Dealing with anxiety?

Salamanda425

I take Wellbutrin twice a day for it and Lexapro once a day. I have Alprazolam for when I have attacks, but it knocks me out!!!

Play_outside

I would suggest talking to a doctor or even a counselor if you have anxiety. You can learn behavioural ways to manage it, some of which have been mentioned like learning your triggers and avoiding them OR prepping yourself for it (creating a plan) if there is a trigger that can not be avoided. Some people need medication to help with their anxiety; there are things you can take daily, and there are "rescue" medications for when things are reallly stressful. What works for some people DOES NOT work for others. Some things have the opposite effect than intended, so if medication is the route you need to take, listening to people's suggestions is not that helpful. You may need to try a number of medications before you find what works for you. Exercise, sleeping properly, and eating well are often helpful.

When you are in the replaying tape of anxiety over and over do a STOP-THINK. Put your hand in front of your face or imagine a hand or a stop sign and say STOP either really loudly in your head or if you're by yourself yell it at yourself. Then focus on something else.

Use a timer-say from 8pm-8:15pm you can obsessively worry about things, but set your alarm or your stove timer and at the end you have to focus on something else. Reading a book is great because you have to think about it, as opposed to watching a show or a movie where you can tune it out and still focus on anxiety.

Try visualization-think of your favourite place in the world. It has to be a place you know very well, because you need to picture it in your head, including what you SEE, FEEL, SMELL, HEAR, and if there is a TASTE (like salt water). When you feel anxiety coming on, start picturing that place, build it in your mind, using ALL of your senses.

Try distraction-ask yourself a question. Make yourself pick out all of the blue or green or whatever colour items that you see. Recite multiplication tables. Recall your favourite quote. List family member's birthdays in your head. If you are focusing on something ELSE, you are not focusing on your anxiety.

Oh, and make yourself focus only on things you CAN change, not what you can't. When you are having anxiety and focusing on something, ask yourself, can I DO anything about this? No? use one of the above techniques to take your mind off of it, and then identify a problem you CAN work with and start looking for solutions to it. For example, last year my boyfriend went a little nutty and started acting really bizarrely and kind of ruined his life. I was VERY anxious about this and very focused on it, however I then said to myself, Can I do anything about what he is doing, how he is acting, etc? NO! But I CAN control how I react to it. Can I change the fact that it affects my life in a big way? NO! But I can use the changes to evaluate my own behaviour and discover ways to manage that.

Measure your anxiety level when you feel good-so when you are not having anxiety and things are good, it's a zero. When you're having anxiety but you are FUNCTIONING assign it a number (say 50) and then when you are having more severe anxeity think about "How can I get back to that level of 50 anxiety instead of the 75 I am at? Sometimes working on having a functional level of anxiety is less stressful than working at ridding it completely.

Jrabbit81sleeved

I take citalopram, I was sent to a therapist, but they couldn't work out what had caused my anxiety, specifically health anxiety. I think it's just a part of my personality, and I find the meds really help, once I'm at my goal weight I'd like to start coming off them and see how I get on. I used to get really panicked, think I was dying and my blood would run cold, and I'd start shaking, once I agreed to take citalopram, even my staff at work noticed the change in me! Speak to your doctor, mine saved my life xxxx

woou

Thanks guys! I was really hoping medication wasn't the answer. Can't afford the person prescribing it and most likely the medication itself. I think what I find most frustrating is no one understands my anxieties, because I seem so put together on the outside. I don't fake seeming put together. It just is. But when my anxiety is extreme, I get cold shivers for at least an hour.

I do tend to feel better after a long walk outdoors. Need to find a walking buddy. :blushing: It's kind of dangerous walking outdoors in my area especially during this time of the year. My puppies are too old to walk too long with me. :laugh:

mea9

Journaling in the morning (I like the system “the artist’s way” by Julia Cameron) and Valerian tea at night. It’s not as sexy as drugs but, together with diet, exercise and regular sleeping habits, really effective and a great first stop. My doctor recommended the journaling btw

Edit to add: valerian tea can backlash if you take too much so one cup right before bed for a month then off and on as you need it. Good luck!

fiberartist219

I wonder if I have anxiety sometimes. I worry a lot at work. I don't get panic attacks though. I am going to look into some of these self help techniques and see if it does some good.

frmeital

There are many ways to cope with anxiety, but if I were you I would try "curing" it instead of just "coping" or "dealing" with it. There are breathing techniques you can try (These are very good: http://natural-alternative-therapies.com/breathing-exercises-for-anxiety/), herbal remedies and of course the best treatment of all - cognitive behavioral therapy. This is from an article about it, hope it helps:

If you suffer from anxiety and panic attacks or depression, you probably heard “CBT” mentioned many times. What is cognitive behavioral therapy? Why are there so many people talking about it? How can it permanently stop anxiety and panic attacks?
What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?

CBT is a form of therapy that concentrates on 2 connected things: Your cognition (your thoughts) and your behavior – your actions. You probably know that the way you think determines how you feel and the way you feel determines your actions and behavior. This is a “closed cycle” because your actions also influence how you feel.

You may not realize it, but your actions can create and elevate bad feelings.

Cognitive behavioral therapy teaches you how your thoughts and beliefs affect your feelings and how to change the way you think to eliminate bad feelings altogether.

Though most of the time people turn to therapy or counseling to do behavioral therapy, you don’t have to do that if you don’t like leaving your home. There are CBT techniques you cal learn and use without having to leave your house at all. More about that here.
How Can CBT Eliminate Your anxiety Attacks?

Most of us think that the situations we encounter and our everyday experiences are the triggers to anxiety, panic and depression. If you are driving your car, for instance, and when you get on a highway you get an anxiety attack, you probably think that your anxiety is caused by driving getting on the highway. This in not true. According to CBT, your thoughts and set of beliefs determines the intensity of your emotions.

Cognitive behavioral therapy gives you simple techniques to stop panic and anxiety attacks dead in their tracks.

CBT is the only method that is able to cure anxiety and panic disorder permanently because it uses scientifically verified strategies to relieve anxiety for a long term. Other popular treatments – like medication, herbal remedies, breathing exercises and more – usually treat anxiety symptoms only and don’t treat the root of the problem – Your brain and the way you think!

Source: http://www.natural-alternative-therapies.com/cognitive-behavioral-therapy/