how do you deal with high anxiety minus meds?

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13

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  • Perisylpha
    Perisylpha Posts: 139
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    ...but who wants to have their stomach churning all day? That's one of the worst feelings in the world. I hope you will find some relief from your symptoms soon.
  • Sky_Of_Aegis
    Sky_Of_Aegis Posts: 114
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    I have suffered panic disorder and post traumatic stress disorder basically my whole life. If you exercise enough( not too much where you suffer calorie deficiency) and eat right (It is okay to go out sometimes of course) it will decrease. Got on meds when I was 20 finally, and within a month, I was off again. I have been off for 5 years now. I drink often enough, but also play alot of ddr lol.
  • 2Bgoddess
    2Bgoddess Posts: 1,096 Member
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    I am surprised that no one has mentioned therapy....

    My son has a severe anxiety disorder compounded by Aspergers' Syndrome. He still takes meds, (a non-stimulant) for his anxiety), but what has changed all our lives was Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
  • BandForAlyAnne
    BandForAlyAnne Posts: 321 Member
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    therapy doesnt work for me because their isnt a reason i have it. anxiety can be caused over a completely irrational thought, and even though you know it doesnt make sense it still bothers you. there isnt "something i need to work through" i dont have situational anxiety. it will just be there for no reason. one day im fine and the next im not. its a physical thing for me as well.
  • dhakiyya
    dhakiyya Posts: 481 Member
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    I am surprised that no one has mentioned therapy....

    My son has a severe anxiety disorder compounded by Aspergers' Syndrome. He still takes meds, (a non-stimulant) for his anxiety), but what has changed all our lives was Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

    I mentioned it, just you have to click on the link in my post (I wrote another post a day or two ago on a similar thread, didn't want to type it all out again) - I'm doing CBT and it's helpful.
  • ccfshocks
    ccfshocks Posts: 2
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    face it , deal with it , find a plan of attack and eleminate what stresses you. some things you cant change . accept, some things you cant change right now . wait and work towards the change . some things you can change now . do it !~shocks
    :flowerforyou:
  • LolaVersion2
    LolaVersion2 Posts: 114 Member
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    Yoga has helped me. The physical part of Yoga is obviously very relaxing, but the philosophical part is where the real power lies - after a while, you learn to apply the philosophies to your every day life.
  • ChubbyStudent25
    ChubbyStudent25 Posts: 74
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    Exercise and meditation.

    Yup, has worked better than meds for me.
  • Kenzietea2
    Kenzietea2 Posts: 1,132 Member
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    uiim curious about the rescue remedy. where can i buy it? and how is it to be taken? everyday, or only when needed?

    Health food stores typically. You don't need to take it everyday (no withdrawls), but it works best if you do. I like the chewy candies they make.
  • RaeLB
    RaeLB Posts: 1,216 Member
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    therapy doesnt work for me because their isnt a reason i have it. anxiety can be caused over a completely irrational thought, and even though you know it doesnt make sense it still bothers you. there isnt "something i need to work through" i dont have situational anxiety. it will just be there for no reason. one day im fine and the next im not. its a physical thing for me as well.

    there is a difference between psychoanalysis & CBT - CBT focuses on dealing with the anxiety when it comes on: the thoughts, feelings & behaviours
  • Lolli1986
    Lolli1986 Posts: 500 Member
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    Is there a reason you don't want to use meds? I've found that, once I found the right doseage/timing/balance, they did exactly what they were supposed to with no side effects!

    I do still use exercise and other relaxation techniques to help!

    This. Why are you opposed to taking medication? There are things that will help, but medication is probably the best thing for it.

    because its a pain in the *kitten*. and its only sometimes. like i can manage 75% of the time and then out of nowhere i will get sick with it. for no reason. i just want something to get me through thouse times. and thx everyone for the ideas. i will try anything.

    exercise helps to keep the levels of anxiety from reaching debilitating levels, which is all that meds really do. however, i have to stress that it seems to be a trend that very frequent high intensity cardio is the most frequently cited form of exercise among those who say it helps. if for any reason you cannot perform to that high intensity level, anxiety start shooting back up. (for me it did at least).

    the advantage of meds that i have found is that nothing can stop me from taking them. a big week at work might be enough to cut into my exercise time, and that might be enough to set off a major anxiety cycle. on meds i can skip the exercise when i need to.

    also, i can do other forms of exercise. i always wanted to try strength training, but in the beginner levels of strength while i am still working on form and working with light weights, i do not tire myself out enough for an hour of exercise. when i used to rely solely upon exercise to keep the anxiety in check i couldn't even risk strength training. on meds, i can do strength, i can do yoga, i can work harder sometimes because i can take more rest days.

    in summary, if it is strong enough that it gets debilitating, exercise has some flaws as a 'treatment'.

    i highly recommend some sessions with a psychologist who can help you by providing skills that can prevent those strong bouts of anxiety. and yeah, as per everyone else, yoga/meditation/relaxation/deep breathing/distraction.

    good luck!!
  • Lolli1986
    Lolli1986 Posts: 500 Member
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    therapy doesnt work for me because their isnt a reason i have it. anxiety can be caused over a completely irrational thought, and even though you know it doesnt make sense it still bothers you. there isnt "something i need to work through" i dont have situational anxiety. it will just be there for no reason. one day im fine and the next im not. its a physical thing for me as well.

    there is a difference between psychoanalysis & CBT - CBT focuses on dealing with the anxiety when it comes on: the thoughts, feelings & behaviours

    yeah, psychoanalysis is barely necessary in managing anxiety unless there was a definite triggering event. finding someone who practices cognitive behavioural therapy and mindfullness training REALLY helped me. i needed practical skills to cut into the anxiety cycle at each of the levels that can further the cycle - thought, emotion/physiology, behaviour. because i seem to display ocd traits alongside anxiety it is not enough to sort out just thoughts and physiology - i have to be able to break behaviours too or the loop will re-trigger the thought, etc.

    also, often with anxiety, our thoughts and behaviours become very separated from a triggering event. so, for example, for me, i was always anxious, but my major trigger was a surgery that went wrong. from then onwards, every time i felt anything slightly strange happen to me physically, i started to 'check' whether it could be something dangerous. getting anxious was one of the feelings that would trigger this 'checking', which obviously made me more anxious. then i started checking other things... if my car felt a bit strange.........then i started to feel VERY uncomfortable at the sign of any form of problem, felt uncomfortable until it was solved. it just spiralled into something totally separate from the original event, to the point that identifying the original event was interesting but not very meaningful.

    so, yeah, even when there is 'no reason' for the anxiety, psychological help can be beneficial.
  • BandForAlyAnne
    BandForAlyAnne Posts: 321 Member
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    therapy doesnt work for me because their isnt a reason i have it. anxiety can be caused over a completely irrational thought, and even though you know it doesnt make sense it still bothers you. there isnt "something i need to work through" i dont have situational anxiety. it will just be there for no reason. one day im fine and the next im not. its a physical thing for me as well.

    there is a difference between psychoanalysis & CBT - CBT focuses on dealing with the anxiety when it comes on: the thoughts, feelings & behaviours

    yeah, psychoanalysis is barely necessary in managing anxiety unless there was a definite triggering event. finding someone who practices cognitive behavioural therapy and mindfullness training REALLY helped me. i needed practical skills to cut into the anxiety cycle at each of the levels that can further the cycle - thought, emotion/physiology, behaviour. because i seem to display ocd traits alongside anxiety it is not enough to sort out just thoughts and physiology - i have to be able to break behaviours too or the loop will re-trigger the thought, etc.

    also, often with anxiety, our thoughts and behaviours become very separated from a triggering event. so, for example, for me, i was always anxious, but my major trigger was a surgery that went wrong. from then onwards, every time i felt anything slightly strange happen to me physically, i started to 'check' whether it could be something dangerous. getting anxious was one of the feelings that would trigger this 'checking', which obviously made me more anxious. then i started checking other things... if my car felt a bit strange.........then i started to feel VERY uncomfortable at the sign of any form of problem, felt uncomfortable until it was solved. it just spiralled into something totally separate from the original event, to the point that identifying the original event was interesting but not very meaningful.

    so, yeah, even when there is 'no reason' for the anxiety, psychological help can be beneficial.

    i suppose thats true. just im my case i dont think it would help too much. but, i do think i might do well in a meditation class or a "overcoming anxiety" class or something. i do start a anxiety cycle but what starts it is never a constant thing. i dont think i have a trigger. i also think this because my mom and my sister have high anxiety. my moms is just like mine.
  • abhiforlife
    abhiforlife Posts: 75 Member
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    therapy doesnt work for me because their isnt a reason i have it. anxiety can be caused over a completely irrational thought, and even though you know it doesnt make sense it still bothers you. there isnt "something i need to work through" i dont have situational anxiety. it will just be there for no reason. one day im fine and the next im not. its a physical thing for me as well.

    there is a difference between psychoanalysis & CBT - CBT focuses on dealing with the anxiety when it comes on: the thoughts, feelings & behaviours

    yeah, psychoanalysis is barely necessary in managing anxiety unless there was a definite triggering event. finding someone who practices cognitive behavioural therapy and mindfullness training REALLY helped me. i needed practical skills to cut into the anxiety cycle at each of the levels that can further the cycle - thought, emotion/physiology, behaviour. because i seem to display ocd traits alongside anxiety it is not enough to sort out just thoughts and physiology - i have to be able to break behaviours too or the loop will re-trigger the thought, etc.

    also, often with anxiety, our thoughts and behaviours become very separated from a triggering event. so, for example, for me, i was always anxious, but my major trigger was a surgery that went wrong. from then onwards, every time i felt anything slightly strange happen to me physically, i started to 'check' whether it could be something dangerous. getting anxious was one of the feelings that would trigger this 'checking', which obviously made me more anxious. then i started checking other things... if my car felt a bit strange.........then i started to feel VERY uncomfortable at the sign of any form of problem, felt uncomfortable until it was solved. it just spiralled into something totally separate from the original event, to the point that identifying the original event was interesting but not very meaningful.

    so, yeah, even when there is 'no reason' for the anxiety, psychological help can be beneficial.

    i suppose thats true. just im my case i dont think it would help too much. but, i do think i might do well in a meditation class or a "overcoming anxiety" class or something. i do start a anxiety cycle but what starts it is never a constant thing. i dont think i have a trigger. i also think this because my mom and my sister have high anxiety. my moms is just like mine.

    Honestly, unless you've done some form of therapy and it hasn't helped, there's no way to tell.

    I will repeat the formula of meditation and exercise for emphasis, and throw in a recommendation of talking to a therapist :) Even simple deep breathing for 5-10 mins while focusing on your breath coming in and out really helps.

    I've successfully managed to get on top of my stress triggered anxiety issues. My doctor's only remedy was anti-depressants, which I personally thought were overkill, so I told her no and went about it my own way with her monitoring and support. Turns out Doctor's do like the idea of their patients doing meditation and exercise, at least the good doctors do :)
  • cherrybomb_77
    cherrybomb_77 Posts: 411 Member
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    Not very well. :/ Turned in my paperwork to get back in therapy and back on meds.
  • Blackbird16
    Blackbird16 Posts: 68
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    Do a lot of exercise - get too knackered to care about anything else. Helps with sleep also.

    That and breathe deeply a lot.


    ^pretty much that aha and lots of green tea
  • Hernandeak11
    Hernandeak11 Posts: 351 Member
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    Bright light! Keeping the lights on, having a lamp near my face, or getting some sunshine--works wonders!

    As everyone has said: Exercise!

    And just keeping my mind busy in general: book reading, playing online games, doing puzzles or homework, etc.
  • autumnk921
    autumnk921 Posts: 1,376 Member
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    Yoga, meditation or just a relaxing walk seems to release a lot of anxiety for me when I have it...I also clean alot to get the pent up energy out I guess...
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
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    For some of you, stress=/= anxiety disorder.
  • glennstoudt
    glennstoudt Posts: 403 Member
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    uiim curious about the rescue remedy. where can i buy it? and how is it to be taken? everyday, or only when needed?

    Endorphins from exercise fantastic, but since you eventually have to work or get tired and can't exercise all the time, try some fish oil (or capsules) or other omega 3 variants. Hear it helps with lot of things including depression, which is probably somehow connected. I take fish oil and plant based omega 3's daily. Haven't felt so good since I was very young, which I am no longer. Good wishes with this. Keep trying for what works for you. It's a journey not a destination.

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