it doesn't seem to be doing much to curb these attacks. I have been on it for over 4 months so I definetly have given it a good trial run. I am probably going to make a pdoc appointment soon and I am wondering what other meds there are that may work for me so I can get a jump start on researching them. Any suggestions? Also, are there any good books I can buy to teach me how to cope with anxity better? Any good literature out there? I'm currently going to therapy. I'm new at it and don't really know if it's helping or if I'm doing it right. I talk about everything that's bothering me with my therapist but talking alone doesn't seem to be the ticket. It's like I almost expect my therapist to do something besides listen (because that's basically all that he really does). Any suggestions on what a tdoc should be doing besides listening? Do I need to find a new one? Thanks for your input! This site is great.

MootPoint · 11-28-2004, 06:51 PM

The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook by Edmund J.Bourne, Ph.D. is a great book.

Re your tdoc...... I'd think that s/he should be finding the root of your anxiety and helping you develop coping mechanisms.

Go to your favorite search engine and look up "anxiety"..... you'll find tons of stuff!

Welcome Lukey!

Poet · 11-30-2004, 02:19 PM

Lukey, Hang in there, you are not alone. I suffer from panic disoder, social phobia and adjustment disorder. Anxiety is a big part of my life. As far as medications go I'm on a combination of Paxil and Zyprexa. It has been a godsend! I still get anxious but it is controlable for the most part. As for therapy... It is hard to find a good therapist. If you feel your's is not helping you you may want to discuss it with him but you must realize that the work truly is up to you. Change must come from within difficult as it is. I would also recommend that you research whatever you have been diagnosed with. Knowledge is a valuable tool to combatting anything. Knowing and understanding what you are up against is half the battle. You can try the Nation Institute of Mental Health at http://www.nimh.nih.gov/ Another thing that helped me is called DBT - Dialectic Behavior Therapy. It is a 26 week group. It is primarily used to treat people with Borderline Personality Disorder but I feel it is invaluable to anyone suffering from any mental health issues. The first module of DBT teaches awareness, being IN the moment. When a person is aware and concentrates on what is happening at any given moment they are better able to address it. Another module teaches Distress Tolerance and Coping Mechanism. The tools I learned in this module have helped me fight of many anxiety attacks! I am not informed as to literature. Your therapist my have some suggestions. I hope this will help you. And remember you are not alone! Other people have suffered similar problems and have overcome the, so can you. Peace

Depressed1104 · 01-20-2005, 08:35 PM

hey i have social phobia...is there anyway i can get better without taking anti depressants or seeing a therapist?

11-28-2004, 04:16 PM	#1 (permalink)
Lukey Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Washington, DC Posts: 5	Coping With Anxiety Hey everybody. I was wondering what methods y'all use to cope with anxiety. I have an anxiety problem. Many times, anxiety will consume my entire day. Other days, I will have virtually none. It seems like I have acute attacks over threatening or potential threatening situations. I, like many others here, am a former benzo abuser (xanax mostly). If I were not an abuser, this would be the perfect drug for me because it puts the anxiety spells at bay. Since I can no longer use those, I am looking for a solution to my problem. Do you guys/gals think you can help? It seems there are no other meds to my knowledge that work really well for anxiety. I am on 300 mg of Wellbutrin and it doesn't seem to be doing much to curb these attacks. I have been on it for over 4 months so I definetly have given it a good trial run. I am probably going to make a pdoc appointment soon and I am wondering what other meds there are that may work for me so I can get a jump start on researching them. Any suggestions? Also, are there any good books I can buy to teach me how to cope with anxity better? Any good literature out there? I'm currently going to therapy. I'm new at it and don't really know if it's helping or if I'm doing it right. I talk about everything that's bothering me with my therapist but talking alone doesn't seem to be the ticket. It's like I almost expect my therapist to do something besides listen (because that's basically all that he really does). Any suggestions on what a tdoc should be doing besides listening? Do I need to find a new one? Thanks for your input! This site is great.

11-28-2004, 06:51 PM	#2 (permalink)
MootPoint we're all mad here! Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: a padded room with bars Posts: 1,686	The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook by Edmund J.Bourne, Ph.D. is a great book. Re your tdoc...... I'd think that s/he should be finding the root of your anxiety and helping you develop coping mechanisms. Go to your favorite search engine and look up "anxiety"..... you'll find tons of stuff! Welcome Lukey! __________________ The duke had a mind that ticked like a clock and, like a clock, it regularly went cuckoo. ---------Terry Pratchett

11-30-2004, 02:19 PM	#3 (permalink)
Poet Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Canandaigua, NY Posts: 1	There is hope Lukey, Hang in there, you are not alone. I suffer from panic disoder, social phobia and adjustment disorder. Anxiety is a big part of my life. As far as medications go I'm on a combination of Paxil and Zyprexa. It has been a godsend! I still get anxious but it is controlable for the most part. As for therapy... It is hard to find a good therapist. If you feel your's is not helping you you may want to discuss it with him but you must realize that the work truly is up to you. Change must come from within difficult as it is. I would also recommend that you research whatever you have been diagnosed with. Knowledge is a valuable tool to combatting anything. Knowing and understanding what you are up against is half the battle. You can try the Nation Institute of Mental Health at http://www.nimh.nih.gov/ Another thing that helped me is called DBT - Dialectic Behavior Therapy. It is a 26 week group. It is primarily used to treat people with Borderline Personality Disorder but I feel it is invaluable to anyone suffering from any mental health issues. The first module of DBT teaches awareness, being IN the moment. When a person is aware and concentrates on what is happening at any given moment they are better able to address it. Another module teaches Distress Tolerance and Coping Mechanism. The tools I learned in this module have helped me fight of many anxiety attacks! I am not informed as to literature. Your therapist my have some suggestions. I hope this will help you. And remember you are not alone! Other people have suffered similar problems and have overcome the, so can you. Peace

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01-20-2005, 08:35 PM	#4 (permalink)
Depressed1104 Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: pittsburgh, pa Posts: 5	hey i have social phobia...is there anyway i can get better without taking anti depressants or seeing a therapist?

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