Extreme Anxiety Issues- Help :(

jacolyncoker
jacolyncoker Posts: 86 Member
edited September 21 in Motivation and Support
Have you all ever heard of SAD? Seasonal Affective disorder? Well I have that, only opposite what most have. I get really really REALLY anxious in the summer, so anxious in fact that it messes with my day to day life.

For example, last summer I was up until 2 am throwing up bile because I didn't know if I loved my boyfriend. Which I do, a lot.

So far this summer has been great... up until today. I was feeling fine and then BAM, it hit me again. I was anxious out of my mind.

The reason I bring it up here is because when I am anxious I do not eat, at all, and if I do eat I usually end up throwing it up.
So, needless to say my body goes into starvation mode and I gain weight. THEN when I am prescribed anti-anxiety meds they make me gain a ton of weight which makes me MORE anxious. I am also on birth control which already makes me heavier than I would be normally.

I just need tips on how to get rid of anxiety.
Maybe ways to distract myself? Excersizes to calm down? Would yoga help?

Replies

  • I have anxiety issues as well. I just started taking a stress formula multi-vitamin, which seems to help a bit. Walking helps a lot, and I also do pilates. Just breathe hun, and try to tell yourself that you are calm and in control.

    Hope this helps even a little
    Valerie
  • Thinwithin2010
    Thinwithin2010 Posts: 166 Member
    Get some exercise in !! Walking helps and I myself am going to try meditation. I'm just reading about it now.. or maybe kick boxing?? a more strenous activity.. Good luck honey:flowerforyou:
  • Hey !
    I have heard of this disorder and it is very hard to cope with. So I can completely understand how you feel. The best advice I can give you is to minimize your life with the essentials. What I mean by this as an example is do not try to planning so much into a small timeframe. When you find yourself getting anxious and you know it , even though it will be hard, try to take your mind off thinking about it because that will just make it worse. It is all mental. I suffer from anxiety as well, where I get major panic attacks to the point where I can not breath. Ive learned to take things slow and day by day and not overwhelm myself . If you ever need someone to talk, for anything I definitely am here for you. There is a light at the end , trust me. You are on your way to being healthy, it will just take some time and dedication! :)
  • emma1488
    emma1488 Posts: 175
    Babe that sounds horrible! I used to get nervous and anxiety a bit from worrying about things, but usually is just feel sick in the tummy and ruin my immune system.

    I went and saw a naturopath, she reaaaally helped me. Gave me some herbal things to help any ailments I had that were probably caused by and contributed to my stress.

    Have you tried yoga? When I used to do it, it was great, but i've managed to get my life a bit more on track and only care about the most important things. My mum always always told me to think "what's the worst that can happen?" an that seemed to help put things in perspective a bit.

    Have you considered having your pill changed? I've heard that they can affect your mood if it's not the right one for you. I hope some of this helps love. I know it's a lot easier said than done to 'don't stress' but if you try to breathe and work yourself through it, it will all be alright.
  • angela75022
    angela75022 Posts: 100 Member
    I have anxiety issues as well... mine are usually in spring to summer...
    I do a lot of walking, it helps calm me down, esp if I walkingand laughing with a few gf and I just started Yoga this week... it has helped calm me down alot... I can't even get into all the positions yet, which would normally stress me out, but I'm doing my breathing and just relaxing.

    We are here for you, whenever you want to rant or just chat... you can get through this :flowerforyou:
  • ksnurse25
    ksnurse25 Posts: 62 Member
    Sounds like you need to find healthy releases. Like many have mentioned before, go for a walk, get some exercise, talk to a good friend. Sometimes it's good to find your own "me" time where you do what you like....spending time with pets, read a book, meditate for example. Maybe you should discuss with your doctor the side effects of your past medication for treatment. There could be other possibilities out there that would work better for you.
  • lilchook
    lilchook Posts: 20
    yoga is a great help for anxiety. it helps you to learn to control your breathing by focussing on it. you don't need to do difficult poses. find a DVD with simple poses and a good relaxation session included. you can learn to use the techniques when you feel your anxiety starting to build. hope this helps.
  • I used to have very bad anxiety issues, to some extent I still do, but I'm at a point in my life now where I can control it enough that it doesn't effect my everyday life, so it's manigable.

    I really feel for you, it's not easy but the thing that helped me break the kind of cycle where I was working myself up into a compelte state of panic was by taking a deep breath stopping for a second and really evaluating what I was worrying about.

    At first, the problems your faced with seem like mountains, they seem totally impassable, but what you need to do is break down these issues or problems you get anxious about and really pick them apart with logic until you realise those mountains your worrying about are actually molehills! :D for example,

    I was compeltely stressing out about a college interview I had, I was so anxious and paniced by the thought of being refused to join the college, I thought there was no point in going. I was totally convinced I was going to be refused entry and it was one of those moments where my anxiety made me feel like just running away, or avoiding the situation so I didn't have to face the fear of it, (hope this is making sense to you :) )

    Then I stopped, and really thought about it, I thought, well, so what if I do get refused? I can always find another college to go to, and so what if the people there decide I'm not good enough, I'll just have to work harder to get better?

    It felt like the end of the world when I first thought about not getting into that college, until I realised that it really wasn't. Life will go on, there are different routes to where you want to get in life and just because one path closes to you, it doesn't mean you can't find another way.

    So shaking in my boots I went to the interview, I had a compelte nervous breakdown in the car but my mother told me I had to go, she helped a lot that day, and I did and guess what? I got in to that college! :D I realised after that if I hadn't gone it would have reinforced my fears because I wouldn't have known I was going to get in unless I had gone! (I hope that made sense xD)

    This is just an example but I hope this helps you, the most important thing to remember, something that really helped me when I was struggling to even get out of bed in the morning, because I couldn't see the point I was so anxious and depressed and afraid of everything, is that, the more times you back down, or avoid something that is worrying you, the bigger you make that mountain.

    You have to bite the bullet as it were, really draw on every ounce of will you have to get past the mental barriers that are in your head. You might get knocked back a few times, it does happen, but the most important thing is to never give up trying, because it really will help, your mind is a tool just like your body and it can help itself if you give it the right advice. :)

    (My god this is getting long, writers habit I'm afraid! Sorry! Lol)

    Anyway, I really hope this helps and that you can apply this long winded story to your situation! All the best. :)
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