severe anxiety

NanaK57

My daughter has anixiety and was told that a good probiotic helps. She started taking a good one (Pharm. recommended one) last week and she can definately tell a difference.

Docmahi

If you have tried a lot of life style modifications - why not give the medication a try?

for anxiety they will most likely give you either the beta blocker you mentioned or clonazepam/ativan - if you have sort of stage fright anxiety where you know when it is going to happen or what triggers it people do really well with the beta blockers, and hey if you dont like it you can always tell your physician that.

I suffer from mild anxiety, and it used to always hit during tests - breathing exercises are all i needed and some visualization, but nothing wrong with taking some medication IMO

blinker86

Having worked with numerous clients with a variety of mental health issues, I wanted to applaud you for already taking some great steps toward managing the anxiety on your own! It sounds as if you've already found some valuable skills that you can use but that there certainly could be more improvement for you as well. I would definitely suggest returning to therapy. While right now you may not be aware of specific triggers that are leading you to feel anxious, I think a good therapist would be able to help you pinpoint some of these triggers and aid you in developing a larger plan to combat the anxiety. Additionally, if you are open to trying medications, it can be great to use them in conjunction with therapy, and you may find that you only need them for a short time.

Syriene

After having been on anxiety meds and beta blockers for years, I finally found someone to properly test my thyroid and found out it was out of whack. That and the adrenal gland being off kilter can really mess things up and cause some of the same symptoms. I'm now off both meds. Might be worth it to have those things checked out. There's a few thyroid groups on here if you decide to do so and need help interpreting bloodwork results.

If you remain on the anxiety meds, please make sure to research them well so you know what to expect. Some are more helpful than others (depending on the person) and some are heck to get out of your system. Medication can be worth it if you find the right one for you.
Good luck!

primpixie

Carbs in general are tightly linked with mood disorders, migraines,and seizures. They trigger a release of seratonin in the brain. That's why their called 'comfort foods'. But...if your brain is already not managing the seratonin levels well, then a surge of carb-induced seratonin is going to be too much to handle. And it will trigger a drastic mood shift. Avoid those types of foods and the brain is able to remain more even, more stable.

My sister is severely bi-polar. She is medicated for it. But she's also not allowed to eat starchy carbs, only in very small quantities. She rarely, if at all, eats potatoes, rice, bread, pasta, cereal, etc. And she's only allowed 1/2 a banana every other day.

I have friends with migraines who were given similar restriction and noticed a difference.

All of those conditions live in the same part of the brain, it really does make sense. Maybe try a coupld of months of limiting your starchy carb intake and see where that gets you?

This is excellent advice and beautifully written in plain english as opposed to your gaba isn't fully functioning and there fore you need to balance your neuro transmitters! Which is true, but better to explain the serotonin and it's all the same part of the brain!
For anxiety and depression I use Sertraline, an SSRi and it does work. Try not to take it with St John's Wort or any other alternative, they do clash and can make you very ill.
You say you do not know why your are anxious - surely moving and being in a new place/surroundings if enough to trigger anyones anxiety levels, so for you who has had anxiety in the past, this is what it will be. They say that moving house is one of the most stressful things people can do.
Also you will be worrying inernally about what you are worried about!
Take care, befriend me if you want. I am also bi polar, but medicated. And have suffered from mental anxiety/panic attacks and clinical depression most of my life.
PP

kelgirl66

If you aren't eating enough carbs that can make it worse. Everytime I tried to do a low carb diet I would have horrible anxiety. Just make sure you are eating good carbs. Oatmeal and whole wheat breads/pasta. You don't need much to do the job. Sorry your going through this it does suck. I love doing spin classes for my anxiety. it really helps with stress. Good luck.

kelgirl66

depleting carbs actually gave me anxiety. You can google anxiety and see that healthy carbs are good for anxiety. Just eat good ones. A bowl of oatmeal can do wonders for anxiety.

trdepalo

Both my boyfriend and I have severe anxiety since always, probably because we both have parents with it too. Honestly therapy is the only thing that has helped both of us, the trick is finding a really good therapist that you can trust. I really like narrative therapy and he's since gotten on board with it to. You say there is no conscious reason for it, but I bet if you spend enough time really thinking (and talking) about it you would find a cause that maybe you never would have guessed on your own.

To be honest, for us it has been a long long process, years long, but we make such great strides its amazing and I'm so confident that by the time we are in our early 30s we'll be better off for having done the work now and getting past it (unlike our parents, who even though tried therapy didn't commit in the way we are and we can see them struggling with things we ourselves have already started working on and improving). There is no quick fix or medication that will change anything (oh have we tried, hypnosis, CBT, handfuls of drugs you name it), those are just like crutches that help you get by when things are really bad. Eventually you need to learn to stand alone, and it's possible but just takes a lot of work. At least in our experience.

justoneanna

Definitely recommending that you consider going back to therapy, even if you don't know right now what your anxiety triggers are. That's some of the benefit of going through the therapy process - helping you find and identify those, especially as you've just gone through some major changes in your life. It might be a good in-between step for managing anxiety before you consider the medication step.

Also, remember that there are different kinds of medications - I take anxiety medication just "as needed" when things get to be too much, it's not something I have to take all the time or even every day. I don't know what form your anxiety takes, but that's an easier thing for me to do (like taking tylenol when I have a headache) than thinking I *must* take certain medications all the time.

And you may only need the medications for a short time as well. If you were handling the anxiety well on your own before, you may just need a little extra help right now and then can go back to managing without additional help!

Good luck to you though! Anxiety sucks!

glovepuppet

i took meds for a year. i know a lot of people are funny about it but i'm not sure why...
now i just take st johns wort when i need it (which my doc said was great).
anyway, meds are great if you need meds. why suffer needlessly?

tashiaberman

I used to have a very similar problem with anxiety and it is difficult to make other people understand how you feel and that intellectually you know there is no "reason" for it, but it still happens.

Have your doctor check your iron levels. I had been staving off my anxiety with high potentcy B-Complex vitamins, with added sub-lingual B-12 for years. After finding out that I was anemic and needed iron, I have improved. In addition to the iron, I also am taking about 4,000 iu/day of vitamin D. You can get all these at most grocery stores or local health-food/vitamin stores.

Try the above, but don't take too much iron without a doctor's guidance as it can be toxic. If your doctor doesn't find you anemic, you might try a multivitamin/mineral formula with iron, like Geratol. Also, eliminate caffeine and go easy on the refined sugar for a while. Sometimes hypoglycemic attacks can feel like anxiety/panic attacks too. Exercise can help alleviate stress and getting enough sleep can help too.

Try all of these at once. After years and years of anxiety problems, it is good to finally feel okay. I have been over the anxiety problem for a couple of years now and it's great.

alinakaras

I too suffer from anxiety, although it's not as severe as it was 2.5 years ago. I did a cognitive behavioural therapy, but it was the antidepressants that sorted me out, to be honest. I noticed that what I eat plays a big role in how I feel mentally. As soon as I cut out sugar and carbs I am much much calmer, confident etc. This is when keeping a food diary helps, so hopefully you will be able to see what triggers your anxiety.

Wishing you all the best and hope you will get better soon!