Treating the DEEPER issues first

jenni3626 · February 2010

So, I am really excited to actually be experiencing success with my weight loss for the first time in my life. I have lost 17 lbs since starting myfitnesspal and am STILL motivated to keep going. I recently realized that at some point I previously slipped into a mindset that it would be impossible for me to every be as healthy as I really wanted to be and that I would just have to learn to accept that and live my life that way - overweight, tired and self-conscious. That mindset was SO discouraging. I kept thinking, "But we only have one life to live and I wish I could live a really healthy one!"

I wanted to share that I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder not too long ago. After wrestling with my pride for a long time I finally surrendered to the counsel of trying some medication that could help. What I learned, my anxiety was causing my depression, my depression was cauing mindsets that are reflected in the thought above (feelings of being stuck and having no options), and in-turn these mindsets were causing me to continually give up and fail at my health goals, EVEN WHEN I WAS PRESENTLY SUCCEDING! Anyways, the medication I am on is helping me to handle my anxiety better, which helps me to fight the depression, which helps me to attain positive mind-sets, which helps me to focus on and believe that success is possible.

Why the transparency with such a personal issue? Well, I think that my battle with depression has affected my health goals for years. I was always trying to eat better and exercise more, but I would always get to a point where I would give up. Finding help for this DEEPER issue and seeing how it has had a ripple effect on my health has opened my eyes to realize that maybe a lot of times people are struggling with a deeper issue that is keeping them from finding success with their health goals.

Just wanted to encourage others to be open to looking into any other possible health related issues and to be humble enough to trust doctors and friends and family with adviced ways to help the problem.

For me, accepting the reality that I struggle with an anxiety disorder and choosing to accept the prescribed medication is literally changing how I experience my pursuit of health.

Now, I believe not only that I CAN be as healthy as I want to be . . . I believe that I WILL be as healthy as I want to be.

MissKim · February 2010

Thank you for sharing your story. I too have a severe anxiety disorder. I have been to many doctors and tried many medications, but the side affects have always been horrible or i couldn't really tell a difference. Can I ask what you are taking?? I have alot of deeper issues that need dealt with but I have had alot of problems finding someone to help me. Most doctors I've seen are just ready to write you a prescription for something, they could care less what's causing it. I even went to my church for help and they just made me feel worse. I'm working on bettering myself everyday. I know that anxiety is something I will always have to live with, but I'm learning to handle it a little better.

shariguymon · February 2010

Happy to see that you are on the path to better health. Best wishes to you and your success at reaching your goals, I know you will achieve them.

:flowerforyou:

shariguymon · February 2010

Thank you for sharing your story. I too have a severe anxiety disorder. I have been to many doctors and tried many medications, but the side affects have always been horrible or i couldn't really tell a difference. Can I ask what you are taking?? I have alot of deeper issues that need dealt with but I have had alot of problems finding someone to help me. Most doctors I've seen are just ready to write you a prescription for something, they could care less what's causing it. I even went to my church for help and they just made me feel worse. I'm working on bettering myself everyday. I know that anxiety is something I will always have to live with, but I'm learning to handle it a little better.

I wish you well too. It may seem weird, but there are several in my community that have been treated with NAET therapy, that is actually working for them. I call it Vodoo! but when I see it working for people, I have to believe even though I don't understand how it works. NAET.com tells about it. It is based on different medical approaches combined, and I have seen friends that were suffering so badly that they could not go out of their house be totally healed.

MissKim · February 2010

Thanks, I will check the website out.

jenni3626 · February 2010

MissKim, Thanks for being so honest with your own struggle. That takes a lot of courage. Wow, can I say first that I am always sad to hear when the church does more harm than good. I am a christian and yet I have been deeply hurt by the church. Over the years my faith and hope in the health and value of the "church" in general has been restored, but I am not sure that there will ever be a time when we never hear another story about the church doing the wrong thing.

Churches and even christians are not always open to being honest with physical and emotional issues sometimes. It is dangerous to make everything a "spiritual" issue when we are clearly physical creatures. The spirit is only a part of it. I was so excited to read a book titled "Seeing in The Dark" by Gary Kinnaman. He is a christian speaker (had been a pastor and author for several years) and in this book is very open and honest with his ongoing struggle with chronic depression. So, is it a sin for a christian to struggle with depression? NO! It is a physical reality and honestly if more people in the church were open to talking about such issues they would probalby do better at overcoming them.

Check out this book if you can find it. I love that Gary is so transparent with his struggle. It helped me to feel no shame and to find a new confidence to talk more openly about my struggle. I AM very sorry about the medical struggle. I know that can be very hard. It took awhile for me to find a healthy ballance. At one point I even ended up in the doctors office because I had taken something common, like midol or something (bad to mix with my anxiety medication) and it sent my heart-beat through the roof. Personally, I like to encourage people to find a counselor through their insurance (do you have ins?) and to talk out the problems and also to ask the counselor if they would refer a phychiatrist. Originally I was just going to try something my Dr. suggested, but someone told me that seeing a phychiatrist for depression / anxiety and such is like seeing a heart specialist if you have a heart problem. Made sense to me. She has helped me to find a good match for what I needed pretty quick. But everyone is so different. I take 150mg SR TAB of Bupropion (the generic of Welbutron) twice a day, but that might not be the right medication for you.

Some other good steps:
Check with family to see if anyone has struggled with anxiety or ADD or ADHD (very genetic)
STAY CONNECTED
My biggest struggle with anxiety AND depression is to stay connected. I am often tempted to isolate myself.
Talk to God about it (I figure, He made me, so He knows what's going on better than anyone else).

Let me know if there is anything else I can encourage you with.

Oh, last suggestion, don't give up on the church and definitly not on God. There is value in healthy community and connectedness that the church has to offer, but sometimes it just take a few tries to find the right place.

Mummsy · February 2010

Jenni: you are doing great. I am glad you are finding some help and have experienced success with this! Keep up the great work!

Thanks to everyone for sharing.

shariguymon · February 2010

MissKim, Thanks for being so honest with your own struggle. That takes a lot of courage. Wow, can I say first that I am always sad to hear when the church does more harm than good. I am a christian and yet I have been deeply hurt by the church. Over the years my faith and hope in the health and value of the "church" in general has been restored, but I am not sure that there will ever be a time when we never hear another story about the church doing the wrong thing.

Churches and even christians are not always open to being honest with physical and emotional issues sometimes. It is dangerous to make everything a "spiritual" issue when we are clearly physical creatures. The spirit is only a part of it. I was so excited to read a book titled "Seeing in The Dark" by Gary Kinnaman. He is a christian speaker (had been a pastor and author for several years) and in this book is very open and honest with his ongoing struggle with chronic depression. So, is it a sin for a christian to struggle with depression? NO! It is a physical reality and honestly if more people in the church were open to talking about such issues they would probalby do better at overcoming them.

Check out this book if you can find it. I love that Gary is so transparent with his struggle. It helped me to feel no shame and to find a new confidence to talk more openly about my struggle. I AM very sorry about the medical struggle. I know that can be very hard. It took awhile for me to find a healthy ballance. At one point I even ended up in the doctors office because I had taken something common, like midol or something (bad to mix with my anxiety medication) and it sent my heart-beat through the roof. Personally, I like to encourage people to find a counselor through their insurance (do you have ins?) and to talk out the problems and also to ask the counselor if they would refer a phychiatrist. Originally I was just going to try something my Dr. suggested, but someone told me that seeing a phychiatrist for depression / anxiety and such is like seeing a heart specialist if you have a heart problem. Made sense to me. She has helped me to find a good match for what I needed pretty quick. But everyone is so different. I take 150mg SR TAB of Bupropion (the generic of Welbutron) twice a day, but that might not be the right medication for you.

Some other good steps:
Check with family to see if anyone has struggled with anxiety or ADD or ADHD (very genetic)
STAY CONNECTED
My biggest struggle with anxiety AND depression is to stay connected. I am often tempted to isolate myself.
Talk to God about it (I figure, He made me, so He knows what's going on better than anyone else).

Let me know if there is anything else I can encourage you with.

Oh, last suggestion, don't give up on the church and definitly not on God. There is value in healthy community and connectedness that the church has to offer, but sometimes it just take a few tries to find the right place.

Thank you so much for your comments! I will also look for the book you mentioned. I have a family member who has struggled with anxiety and depression. We had support from the church,but we don't mention specifics to other people, because most do not understand. Others can identify with a broken limb or such, but in general do not comprehend other types of struggles unless they have experienced them. It seemed like all of the doctors we went to just wanted to give medications. My family member had the wrong medications, and went up and down so much that there was a time when I feared for loss of life because of the effect of the medications. It seemed like every therapist just wanted to try another medication. We were about to see yet another doctor, when I felt impressed to cancel the appointment and try NAET. I've done a lot of study with the mind body connection and the plasticity of the brain, and things that can interfere with neurotransmitters. My family member is still in treatment, and I have yet to see final results, but things are looking better, and there is HOPE . NAET works with allergies which can cause a multitude of symptoms, and as I reviewed the history of my family member I felt that these types of responses could be a cause. There definitely were differences from the time of birth in responses to foods that others didn't experience. I think you are so right in stating that we need to remember our faith and the one who understands all. There is so much we don't understand, and we just need to love and care for one another and help each other the best we can. That is why it is so important as you mentioned to stay connected to people who care and to God.

Thanks again for your post and reply.

jojoworks · February 2010

http://www.amazon.com/dp/157224223X/?tag=plentyofnuts-20

this link takes you to Amazon.com that can describe this very helpful workbook: The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook.

I had/have an anxiety disorder that was heading me towards being agoraphobic as well when my regular physician picked up on my issues during my annual physical. She set me up with a psychologist who made sure I picked up this book to augment our sessions. The book is awesome and even though I think it would be best if you also sought professional help for talking thru your issues, you can do the book on your own too.

My regular physician initially put me on prozac and I didn't do well on it and even became allergic to it and trust me, withdrawing from it was HORRIBLE. I now take Bupropian (wellbutrin) and find it to be helpful and not invasive to my normal nature.

We are such emotional creatures, if our health is effected by something as major as obesity, it is not out of the questions AT ALL to develop an anxiety order as a response. I learned in this book that anxiety results as a response to the CUMULATION of MANY factors in our lives, many you may not be aware of or dismiss. You will learn to understand yourself and your responses. You will also learn how incredibly awesome exercise is and how positively it can affect you and your mental health.

If this has been covered in previous posts, forgive me, I'm trying to run out to work and just wanted to write this before reading thru them all.
GOOD LUCK!!!! Believe you are worthy of the changes you seek!!!!
JoJo

cfischer81 · February 2010

Hey ladies, I wanted to let you know (those who are really stuggling with anxiety) that I too have an anxiety disorder- Panic disorder w/ agoraphobia that is almost totally "cured"! I haven't even taken any anxiety meds in over 3 years! I had terrible, dibiltating anxiety that control my entire life. I did talk therapy and learned meditation/calming techinques. It's honestly the BEST thing EVER! Whenever I felt a panic attack coming on I would go to my relaxing state or "happy place" and say nice things to myself and I would make the attack "go away", I would calm myself back down. It took some time and practice but I went from having panic attacks just about everytime time I left the house and now I haven't had one in at least 4 years!! I got some tapes to listen to at night to learn the techinques and what to say to myself (got mine free from my therapist) and also a good book (although quite old) is "The Anxiety Disease" by David Sheehan. The book is like 20 years old but maybe at least check it out from a library because it will make you feel so much better reading it! It has stories of a few different people living with anxiety and I remember it being so touching to me. (It's been about 5 years since I read it)

Good Luck!!

hamiltonba · February 2010

Miss Kim - Have you looked into a counselor? Most can't write prescriptions and can help a lot - from someone who has gotten help from counseling.

jojoworks · February 2010

Hey ladies, I wanted to let you know (those who are really stuggling with anxiety) that I too have an anxiety disorder- Panic disorder w/ agoraphobia that is almost totally "cured"! I haven't even taken any anxiety meds in over 3 years! I had terrible, dibiltating anxiety that control my entire life. I did talk therapy and learned meditation/calming techinques. It's honestly the BEST thing EVER! Whenever I felt a panic attack coming on I would go to my relaxing state or "happy place" and say nice things to myself and I would make the attack "go away", I would calm myself back down. It took some time and practice but I went from having panic attacks just about everytime time I left the house and now I haven't had one in at least 4 years!! I got some tapes to listen to at night to learn the techinques and what to say to myself (got mine free from my therapist) and also a good book (although quite old) is "The Anxiety Disease" by David Sheehan. The book is like 20 years old but maybe at least check it out from a library because it will make you feel so much better reading it! It has stories of a few different people living with anxiety and I remember it being so touching to me. (It's been about 5 years since I read it)

Good Luck!!

I just wanted to note that I've employed listening to relaxation CD's at night also. I have a range of them that fit various needs (self-esteem, weight-loss, anger management, etc). Not only are the positive messages important for me to absorb, but they almost always help me fall straight asleep.

MissKim · February 2010

Thanks for the advice ladies. The only treatment I'm doing right now is exercise and a healthy diet! I'm hoping that if I can get my body on the right track my emotional and mental health will be easier to grasp. I have been to counselor and talked about my problems. but it just depressed me more to talk about the past! So I've gotten it all out and did the whole forigiving everyone that ever hurt me thing at church with a counselor. I honestly don't think that is going to help me. I've taken medications including welbutrin. Nothing has seemed to help as much as me exercising and just facing my anxiety head on everyday. I get upset easily, I panic in crowds or around people I don't know. I cry on a daily basis. I let things around me affect me more than I should. I have panic attacks, but not that often. and I don't like being alone, ever!! so i am slowly trying to tackle each issue i have one at a time. I am now going to the gym by myself (something i would have never done in the past!) I still have anxiety but i make myself go. I have been to walmart by myself several times. It's getting better each day. I used to watch a show about people with anxiety disorders. I know this sounds crazy but i just listened to what those counselors were doing to treat them and I'm just doing the same! I do want to read those books though.

bebhinn · February 2010

So much courage in this post - all of you!

I too was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and prescribed anti-depressants. They were working, but unfortunately I was no longer able to afford them once I changed jobs. I was medically phased off of them and went in search of a holistic approach to dealing with it.

I quit smoking and started dieting - gearing my diet around consumption of healthy fats/omegas and general nutrition + hydration. In the beginning I used the help of a product Relacore. (For me, it worked like a dream!) It took a while, but my body started to settle out and in the most natural way my disorder has come under control. I even phased off the Relacore. I am just careful to maintain a vitamin regimen. B vitamins are KEY in mood stabilization!

The only time I experience any form of anxiety now is when my hormones go mental at TOM. I have also noticed that when I slip a little and go nuts on sugar that I get angry and agitated, get a headache and then get tired.

I have realized that my body was screaming for help and I was ignoring it... stuffing its mouth with things so it would shut up.
Now it sings.

Congratulations to all of you on your journeys, courage and confidence!

(spelling edit!)

Treating the DEEPER issues first

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