how do you deal with high anxiety minus meds?
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This is going to sound really stupid....I bought a Dammit Doll from a gift shop in New Orleans during a layover. Each doll looks different and has a different theme. Here' s a poem for diets:
Diet
When the pounds aren’t going
And your hard work isn’t showing
It's time to grab your dammit doll.
Just grasp it firmly by the legs
and find a place to slam it
As you whack it’s stuffing out,
yell, “dammit, dammit, dammit!”
Mine has no eyes or nose and has a couple of holes. Breathing exercises help me a lot too.0 -
thx. really means a lot that you guys care. last night i tried meditaing outside and i though today i would feel better. idk. usually i just go read a book and try to block myself off, but i know thats not good. thats how i tend to handle most situations. i need to figure out a way to handle, not block. im going to pick up some of that rescue remedy tomorrow. gnc is too far for a trip tonight. hopefully that will help. and i need to excercise more. i will take a long walk tomorrow and see if that helps also. i guess just trial and error. also cut out my tea *sigh. water will have to do.
also, on the bright side, one good thing i can say about my anxiety: you cant eat all day when your stomach is churning. 0 -
I cut the caffeine and exercise a lot more works well for me. I had switched jobs so no insurance so no meds for a few months. I have the insurance now but have chose not to go back on them
Hope you find what works. Like you, mine only comes about once in a while so no need for round the clock medications. 0 -
I posted on this thread, page 5 http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/584410-depression?error_user_id=12093827&error_username=dhakiyya&page=5 about dealing with PTSD without meds (I don't have the option because there's no mental health services where I live) I've had huge amounts of anxiety/panic because of this, what I wrote works although I still have bad days. Exercise helps a lot on bad days. And a punch bag. Sorry for the link didn't want to type it all out again 0
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Oh my goodness, thank you for posting this topic, I've been thinking exactly the same thing myself today. I came off Prozac a couple of months ago, felt great to start off with but for the last few days I've been in a state of heightened anxiety. I'm going to see my doctor this week but haven't been able to see any choice but to go back on the meds, it's been really helpful to see other people's opinions and some great advice. Thanks to everyone who's replied - and thank you OP, I really believe we can get through this!0
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I run a lot.
I've been on regular medication (sort of helped but I didn't like the side effects), been to several different therapists (didn't help at all), used Xanax for rare occasions as necessary (but I haven't used it in years).
I still have some trouble sometimes but running really does help me.0 -
My anxiety through out life (besides my social anxiety) was pretty much unnoticable, you could even say normal but then my anxiety took a horrifying turn a little over a year ago and its still very terrifying for me! I have the thoughts that Im going to die any minute ANXIETY it drives me crazy especially because the more stress im under the more my heart flutters and my throat spasms...
One thing for sure is I absolutley refuse to take medication! The entire reason my anxiety got 80,000xxxxx worse is because of chemicals and *kitten* soooo what I do to calm down is avoid stimulates as much as possible even though I am a smoker....trying to quit! Tell myself this is all in my mind Ill be ok and look back ont his moment 3 weeks from now and laugh. I exercise, and socializing does wonders! Any way to keep my mind occupied even if I get symptons during youtube surfing or singing or even hanging out with friends its much easier for me to get over them if my mind is going to stay away from focusing on the symptons that just happened or starting to happen. My social anxiety used to be horrible growing up and Im slowly but surely growing out of it, i forced myself into socializing and I must say that socializing usually calms me down the most and the quickest that and exercising too.
Best of luck i know it sucks0 -
I have been battling anxiety and depression for a good part of my life. My first step to success was a program, and it was well worth the money. http://www.midwestcenter.com/whatyouget.html ... if you want to check it out , have not had a panic attack since and have been doing a lot more in my life then I ever could before. O yeah quitting smoking, eating healty, and working out have had so buisy I completely forgotten what anxiety was until i seen your post. best of luck to you, your not alone with your fight against anxiety, ever need anything add me as a friend.0
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This is going to sound really stupid....I bought a Dammit Doll from a gift shop in New Orleans during a layover. Each doll looks different and has a different theme. Here' s a poem for diets:
Diet
When the pounds aren’t going
And your hard work isn’t showing
It's time to grab your dammit doll.
Just grasp it firmly by the legs
and find a place to slam it
As you whack it’s stuffing out,
yell, “dammit, dammit, dammit!”
Mine has no eyes or nose and has a couple of holes. Breathing exercises help me a lot too.
LMFAO!!!!!!!!! TOOOOOO CUTE!!!!0 -
I am on a low dose of anti depressants which also help with anxiety disorder. The anxiety is unfortunatley part of my personality and seems to run in my family, but it is not as bad as it used to be, I've had these problems for most of my life. I used to drink Camomile tea at night, it's important to cut every stimulant out of your diet, decaf coffee, tea, no energy drinks, no diet pills (even the natural ones seem to raise your heart rate and cause the jitters)
Spend some time every day just being still, calm and quiet, meditating or reading. I don't find Rescue Remedy works at all at staving off panic attacks..but I guess it's not for everyone. Natural remedies can be great but sometimes meds are better.0 -
...but who wants to have their stomach churning all day? That's one of the worst feelings in the world. I hope you will find some relief from your symptoms soon.0
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I have suffered panic disorder and post traumatic stress disorder basically my whole life. If you exercise enough( not too much where you suffer calorie deficiency) and eat right (It is okay to go out sometimes of course) it will decrease. Got on meds when I was 20 finally, and within a month, I was off again. I have been off for 5 years now. I drink often enough, but also play alot of ddr lol.0
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I am surprised that no one has mentioned therapy....
My son has a severe anxiety disorder compounded by Aspergers' Syndrome. He still takes meds, (a non-stimulant) for his anxiety), but what has changed all our lives was Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.0 -
therapy doesnt work for me because their isnt a reason i have it. anxiety can be caused over a completely irrational thought, and even though you know it doesnt make sense it still bothers you. there isnt "something i need to work through" i dont have situational anxiety. it will just be there for no reason. one day im fine and the next im not. its a physical thing for me as well.0
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I am surprised that no one has mentioned therapy....
My son has a severe anxiety disorder compounded by Aspergers' Syndrome. He still takes meds, (a non-stimulant) for his anxiety), but what has changed all our lives was Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
I mentioned it, just you have to click on the link in my post (I wrote another post a day or two ago on a similar thread, didn't want to type it all out again) - I'm doing CBT and it's helpful.0 -
face it , deal with it , find a plan of attack and eleminate what stresses you. some things you cant change . accept, some things you cant change right now . wait and work towards the change . some things you can change now . do it !~shocks
:flowerforyou:0 -
Yoga has helped me. The physical part of Yoga is obviously very relaxing, but the philosophical part is where the real power lies - after a while, you learn to apply the philosophies to your every day life.0
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Exercise and meditation.
Yup, has worked better than meds for me.0 -
uiim curious about the rescue remedy. where can i buy it? and how is it to be taken? everyday, or only when needed?
Health food stores typically. You don't need to take it everyday (no withdrawls), but it works best if you do. I like the chewy candies they make.0 -
therapy doesnt work for me because their isnt a reason i have it. anxiety can be caused over a completely irrational thought, and even though you know it doesnt make sense it still bothers you. there isnt "something i need to work through" i dont have situational anxiety. it will just be there for no reason. one day im fine and the next im not. its a physical thing for me as well.
there is a difference between psychoanalysis & CBT - CBT focuses on dealing with the anxiety when it comes on: the thoughts, feelings & behaviours0 -
Is there a reason you don't want to use meds? I've found that, once I found the right doseage/timing/balance, they did exactly what they were supposed to with no side effects!
I do still use exercise and other relaxation techniques to help!
This. Why are you opposed to taking medication? There are things that will help, but medication is probably the best thing for it.
because its a pain in the *kitten*. and its only sometimes. like i can manage 75% of the time and then out of nowhere i will get sick with it. for no reason. i just want something to get me through thouse times. and thx everyone for the ideas. i will try anything.
exercise helps to keep the levels of anxiety from reaching debilitating levels, which is all that meds really do. however, i have to stress that it seems to be a trend that very frequent high intensity cardio is the most frequently cited form of exercise among those who say it helps. if for any reason you cannot perform to that high intensity level, anxiety start shooting back up. (for me it did at least).
the advantage of meds that i have found is that nothing can stop me from taking them. a big week at work might be enough to cut into my exercise time, and that might be enough to set off a major anxiety cycle. on meds i can skip the exercise when i need to.
also, i can do other forms of exercise. i always wanted to try strength training, but in the beginner levels of strength while i am still working on form and working with light weights, i do not tire myself out enough for an hour of exercise. when i used to rely solely upon exercise to keep the anxiety in check i couldn't even risk strength training. on meds, i can do strength, i can do yoga, i can work harder sometimes because i can take more rest days.
in summary, if it is strong enough that it gets debilitating, exercise has some flaws as a 'treatment'.
i highly recommend some sessions with a psychologist who can help you by providing skills that can prevent those strong bouts of anxiety. and yeah, as per everyone else, yoga/meditation/relaxation/deep breathing/distraction.
good luck!!0 -
therapy doesnt work for me because their isnt a reason i have it. anxiety can be caused over a completely irrational thought, and even though you know it doesnt make sense it still bothers you. there isnt "something i need to work through" i dont have situational anxiety. it will just be there for no reason. one day im fine and the next im not. its a physical thing for me as well.
there is a difference between psychoanalysis & CBT - CBT focuses on dealing with the anxiety when it comes on: the thoughts, feelings & behaviours
yeah, psychoanalysis is barely necessary in managing anxiety unless there was a definite triggering event. finding someone who practices cognitive behavioural therapy and mindfullness training REALLY helped me. i needed practical skills to cut into the anxiety cycle at each of the levels that can further the cycle - thought, emotion/physiology, behaviour. because i seem to display ocd traits alongside anxiety it is not enough to sort out just thoughts and physiology - i have to be able to break behaviours too or the loop will re-trigger the thought, etc.
also, often with anxiety, our thoughts and behaviours become very separated from a triggering event. so, for example, for me, i was always anxious, but my major trigger was a surgery that went wrong. from then onwards, every time i felt anything slightly strange happen to me physically, i started to 'check' whether it could be something dangerous. getting anxious was one of the feelings that would trigger this 'checking', which obviously made me more anxious. then i started checking other things... if my car felt a bit strange.........then i started to feel VERY uncomfortable at the sign of any form of problem, felt uncomfortable until it was solved. it just spiralled into something totally separate from the original event, to the point that identifying the original event was interesting but not very meaningful.
so, yeah, even when there is 'no reason' for the anxiety, psychological help can be beneficial.0 -
therapy doesnt work for me because their isnt a reason i have it. anxiety can be caused over a completely irrational thought, and even though you know it doesnt make sense it still bothers you. there isnt "something i need to work through" i dont have situational anxiety. it will just be there for no reason. one day im fine and the next im not. its a physical thing for me as well.
there is a difference between psychoanalysis & CBT - CBT focuses on dealing with the anxiety when it comes on: the thoughts, feelings & behaviours
yeah, psychoanalysis is barely necessary in managing anxiety unless there was a definite triggering event. finding someone who practices cognitive behavioural therapy and mindfullness training REALLY helped me. i needed practical skills to cut into the anxiety cycle at each of the levels that can further the cycle - thought, emotion/physiology, behaviour. because i seem to display ocd traits alongside anxiety it is not enough to sort out just thoughts and physiology - i have to be able to break behaviours too or the loop will re-trigger the thought, etc.
also, often with anxiety, our thoughts and behaviours become very separated from a triggering event. so, for example, for me, i was always anxious, but my major trigger was a surgery that went wrong. from then onwards, every time i felt anything slightly strange happen to me physically, i started to 'check' whether it could be something dangerous. getting anxious was one of the feelings that would trigger this 'checking', which obviously made me more anxious. then i started checking other things... if my car felt a bit strange.........then i started to feel VERY uncomfortable at the sign of any form of problem, felt uncomfortable until it was solved. it just spiralled into something totally separate from the original event, to the point that identifying the original event was interesting but not very meaningful.
so, yeah, even when there is 'no reason' for the anxiety, psychological help can be beneficial.
i suppose thats true. just im my case i dont think it would help too much. but, i do think i might do well in a meditation class or a "overcoming anxiety" class or something. i do start a anxiety cycle but what starts it is never a constant thing. i dont think i have a trigger. i also think this because my mom and my sister have high anxiety. my moms is just like mine.0 -
therapy doesnt work for me because their isnt a reason i have it. anxiety can be caused over a completely irrational thought, and even though you know it doesnt make sense it still bothers you. there isnt "something i need to work through" i dont have situational anxiety. it will just be there for no reason. one day im fine and the next im not. its a physical thing for me as well.
there is a difference between psychoanalysis & CBT - CBT focuses on dealing with the anxiety when it comes on: the thoughts, feelings & behaviours
yeah, psychoanalysis is barely necessary in managing anxiety unless there was a definite triggering event. finding someone who practices cognitive behavioural therapy and mindfullness training REALLY helped me. i needed practical skills to cut into the anxiety cycle at each of the levels that can further the cycle - thought, emotion/physiology, behaviour. because i seem to display ocd traits alongside anxiety it is not enough to sort out just thoughts and physiology - i have to be able to break behaviours too or the loop will re-trigger the thought, etc.
also, often with anxiety, our thoughts and behaviours become very separated from a triggering event. so, for example, for me, i was always anxious, but my major trigger was a surgery that went wrong. from then onwards, every time i felt anything slightly strange happen to me physically, i started to 'check' whether it could be something dangerous. getting anxious was one of the feelings that would trigger this 'checking', which obviously made me more anxious. then i started checking other things... if my car felt a bit strange.........then i started to feel VERY uncomfortable at the sign of any form of problem, felt uncomfortable until it was solved. it just spiralled into something totally separate from the original event, to the point that identifying the original event was interesting but not very meaningful.
so, yeah, even when there is 'no reason' for the anxiety, psychological help can be beneficial.
i suppose thats true. just im my case i dont think it would help too much. but, i do think i might do well in a meditation class or a "overcoming anxiety" class or something. i do start a anxiety cycle but what starts it is never a constant thing. i dont think i have a trigger. i also think this because my mom and my sister have high anxiety. my moms is just like mine.
Honestly, unless you've done some form of therapy and it hasn't helped, there's no way to tell.
I will repeat the formula of meditation and exercise for emphasis, and throw in a recommendation of talking to a therapist Even simple deep breathing for 5-10 mins while focusing on your breath coming in and out really helps.
I've successfully managed to get on top of my stress triggered anxiety issues. My doctor's only remedy was anti-depressants, which I personally thought were overkill, so I told her no and went about it my own way with her monitoring and support. Turns out Doctor's do like the idea of their patients doing meditation and exercise, at least the good doctors do 0 -
Not very well.
Turned in my paperwork to get back in therapy and back on meds. 0 -
Do a lot of exercise - get too knackered to care about anything else. Helps with sleep also.
That and breathe deeply a lot.
^pretty much that aha and lots of green tea0 -
Bright light! Keeping the lights on, having a lamp near my face, or getting some sunshine--works wonders!
As everyone has said: Exercise!
And just keeping my mind busy in general: book reading, playing online games, doing puzzles or homework, etc.0 -
Yoga, meditation or just a relaxing walk seems to release a lot of anxiety for me when I have it...I also clean alot to get the pent up energy out I guess...0
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For some of you, stress=/= anxiety disorder.0
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uiim curious about the rescue remedy. where can i buy it? and how is it to be taken? everyday, or only when needed?
Endorphins from exercise fantastic, but since you eventually have to work or get tired and can't exercise all the time, try some fish oil (or capsules) or other omega 3 variants. Hear it helps with lot of things including depression, which is probably somehow connected. I take fish oil and plant based omega 3's daily. Haven't felt so good since I was very young, which I am no longer. Good wishes with this. Keep trying for what works for you. It's a journey not a destination.0
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