Anxiety / Anger

Have you tried maybe getting a punching bag? It might help to let out some aggression.

I have the same problem. I'm starting to go to therapy and see what comes from it. Maybe you would find it helpful too.

Wil Wheaton said this:

I haven’t ever felt suicidal, but I do have Depression and Anxiety. I suffered for no good reason for decades, until I couldn’t reconcile my awesome life with feeling terrible all the time. Talking therapy wasn’t ever enough for me, and I was very resistant to medication, because I believed (and continue to believe) that we are an over-medicated culture.

But, still, I wouldn’t just sit around and suffer if I had a treatable non-mental illness, so I went to a doctor, and I got better. Now, I take some medication every morning, and it has made all the difference in my life.

I remember the first week after I started meds, Anne and I were out for a walk. I felt her hand in mine, and realized that I didn’t have any lingering tension or unhappiness just buzzing around in my skull. I was just enjoying a walk with my wife, and holding her hand.

And I began to cry, because I was so happy.

“It’s like I was in a loud room for so long, I didn’t know how loud it was,” I said, “and all I have now is the ringing in my ears.”

She squeezed my hand and I said, “I’m going to remember that ringing in my ears, so I never go back into that room again.”

That was about four years ago, and I’m happy to say that I’ve stayed out of the room. I can actually enjoy my friends, my family, and my life. I have bad days from time to time, but I know they’ll pass, and — most important of all — I may have Depression, but Depression doesn’t have me. I know that’s sort of corny, but it’s pretty accurate, too.

So, please, if you or someone you know suffer from Depression — with or without thoughts of suicide — please talk to someone, and get help from a doctor. As Jenny says, Depression lies, and you don’t need to let it control your life.

Have you sought a therapist that you really connected with? Read any books? Did the 'homework' the therapist would give you, like thought experiments and worksheets? Pills will only treat the symptoms of anxiety, not the root cause of fearfulness. I had moderate GAD a couple years ago and after over a year of therapy I was much better. I still go back from time to time if I feel myself sinking back into negative thought-patterns.

I had the pills for the depression, they were suppose to help with the anxiety, but I'm always worried about going to a new therapist, I had such bad experiences with previous ones that I worry about finding someone I feel really comfortable talking too.

Many pills treat multiple symptoms and depression and anxiety often go hand-in-hand. I had both as well and was put on an anti-anxiety SSRI as well as an anti-depressant SNRI; the bottom line is that it took a long time to really work through the actual issues so I wasn't just treating the symptoms. I have also been to many therapists and it takes a long time to find one you really feel comfortable opening up to. Just sitting around worrying is obviously ineffective, and pills will only take the edge off. If you ever want to live life happily without relying on medication, CBT is really key.

There are many different pills out there that do different things. It may take a while for your doctor to find the right one for you.

I was severely depressed about 5 years ago. Working out wasn't helping for me, either. Sometimes the anger helped me with certain lifts, but my workouts quickly fizzled, and I lost interest. My depression was so bad that I got thinking, "Why am I punishing my body like this? It will be in a casket, soon, anyway."

I had to remove from my life the things that were causing my depression. Once I separated from my wife, (ex-wife, now) my depression quickly went away, and so did the suicidal thoughts.

Keep working on it. Seek counseling from good professionals to find out what is causing the anxiety/ depression, and get the proper medication if you need it.

I'm the exact same way. In fact, I'm in that state right now. Some things that help me are:

- Singing, either to my favorite CDs or when I go to practice with the choir I'm in. Singing is one of the few things that I can completely get engrossed in, taking my mind off of everything else.

- Running - when I run, my negative thoughts often churn. But, if I listen to an engaging podcast (RadioLab is my favorite) while running, then it becomes a way to focus away from those thoughts.

- Going for a walk in the woods on a beautiful day. (I did this at lunch, and it helped temporarily.)

- A long hot bath/shower, feeling the water against my skin. (I think I'm going to go do this now.)

Good luck... I know how you feel.

Well, this is corny, but deep breaths. I used to (more often than not) get severely pissed off, even from simple matters. (examples: accidentally getting bumped into, when innocent pranks are played on me, and when people argued with me. For the instant anger relief I took very deep breaths and let them out slowly. To reduce the total amount of stress and anger, I wrote down what made me angry and why. Then, I thought of solutions to keep me from overreacting, like I so often did. I actually have a friend who had the exact same problems as you. She ended up finding a person she was able to set up a relationship with. She talks to that person ALL THE TIME, but it does keep her level headed and happy. In the end... I don't know. people have there own problems and sometimes, they have to find a unique solution that works for them. The key is the mindset.

Wil Wheaton said this:

I haven’t ever felt suicidal, but I do have Depression and Anxiety. I suffered for no good reason for decades, until I couldn’t reconcile my awesome life with feeling terrible all the time. Talking therapy wasn’t ever enough for me, and I was very resistant to medication, because I believed (and continue to believe) that we are an over-medicated culture.

But, still, I wouldn’t just sit around and suffer if I had a treatable non-mental illness, so I went to a doctor, and I got better. Now, I take some medication every morning, and it has made all the difference in my life.

I remember the first week after I started meds, Anne and I were out for a walk. I felt her hand in mine, and realized that I didn’t have any lingering tension or unhappiness just buzzing around in my skull. I was just enjoying a walk with my wife, and holding her hand.

And I began to cry, because I was so happy.

“It’s like I was in a loud room for so long, I didn’t know how loud it was,” I said, “and all I have now is the ringing in my ears.”

She squeezed my hand and I said, “I’m going to remember that ringing in my ears, so I never go back into that room again.”

That was about four years ago, and I’m happy to say that I’ve stayed out of the room. I can actually enjoy my friends, my family, and my life. I have bad days from time to time, but I know they’ll pass, and — most important of all — I may have Depression, but Depression doesn’t have me. I know that’s sort of corny, but it’s pretty accurate, too.

So, please, if you or someone you know suffer from Depression — with or without thoughts of suicide — please talk to someone, and get help from a doctor. As Jenny says, Depression lies, and you don’t need to let it control your life.

That is good to hear that you've had a good experience with anti-anxiety/depression meds. I finally broke down & went to the doctor about my own anxiety troubles & am starting on Lexapro this week. I'm hopeful that it will help me, I hate who I am when my anxiety is in control, it makes me feel like I'm not really present & it's difficult to enjoy the good things in my life.

I've tried the usual relaxation techniques (deep breathing, meditation, etc.) which sometimes help but only for a little while. When my anxiety is at it's most severe, nothing can relieve it. This is the part where having a chemical imbalance makes the most sense to me...nothing I tried worked because it's not really addressing the root of the problem.