Brand New To All Of This From Long Island New York

[Distantecho1989]

Good Afternoon all!

My name is John and I am new to this site. I've battled with anxiety and depression my whole life resulting from PTSD from a horrible childhood. It was only until recently I decided to get help and take back my life at 28 years old. My anxiety has gotten so bad that I was diagnosed with a heart arrhythmia stemming from the trauma.

In addition to medicine, I thought I would take other proactive approaches such as joining a group. Looking forward to seeing what this site has to offer.

Cheers!

- John

[Bingh]

Welcome! My go-to help besides my lorazepam and talking to people are (1) books by Claire Weekes (they saved me), (2) progressive relaxation techniques, and (3) meditation.

[Distantecho1989 in reply to Bingh]

Thank you! I would really like to start taking more time to practice meditation. As I'm sure you know it can be hard at first. If you don't mind me asking...when you meditate...what works best for you?

[Bingh in reply to Distantecho1989]

When I was new to meditation, I would flip through YouTube until I found someone with a voice I liked. I needed to be "led" through it, especially if I was feeling anxious. If I am relaxed, I can meditate in a quiet place by closing my eyes, focusing on breathing, and relaxing each muscle individually. There is an app I like called "Calm" that has a little bit of everything and several meditation programs that you can do every day, gradually increasing your ability.

[Distantecho1989 in reply to Bingh]

Oh okay, this makes sense especially to start out. So it was more of a guided meditation that helped you. I've read a lot of Zen practices and from what I read it takes some real commitment. Thank you so much for the tip

[Mbroker27]

Best of luck to you. You are making all the right moves. I too suffer with anxiety and depression. A meditation group might also be good to look into.

[X01WOOG]

I was going to tell you about CEN and PsychCentral. I see someone did tell you. This is great for us. All I can say is me too! Woog