have been seeing a psychologistfor a bit. i "lived via" the anxiety on thursday , so yay but then went out with a pal for dinner at a place ive been 2 b4 last night, and couldn't take it. we moved seats and i started balling so we left.

i felt everyone was looking at me and i hate that.can't take it!

how the freak do yall cope with/without meds.

I am not a fan of meds btw.


love M

music

friends

try 2 keep your mind in the present and repress the "what if" thoughts

edit: expressing ones self through art such as creative writing/drawing
[Edited 2/20/09 17:10pm]

regular excercise routine- your brain will release chemicals that will help your mood, and sleep patterns

Missmad there is a fabulous book out for you "hope and help for you nerves" by I believe her name is Clair Weeks. First of all try your best to think of happy things! Wise idea not to drink...makes things worse except a small amount of beer as beer has an anti- anxiety agent in it. Eat well stay away from sugar and caffine. Pasta's are calming. Take walks, exercise...it sends endorphines into your system helps very well. Also sleeping at least 8 hours a night important. Being creative is very good, write down all your emotions, refinish a piece of furniture, paint a pretty picture. Breath fully here's a breathing exercise breath in through your mouth slowly counting to ten...hold to the count of ten slowly...then breath out through your mouth slowly to the count of ten. Most important is to think of positive happy things. and honey who cares if people are looking let em look you're a good person! We all have our times

minneapolisFunq said:

love music but its hard cause i can't take music in with me 2 a meeting
don't have many i don't think
i try but it is awful esp last nigt balling, can't believe i did that 2 her
yes i write poetry and love photographing things esp the beach.


but i love my white teas with raspberry and peach, don't do soft drinks except 4 ginger ale when in not feeling well. or coffee, yuck. but i gotta cut back on cholcolate.
thanks hunny
[Edited 2/20/09 17:29pm]

Evvy said:

thanks hun

flowers7 said:

will take a look. i don't drink or smoke. loooove pasta!!!!! love being creative 2. people looking at me is where the anxiety comes from, being in crowds.

thanks love
[Edited 2/20/09 17:24pm]

First of all I'm sorry you're dealing with this. It is a REAL medical condition and I hope that you get some relief soon.

I don't want to take the thread off topic, but I don't understand why some people are so anti meds. Hell, we're all anti meds to a certain extent. But, would you not take a medication that you needed for a heart condition? If you didn't take it and couldn't function would you still not take it? These "mental" conditions are just as much a problem as any other medical problem and I hate to see the meds get such a bad rap. They really can be extremely beneficial if used properly.

create a phrase or saying and repeat it in your head(like the little engine that could)

a big problem for most people with anxiety is the fact that they try to deny the feeling and try to force it away causing more worry.

just know that its not the end of the world. you will feel normal once it passes so there is no reason to hide.

as jim morrison once said to a friend having a bad acid trip "just ride the snake man"

missmad said:

did your shrink advise medication, mihad?

hokie said:

yes i would take it, but i have 2 take it then for the anxiety i don't think im at the stage where i have no other option to take it 4ever, but i do use meds in emergencies.

i saw my mom on meds for a while and she got so addicted 2 them but she had 2 take them, that scared me. being in and out of hospital every week seeing all that freaked me the f out!

they are a problem like any other but sometimes i think mind over matter 4 me anyway in the long run.

PricelessHo said:

as a last resort but i don't wanna get addicated to it and i think this can be helped without meds for me anyway. i take it in emergencies.

minneapolisFunq said:

i tried thursday it worked yesterday it didn't. the way it manifests is not pretty. Cool!

missmad said:

you know, i used to hear about meds being addictive and hard to get rid of later on, but honestly i can't say that was the case with me.

maybe it differs from one person to another, i don't know, but honestly i'm glad i went for it because it worked well. but of course i had to do my part too.

hope it gets better for you soon

do you think it could be a seasonal affective problem? has your doctor talked to you about lightbox therapy? it's a way you can treat yourself without having to use medication.

Anxiety said:

its summer here right now though

ZombieKitten said:

missmad is in australia? i'm not sure i knew that.

Anxiety said:

she's down the road from me! I met her at the mall once
[Edited 2/20/09 18:17pm]

ZombieKitten said:

holy moley!

ZombieKitten said:

we gotta do that again huns!

missmad said:

yup! how about same place Wednesday 1.15pm for a latish lunch?

missmad said:

Were they depression/anxiety meds? Just like most others, your body needs to be weaned off them slowly. And depending on how long she'd been taking them, it may well have been a situation where she was better off continuing. Sorry to pry, just trying to understand your aversion to treatment.

I mean, my mother has severe anxiety problems. I used to have to drive her to work when we worked together in my early twenties. She's gone cold turkey off anxiety medication a few times and it's a serious, potentially fatal thing to do. That's not to make the medicine sound dangerous, it's just that depending on the individual and the time elapsed, the brain might be in a state where it's very dependent on the SSRIs it's getting. She's replaced the medicine with alcohol and though she can function in the workplace, she has no social life and cannot handle most public situations alone.

Like HokieJill said, this is real, and if more people were open to different ideas, they wouldn't have to suffer. If you've tried many other things, please consider doing some research for yourself. You deserve to be able to go out to dinner and live your life happily--many people are happy with their decision to try medication. It's not like meds for bipolar or schizophrenia. You won't be sedated, your personality won't undergo massive overhaul. You'll be you, and with the right treatment, you won't feel wrong about that.

I've got personal experience with both antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication due to both of my parents, so feel free to orgNote at any time. There are many other things you can do in the long run that will help anyone feel better.

- Get outside as much as possible. Get sunlight, smile, realize how hilarious, overwhelming, and pointless it all is.
- Kids, animals, family.
- Pursue everything that means something to you.
- If all you're doing is sitting around thinking about how shitty it all is, you obviously enjoy that more than the alternative.

The meds dont have to be permanent, and they can help you relax enough to try to get a handle on how youre feeling.

Without meds though....I have a friend who is a hypnotherapist, and after a half hour with her I am more relaxed and confident than any meds can make me. She has helped me through a ton already from family worries and dealing with death to just personal confidence.

Anyway theres my 2 cents.

ZombieKitten said:

im free. lol. c u then.

missmad said:

in my diary

INSATIABLE said:

nop meds for other things. i might take u upon that.

ur not prying i wouldn't have posted if i didn't want people's opinions.

Loooovwe that!!!!!

and yes i can't wait for the day when someone says lets go here and i say ok without the drama of the anxiety coming up and freakin out 4 days b4hand.

ZombieKitten said:

I was really interested to find out recently that seasonal affective disorder can be caused in various people for either a lack or overabundance of sunlight.

Opposite what most of us know, some sufferers thrive in darker months, but find sunlit months excruciating.

Lammastide said:

I never knew that!

ZombieKitten said:

It really surprised me.

Apparently, the condition is known as Summer (or Reverse) Seasonal Affective Disorder... and, interestingly, it is often accompanied by heightened anxiety or hypomania whereas classical SAD is more widely known for its depressive element.

I listen to too much National Public Radio.

Music, Videos, Prince,Movies.....EXERCISE.....WATER.....Water.....Water...Comedy flicks....Craig Fergason....Pets.....Things that make you SMILE...