New here

[Crazymama]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this site but I've been dealing with anxiety and picnic attacks for years. I have to kids and im married. My anxiety is getting worse and I've been having daily panic attacks. Its hard when people ask me what am i stressed about and i feel lost saying i dont know, it just comes out of nowhere. It is starting to affect my eating and sleep. I'm reading about more alternative treatments, I've been on different medications but I'd rather not go back to them. I am still nursing my youngest. I hope having people that know the feelings that come on out of nowhere will be a good resource to help in my journey. Id like to learn different techniques to help me. I'm currently looking into acupuncture for help. What I've been reading is that it is getting more recognition for the benefits. Thank you and good luck.

[mynx7923]

Nice to meet you and welcome!

Deep breathing during an anxiety attack helps, meditating on something for 10-15 minutes a day helps in conjunction with deep breathing, and exercise helps. Trusting in God helps I've heard (though I haven't been able to achieve full trust yet due to psychological issues surrounding trust for me, even with God go figure). Have you tried any of these?

I do know that an increase in hormones makes me feel more anxious. Also, a high blood pressure med that I was on was increasing my heart rate (not cool), so once my Dr figured that out and changed it, I started to feel less anxious right away. Are you on any meds that might cause anxiety? And since you just had a baby, your body may have increased hormone production that might be increasing your panic/anxiety.

[levymaria]

Hi Crazymama,

You are definitely not alone I also suffer from anxiety & depression, I also sometimes feel like I don't know where it comes from. I too am thinking of looking into acupuncture to relieve some of what I am feeling. I have a baby that is 5 months old I am bottle feeding her she didn't latch on when I tried to breastfeed so I am taking medication but I do intend to get off of them in the near future. Please come back on here and let us know how acupuncture goes I am very interested in hearing the results! Best of luck and always remember YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

[Harleypibble]

I know what you mean, when people ask what are you feeling anxious about, what happened before the anxiety started etc., etc. Makes me feel even crazier when my response is nothing, I wasn't thinking about anything.......it just comes and stays and stays. The worse part is the things I've been told to try for the anxiety either don't work or a short period 30-40 minutes and I'm back where I started.

[BonnieSue]

Hi Crazymama,

Here is a list of some natural remedies and non-drug sources of information such as books, videos, and workbooks suggested by other people on this site that helped them reduce their anxiety:

1---"I've found David D. Burns' "Feeling Good" and "When Panic Attacks" to be very helpful."

2---"I am working through the anxiety workbook by Dr David Carbonell and it has helped immensely!!! " His website is anxietycoach.com

3---psychcentral.com/lib/9-ways...talks about ”9 ways to reduce anxiety now”

4---The book “Freedom From Fear” by Neil T. Anderson. Addresses the spiritual aspect of the battle of anxiety with a holistic approach and the peacefulness God gifts to us.

5---Dr. Jonice Webb authored "Running on Empty: Overcome your Childhood Emotional Neglect"

6---Mindfulness has helped many people and is now recommended by doctors in the UK. Here’s just 1 link that explains it’s usefulness: heartwoodrefuge.org/benefit.... Another option of many is called MINDSHIFT. You can download it to your phone from Google Playstore.

7--- If you're interested in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (a method often used effectively in one-on-one counseling sessions), there are several workbooks available for not much money. One that has helped my friend and I is "Retrain Your Brain: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in 7 Weeks".

8---TRE (Trauma releasing exercises) is something you can learn in a class but you don't have to talk about your problems and once you have learned the technique you can use it at home.

9---UK site for stress, anxiety and depression information: panic attacks: nhs.uk/conditions/stress-an...

10---anxietytipsoftheday.weebly.com

11---"A good book that I came across recently is The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook, 6th Edition by Edmund J. Bourne, PhD. You might find this book to be of some help to you, although communicating your thoughts and feelings in a group setting is enormously helpful as well. "

12---“The book DARE, which is about anxiety. It’s a very good book about accepting anxiety and letting go of the fear. The author is Barry Mcdonagh and he also has a YouTube channel and a Facebook support group.”

13---For anxiety: Claire Weekes audio books on iTunes. “Self Help for Your Nerves” is one title that is good. You can see her on YouTube. “The Dr. Claire Weekes book is easy to understand and will help you on your way to recovery through acceptance.” Someone else says: “I like the paradigm of acceptance by Dr. Claire Weekes in Hope and Help for your Nerves. It is the preeminent book of self help for people experiencing anxiety disorders and the depression that accompanies it.”

14---I would also add Don't Panic by Dr. Reid Wilson.

15---For meditation time the app called CALM is good. Available on iTunes and Google Play.

16---Another really good CD and book is the Linden method.

17---How to be good with yourself: self-compassion.org/the-thr...10---Try the meditation app called Headspace. It's done in 10 min. slots once a day.

18---Videos on YouTube by THAT ANXIETY GUY helps with anxiety re: depersonalization/ de-realization states. The Anxiety Guy podcast is currently #1 in the health category on iTunes, and will begin taking you from fear to freedom starting today. Visit anxietyexit.com to subscribe and begin downloading the latest episodes.

19—For UK residents: Have you ever been in touch with the organization called MIND? They offer one to one sessions with a Project Worker free. They also run courses that you can attend free of charge. One of the courses is about anxiety. Their website is mind.org.uk

20---"Go on the Psychology Today site and look for a therapist that specializes in anxiety." Psychology Today has listings with psychiatrists(may prescribe drugs) and psychologists and therapists with their pictures and the therapists’ specialties and philosophies, sliding scale fees if they have them, education and insurance accepted and other details they choose to post for you.

21---Instead of mercilessly judging and criticizing yourself for various inadequacies or shortcomings, self-compassion means you are kind and understanding when confronted with personal failings – after all, who ever said you were supposed to be perfect? self-compassion.org/the-thr...

22---“Have you ever listened to Louise Hay on YouTube? Some of the talks help motivate you and hopefully you will feel a positive energy.”

23---“I called one of these online therapist sites. The therapist was really good. It was prestoexperts dot com. Her name was Lori Burke. Definitely a professional and she got me through this awful depression/anxiety morning.” (There is a charge for this service)

24---For meditation look at:

Tara Brach and Chopra Center

25---theworrygames.com/anxiety-f...

26---Anxiety No More by Paul Bywater. A phone app.

27---At Last a Life book by Paul David.

28---The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook

Practical DBT Exercises for Learning Mindfulness, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Emotion Regulation, and Distress Tolerance

By: Matthew McKay PhD, Jeffrey Wood PsyD, Jeffrey Brantley MD

A Clear and Effective Approach to Learning DBT Skills

First developed for treating borderline personality disorder, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) has proven effective as treatment for a range of other mental health problems, especially for those characterized by overwhelming emotions. Research shows that DBT can improve your ability to handle distress without losing control and acting destructively. In order to make use of these techniques, you need to build skills in four key areas-distress tolerance, mindfulness, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.

Source: NewHarbingerPublications

Caution for non-Buddhists: Zen Buddhism inspired aspects of DBT, along with behavioral science and dialectical philosophy. Source: GoodTherapy.com.

[Pearl67 in reply to BonnieSue]

Awesome and thoughtful response and list!!

[Hidden]

That is certainly a long list of resources! I'm going to look into some of them.