How we can help ourselves with anxiety and depression? - Page 2

[creektownmama]

Well, I don't have many answers....it has been quite a journey for me. I am grateful to be in a space that I CAN help myself, I've been down some pretty dark paths.
This morning I woke up and knew that it had the potential to be a very bad day....so I made a plan before I got out of bed. Eat protein for breakfast, take my vitamins, let go of the negative self talk. Small, I know, but in the thick of it....I have to be very patient and deliberate.
We'll see how the rest of the day plays out. It's raining....gardening has been helping alot. I'm gonna try to de-clutter my craft room, that always makes me feel very satisfied.
I have a call into the therapist, I keep avoiding an appointment...it's easier to not go to appointments with the baby. But, I think maybe I should go. I want to be able to help myself....but from experience I know that's not always possible

[sacredmama]

My mom has anxiety/depression and has been on meds for the last 25 years. The meds have helped relieve some symptoms, but has not helped to get to the heart of the problem. So, she is now in a place where the meds don't help as much as they used to.

I had depression in college, and refused to take meds, and I changed my life by following my heart and finally doing the things that I felt would make me happy. That worked. Now when I find some depression symptoms start, I listen to my heart and make changes. Mostly writing in my gratitude journal, exercising, being in nature, and trying to begin new things...
I began to have anxiety about a year ago. I was having panic attacks pretty severely about getting on the airplane alone with DS. I actually threw up on a plane wth DS on my lap during a panic attack. Well, because of my mom, I decided to avoid taking meds. I have taken one xanax and it made me feel yucky. I did flower essences, herbal remedies, had a session with a natural healer, but mostly I just allowed these sensations to come. I found that when I was afraid of the attack it triggered it more. So I try to repeat to myself that my body is trying to find balance, it will be okay, it's not more than I can handle. I try to catch myself in the beginning of anxiety, by paying attention to my heart and breathing. I take lots of deep breaths, it always goes away, that's a very relieving thought. I haven't had a panic attack for 4 months!! I've been on 6 airplane flights attack free. I do have anxiety, but it's okay. I allow it, try to feel it, and let it go.

This is my experience and what has worked for me. I imagine everyone will have their own specific process for healing. An herbalist once said to me "You don't have to know the cause of something to be able to heal it. You just have to believe you can heal." That REALLY resonated with me, and I know that woman plays a huge part in my healing.

[Panserbjorne]

Originally Posted by creektownmama

I want to be able to help myself....but from experience I know that's not always possible

It is possible, if you have the tools and are ready to do it. It's just a matter of finding them, and they tend to present themselves when you are ready.

For me the tools were nutrition, homeopathy, flower essences and a new way of thinking/understanding health and healing. It will not always be the same for everyone.

[mom0810]

"I found that when I was afraid of the attack it triggered it more."

This is exactly the thinking behind the worry journal. If you face those things, they are not as scary.

I tried all the "natural" things, and still found I needed meds. I was on them for a year, and therapy and meds were the answer for me. I know it's very conventional which is sometimes taboo on this board, but it is what worked for me. Even my homeopath, who is also an M.D., was for the meds. He felt it was the only thing that would really get me over the hump, and he was right.

[Panserbjorne]

Originally Posted by mom0810

I tried all the "natural" things, and still found I needed meds.

With all due respect, this is the phrase I always cringe at. I don't even know what that means. There is a world of "natural" things out there. Even if you exhaust your resources it doesn't mean that others don't exist. It often means trying new approaches or finding a new practitioner, or simply a new way of being.

I'm glad you feel better, but I would just be careful saying things like that. You may have tried some natural things, but I'd be pretty confident in saying that you didn't try *all* the natural things.

The trick with natural medicine is to NOT use it allopathically (which unfortunately many doctors do, one potential pitfall in having a homeopathic MD) It is a different modality and often people try to make it fit in the same box. It can, but then it isn't effective most of the time. It takes a very different understanding of the body. Hard to come across someone who practices that way, but that's what boards like this are for...to know what the potential is.

[creektownmama]

Originally Posted by firefaery

It is possible, if you have the tools and are ready to do it. It's just a matter of finding them, and they tend to present themselves when you are ready.

For me the tools were nutrition, homeopathy, flower essences and a new way of thinking/understanding health and healing. It will not always be the same for everyone.

I guess I am helping myself by finding help But that has been a real challenge for me. The fact that depression and anxiety are triggered in my life by having children has caused me enormous guilt. I really am grateful for it, because I have grown and learned sooooo very much from it...but it's been painful and tricky many times.
And I think I understand about the "natural" things....I took allopathic meds after 2 years of therapy, and I really don't think that I had the stregnth or support to do much else at that point. The side effects are fairly "un-natural" but at the time I think that it helped pull me out of a pretty dark and hopeless place. Now, I'm doing B vitamins and gardening, I hired some help once a week...but I can see how it could become too much, and although I completely agree that natural(herbs, flower essences, diet, exercise, etc.) medicines are effective and far reaching...they take a bit more energy to find what works and at times I have not been able to do that.
I won't do meds unless I absolutely have to, but before I took them I never thought I would have to...kwim
I'm reading " A New Earth"...it's helping ALOT!!!!

[Surfacing]

Originally Posted by creektownmama

I guess I am helping myself by finding help But that has been a real challenge for me. The fact that depression and anxiety are triggered in my life by having children has caused me enormous guilt. I really am grateful for it, because I have grown and learned sooooo very much from it...but it's been painful and tricky many times.

I can sooo relate to anxiety and depression triggered by having children and the guilt. It is a positive step to try to get yourself some help. I really hope it works for you and is helpful.

It is true that we each have to figure out for ourselves what works for us. It won't look the same for everyone. I myself have tried diet, exercise, supplements, sleep, fun, omega 3 rich oils, aromatherapy, cognitive therapy, journaling, homeopathic remedies over the span of 15 years. They worked pretty well most of the time, sometimes not well enough. When I had children my depression and anxiety pushed me to a new level and these things were no longer helpful enough. In the end, meds have helped to take the edge off my rage, depression and panic attacks so I can do the things that are helpful and healthy for me and my family (like cook! whoo!). Meds have helped me to be able to do the anger management techniques effectively, relaxation techniques, etc. For me they are a godsend.

I am grateful that I did a ton of work reprogramming my brain before I had children. But our growth is never done, is it?

Bless us each on our journey.

What's "A New Earth"?

[Mirzam]

A New Earth by Eckert Tolle.

Originally Posted by firefaery

With all due respect, this is the phrase I always cringe at. I don't even know what that means. There is a world of "natural" things out there. Even if you exhaust your resources it doesn't mean that others don't exist.

and

The trick with natural medicine is to NOT use it allopathically (which unfortunately many doctors do, one potential pitfall in having a homeopathic MD) It is a different modality and often people try to make it fit in the same box. It can, but then it isn't effective most of the time. It takes a very different understanding of the body. Hard to come across someone who practices that way, but that's what boards like this are for...to know what the potential is.

I couldn't agree more. Here's a few things that I bet no one has tried: inert gas technology, high meat, understanding and using the work of Dr Ryke Geerd Hamer, all of these things have the potential to heal. How about prayer? All of these things and many, many more can heal. Health is all about consciousness. Change your consciousness, and you change your health.

[mom0810]

"With all due respect, this is the phrase I always cringe at. I don't even know what that means. There is a world of "natural" things out there. Even if you exhaust your resources it doesn't mean that others don't exist. It often means trying new approaches or finding a new practitioner, or simply a new way of being."--firefairy

You know, this kind of attitude is really judgemental in itself. I guess, then, what I should have said is, "I tried everything natural that I knew of at the time?"

Also, when you are in the throes of depression, there are not many things you are able to do to help yourself. I needed the meds to be able to even see that I COULD help myself if I wanted. When you are in the middle of a deep depression, you can't see your way out. I was not getting out of bed there for several weeks. I exhausted every avenue prior to meds, and I feel very good about the choice I made for CBT and medication. And it helped me immensely, which is what the OP was about.

[Panserbjorne]

It isn't judgmental to state a fact. "I tried all the natural treatments", and "I tried all the natural treatments I knew of at the time" are very different statements.

Regardless, I was merely making the point that people often talk about doing the "mainstream" natural things and having them not work. Then they HAD to do meds, because what option did they have? My point is simply that there are far more options out there that many people ever seek out.

Really, you do not need to tell me what it's like to be depressed. In case it wasn't clear, I've been there. I get what it's like to feel like your back is up against a wall, and there is no way out. I just had a different perspective at the time and the point of threads like this is to let others know that when you get there there are answers that *your* doc may not know about. That doesn't mean you cannot benefit from them.

The other thing is, as I stated that many practitioners/doctors use alternative medicine inappropriately. I cannot tell you how many times I have had people tell me, "well, I tried homeopathy" or "I tried flower essences" or "I used natural supplements and none of them worked" only to find out 5 minutes into the conversation they were used incorrectly. That isn't helpful.

So, I hear that you exhausted every avenue that YOU knew of at the time, and that's fine. But you did not exhaust every avenue, and for those reading this it is important to know that while it is always an option to turn to meds should that be your decision, it is often not necessary if you have the right tools. I have facilitated many in finding those tools and have seen the success. I have watched people get off meds, and watched others that I have helped in that dark place get out without them. I know to whom and where to refer. My passion is in helping people to help themselves. Nothing brings me greater joy.

This is not an attack, you did what you knew to do at the time. It's your path and that's fine. I just don't like it being out there that natural medicine has limits. IT doesn't, not when it's used properly.

[mom0810]

"It isn't judgmental to state a fact. "I tried all the natural treatments", and "I tried all the natural treatments I knew of at the time" are very different statements. "

Wow, talk about splitting hairs...

EVERYTHING has limits. That's why some things work for some people and others don't.