stressed, overwhelmed, feel like im going bonkers

[slynn0098]

lately iv been feeling very stressed and overwhelmed with everything the apartment, meetings, appointment's, docs, making sure my son has what he needs that my anxiety has been through the roof does anyone have any ideas to relax when you dont have a chance to just get away for a min?

[Agora1]

slynn0098, when anxiety gets to that point of being so overwhelming that you don't know which way is up or down, it's time for a respite. Vacations are a luxury that take both time and money, however a short respite is necessary as well as doable in a short period of time.

I noticed you just started on medication but it needs to have something else in addition to it and that is you working on bringing down your stress level. Short of having therapy, you can help yourself through meditation/relaxation and deep breathing before bed, upon awakening and one time in the middle of the afternoon.

You Tube has 3-5-and 10 minute Audio Meditation/DeepBreathing videos that are amazingly relaxing and rejuvenating. Giving you that "me" time that we all seem to need with our busy schedules, especially when having anxiety to deal with as well. I'm sure we can all spare those few minutes of escape. x

I hope you give it a try. It helps if it is a daily practice and not just when all heck breaks lose xx

Wish you well

[kinikia95 ADAA Volunteer in reply to Agora1]

Agora1 you have such helpful posts and you're so right. Meditation is the best, I just have trouble ssometimes with overbreathing and I wish I didn't . Have you ever tried the YouTube ASMR? Some people think it's weird and a lot of them are, but they're similar to meditation and I find them extremely relaxing. I would be interested to know what you think.

[Agora1 in reply to kinikia95]

Hi kinikia95, Anything and everything (short of medication) that makes you relax and feel calm is worth a try. I thought I had tried it all over the years and maybe I did without knowing there was a name to what I was using.

I guess I've experienced ASMR many times in my life not realizing that the comfort and calm I felt could be used for anxiety. I remember being 10years old and feeling how relaxing it was to have my girl friend play with my hair. I thought nothing of it at that time. Another thing she taught me was while sitting in a chair, she would take her index finger and draw circles around my eyes, nose, mouth and ears. I've used that with my daughter when she first came to me as a foster child. It would calm and alleviate her fears in moments. Touch in a non threatening way can give a person a sense of safety and that everything is okay.

I never knew it was a part of ASMR, just knew it worked. I have been told I have a very calming voice and so I've written and recorded affirmations and visualization tapes for myself. Also very soothing.

So kinikia95, everyone is different in how and what they respond to. Only by trying different modalities can we find what works best for us. Thank you for sharing this and giving a name to something I have been using along the way.

Have a wonderful, calming, peaceful day xx

[slynn0098 in reply to Agora1]

thank you very much for the idea i definitely going to give it a try

[Windy101]

That's great advice from Agora, and feeling anxious over the end of the semester, I'm going to try it myself.