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Anxiety
Xaquin
Right behind you!Registered User regular
Right behind you!Registered User regular
and lots of it.
I've had Anxiety attacks for the last two days. (Doing good today so far though)
I'm starting seeing a counselor (therapist) and she's going to try and help me shed my crippling anxiety.
In the meantime however, I'd like to get some more help.
I'm not enthusiastic about medicines, as it seems like all the meds have their own commercials that list side effects like: Seizures, Addiction, Dryness of Mouth, Minor Blood Radiation and/or Death
So I was thinking of trying a low dose of over the counter Kava maybe. I can't find any ill side effects (they say it can hurt your liver but only if you take bucket fulls and are already being medicated.
Breathing exercises don't really help me at all unfortunately.
any/all help would be really appreciated
I've had Anxiety attacks for the last two days. (Doing good today so far though)
I'm starting seeing a counselor (therapist) and she's going to try and help me shed my crippling anxiety.
In the meantime however, I'd like to get some more help.
I'm not enthusiastic about medicines, as it seems like all the meds have their own commercials that list side effects like: Seizures, Addiction, Dryness of Mouth, Minor Blood Radiation and/or Death
So I was thinking of trying a low dose of over the counter Kava maybe. I can't find any ill side effects (they say it can hurt your liver but only if you take bucket fulls and are already being medicated.
Breathing exercises don't really help me at all unfortunately.
any/all help would be really appreciated
Xaquin on
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Posts
Go for a run, for a swim, do something active. Stick with the Therapist. Go hang with some friends tonight, crack some beers and just relax because it's motherfucking friday holy shit. Call your mom.
I know you've said breathing exercises don't help, but have you tried meditation? I really enjoy it, and for the sake of the half-hour/hour you could do worse than sit, be calm, and reset your head.
Much love to you anyway, broseph!
we haven't gone over any meditation stuff yet. for some reason I can't see it working, but at this point I'll do most anything.
This may or may not change your mind about meds, but not everybody has the side affects listed, or if they do they may not be very severe. Depending on the severity of the panic attacks, a Dr. might prescribe a benzodiazepine drug for when the attacks are really bad (not meant to be taken every day).
What breathing techniques have you tried, and when? Unless you've been doing the breathing techs a long time, they're not going to be very effective in the midst of a full blown attack. Diaphragmatic breathing is a useful (and easy) technique to employ if you want to step away for a minute or two to regain composure.
Some other things to look at is guided imagery and/or progressive muscle relaxation. Both are used in chronic pain management as well as anxiety. You could google it and try it at home, or maybe go over it with the therapist you're working with.
Hope that was helpful, shoot me a PM if you have any questions.
The only technique we went over after the session (it was my first one) was 'Square Breathing' where you inhale for 4, hold it for 4, exhale for 4 and hold it for 4.
I think we're going to do other ones next time.
Breathing, and guided imagery/meditation helped when I saw someone about it. I haven't done this in a while, but would really like to get back into it if anyone has any resources to share.
Oh, and I know its really popular to assume that marijuana would fix this, but nothing brings on an attack for me faster than weed... Just saying, it's not for everyone.
(or drink for that matter)
The most common and annoying side effect to SSRIs is drowsiness. Beyond that, you have to be unlucky to get many of the other ones.
Make sure you read into it quite a bit if you decide to look into it. Terrence McKenna is a good place to start.
A psychedelic experience can be a catalyst for what Lucid said above me, although it's certainly more than possible to achieve that without anything added, and you should strive to do that in your daily life whenever possible.
The first thing you can do right now though is exercise. That should be first and foremost for anyone who's feeling shitty in a non-injury manner.
My personal experience with psychedelics isn't as varied as some, but anyone who dismisses them outright has never done them, and has no idea.
I haven't tried psychedelics, but I'm wary of their medicinal purpose, especially for mental conditions... the people I know who regularly smoke pot are not paragons of wellbeing. It will probably get you into the same state as meditation or mindfulness, but from what I've read it's like jumping off a cliff with and without a bungee cord. Sure, you're visiting the lower depths of your psyche hella faster, but you lose a lot of control.
Saying that, in defense of Endomatic, another friend of mine has had good experiences on 'mushroom soup'. Maybe if an opportunity arises...
There's absolutely nothing wrong with trying working through anxiety issues via counselling/therapy before trying drugs, either. A reasonable doctor should be ok with you if you express that opinion. Really, therapy and pharma address two different things. But if you are prescribed a drug, if it's an SSRI, most anxiety sufferers are prescribed a pretty low dose. Any side effects you experience are most likely to be uncomfortable or emotional rather than dangerous, and you'll be working under the supervision of a doctor, so if a particular drug doesn't work well for you, you can work with your doctor and therapist to find one that does.
If a personal story helps put everything in context: A poor match between me and my employment a few years back led me to start getting regular, crippling panic attacks. I went to my doctor and she referred me to a psychiatrist who diagnosed me with generalized anxiety and got me into a CBT group. My doctor put me on a low dose of citalopram, which worked for me with no side effects (woot) and has gotten rid of a few physical issues I've had all my life and that I had no idea were related to my anxiety. The CBT group taught me to identify and interrupt the negative throught processes that were a lifelong habit for me. It's very practical and toolset-oriented, so I've been able to take it forward with me and use it myself whenever I find myself getting worried or tense about something.
The thing that took me longest to deal with once I had the worst of the anxiety under control was learning to find motivation from something besides anxiety. I'd always made a lot of snap life decisions based on anxiety, and without that, it took me a while to figure out what I really wanted to do with myself. A couple years later, though, I'm a happy freelance writer/video game journalist... a challenging and not-so-stable job that I would never have chosen while anxiety was ruling my life, but one which I really love. So there's a light at the end of the tunnel, and getting your anxiety under control can really improve your quality of life. Best of luck; keep an open mind but ask a lot of questions. If you take control over your recovery process, it'll be even more effective for you.
Things that did help:
1. distractions at the very start of a panic attack. Reading, music, etc.
2. Yoga at the very start of a panic attack, or on going as part of life
3. meditation on going as a part of life
4. deep breathing - I didn't find the 4x4 method particularly useful, just long slow deep breaths
5. chanting - a long time ago I was looking up chants (like, buddhist monk chants) and I found one that sounded neat to me. I really don't remember what it means, but 'om mani padme om' said in one slow breath out helps at the start of a panic attack for me too
6. therapy - my therapist gave me some good tools (5 step process to analyze why that trigger is a trigger and what's the worst that could happen if it all goes sideways)
that said, I am on drugs now (a very low dose of paxil) and it's helped immensely. I haven't had a full fledged panic attack since I started it two years ago, and I started having panic attacks about 13 years ago.
Marijuana is a depressant. I don't recommend it for anxiety.
If it's not something you'd like to look into, that's perfectly fine, but I thought I'd present the option.
When I first tried them it was something I wish someone had suggested to me earlier.
For me they are a reboot, like how'd you reboot a computer. They help me find a fresh perspective of things, but that's just how it works for me. I can't speak to the experience of others, although many people have undergone very positive experiences.
MDMA for instance is starting to get used for PTSD afflicted soldiers and other folks that have undergone some significant emotional and psychological trauma.
Look into it and see if it's for you is all I'm suggesting. Nothing more. It's your choice, and I don't advocate doing it unless you want to.
Here's a blurb from OPRAH on MDMA for PTSD for instance.
It's an area that's really starting to get some exposure in the mental illness community.
J5
Drinking caffeine still makes me feel a little crazy, if I have too much, but I just don't do that now.
So I made myself a Busey-ism, a la I'm with Busey/celebrity rehab. I used the word relax, and it's really helped me settle down.
Realize I can only control my situation through my own choices
Endure what I know won't kill me, but I can't control
Learn from what I have endured, but don't let it rule me
Act on what I have learned about myself
eXpect a better situation tomorrow through better choices
It's quite literally gibberish, but I've found just concentrating on a litany like that can take a panic attack and help you turn it around into a positive set of thoughts. If I ever feel myself about to snap or go off about something, I just repeat it to myself.
It looks like my best bet so far is increase exercise, drop a bunch of caffeine (nooo my bucketfulls of coffee and cherry pepsi), and keep up with therapy.
Do it, and let us know how you get on too. If you just want to chat about your progress, that's cool. I know my Inbox is always open if you don't want to post another topic (but there's no reason why not!).
I've made it a couple days now without breaking down completely
Wed. and Thurs. were pretty rough.