As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/

Anxiety?

Teh ErickaTeh Ericka Registered User regular
edited November 2006 in Help / Advice Forum
So, I've been under a lot of stress and pressure lately, and these days I am learning more than ever the truth of the statement "when it rains, it pours."

I've always been a little high strung, I was in therapy a lot as a kid for anxiety issues and things of that nature. I can handle most everyday stresses, but for the past couple of weeks the pressure has been getting too intense. I haven't been eating much, and it's had a major impact on my sleeping (in that I pretty much don't anymore.) Most of the pressure I'm dealing with comes from situations that are largely out of my control, so I can't really reduce my stress... but I'm wanting to at least manage it a little better.

My mom said when I was younger she had me taking some holistic/herbal stress relievers that seemed to work, but she can't remember the names of them. I know that exercise can really help, and I go for runs whenever I can, but again, I'm experiencing a bit of a downpour so I haven't had much time for that lately. Any other ideas? I'm hoping for something that I can do to slow down my brain so that a million thoughts aren't running through my head when I'm trying to sleep. Also hoping to not hyperventilate and get really bad pit-in-my-stomach feelings.

I basically need to calm the fuck down. help?

Teh Ericka on

Posts

  • DockenDocken Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    God, I am going through the exact same thing, only for me it is just one massive issue that dominates my thinking.

    Definately keep up the exercise, that helps tremendously. Secondly, sit down with yourself, look at your life and how it is progressing. Is it going as planned? If not, what can you do to change it? Are there things you want to do but haven't, either due to time constraints or because they are just hard enough to stop you from trying?

    You need to work up a plan to make your life fantastic, and it needs to include exercise, picking up new hobbies and meeting new people, as well as doing great at whatever school/uni/work you have.

    Its fucking hard to stop that anxious feeling... actually for me its pretty much impossible at the moment, but I DO take comfort in the fact that I am doing everything in my power to make my life better. Everyday I get up in the morning I say "yeah, life fucking sucks, things are not going your way, but GODDAMNIT, you WILL succeed".

    Keep saying that to yourself whilst you are improving... it will help.

    Basically, even if you can't bring yourself to feel positive about your life, act in a way that produces positive results for yourself. If you can't be happy at the moment, you may as well do right by yourself no?

    Docken on
  • ShimShamShimSham Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    Some of these things you might have tried already and some of them certainly sound very cliche, but they work for me at least. I always try to lead a very low-stress life style and do my best not to let things bother me.

    But when I get stressed I do usually have pretty bad anxiety, but here are some things I do. Again, some sound very cliche.

    - First off, you've got to just stop for a little while. Try to buy some time open to relax, it will make working much easier when you do.

    - Honestly just start taking some deep breaths. Just stop all together, sit down, and take several deep breaths for a few minutes.

    - Consider going to a spa, get a massage or something. (I don't actually do this but I do try to get Ms. Shim to walk on my back)

    - Try drinking tea, or eating chocolate.

    - Excercise, (like you mentioned) but it doesn't necessarily have to be strenuous excersise. Do stretching. One thing that helps me is that I have one of those big plastic balls you see used for Yoga or whatever, but I always stretch my back out on those.

    - Most of all, I always remember that it's not the end of the world. If you're still breathing, everything is going to work out eventually. Even if something goes wrong, you'll be okay.

    ShimSham on
    QcGKhPm.jpg
  • GafotoGafoto Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    Teh Ericka wrote:
    My mom said when I was younger she had me taking some holistic/herbal stress relievers that seemed to work, but she can't remember the names of them.

    What kind of herbs can you think of that might help relieve stress?

    Yep.

    Gafoto on
    sierracrest.jpg
  • vonPoonBurGervonPoonBurGer Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    Regarding your herbal remedies question, my girlfriend uses something called Herbal Nerve, Life brand from a Shopper's Drugmart (Canadian chain of pharmacies). Since you might not be able to find the same thing, I checked the label, and the medicinal ingredients are valerian root, skullcap herb and hops strobiles. So if you're looking for a herbal stress remedy, look for those or something that contains those. If you're in a drug store shopping for this stuff, talk to the pharmacist while you're there, they may be able to recommend the best brand or other alternatives that may be better for you specifically.
    Teh Ericka wrote:
    I'm hoping for something that I can do to slow down my brain so that a million thoughts aren't running through my head when I'm trying to sleep.
    I'm inclined to think that this is a big part of the problem. If you can get a good night's sleep, I think you'll find that the positive benefits carry over into a lot of other areas. It's not going to fix everything overnight, but I think it might help a lot with your capacity to cope.

    When I have this problem, I try some basic meditation. No spiritual connotations (though there's nothing wrong with that if you're into that sort of thing), I just try to maintain very slow, steady breathing, try to think about nothing but breathing, sloooowly in, sloooowly out. That's usually enough to break the cycle of my brain running around, churning over the same problem or set of problems that I can't do anything about. If that doesn't work, I get up and distract myself for an hour with a good book, then go back to bed and try again. Note that you should never read in bed, use a comfy chair for that. The bed should be for two things, sleeping and sex, anything else you do in there habitualizes your body to doing things that aren't sleeping. Speaking of sex, or masturbation in the absence of a suitable partner, that would be another line of defense against sleepness. Seriously, an orgasm is the body's own sedative/painkiller, it's effective, all-natural, and just plain fun. Don't be afraid to use it in a calculated fashion.

    vonPoonBurGer on
    Xbox Live:vonPoon | PSN: vonPoon | Steam: vonPoonBurGer
  • crakecrake Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    Deep breathing and other meditative activities. Even just random stuff that calms you. (I polish all my shoes when I'm stressed. Then I polish all my roommates')

    Indoor excercises might be easier to do (time wise) then going out for a run.

    crake on
  • The Green Eyed MonsterThe Green Eyed Monster i blame hip hop Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    Docken wrote:
    God, I am going through the exact same thing, only for me it is just one massive issue that dominates my thinking.

    Definately keep up the exercise, that helps tremendously. Secondly, sit down with yourself, look at your life and how it is progressing. Is it going as planned? If not, what can you do to change it? Are there things you want to do but haven't, either due to time constraints or because they are just hard enough to stop you from trying?

    You need to work up a plan to make your life fantastic, and it needs to include exercise, picking up new hobbies and meeting new people, as well as doing great at whatever school/uni/work you have.

    Its fucking hard to stop that anxious feeling... actually for me its pretty much impossible at the moment, but I DO take comfort in the fact that I am doing everything in my power to make my life better. Everyday I get up in the morning I say "yeah, life fucking sucks, things are not going your way, but GODDAMNIT, you WILL succeed".

    Keep saying that to yourself whilst you are improving... it will help.

    Basically, even if you can't bring yourself to feel positive about your life, act in a way that produces positive results for yourself. If you can't be happy at the moment, you may as well do right by yourself no?
    Woah -- as a guy who periodically struggles with lack of sleep, I would say this is the worst advice possible. Your plan of strictly regimenting your life is exactly the type of shit that makes me lose sleep. I guess some people find comfort in order, repetition, and familiarity, so it might work, but that's the worst advice I can imagine.

    Honestly, it's just a matter of relaxing. There's no "cure." I've known a few people who struggled with pretty severe cases of more or less what you're describing, and either they learned to chill out, sought out professional help, and in some cases received medication from the professional that helped them.

    The bottom line is that there's no polite way to say this, but it's really all in your head. Everybody has to find their own solution, and there's no real advice besides "relax - stop worrying" and that you might consider seeking help to do that.

    The Green Eyed Monster on
  • _X__X_ Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    I was having problems recently and still am to a certain extent in the same area. School problems and problems with roommates was getting me so stressed out that I just contacted my professors at college and told them I'd be gone for a week. Went to my girlfriends for that week and now things are somewhat better. Also eases my mind that its only 2 weeks of class left so I can get through it easier.

    _X_ on
  • stixs4321stixs4321 Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    5-HTP, B complex, magnesium, multi-vitamin and fish oil are great for stress. Mess around with which ones you find work but I;d reccomend fish oil and multi-vitamin, then try magnesium, then B complex, then 5-HTP.

    I reccomend breathing properly. Completely exhale, exhale your breath then exhale some more until you feel light headed! Now inhale into the stomach deeply and inhale some more. Repeat this process and keep up with a constant breathing pace because people have a tendency to hold their breath.

    Deep breathing exercise to practice; Lay down on your back, one hand on your chest, one hand on your stomach just below the button/on it, exhale completely till your chest sinks a bit, inhale only into your stomach(hard at first) so no chest movement, exhale completely and repeat for set reps or a time frame. Slow controlled breaths work best and listening to music while performing(something instrumental).

    I reccomend taking up exercise if you don't already. Work on your posture as this will allow more oxygen to move freely into your body. Also stretch a shit load, like 30mins a night before bed and practice breathing deep after stretching. Main areas to stretch out are the chest, lats, traps/neck and upper back.

    stixs4321 on
  • SeldomSeldom Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    For a breathing exercise focus on imagining your breathing in through your left nostril and out through you right. Do this with deep breaths and focus on it. In through the left, out through the right, with deep breaths. And then, after about 10 times going from left to right, switch it.

    Another one i was taught was to just listen. Don't think, just listen. Don't feed into your thoughts, just listen. Listen to you environment, listen to your breathing, just focus on the listening part of you mind.

    For both of these you should sit down, preferably on the floor cross-legged, with your eyes closed and your posture straight to help the breathing.

    My law teacher taught us these two meditations to help us focus, give it a try and see if it helps you. :wink:

    Seldom on
    The revolution is eternal.
  • chubschubs Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    ...Might I suggest rock climbing? I am in a situation similar to yours, and sweet christ rock climbing helps alot. I've tried going on runs, working out, and playing basketball regularly, all of which did help relieve some stress, but rock climbing is so unbelievably satisfying once you really get into it. There is something about it I can't really explain. I dunno, I might be crazy :) I mostly climb indoors, but outdoor climbs are fun too.

    chubs on
  • CorvusCorvus . VancouverRegistered User regular
    edited November 2006
    Do you have someone in your life you can talk to about these anxities face to face? I know I find just the simple act of talking about problems to someone I trust helps greatly. Its not that you expect the other person to solve your problems, just to listen and be sympathetic.

    Also, have you spoken to a doctor? Anxiety is pretty common, and there are meds for it, if you're open to that sort of thing, and if your doctor thinks its appropriate. Seeing as you mention that you're not able to sleep or eat properly, that can't be good for your health, and talking to a doctor may be a good idea.

    Corvus on
    :so_raven:
  • DockenDocken Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    celery77 wrote:
    Docken wrote:
    God, I am going through the exact same thing, only for me it is just one massive issue that dominates my thinking.

    Definately keep up the exercise, that helps tremendously. Secondly, sit down with yourself, look at your life and how it is progressing. Is it going as planned? If not, what can you do to change it? Are there things you want to do but haven't, either due to time constraints or because they are just hard enough to stop you from trying?

    You need to work up a plan to make your life fantastic, and it needs to include exercise, picking up new hobbies and meeting new people, as well as doing great at whatever school/uni/work you have.

    Its fucking hard to stop that anxious feeling... actually for me its pretty much impossible at the moment, but I DO take comfort in the fact that I am doing everything in my power to make my life better. Everyday I get up in the morning I say "yeah, life fucking sucks, things are not going your way, but GODDAMNIT, you WILL succeed".

    Keep saying that to yourself whilst you are improving... it will help.

    Basically, even if you can't bring yourself to feel positive about your life, act in a way that produces positive results for yourself. If you can't be happy at the moment, you may as well do right by yourself no?
    Woah -- as a guy who periodically struggles with lack of sleep, I would say this is the worst advice possible. Your plan of strictly regimenting your life is exactly the type of shit that makes me lose sleep. I guess some people find comfort in order, repetition, and familiarity, so it might work, but that's the worst advice I can imagine.

    Honestly, it's just a matter of relaxing. There's no "cure." I've known a few people who struggled with pretty severe cases of more or less what you're describing, and either they learned to chill out, sought out professional help, and in some cases received medication from the professional that helped them.

    The bottom line is that there's no polite way to say this, but it's really all in your head. Everybody has to find their own solution, and there's no real advice besides "relax - stop worrying" and that you might consider seeking help to do that.

    I can see why you say that. For me, 'relaxing' would be like putting a gun to my head. Its not that I can't relax- I can! - its just that when I am going through a tough time, sitting back and relaxing makes me feel like I am losing ground on my problems. For me the solution is always proactive- change something, do something, make something. This then makes me feel like I am going forward again, and for me, momentum is critical to my mental state.

    Its interesting, but I can only 'relax' once I know I am going flat out achieving and improving, thats when I tend to feel better... its then I can sit back and take a breather. Might be the same for the OP.

    Docken on
  • The-PimpThe-Pimp Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    Kava is a good herb for anxiety relief. Try making a tea out of it or you can light it up if you're not worried about your lungs.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kava

    The-Pimp on
  • ViolentChemistryViolentChemistry __BANNED USERS regular
    edited November 2006
    Teh Ericka wrote:
    My mom said when I was younger she had me taking some holistic/herbal stress relievers that seemed to work, but she can't remember the names of them.
    ...must...resist...obvious joke...

    Anyway, I don't have any valid herbal suggestions for stress-relief, but there's a lot of mental tricks you can do if you can find yourself fifteen minutes where you don't have to be doing other shit a couple times a day. My favorite (which I used for anger-management, not stress-relief, but they're kinda similar things) was to make myself some superhot green tea, crank either my stereo or my phones (whichever was appropriate at the time), and listen to the Amakakeru Ryu No Hirameki track from the Kenshin soundtrack (whatever, any soothing song works). And then you just chill, drink the tea, and then the tricky part (which the whole atmosphere shtick is supposed to help make easier) is to sort of willfully clear your head, keep it clear for a bit, then try to keep it clear when you go back to your day and maybe plan things from a mindset of "this is what needs to be done, this is the order it needs to be done in, if something's not done I'll deal with it when the time comes".

    Edit: Thinking too much has a lot of really nasty side-effects I've found, and it's really hard and takes quite a while to find a way to avoid them. Controlling what you think about or at least how you think about things is pretty much key, and not really easy for automatically-analyze-everything type people.

    ViolentChemistry on
  • Project MayhemProject Mayhem Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    Gafoto wrote:
    Teh Ericka wrote:
    My mom said when I was younger she had me taking some holistic/herbal stress relievers that seemed to work, but she can't remember the names of them.

    What kind of herbs can you think of that might help relieve stress?

    Yep.

    She may have been talking about St. John's Wort. It's not verified to work by the FDA or anything but it's supposed to help. I tried it when i was pretty stressed out and it seemed to make things better, not sure if it's the placebo effect or not. Here's a website with some more info. http://www.sjwinfo.org

    Project Mayhem on
  • budecbudec Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    If you go to the [head] doctor they will give you drugs. Lots of drugs. Lots of good drugs.


    um. failing that.


    Valerian root (it's stinks, but relaxes you)
    Kava Kava (relaxes you, but is hard on the liver - don't over do).
    Passion Flower (suppose to relax you. Warning, may make you horny).
    Hops (suppose to make you sleepy).

    budec on
    ninjasig.jpg
  • holycrapawalrusholycrapawalrus Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    Psychiatrists give out Wellbutrin like it's Halloween candy. It's a non addictive anti-anxiety/anti-depressant pill and it helped me alot. Get your anxiety under control as soon as possible. I've been extremely anxious since I was 12 years old (God knows why) and I just ignored it. Now I have bleeding ulcers due to stress and anxiety. Staying like this too long can start to affect your diet and sleeping habits pretty horribly. I even had to take 2 weeks off from school and work to get myself under control.

    Make sure they put you on one 300mg Wellbutrin per day. They started me with 150mg and it didn't do shit. Also, it takes about 3-4 weeks for it to start working to the full effect.

    holycrapawalrus on
  • ZekZek Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    On a related note, don't take medication advice from anyone that isn't a doctor.

    Zek on
  • holycrapawalrusholycrapawalrus Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    Zek wrote:
    On a related note, don't take medication advice from anyone that isn't a doctor.

    It wasn't advice, it was a suggestion, something to look into. Oh, and there's the part where I just finished dealing with the same exact problem and have experience with the situation.

    holycrapawalrus on
  • CorvusCorvus . VancouverRegistered User regular
    edited November 2006
    Yeah, theres a pretty big difference between someone saying "I had the same problem, and this drug helped me" and saying "Cram your face full of drugs, it will solve all your problems"

    Corvus on
    :so_raven:
  • ViolentChemistryViolentChemistry __BANNED USERS regular
    edited November 2006
    Zek wrote:
    On a related note, don't take medication advice from anyone that isn't a doctor.
    You don't seem to grasp the point of the Help/Advice section. In point of you're-a-fucktard, Teh Erika would have to see a doctor to get the prescription in the first place. Figure out how to not be a useless ass, or figure out how to not come to H/A.

    ViolentChemistry on
  • AldoAldo Hippo Hooray Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    Whenever I'm anxious, I try to think of things that are still going a-ok and I try to get to hang out with friends, it helps me to stop thinking about whatever is going wrong.
    And, this might not go for you, but I tend to work really hard when I'm doing something for someone I care about (be it my mother, grandmother, friends, latest crush or a teacher I respect) and as we know, when you're really busy with one thing, you forget about the other. If the problems are really out of your control, it doesn't hurt to not think about it a lot.

    Oh

    Always look on the bright side of life

    Aldo on
  • holycrapawalrusholycrapawalrus Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    Aldo wrote:
    Whenever I'm anxious, I try to think of things that are still going a-ok and I try to get to hang out with friends, it helps me to stop thinking about whatever is going wrong.
    And, this might not go for you, but I tend to work really hard when I'm doing something for someone I care about (be it my mother, grandmother, friends, latest crush or a teacher I respect) and as we know, when you're really busy with one thing, you forget about the other. If the problems are really out of your control, it doesn't hurt to not think about it a lot.

    Oh

    Always look on the bright side of life

    This is good advice, but for people such as myself who are perpetually anxious, it's only temporary. Anxiety is a mental sickness, plain and simple, and is usually attributed to a chemical imbalance or something of the like. As much as I don't want to sound like a tool, medication really is the way to go. All it really does is calm you down and help you relax. Wellbutrin has no harmful side effects, except for the part where you're advised to not drink while taking it. Some others cause sexual dysfunction, but it's up to your doctor to judge whether you should upgrade to a stronger medication or just up the dosage on the current one.

    In my case, I took Wellbutrin for 2 months to help me deal with my current stresses and then immediately stopped when I felt ready to cope without it. Most psychiatrists will provide an endless prescription for Wellbutrin or will set your prescription for a certain amount of refills before you need to visit again. Oh, and I'd suggest actually talking to your psychiatrist twice a month because chances are your anxiety problems are much more deeply rooted than just your current stresses. Hope I could help.

    holycrapawalrus on
  • RookRook Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    As an aside, I'd really recommend making sure you stick to a good balanced diet (plenty of fibre, nothing worse than being stressed and bloated). If you cut down on eating important food groups you'll only work your body into a state.

    On a personal side, I always really like baths with lavender or rose oil. And try and do 20 mins of exercise and stretches before I sleep. Honey is supposed to be quite good for you as well if you take a spoonful in the evening.

    Though I can understand if things don't really help. Last month I got my bank account frozen pending a fraud investigation due to a bank fuckup. On top of the fact that I'd just moved to a new job, in a new city and into a new flat with random people. Stressy couple of weeks.

    Rook on
  • AldoAldo Hippo Hooray Registered User regular
    edited November 2006

    This is good advice, but for people such as myself who are perpetually anxious, it's only temporary. Anxiety is a mental sickness, plain and simple, and is usually attributed to a chemical imbalance or something of the like. As much as I don't want to sound like a tool, medication really is the way to go. All it really does is calm you down and help you relax. Wellbutrin has no harmful side effects, except for the part where you're advised to not drink while taking it. Some others cause sexual dysfunction, but it's up to your doctor to judge whether you should upgrade to a stronger medication or just up the dosage on the current one.

    In my case, I took Wellbutrin for 2 months to help me deal with my current stresses and then immediately stopped when I felt ready to cope without it. Most psychiatrists will provide an endless prescription for Wellbutrin or will set your prescription for a certain amount of refills before you need to visit again. Oh, and I'd suggest actually talking to your psychiatrist twice a month because chances are your anxiety problems are much more deeply rooted than just your current stresses. Hope I could help.
    Hmm, assuming she's been doing fine so far, let's not go down the "it's a disease" road. =)

    Aldo on
  • holycrapawalrusholycrapawalrus Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    Aldo wrote:

    This is good advice, but for people such as myself who are perpetually anxious, it's only temporary. Anxiety is a mental sickness, plain and simple, and is usually attributed to a chemical imbalance or something of the like. As much as I don't want to sound like a tool, medication really is the way to go. All it really does is calm you down and help you relax. Wellbutrin has no harmful side effects, except for the part where you're advised to not drink while taking it. Some others cause sexual dysfunction, but it's up to your doctor to judge whether you should upgrade to a stronger medication or just up the dosage on the current one.

    In my case, I took Wellbutrin for 2 months to help me deal with my current stresses and then immediately stopped when I felt ready to cope without it. Most psychiatrists will provide an endless prescription for Wellbutrin or will set your prescription for a certain amount of refills before you need to visit again. Oh, and I'd suggest actually talking to your psychiatrist twice a month because chances are your anxiety problems are much more deeply rooted than just your current stresses. Hope I could help.
    Hmm, assuming she's been doing fine so far, let's not go down the "it's a disease" road. =)

    Fair enough.

    holycrapawalrus on
  • budecbudec Registered User regular
    edited November 2006
    Also run. Exercise a lot... that helps me when I'm stressed out. Break out a sweat.

    Or Music... that helps me relax

    or run while listening to music.

    budec on
    ninjasig.jpg
Sign In or Register to comment.