Karthas

Seeing how I've had anxiety and depression since a teen I'm struggling to keep my head above the water. The anxiety feels like you will lose your mind it's awful I really struggle daily not a minute goes by without anxiety and depression. What was it that actually worked to take you out of such a scared and negative mind? I'm looking for treatment ideas

Dee74

Hi Karthas

Not drinking at all helped a lot - I thought I might die of anxiety in the beginning but it normalised after a while.
Exercise helped me.

My depression was rarely that bad but it was very regular. Again, just being sober helped a lot,.

As I mentioned elsewhere I also had help with meds that were prescribed to me for other reasons.

I had Amitriptyline prescribed for nerve pain, but it's also an old style tricyclic anti depressant.
I had Atenolol prescribed for tachycardia and high blood pressure but it's also a beta blocker used for anxiety.

I have no idea if those meds might work or be suitable for you - just sharing my experience - you really need a doctors input, I think

D

least

I was put on sertraline (Zoloft) a long time ago for my depression and it really helps a lot to keep the depression from getting unbearable. I was also put on a beta blocker for my blood pressure and A fib (Metoprolol, in my case) and that helped with the anxiety.

I'd suggest making an appt with your doctor (or a shrink) to talk about these symptoms and what can be done to treat them.

I also use exercise to calm my mind. I have a little dog whom I love to walk, as often as I can. It gets us out of the house, into the fresh air and sunshine, and does us both a world of good.

stickyone

Anxiety and depression both go hand and hand. I find that mindfulness meditation helps with the anxiety. And for depression keep the body moving. They both are hard but after time you will become stronger and the benefits will show. Even a few minutes of controlled breathing very much helps. And I would check with a doctor as well. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps. Keep posting

comewhatmay

Hey Karthas. So sorry to hear that you’re feeling this way. My main advice to people struggling with anxiety and depression is to do what makes you happy, as often as you can. Use a diary/calendar to plan things for your week. Try and ensure you have activities planned that intend to provide you a sense of pleasure and/or achievement. Be kind to yourself and start with the things that seem easier to do first and build from there. Other things that can help are - meditation, especially mindfulness meditation, try and create a regular sleep routine and stick to it, follow a healthy diet, exercise regularly (even a 30 minute walk every day is good). You may want to seek professional help as well. Talking things through with someone can help release pent-up feelings. I wish you the best of luck and hope I was able to help in some small way.

Introvrtd1

Walking…For me anyway…can’t say what works for anyone else…But as for me…miles, and miles of daily walking…A goal of 10,000 steps per day. No particular place to go, if only just around the house as long as I keep moving. At home, at work, out and about…it’s my coping mechanism. Took many weeks, but it seemed to work for me.

That among many other things like proper diet, some other exercise, good sleep, keeping busy and activities to keep from boredom.

Good luck and hopefully u find what works.

Astro

I can't add much more than what everyone's shared. I also try to walk 10k steps minimum per day and use prayer and meditation as one of my tools on my morning walks. Seeing a doctor is very important, I had a prescription for an SSRI my first year sober, it helped tremendously with the anxiety. I spend a lot of time outdoors, sunny or rainy doesn't matter, it's just the fresh air that invigorates me and helps me feel more alive than ever. Cut down on caffeine and eat as healthy as possible.

Most importantly though are recovery meetings, I just find that my anxiety melts away when I'm surrounded by others who are struggling with, and because of, similar issues.

Karthas

I appreciate the reply and I'm trying to incorporate them. The exercise and diet help a bit which I'll keep trying. I'm just not in a good spot I've also run out of a benzodiazepine I take daily.... I'm sure that's not helping the picture I haven't had a benzo in 5 days and the depression and anxiety is almost unbearable. I tried to hangout with my friend Matt and I was anxious the whole time trying to keep it together. Literally I felt like I was in a dream and just detached for the 3 hours we hung out

Dee74

I know its hard - but do you think it might be a good idea to talk to your doctor about your benzo use, including the fact you've run out, Karthas?

D

Karthas

I just got back from the doctors and waiting for a federal to a phschiatrist I'm not hopeful about things getting better mentally. I'm taking Zoloft and Klonopin and it's not working. SSRIs in the past use to help. It's confusing what the right treatment is. The derealization is very bad and that's probably because I haven't had any Klonopin for a week which I take daily. Even if I take Klonopin I STILL have very bad anxiety and derealization. I'm totally not on the right treatment plan. I'm thinking maybe I should try an older style antidepressant or possibly an antipsychotic

ScottFromWI

I have dealt with anxiety my entire life Karthas. Alcohol was a bandaid that kind of worked for a while, but then towards the end of my drinking. things got even worse.

Once I quit drinking I waited almost a year to get any professional help and while quitting did help somewhat initially, the anxiety remained. I worked with multiple therapist, tried multiple meds, all kinds of things. After about 5 or 6 years of working on it I can say that for the most part my daily panic-level anxiety and panic attacks have mostly abated, and when I do feel things coming on I have strategies to deal with it before it gets too bad. The things that have worked for me

1. Therapy: I went through a few different counselors before I found one that I really connected with. I still see her on occasion, but i was doing bi-weekly visits for a while initially. In addition to her general training, she is a certified addiction counselor and recovering addict herself so that's really helped too.
2. Meditation/Mindfulness: These practices have helped me not only learn how to relax, but also to raise my self-awareness about my mental health. It's VERY hard to meditate of course at first, but even if you can do 1 minute at a time it builds over time. You can do it anywhere, any time and it's free too
3. Self learning: Reading, video, etc. One of my favorite books that addresses both Anxiety and Addiction is 10% happier by Dan Harris. I would caution though against researching too much via Dr. Google, that can actually cause anxiety rather than solve it.
4. Diet/Exercise/Sleep: Keeping your body healthy helps keep your mind healty, and having enough rest and a good diet helps your mind too.

On the subject of Meds, none of them really worked for me either. I did not use benzo's of course because of my alcohol addiction, but I personally feel that most of the meds that treat Anxiety are just treating the symptoms anyway, not the root problem. Certainly they can be of help initially, or in very severe cases, but even prescribed meds eventually lose effectiveness and some pose addiction issues of their own. Benzos especially are only designed to be taken for a limited amount of time. =

Karthas

Thanks SxcottfromWI I appreciate the in depth response. Part of me also thinks that therapy can be really useful. I guess I feel like I need some kind of boost but I'm open to therapy and connecting with the proper therapist like an addictions one like you had would be great. Its hard to even get out of bed heck I don't even care to play a video game I just play it without any fun going through the motions. People brush off depression but it's like no I'm not just sad I'm friggen depressed it's miserable everything is sad, frusterating, scary and gut wrenching anxiety and it's serious. Some people never really go through a serious depression or rut like this ever. There lucky ive been in this one for 4 years bit I will admit I have not tried all my options. Diet I'm starting to take seriously because I notice my anxiety and depression is worse after processed foods and sugar. I want to learn meditation can u explain what u do? I always here people say meditation helpedy mood so much but I don't really get how like just the breathing stimulating ur vagus nerve or the fact that u have severe anxiety and depression now but ur going to power through those feelings and do the meditation anyways rewires ur brain?

Rar

First off, I’m not a medical person. I see my own alprazolam discontinuation on the horizon this summer. I’ve recently (10 days) quit alcohol and hope to have several weeks of sobriety before I taper. Anyway, because I see my own discontinuation on the horizon, I’ve been doing tons of reading on Benzo recovery sites and forums. However, that doesn’t make me an expert. Since you had anxiety, derealization, etc. during your klonopin use, do you think you had reached your drug tolerance and were withdrawing? . Ultimately discontinuing the benzo cold turkey would make the withdrawal more intense. I’m not sure of any interaction the Zoloft has with the withdrawal,

I would consider consulting a doctor who is familiar with benzodiazepine withdrawal. Perhaps he can offer you some insight, comfort and peace of mind. Did the doctor you recently saw have any input on the klonopin? Believe it or not, many if not most doctors are unaware of benzo withdrawal, symptoms or recovery.

Good Luck.

Karthas

I agree that not many professionals have a clue about benzo withdrawal. But I have definitely thought about how I could have been in tolerance withdrawal with the benzo. The tricky thing is tho yes I was taking a benzo daily but I was also drinking once or twice a week and the derealization started right after a night of drinking right when I woke up. So I'm not sure which caused it booze or benzos but possibly it was benzos or the combination....I'll never forget that morning waking up feeling detached and I decided to go for a walk it was winter and lots of snow on the ground and than the white from the snow caused so much light sensitivity and sounds were loud and yea totally a nitemare you feel like you're in a dream. But I'm trying to quit booze I think that's a big cause of the derealization and anxiety. My symptoms do improve when I can get away from beer for a good 4 days my symptoms don't fully go away but they improve. Right now I'm stumped and. Trying to find some ways to treat anxiety and how to get more restful sleep because that's when you regenerate your brain so. As much as I hate to say it I think alot of it will be.lifestyle.... like losing some.weight which will help sleep because you can breathe easier, staying away fr junk foods that cause inflammation in the brain, exercise etc. I'm experimenting with cold showers at the moment alot of I do about them lately.

Rar

Hi Karthas…I hope you’re having a better day today. I’m in a very similar position. I think possibly I’ve reached tolerance withdrawal with my alprazolam too, but I refuse to increase my dosage. My plan was to eliminate my benzo script and then quit alcohol. I started with the benzo first by cutting the pill in half. That didn’t work. I lasted 4 days, but found myself drinking more in order to feel better. So- I went back on my prescribed dose and am quitting the alcohol first instead. I’m on my 11th day alcohol free. When I get another few weeks of my sober feet, I will begin tapering the benzos, hopefully with a medical taper.

I agree with you. Alcohol is a HUGE factor with benzo usage. I’m still not sleeping well. Eliminating the alcohol goes a long way with mental clarity though, despite a prescribed benzo usage,

I’m also trying to battle a Covid 30 weight gain. I, like many, passed my isolation with food and alcohol. I think I will feel better when the weight comes off. For sure, my self esteem will improve.

Hang in there.

tidalwaves

I've had depression and anxiety since I was twelve years old. I too have not have a minute without it. Mine has been labeled as treatment resistant but that doesn't mean that it can't be helped, which sounds silly since it's been called treatment resistant, but there are still some things that help me, like psych meds that have been prescribed to me for off the label uses. For example, Abilify combined with my antidepressant seems to help just a little. I think it would be important to find a therapist to talk with. I need to do that again, too. Even if I've tried it countless times, I find it does help just to have someone to talk to. What have you tried?