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  • TDS Moderators: AlphaMethylPhenyl | paranoid android

How do you cope with anxiety?

Leg- I have not tried Lexapro- But I do take Klonopin.
I took Ativan/Lorazepam for a year and when I uit was realllly all over the place.
Later, my Dr. recommended I get back on a longer acting benzo (b/c I have almost every physical symptom of anxiety, even when not having a panic attack- often. Btw, I have Panic Disorder and GAD) I was disappointed b/c I wanted to try to handle my anxiety naturally and didn't like the side effects. At first Clonazepam was GREAT. I took .5mg 3-4x a day. My Dr. said I had to take it EVERYDAY for it to be effective. So I did. I personally have a strange reaction when I miss a pill or take too many one day and not enough the next- and when I try to quit, I get crazy.
Like angry, screaming and yelling and freaking out. (which is so far from who I am it is really scary when it happens b/c I'm really peaceful for the most part, and even in REALLY stressful situations I usually speak very calmly and act in a deliberate, calming way)
Anyway- I had a much better reaction to Kpins than Ativan and for me, it probably saved me from a heart attack :) haha It helps tremendously- BUT I cut down to 2 a day now (1 mg a day) and in the afternoon I feel side effects. I try to wait until evening to take my 2nd pill. So there is a period in between I feel the symptoms of it being absent in my body. I was told that being borderline diabetic, I will process benzos faster, which may be my issue and you may not even notice- but that has been my experience. Mentally great and necessary- but physically bothersome when cutting down or missing dose and difficult to quit.

I hope this combination of medications works for you. <3
IF you decide you do not like them, there are always herbs you could try- which are really worth a look into....... (I'd like to make the switch over and is my eventual goal for myself)
 
Thanks for sharing your experience Ocean. I decided to have one last party weekend before starting the lexapro, so I'm gonna start it on tuesday. I would have preferred to do this with a psychiatrist - the doctor was extremely quick to prescribe the pills and I don't really trust him to follow me with this. But I have 2 weeks to start my new job and I'm hoping for them to take some sort of effect before then, or else there's no way I'll be able to perform properly. I did call to make an appontment with a psychiatrist that I've seen before, he's awesome and actually told me after my first session that I DIDN"T need meds, just therapy! How many psychiatrists will do that? But the circumstances have changed since then and I know it's now necessary, so I'm going to try to have him follow me after.

I made the decision to take these meds so I wanted to get them ASAP. But I have to say I was a bit shocked at how easy it was, after 30 seconds he told me I had a disorder and may need to take these meds for life. Free health care in Canada but not always top quality...
 
I did call to make an appontment with a psychiatrist that I've seen before, he's awesome and actually told me after my first session that I DIDN"T need meds, just therapy! How many psychiatrists will do that? But the circumstances have changed since then and I know it's now necessary, so I'm going to try to have him follow me after.
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Wow, that is pretty rare-give the man a Medal!;)

@Legerity
I wont talk about meds here....
Best of luck with the new job:), remember to take things easy with yourself keep in touch with how your self esteem is, dont run away when your feeling low-try to Accept it without blaming or Analysing- sometimes there is no answer, sometimes life throws shit at you and blaming yourself is only a means to rationalise/control a feeling that doesnt make sense!


^
 
@Asclepius: Yeah I was really impressed too! I appreciate your comment, and it definitely rings true to me. It's often easy to not only feel bad, but to also blame yourself for feeling that way, which just makes things unnecessarily unbearable.

I still hope for a way to feel good every second of every day, but I'm not crossing my fingers ;)
 
I cope with anxiety by focusing on something beautiful.

For me, its this girl I used to know who could play guitar and sing really good-- and to me, her voice is the most beautiful thing I have ever heard. So whenever I feel extremely anxious, I clear all the thoughts out and try to hear her voice in my head.

It doesn't always work, and sometimes I feel kinda stupid for doing it, but it does help a bunch sometimes. You just have to find that one thing that is so beautiful to you, it kills the negative feelings for long enough to let you get a grip on yourself.
 
^That's so sweet <3
Funny you focus on music b/c when I am home and having anxiety I've been (for a few months now) turning on music and singing my brains out and it is so releasing:) I love it. I always feel refreshed afterwards.
 
Like the OP I have an enormous amount of stress. My job is gone, so my insurance is gone, so I can't go to the doctor. My money is gone. I have been on benzos for 10 years and I took them as needed for stress. Now I have nothing for stress, and more stress than I have ever felt. My life appears to be falling down all around me and at 51 I don't have a safety net anymore. I am not able to control what's happening to me, I am unable to find another job teaching, and I may lose every single thing. I've spent 50 years basically trying to make headway in my life and now I am up shit creek without a paddle.

I mainly use music and comedy to help me with stress. I smoke weed if someone hooks me up or if I can trade a favor for some dank but that's not the norm. I focus a lot of time and attention on music that makes me feel calm. Dark Side of the Moon is a favorite but whatever is to your calm tastes. Other than music, sometimes I can focus on a comedy concert. Big Jay Oakerson, Patton Oswald, Jim Gaffigan, all have video concerts that I can watch repeatedly. If I am too nervous to focus, I go back to the music and the earbuds until I feel a little better.

Its a really sucky way to try to deal but its all I have to use to find peace with so I try to make the best of it.
 
Ever do a Mantra before? Its where you say to yourself something like "I'm gonna fuck some girls at this party" before you do, so you will be more likely to or "I'm going to talk to my boss about that bitch today" in the mirror before you go.

One of my friends makes me anxious, I always compare myself to him and then I haven't seen him for a while, so I've been less anxious. Then again he owes me money a lot, but thats a story for another topic.

Benzos seem to make anxiety go away as long as you take enough and use them. A psychedelic was the most helpful for me, I don't care what people think anymore. I think it needs to be redosed every once in a while, as it is a 'reset' your mind thing. If your life sucks you will get depressed, but this stuff will make it start back at 0%, if it continues to suck it will eventually return.

Music is great too. I dislike a lot of stuff like metal and rap, I don't like hearing incomprehensible growls and heavy drumming, nor someone jacking off out of my speaker. I mostly listen to chill stuff now, I don't even like the heavier stuff unless I take a lot of amps.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iXcEdIZQYI (I love the girl singing!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z-qMvrSBr8& (This video is amazing, so psychedelic!)
 
Legerity said:
@Asclepius: Yeah I was really impressed too! I appreciate your comment, and it definitely rings true to me. It's often easy to not only feel bad, but to also blame yourself for feeling that way, which just makes things unnecessarily unbearable.

I still hope for a way to feel good every second of every day, but I'm not crossing my fingers ;)
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Keep crossing your fingers Leg, not in false hope but will yourself to strive on.;)
Think sometimes with me the Anxiety doesnt go away, its less severe than in the past but i've come to accept it as apart of who I am; as part of my personality and as a human being. It is how I counteract it that matters, so that it doesnt exist on it's own and therefore is less powerful, more like a background humm than a loud noise....self soothing will never let you down, for me practicing self soothing and being compassionate with myself is the only thing that helps build me up and the more I do it the stronger my character becomes.
Splitting myself in two distinct categories also helps to deal with it: A)The me who is hyper critical, uptight and fears and questions everything, B) The me who knows that Everything is going to be fine, no matter how bad A) judges it to be, and knows that A) trusts nothing and although A) is great at sniffing out the threats and bullshit, it cant be relied on to deal with pressure and relaxing into getting on with things.
Sorry if that sounds a little crazy but thats one way I have to deal with anxiety; breaking things down into easier little chunks.
Think when life is a struggle there is always a great freedom in being creative about dealing with your problems.

Spent alot of time running away from my anxiety and not addressing why it was there(ie because of wrong choices, not being honest with myself or continuously putting myself in situations I couldn't handle/enjoy, and denying how I felt with them)
On a negative note, I can still be a bit avoidant, but am slowly trying to reach out when I feel like Im able, I'm not gonna put excess pressure on myself when I know the neg consequences I'll suffer will outweigh the positive. So tryin to strive for balance.
Dont get me wrong, I dont know yor situation, and I know when things are highly pressurised it can seem unresolveable but sometimes being able to face your anxiety; by being there for yourself and owning it, can actually help to dissipate it.<3

I mainly use music and comedy to help me with stress. I smoke weed if someone hooks me up or if I can trade a favor for some dank but that's not the norm. I focus a lot of time and attention on music that makes me feel calm. Dark Side of the Moon is a favorite but whatever is to your calm tastes. Other than music, sometimes I can focus on a comedy concert. Big Jay Oakerson, Patton Oswald, Jim Gaffigan, all have video concerts that I can watch repeatedly. If I am too nervous to focus, I go back to the music and the earbuds until I feel a little better.

Its a really sucky way to try to deal but its all I have to use to find peace with so I try to make the best of it.
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^Not at all, Music and laughter are two of the most reliable friends anyone could have-the chemical effect they have on our heart and brain is undoubtedly miraculous and they are Free!!!:)
 
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People with an anxiety disorder typically exhibit avoidance to situations that make them anxious, minimizing this really helps. I find it much easier to be social with people now that I have stopped avoiding social situations (possibly also due to better social skills developed). My anxiety is much more bearable now. I have SAD (Social Anxiety Disorder), but with a few traits of GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder).

Trying an anti-depressant could also help, but this should be done with CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy).

Recognizing your thoughts that make you anxious then making them into neutral thoughts is what CBT does.
 
im taking lexapro now, and i dont feel like its doing much, but it could be because some days i forget to take it. i cant remember shit. so hopefully it will just become like a habit or like brushing my teeth or something.
 
LowLow, just get a post-it note and stick it next to your bed =P.. that way when u wake up in the morning you'll see that shit and be like, "right, i need to take my pill." I'm pretty sure in order for anti-depressants to work you gotta take them consistently and like at the same time every day or whatever..

or i could have made that up..
 
Lots of interesting replies here, thanks again for the feedback.

I've also found that music is extremely therapeutic. Sometimes something soft and soothing, but my favorite is blasting something electronic on the weekends and dancing around cleaning up my apartment. Girltalk is my current favorite cleaning music :)

@Depressica: I've never put much effort into trying mantras. I do agree with you that for some people psychedelics or other forms of altered states can be beneficial, but that it depends on the individual and what they make of it.

@Asclepius: I do like the idea of separating myself from the anxiety. Not running away like I often to, but feeling it as something that is separate from my real self. There's no need to identify it as MY anxiety or MY stress, it's just a feeling that's existing at that point in time. It's interesting how fully feeling it can sometimes dissipate it, whereas running away from it is like being on a hamster wheel that just keeps going and going.

@Slapdragonx: I think that's really accurate, I tend to avoid thinking or doing things that I don't want to deal with, instead of just doing it. When I kick myself in the ass and tell myself to just get things done, the tension decreases. Even if it's little things like making a phone call, cleaning up, dishes, etc., it can build up into something much bigger than it needs to be.

@Ocean: Things are going decent. I saw an actual psychiatrist instead of my family doctor, and he thought that I would do better with daily Inderol and Xanax as needed. I do notice that it is helping, although it still leaves me with enough anxiety that I have to make sure to do the necessary work to deal with it, which is a good thing. I've been emotional and crying a lot which I think is something that I've needed since I barely ever cry. I'm doing my best to learn to slow down and be in the moment. It's amazing when I pay attention just how scattered and rushed I always am. A work in progress I guess :)
 
If you find what works best for you, do tell. I hope your condition gets better. If you like girltalk you will probably like other mashup artists like Bearbot. http://www.bearbotmusic.com/
I really like this song by the Avalanches though, I dunno if you click on this stuff haha.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUyKdaNKHzo This stuff always cheers me up.

Anyways I hope the Xanax doesn't rebound your anxiety as it did for me.
 
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