Freaking Out Often! (How do you manage anxiety???)

[JuniperMama]

I am not sure what's going on. When I was pregnant I developed serious anxiety. It continued (worsened?) after DS was born and was finally diagnosed when he was about 5-6 months old. I was put on Zoloft then and it did help. The side effects were an issue though (no sex drive and weight gain). When he self-weaned at 16 months they switched me to Wellbutrin (300mg/day) and Lamictal (100mg/day). He's now 29 months and I'm still on these two things.

The anxiety never went away but it has been manageable. However, in the past few weeks its gotten really, really bad. I think I've actually had a few true panic attacks. :

I do have a lot going on - I work full time, go to grad school full time, and am raising a 2 year old. However, that's all been reasonably well managed. This fall has been particularly intense but I've been getting through it ok.

Recently though I am feeling anxious and fearful a lot. Mostly general anxiety and worry - nothing in particular, just sort of everything making me overwhelmed and freaked out. I am not sure what sets it off but it seems to be getting worse.

I tell myself that I should not be worrying and upset - my marriage is good, my son is healthy, I have a job and a house. I am very grateful for all that is good in my life. I know that there are so many people in the world who are in such peril and have true reason for worry and fear. The thing is, knowing and appreciating all of this does not make any of it better. Then I just feel guilty about having anxiety. :

I know one of the things that seems to be triggering it is bad food - crappy sugary, fatty food. Seems to really mess with me. But of course also is what I crave when I am stressed/upset so it is sort of a chicken/egg thing I guess.

I know there is great room for improvement in the realm of my self-care so help me out mamas, what do you do to manage your anxiety??


Thanks.

[mom0810]

Hi,

Hugs to you, I know just how you feel. Don't blame yourself because you are not feeling well. It's a lot to do with chemical stuff, too.

I would suggest exercise, less sugar, NO caffeine, and maybe talk therapy? It helps a lot sometimes to just have someone to talk to, and maybe they can give you some tools to work with.

I wonder if you could try Ativan for your high anxiety times? You should talk to your doctor and see if your current meds regime could be tweaked a bit.

Get as much exercise and fresh air as you can. Light helps a lot, too.

Also, a hobby or somthing to do that you can immerse yourself in and you really enjoy. That's helped me a lot. Something with my hands helps me, like grooming the dog, needlework, art... something that is your passion.

Hope this helps. I am so right there with you!!!

[JuniperMama]

Anyone else? I can't believe we're the only 2 who have to deal with managing anxiety. Anyone else?? Bueller?

[lilysmama1124]

I am having a really hard time with post partum anxiety, it actually jsut came to a head tonight and I know that I am going to have to start medication. I will probably try Zoloft because I am nursing but it didn't help in the past. I used ativan and xanax in the past and they are good for those really awful times when you really can't calm yourself down but can be addictive and for me didn't really solve the problem but jsut put in on hold. I was able to go off of them last year before I got pregnant and my pretty much went away. At that time I was eating very little sugar or , "white" carbs, had a good diet and was doing a lot of yoga. Then I got pg and was reallys ick so that all went out the window. My anxiety has been aorsening by the day in the past two weeks and I'm sure it is related to stress/no sleep/bad diet/and hormones. During my pregnancy my anxiety was pretty bad and my therapist tried EMDR therapy which is usually used for PTSD but it really helped mewith my anxiety. It is non-invasive, not a mediaction so it is a nice alternative or supplement to drug therapy. Good luck. P.S. Don't beat yourself up for feeling anxious it only makes things worse and you don't deserve because it is not your fault you feel this way.

[Summerland]

im needing to try some things also

[JuniperMama]

Hey there. I'm back. Have been largely off sugar since the meltdown last weekend. That has definitely helped. I'm having a hard time at the moment though.

I am the Managing Director of an Arts Preschool. My son also attends there. One of the kids in his class threw up in a big way today. I have this thing about urping. I think it all started when my husband got terribly sick with stomach things twice in the same winter a couple of years ago. Anyway, this seems to be the focus of my anxiety lately - I worry constantly about us getting a stomach bug. I know its stupid. I know that its not that big of a deal. It just freaks me out so bad though.

So here I sit. That happened at about noon today. Owen has been purell'd a lot, he had a fine nap and ok dinner. He has been somewhat crabby but he's 2 1/2 and that's not uncommon for him right now. He had an urping thing in October that sounded a lot like what has been going around the school - 4 hrs. of intense urping and then they're ok. Chances are he's already had this thing and won't get it *crossing fingers*.

I should be downstairs working out right now but I am having a very hard time getting going cuz I am sitting here worrying.

I hate this. I just want to cry. I know its irrational. Its not like we can't deal with urping if it happens. I just flips me out.

[JuniperMama]

Oh meds update - talked to my ARNP. She has got me taking 150 of Wellbutrin and 75 of Lamictal in AM and PM now. She also gave me an Rx for 10 Ativan to use only if I really need them. She talked about that rebound anxiety lilysmama1124 described. I am leery of taking them because I don't want to just delay the misery.

I just wish I could stop this. Why does this happen? I'd give anything to be a non-worrier. :

[PiePie]

it sucks. i don't have any answers either. in the past it has helped me to exercise. can't say that i'm doing that now though.

[JuniperMama]

I am forcing myself to get on the elliptical right now. Let's hope it works.

Doesn't help that Owen is having a TERRIBLE time going to bed tonight and only wants to play.

[Summerland]

there's quite a few of us on the emetaphobic thread down a few who are worried about throwing up also.
I too wish i could just stop worrying, i need to shut my brain off!!

[kaydee]

Neither Wellbutrin nor Lamictal are know for anti-anxiety properties, so it's curious that they were what you were prescribed (they are more for depression). It's probably because you didn't want the SSRI side effects.

My experience has been that no other medication controls my anxiety than Paxil. I hate it because it made me gain a lot of weight (which I was, however, able to lose) and squashed my libido. When I have bad flare-ups, I do use Ativan for no more than 2 weeks (it is habit-forming).

[Bellejar]

anxiety

I totally hear you. I have had panic attacks since my early twenties, I am on 100mg of zoloft and have xanax which I have never actually taken, I have come close a few times but benzos are addictive so I don't want to take them unless I really have to. I hadn't had an attack in several years and then had a bunch back to back about 3 or 4 months ago. I went into talk therapy and am working to decrease my stress by exercising and eating better, cutting out refined sugars completely. I think I was just emotionally and physically exhausted at the time.

[Avani]

When i feel panic rising i still my entire body and breathe.This helps the adrenal being released to be more rapidly absorbed back into the body instead of being able to course through the whole body for longer creating more of an attack.I think about something that makes me really happy and then it disappears.I use Bach Rescue Remedy to calm and Bach White Chestnut to clear my obsessive thoughts.Exercise and no sugar really helps.

[Metasequoia]

Originally Posted by JuniperMama

I'd give anything to be a non-worrier. :

Amen, sister.

[mightymoo]

I have my ups and downs anxiety wise. At the moment, its not so bad.

One of the biggest ones I had was flying, I did use ativan for flying and that did really help, I found with flying, I was getting panicked earlier and earlier (used to just be on the plane, then it was in the airport, then at home on the way,e tc) but that if I knew I had the Ativan or Xanas and would take that and not be panicked, the pre-panic went away. I was really more afraid of the panic itself than of the flight. So consider having something around that you know you can take if you get really out of hand might help you stay calmer at other times.

I'd love to post the answer, but I don't have it.

[Bellejar]

Caffeine

I wanted to add that if you stop caffeine it has been shown to help. I gave up coffee and all cafinated beverages about 5 months ago. What a difference that has made on my panic level. An added benefit is that I am sleeping better and feel better.

[apple_dumpling]

Originally Posted by PiePie

it sucks. i don't have any answers either. in the past it has helped me to exercise. can't say that i'm doing that now though.

:

No answers but just wanted to offer some support. I am going through the same thing and just came on the boards to try and find some answers. I had terrible anxiety right before dd was born, and it has never gone away. It has waxed and waned, but it is getting bad again (dd is almost 2).

I've been on wellbutrin, and am currently taking lorazepam to manage the anxiety when needed (which is a lot lately) The wellbutrin didn't seem to help me much so I went off of it. I'd love to find a more natural way to deal with this, as I have several other health problems and I have to take other medicine too - it sucks to have to take so much stuff.

Just wanted to let you know that you aren't alone.

[sphinxie]

Wow, there's a lot here. It sounds like you have an anxiety-conducive lifestyle right now.

First I would recommend "The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook" by Edmund Bourne. AFAIK it covers both mainstream and alternative approaches now, although when I read it those were in two seperate books by him respectively.

Short term techniques:

- I take a hottish bath with lots of epsom salts and a few drops of lavendar eo. The epsom salts include magnesium which enters the body through the skin. Magnesium is calming, while a magnesium deficiency is the opposite.

- If I am extremely anxious or I'm really stuck that way I take a short term medication, klonopin in my case. I find that often anxiety motivates me to put off taking it as long as possible, unnecessarily. It helps if I can avoid this. After taking it I have always continued to feel better long after the med wore off; anxiety builds up, so when you take it away there's nothing left to build up.

- Every day (when I remember) I take the bach flower essences heather for my type of anxiety and wild rose for depression.

- I keep a routine of soothing and distracting habits.

- I get help earlier rather than later, as much as possible.

- I make sure I'm eating regularly and avoid low blood sugar.

- When practical, I stay busy with positive physical work--it helps me enormously to get into work which doesn't involve tons of thinking.

- I get away and do something fun, and really enjoy it and forget my worries as much as possible. This can involve reading a novel, or going for a hike, etc.

- Hm, I guess I also sorta employ the technique of "replacing negative 'mental tapes' with positive 'mental tapes'." It doesn't work for everything but some times I'm able to just talk myself down that way.

- When anxiety comes up, I isolate the anxiety from the subject I'm worrying about, and I deal with the anxiety first with the above techniques; then I deal with the subject separately, and usually it's not even that big a deal with the anxiety reduced.

Long term:

- My overall health affects my anxiety. The less healthy I am, the more anxious I am. The way I think of it is that anxiety is one of the symptoms of systemic poor health. Therefore I work on improving my overall health. (With varying degrees of success :P) This includes digestion, exercise, nutrition for cell regeneration (esp neural), and mental.

- While I'm not absolute about avoiding sugar, I'm very cautious with it (or at least I used to be and should be again soon :P). My approach was to slowly decrease it, then avoid it entirely until I ceased having sugar cravings, then just have occasional mild amounts. Sugar fuels anxiety directly: the highs can turn into anxious energy, the lows can turn into depression which feeds the anxious thoughts, and if it fosters a candida/yeast overgrowth they produce chemicals which cause anxiety and also increase a sugar addiction. There's a lot of info on MDC about quitting sugar.

- I also avoid caffeine, but if I go over my threshold it affects me so intensely that's a no-brainer for me!

- I take supplements of nutrients that will help my body to function better. Cod liver oil, and vitamin powder in a drink (more easily assimilated than a pill). There's also a lot of info on MDC about supplements.

- I eat more nourishing food, or at least work on it. Especially lots of good fats, and whatever else my body is needing. Good fats can help one to get past sugar cravings.

- I work on keeping my life low-stress. Sometimes this involves challenging decisions. In particular, if there are individuals who add needless stress to my life, I strengthen boundaries to diminish or remove their influence.

[lactivist]

I suffer from anxiety and depression. I have tried some meds in the past but couldn't deal with the side effects (I always get all of them). I have found that taking a daily Essential Fatty Acid supplement (I take fish oil) makes a huge difference for me right away. I find that my diet definitely affects it but I can't seem to always eat perfectly so I keeping taking EFA's and it has helped a great deal. It is something you could take while taking your meds. I can notice a difference in my thinking right away if I stop taking it and my thoughts get much better shortly after taking it. It has been a miracle for me. You might want to do some research and see if it something that might work for you. I feel for you.
Wendi

[E.V. Lowi]

Originally Posted by sphinxie

Wow, there's a lot here. It sounds like you have an anxiety-conducive lifestyle right now.

First I would recommend "The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook" by Edmund Bourne. AFAIK it covers both mainstream and alternative approaches now, although when I read it those were in two seperate books by him respectively.

Short term techniques:

- I take a hottish bath with lots of epsom salts and a few drops of lavendar eo. The epsom salts include magnesium which enters the body through the skin. Magnesium is calming, while a magnesium deficiency is the opposite.

- If I am extremely anxious or I'm really stuck that way I take a short term medication, klonopin in my case. I find that often anxiety motivates me to put off taking it as long as possible, unnecessarily. It helps if I can avoid this. After taking it I have always continued to feel better long after the med wore off; anxiety builds up, so when you take it away there's nothing left to build up.

- Every day (when I remember) I take the bach flower essences heather for my type of anxiety and wild rose for depression.

- I keep a routine of soothing and distracting habits.

- I get help earlier rather than later, as much as possible.

- I make sure I'm eating regularly and avoid low blood sugar.

- When practical, I stay busy with positive physical work--it helps me enormously to get into work which doesn't involve tons of thinking.

- I get away and do something fun, and really enjoy it and forget my worries as much as possible. This can involve reading a novel, or going for a hike, etc.

- Hm, I guess I also sorta employ the technique of "replacing negative 'mental tapes' with positive 'mental tapes'." It doesn't work for everything but some times I'm able to just talk myself down that way.

- When anxiety comes up, I isolate the anxiety from the subject I'm worrying about, and I deal with the anxiety first with the above techniques; then I deal with the subject separately, and usually it's not even that big a deal with the anxiety reduced.

Long term:

- My overall health affects my anxiety. The less healthy I am, the more anxious I am. The way I think of it is that anxiety is one of the symptoms of systemic poor health. Therefore I work on improving my overall health. (With varying degrees of success :P) This includes digestion, exercise, nutrition for cell regeneration (esp neural), and mental.

- While I'm not absolute about avoiding sugar, I'm very cautious with it (or at least I used to be and should be again soon :P). My approach was to slowly decrease it, then avoid it entirely until I ceased having sugar cravings, then just have occasional mild amounts. Sugar fuels anxiety directly: the highs can turn into anxious energy, the lows can turn into depression which feeds the anxious thoughts, and if it fosters a candida/yeast overgrowth they produce chemicals which cause anxiety and also increase a sugar addiction. There's a lot of info on MDC about quitting sugar.

- I also avoid caffeine, but if I go over my threshold it affects me so intensely that's a no-brainer for me!

- I take supplements of nutrients that will help my body to function better. Cod liver oil, and vitamin powder in a drink (more easily assimilated than a pill). There's also a lot of info on MDC about supplements.

- I eat more nourishing food, or at least work on it. Especially lots of good fats, and whatever else my body is needing. Good fats can help one to get past sugar cravings.

- I work on keeping my life low-stress. Sometimes this involves challenging decisions. In particular, if there are individuals who add needless stress to my life, I strengthen boundaries to diminish or remove their influence.

What great suggestions, Thanks for posting. Some people call B6 the happy pill. I find the b complex very soothing, myself.