chango

I am going crazy because of my high level of anxiety. I take b vitamins, but they don't help very much. I feel incredibly claustrophobic all the time. I feel like the walls are closing in on me an I feel panicky almost all the time. It's driving me crazy. I don't know what I can do. I've tried everything: baths, tea, kava kava, everything. I am walking around with a huge black ball in my chest going crazy. What can I do?! My job is high pressure right now. Have no options to get out. Have to move soon. I can't take it anymore.

suki44883

I would suggest that you see your doctor and tell him/her what's going on. Perhaps he/she can prescribe something for the anxiety. My daughter has a high level of anxiety and her doctor gave her Ativan and it seems to be working.

Iamlucy

Anxiety drives me nuts too..

Its all the pressure that the economy has put on us plus the addition of addiction.

It's like; can I make it, will I be good enough, did I do something wrong. My whole company got laid off last month but when I was working I would always get nervous when my boss would walk up to me and he was so nice.

You should see a doctor (but who am I to say) but be carefull what they give you especially if you have other addictions.

I just recently detoxed from benzos and alchohol and it was the worst detox I have ever been thru. The first day I couldn't even hold a cup I was shaking so bad.

You might want to ask your doctor about St. Johns Wort which is a vitamin that is supposed to help with that.

chango

i cant take SSRI's and dont want to go on benzos because I WILL abuse them. st. john's wort is close to SSRIs and doesnt work well with me. I have a bad reaction to them.

chango

suki44883

In that case, I suggest that you see your doctor and tell him/her what's going on. Perhaps he/she can prescribe something that you CAN take for the anxiety.

chango

i am so close to relapsing.

suki44883

Then turn in the opposite direction.

mtnmagic

Don't relapse. Just don't. I know the feeling. Believe me I do.

I am a chronic relapser. It doesn't help anything. It only makes the anxiety worse. The anxiety will pass. I promise. I can't tell you exactly when or how. I do know it passes.

I have been on this forum since 12/2006. The best days I have had were when I was in a program and participating on a daily basis.

I had five days, relapsed on two days and have put together another five.

I want to give up on myself, but I just can't. Just hang in there, don't drink in the next five minutes and stay on the forum. If I ever get over the guilt or shame,I will really enjoy all the people that I have "met" on the forum.

I hide and don't respond. I read and read and read. I'm one of those lurkeres, I guess. The posts have helped me beyond belief. I want to join in again. I keep looking for stable, drink or not, to join in and try and be a part of.

chango

i shouldn't drink. i know. i have almost 2.5 years sober. drink today and tomorrow what? I just feel very lost and stressed out. Ready to crack. That first 30 seconds of whiskey would be good, but the next 30 months having to resist will suck. I've just been struggling a lot lately and it's going to get worse in the next two months. The pressure is going to ramp up, my hair will fallout. I am turning thirty in 3 months. UGH. i feel like such a failure.

zxcirce

anxiety is awful, i know, i have it bad recently. it's so hard not to act on that feeling.

i checked this thread for recommendations, but id like to add some of my own.

serenity prayer, say it a million times if you need to.

some books: "the power of now" by eckhart tolle, and "wherever you go, there you are" by jon kabat-zinn. i've found mindfulness to be very effective in decreasing anxiety symptoms.

valerian root: a small dose 1/3 of that recommended for insomnia. it makes me tired and less anxious.

working out is a fantastic way to reduce nervous tension. when the body is tired, the mind tends to follow suit. and in a good way, not just dead tired, good tired.

also: just don't move. that's my motto when i feel i've had too much and the anxiety gets too much to bear. just don't move. so you don't go out and buy a bottle. if you don't move, you can't do anything stupid.

i hope some or any of this helps.

Future22

I agree a lot with zxcirc...Another thing I might look into is the herb Rhodiola Rosea, if you want to know of a place to get it in bulk really cheap at 3% rosavins(which is quality), let me know.

Take a look at what some people say about the Golden Root (Rhodiola):

Another possibility of DLPA or DL-Phenylalanine:

Also L-Theanine:


Its not allowing me to post links because I do not have 15 posts yet, but if you want user reviews just send me a private message.

gravity

What has helped me:

Not a short-term fix - AA. To me, it's a program about learning to live life on life's terms. People to talk to in situations exactly like this, help put things in proper perspective. The 12 steps can be used to address those though days. I'm a big believer in face to face support (including other recovery programs, counseling, etc.) You could start by going to a meeting today.

Dealing with those things that are causing the anxiety, even those small challenges I've been avoiding. Either accept the things I cannot change or take action.

I also found a website that helped put my anxiety in perspective (there are many out there but this was the first one I found that made sense to me):

Anxiety Overview

Can you take some time off work to relax and "get out of your head"? - movies, fitness, hanging out with friends helps me.

Don't drink. It will just make things worse. You know this.

Take good care.

starfieldroad

I know how you feel. I have OCD, depression, and agoraphobia. Sometimes I just wake up feeling this general sense of impending doom that begins to press down on me throughout the day. It can be extremely hard to deal with, especially when you're early in recovery. I am on meds to help me sleep, I chose to go on atypical anti-psychotics rather than benzodiazepines because benzos have a pretty high risk of dependency, and could have easily led me straight back to alcohol... which is a chance I was/am unwilling to take. I can tell you that working the steps in my life has helped reduce my anxiety more than any medication ever could-- having a relationship with my higher power and being able to recognize what I can't control (which is a HUGE part of anxiety) allows me to to turn over my fears, compulsions, and control issues so that I don't have to worry about them anymore.

If your anxiety is to the point where you feel you have no choice but to drink, I would consider this a crisis situation-- get in to see a psychiatrist, get a therapist, if you have a sponsor, call them immediately, if you don't have one, GET ONE, go to meetings, use your phone list, write, pray, read the big book, whatever you have to do. The point is that nothing is worth drinking over. Remember that drinking will only make your anxiety worse in the long run, and YOU KNOW that running from your anxiety instead of confronting it will only allow it to strengthen its grip on you.

CarolD

Well done on your sober time...please keep moving forward.

Prayer helps me immensley...especially the Serenity Prayer


If you are using AA for your sobriety
get to a meeting and share.
Call your sponsor Call another AA member.

Go back and read some of your earlier post...
you will see what progress you've made.

I'm sorry you are having difficulties

nandm

Some people that have reactions to St.Johns Wort and SSRI's are actually bipolar rather than having a depressive disorder. Many bipolars have self medicated for years with drugs and alcohol. Once those are taken away in recovery the anxiety can become quite extreme. If you have not talked with your doctor regarding the anxiety it would be of benefit to you to do so because if you are bipolar there are many treatment options available. I am a recovering alcoholic with 8 years of sobriety. I have also been diagnosed as bipolar in sobriety although for many years prior to getting sober I was treated for depression on and off with minimal benefit. I have also been diagnosed with PTSD. I am being treated with medications for both including a benzo for the anxiety. None of those medications has been a problem for my sobriety as I only take them as prescribed. I do not take them to escape from reality and I utilize the steps of AA to handle the daily life stressors and problems that come my way.

Spangdangler

This is a problem I have experienced as well. One thing that I have noticed though, is that my anxiety attacks have decreased now that I quit drinking. I no longer get the nervous sweats, or the feeling of "out of body" experiences. It used to be so embarrassing going into a meeting and sweat starts pouring out of my forehead. What the hell?!

Theresa

I really envy your sober time, Chango. Don't end this splended run you have had.

Now the anxiety, that I don't envy because I am overwhelmed with it at times (like most of the time). In fact, I was so anxious tonight, I couldn't keep working on my project and turned to this forum instead. My work makes me anxious, very anxious, until I can lose myself into it. Before that happens, I dance all around it, worrying that I am not good enough to be doing it, jumping up and down out of my chair, looking for something to eat or do other than my work.

Is there some small thing you can do to relieve some part of your anxiety from work?

starfieldroad

Also-- many herbal remedies such as kava or st. john's wort are very misunderstood in western culture. The form you take it in has a lot to do with it's effectiveness, whether in tincture (non-alcoholic ones can be made), powder, pill, etc. I might also note that many ancient remedies are most effective only when taken for a long period of time, to maintain health rather than heal disease or quickly correct a chemical imbalance-- very different from the way we think of medicine in the industrialized world of quick fixes. There are tons of options when it comes to natural medicine, even more options than in the pharmaceutical industry. I really wish I had gone that route first-- for me, my problem has been that the meds they give me are continuously having to go up in dosage over time, and are not working with my body in a healthy or productive way. Herbal remedies are generally much more adaptable to working with the body's natural processes rather than against them. If you need to be on meds, you need to be on meds-- not being able to function because of panic, and feeling like you want to drink over it is obviously (to me, anyway) not functional. You might have a chemical imbalance in your brain that needs help to start to correct. Having to be on medication for a psychiatric condition does not make you weak or affect your sober time (regardless of what anyone in the program says), and it is always closely monitored by your doctor-- ESPECIALLY if you are careful to tell them that you are a recovering alcoholic and don't trust yourself around medication. If you have a good doc, they will always listen to you and do whatever they can to meet your specific needs.

nelco

Hi there, I had a look on your profile to see if you attend aa but it does not say. I try to be careful and just share my experience. I had those exact feelings you described. I used to run out of my home just to...breath. It was all related to the reason I drank in the first place. When I stopped drinking the stuff I drank on in the first place was there except a had gotten worse, made by the years of abuse. I had to seek help. Talk, share etc. Counseling might help. I go to A.A and started working on the steps. It did help me to talk to other people that felt the same. Some days when it got really bad. I just lifted the phone and shared with someone that understood. The longer away from alcohol, and the more I looked at myself and where a lot of my feelings were coming from the easier it got. It takes time and patients. Putting down the drink is not enough for alcoholics, we need to put it down and then look for solutions for our problems. Lift a drink again and anxiety increases ten fold. I seldom suffer from anxiety today, just moments here and there,when I am faced with a difficulty situation, but I say serenity prayer, talk to a friend, and say this will pass and it does. st johns worth, vitamins etc are all good when dealing with the issues , I needed to find out what was really going on in me, instead of trying to numb the feeling