how do you deal with high anxiety minus meds?

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  • Becky1971
    Becky1971 Posts: 979 Member
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    I stay away from caffeine and sugar as much as possible. I take flax seed oil capsules, I was amazed how much those helped me. I have gluten intolerance, it also will add to my anxiety if I have it. And then working out helps a lot too. I have to be consistent, and when I am it's amazing. I wish I had known that I could do these things a long time ago instead of meds or to help a lot more than high doses of meds. I also do all I can to better manage my life, if certain people cause me stress, then I stay away from them if need be. I pick my job wisely, I went to school part time instead of full time, ect.. Whatever is helpful, I will do.
  • melodys_attic
    melodys_attic Posts: 114 Member
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    I totally understand not wanting to be on the meds. I don't care what anyone says, they make me eat. But I keep a bottle of them on hand just in case. I've only needed one tablet in over two years. Sometimes I say "I'm just going to exercise/meditate/read for a while" and if it doesn't go away I'll take one. The one time I took one was because I had that painful stomach sinking for a couple of weeks and couldn't kick it no matter what I did. Just taking one tablet broke the cycle. See what your doc says. It's a miserable feeling anxiety, but we can do this! See if you can find some books by McKay or the one "feel the fear do it anyway." Cognitive approaches work really well for anxiety. There's an anxiety and phobia workbook too that has some helpful exercises. Good luck with it!
  • Italian_Buju
    Italian_Buju Posts: 8,030 Member
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    I suffer from pretty severe OCD, which is a pretty strong anxiety disorder, and will NOT take medication, as I had a bad reaction from it....I use a combination of making sure I have enough down time at the end of each day, I do not and will not spread myself too thin. Then yoga and cannibas take care of the rest.....
  • BandForAlyAnne
    BandForAlyAnne Posts: 321 Member
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    well theres another reason meds are a pain in the *kitten*. i have the lap band and cant take pills so i have to get it compounded. and i just dont like the ways meds make me feel. they change my personality. even lexapro makes me feel bad. and i havent found a doctor willing to prescribe me xanax anyways. i guess because im young and look kinda hippyish. idk. they always think im a druggie. so yea. i wanna try the rescue remedy. i found that its at gnc. gonna go pick some up. thx guys for telling me about it. :)
  • BandForAlyAnne
    BandForAlyAnne Posts: 321 Member
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    I suffer from pretty severe OCD, which is a pretty strong anxiety disorder, and will NOT take medication, as I had a bad reaction from it....I use a combination of making sure I have enough down time at the end of each day, I do not and will not spread myself too thin. Then yoga and cannibas take care of the rest.....

    i wish i lived somewhere where i could take it legally. im in texas so no luck.
  • knittnponder
    knittnponder Posts: 1,954 Member
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    Know my triggers which means;
    1. Get enough good sleep
    2. Exercise regularly
    3. Eat well (careful with sugar and flour. Too much gets me out of whack)
    4. Be careful not to have too much caffeine.
    5. No artificial sweeteners (even if I chew gum too many days in a row I'll feel my anxiety levels rising)
    6. Manage my stress (exercise is my number one help with this one but other relaxation techniques are helpful too.)

    Usually if I start feeling my anxiety levels rising I can *kitten* what I've been doing and see that I've messed up one or more of the above areas. I can usually talk myself through a panic attack if I can identify why I'm likely having one. I also let my husband know so he can help me too. Since figuring all this out I haven't had a major one. No more waking up in the middle of the night thinking I'm having a heart attack!
  • RaeLB
    RaeLB Posts: 1,216 Member
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    mindful yoga, meditation, breathing & relaxation exercises
    i went to a mindfulness group for 9 weeks, it was awesome!
  • RaeLB
    RaeLB Posts: 1,216 Member
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    i googled "mindfulness therapy texas" and a bunch of stuff came up
    if you can go to mindfulness therapy or a course, workshop or retreat, do it! it is the greatest thing i have ever done for my health
  • pcastillon
    pcastillon Posts: 13
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    I know it sounds rather lame but taking slow, deep breaths repeatedly for a minute of two mostly helps me get back on track... Focus on the feeling of air coming in and out, and imagine all other feelings as clouds passing by. Doesn't hurt trying!
  • StephTheBookworm
    StephTheBookworm Posts: 177 Member
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    Hey, I'm sorry to hear you're dealing with this. I also have anxiety and have been off my medication for about four months now. Not gonna lie, sometimes I still find myself in really high anxiety situations. I just try to rationalize the situation in my head, take a breath, and do something else. Don't really have a lot of advice to offer, but wanted to at least offer my support. :flowerforyou:
  • Amy911Gray
    Amy911Gray Posts: 685 Member
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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.
  • BandForAlyAnne
    BandForAlyAnne Posts: 321 Member
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    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. :p also, on the bright side, one good thing i can say about my anxiety: you cant eat all day when your stomach is churning.
  • Tonya509
    Tonya509 Posts: 19
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    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.
  • dhakiyya
    dhakiyya Posts: 481 Member
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    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 :)
  • AliceKlaar
    AliceKlaar Posts: 275 Member
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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!
  • AmyEm3
    AmyEm3 Posts: 784 Member
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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.
  • ThaRealNicki
    ThaRealNicki Posts: 328 Member
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    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 sucks
  • BackTatJIM
    BackTatJIM Posts: 1,140 Member
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    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.
  • ThaRealNicki
    ThaRealNicki Posts: 328 Member
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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!!!!
  • Perisylpha
    Perisylpha Posts: 139
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    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.

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