overwhelming anxiety
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Join Date: May 2003
Location: Northen Europe and France
Posts: 1,657
Least,
I´m sorry you feel anxious. I woke up in the middle of the night anxious as well, but managed to kill the anxiety by using relaxation, visualisation and breathing. I keep seeing myself in a bluegreen sea, there are waterfalls and caves... It´s really calming.
What does the doctor say? Is there any way he or she can help you so you don´t have to feel this way?
I´m sending you hugs.
Intro, my friend, sending hugs to you too.
I´m sorry you feel anxious. I woke up in the middle of the night anxious as well, but managed to kill the anxiety by using relaxation, visualisation and breathing. I keep seeing myself in a bluegreen sea, there are waterfalls and caves... It´s really calming.
What does the doctor say? Is there any way he or she can help you so you don´t have to feel this way?
I´m sending you hugs.
Intro, my friend, sending hugs to you too.
Member
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Northen Europe and France
Posts: 1,657
Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 123
Originally Posted by steamvessel 
Candygirl, I am doing well. Everything is just a tool, but it's better to have several tools I think.
I also liked your last thought countering example. Perfect use of it. I am happy to say that slowly my unconscious thinking is looking more like my rebuttals all the time and it helps me a lot
Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 123
I feel for you Least! I wish I could just snap my fingers and take all your anxiety away
I'm glad you didn't resort to ativan as that is just like drinking, a temporary solution. I hope you can interrupt the cycle of thoughts that cause your anxiety and feel better soon
I'm glad you didn't resort to ativan as that is just like drinking, a temporary solution. I hope you can interrupt the cycle of thoughts that cause your anxiety and feel better soon
Member
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Back in the USA
Posts: 2,661
Originally Posted by Candygirl
I'm glad you didn't resort to ativan as that is just like drinking, a temporary solution.
Just the same, the withdrawals are terrible. So whats the difference, the drink or the pill?
Intro
bona fido dog-lover
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SF Bay area, CA
Posts: 99,780
Woke up anxious again today, despite getting a good night's sleep. At least I don't have to go anywhere until afternoon, and by then I hope the roads will have been plowed and salted.
I've been taking my herbal supplements for anxiety and drinking chamomile tea - was too anxious to have my usual cup of coffee yesterday and today. Am hoping this goes away as I can't stand feeling constantly wound up.
I've been taking my herbal supplements for anxiety and drinking chamomile tea - was too anxious to have my usual cup of coffee yesterday and today. Am hoping this goes away as I can't stand feeling constantly wound up.
bona fido dog-lover
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SF Bay area, CA
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Am taking my mom to the doctor today (we have the same doctor) and am going to ask him for some vistaril for the anxiety. I was given it once before when going thru withdrawals and it helped the anxiety. I hope he'll write a scrip for some, this anxiety is unbearable.
bona fido dog-lover
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SF Bay area, CA
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Mom cancelled her appt due to the weather so I called the doctor and spoke to a nurse about asking him to call in a scrip for vistaril. This anxiety is gettng worse and worse and I can't make it go away. I hope he calls it in soon so I can get it. 
bona fido dog-lover
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SF Bay area, CA
Posts: 99,780
Went out in the snowstorm to get the vistaril (the streets are horrible) and took two immediately. Am feeling a bit better now but worried about if I can get out to take dk to work this afternoon. If the snow is still coming down I may just call a taxi to take her to work (again). I can't afford the money but can't afford an accident or getting stuck either... having to call a tow truck would be far more expensive than a taxi.
bona fido dog-lover
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Join Date: Mar 2008
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Feeling much better this evening. Do'nt feel like I'm spinning my wheels anymore. Am ready to get a good sleep. The snow has stopped and things seem to be returning to normal. I feel much calmer and more relaxed. Thank goodness for my doctor calling in that scrip for me. I feel so much better than I have in days. What a relief!
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Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 63
Hi Least,
Sometimes a lttle medication can help break the cycle without becoming an addiction. I forget about that until I'm so despaarate that I give in and take somethin. It's the same with pain killers for me. My back gets bad and the pain becomes a vicious circle until I take something strong. But I try to stay away from perscription meds. I take L-Tryptophan at night to sleep and I've started taking something called L-Theanine. L-Tryptophan is great. The jury's still out on the L-Theanine but I'm told they can't hurt unless maybe in cobination with SSRIs.
I also excercise like crazy which I know is hard to do when you feel like you can't breath but I make myself go with the promise that if I'm not feeling better once I get going, I can quit and go get some hot milk and honey. Sometimes I end up doing both. Oh, I've also started taking long, hot, candle lit baths. I would have poo pooed that idea if someone had suggested it to me but it's helping.
It's still a constant battle these days but I know this too shall pass.
Sometimes a lttle medication can help break the cycle without becoming an addiction. I forget about that until I'm so despaarate that I give in and take somethin. It's the same with pain killers for me. My back gets bad and the pain becomes a vicious circle until I take something strong. But I try to stay away from perscription meds. I take L-Tryptophan at night to sleep and I've started taking something called L-Theanine. L-Tryptophan is great. The jury's still out on the L-Theanine but I'm told they can't hurt unless maybe in cobination with SSRIs.
I also excercise like crazy which I know is hard to do when you feel like you can't breath but I make myself go with the promise that if I'm not feeling better once I get going, I can quit and go get some hot milk and honey. Sometimes I end up doing both. Oh, I've also started taking long, hot, candle lit baths. I would have poo pooed that idea if someone had suggested it to me but it's helping.
It's still a constant battle these days but I know this too shall pass.
bona fido dog-lover
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SF Bay area, CA
Posts: 99,780
It's chamomile tea time again. 
Woke up feeling half sick to my stomach and very anxious. Am trying to distract myself with internet and movies but still feeling crappy. Might just go back to bed for a while. Am so sick of feeling like this...
Woke up feeling half sick to my stomach and very anxious. Am trying to distract myself with internet and movies but still feeling crappy. Might just go back to bed for a while. Am so sick of feeling like this... Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 123
Originally Posted by Introvrtd1
........I've been thinking about this...I have some ativan left, and I've been keeping it as a crutch. I survived not taking it at times, but yeah, it does make me feel as if I had been drinking.
Just the same, the withdrawals are terrible. So whats the difference, the drink or the pill?
Intro
Just the same, the withdrawals are terrible. So whats the difference, the drink or the pill?
Intro
Least,
I'm glad you were feeling better for at least a little while
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Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Bristol TN/VA
Posts: 12,431
Candygirl,
Medications taken properly are prescribed because the Dr determines that it's benefits outweigh the negatives. There are times in my life that I could not function at all without medical assistance and one of them was a benzodiazepine.
The chemicals can develop a dependence just like with an SSRI....however, I no longer take them and that is by my choice because my anxiety is much diminished. I still am prescribed Vistaril and it is helping. The option of taking nothing is not an alternative for me.
My quality of life and happiness are helped, not hindered, by the medications I take.
There is a HUGE difference between normal anxiety and clinical anxiety.
My life literally would not be worth living to me if I were not medicated for my illnesses.
The only time I was inpatient for suicidal ideations was not from depression but from unbearable anxiety. I simply couldn't take it anymore and my mind went down a sick path, obviously I did not choose it..because it was very upsetting and scary to me and I checked myself into the hospital to get help.
I have had people assume I was addicted to the benzos because of the length of time I was prescribed them and the amount of my dosage, however, I tapered off when I no longer needed them with the full participation of Drs.
In fact, I would have tapered myself faster but wisely the Drs knew better than me and took the last bit very gradually, because the primary condition of anxiety is still there and I don't know if it is ever curable.
Medications taken properly are prescribed because the Dr determines that it's benefits outweigh the negatives. There are times in my life that I could not function at all without medical assistance and one of them was a benzodiazepine.
The chemicals can develop a dependence just like with an SSRI....however, I no longer take them and that is by my choice because my anxiety is much diminished. I still am prescribed Vistaril and it is helping. The option of taking nothing is not an alternative for me.
My quality of life and happiness are helped, not hindered, by the medications I take.
There is a HUGE difference between normal anxiety and clinical anxiety.
My life literally would not be worth living to me if I were not medicated for my illnesses.
The only time I was inpatient for suicidal ideations was not from depression but from unbearable anxiety. I simply couldn't take it anymore and my mind went down a sick path, obviously I did not choose it..because it was very upsetting and scary to me and I checked myself into the hospital to get help.
I have had people assume I was addicted to the benzos because of the length of time I was prescribed them and the amount of my dosage, however, I tapered off when I no longer needed them with the full participation of Drs.
In fact, I would have tapered myself faster but wisely the Drs knew better than me and took the last bit very gradually, because the primary condition of anxiety is still there and I don't know if it is ever curable.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 21
Originally Posted by least
It's chamomile tea time again. Woke up feeling half sick to my stomach and very anxious. Am trying to distract myself with internet and movies but still feeling crappy. Might just go back to bed for a while. Am so sick of feeling like this...
Woke up feeling half sick to my stomach and very anxious. Am trying to distract myself with internet and movies but still feeling crappy. Might just go back to bed for a while. Am so sick of feeling like this...My goal now it to take control of my thoughts so the anxiety doesn't start, and when it does, find methods to nip it in the bud.
Does the chamomile tea help at all? I haven't tried this yet.
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Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Colorado
Posts: 664
As far as non-medication treatments for anxiety:
A great breathing exercise one of my past therapists showed me has most always helped calm my nerves when I'm anxious. You breathe in through your nose for 3 seconds, hold your breath for 3 seconds and then breathe out through your mouth making a whooshing sound. Repeat for as long as you need. For some, it may take 3 minutes of this to calm down, others 15. This was kind of geared as a meditation so I often did visualization with it, but the exercise is simple and usually effective and it's free and can be done anywhere.
Also exercise, specifically cardio, is a tremendous killer of anxiety and anxious energy. That's for when the anxiety is not so crippling.
As far as supplements go, fennel seeds, which you can find on the aisle with all the spices at your supermaket, have helped calm my stomach and help my anxiety a little bit and I am told GABA, which you can find at vitamin/health food stores, helps with anxiety. Also Melatonin can help calm you enough to get to sleep. But consult with your doctor and sites like WebMD or Mayo Clinic before trying any supplements. If you take psych meds, do not take any supplements like 5-HTP, GABA, St. John's Wort or Valerian Root as they can have undesirable clashes with your meds.
And I may have already posted this under this thread, but a good book I've found for treating anxiety the drug-free way is called When Panic Attacks by David D. Burns. It really gets you to confront the thoughts and beliefs that cause you anxiety.
A great breathing exercise one of my past therapists showed me has most always helped calm my nerves when I'm anxious. You breathe in through your nose for 3 seconds, hold your breath for 3 seconds and then breathe out through your mouth making a whooshing sound. Repeat for as long as you need. For some, it may take 3 minutes of this to calm down, others 15. This was kind of geared as a meditation so I often did visualization with it, but the exercise is simple and usually effective and it's free and can be done anywhere.
Also exercise, specifically cardio, is a tremendous killer of anxiety and anxious energy. That's for when the anxiety is not so crippling.
As far as supplements go, fennel seeds, which you can find on the aisle with all the spices at your supermaket, have helped calm my stomach and help my anxiety a little bit and I am told GABA, which you can find at vitamin/health food stores, helps with anxiety. Also Melatonin can help calm you enough to get to sleep. But consult with your doctor and sites like WebMD or Mayo Clinic before trying any supplements. If you take psych meds, do not take any supplements like 5-HTP, GABA, St. John's Wort or Valerian Root as they can have undesirable clashes with your meds.
And I may have already posted this under this thread, but a good book I've found for treating anxiety the drug-free way is called When Panic Attacks by David D. Burns. It really gets you to confront the thoughts and beliefs that cause you anxiety.
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