Hi, I'm new here. I have only recently started experiencing anxiety. It started just a few years ago. I never had anxiety before and then out of nowhere it started up. The doctor I went to said that I was just stressed and that there was nothing else wrong with me. The medication he prescribed (for the life of me I can't remember the name of it - it's been a few years) made me like a zombie so I stopped taking them. Shortly after that I was anxiety free for a few years and now again, out of nowhere, it's hit again. This time seems worse than I remember and I can't seem to shake it. I'm to my wits end and can't seem to get away.
What are some techniques that others use to help cope with anxiety?
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PurpleTiger
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First of all, welcome. Did you have any life changes recently? Any moves, job changes, life transitions. Often those can be the catalyst to the return of symptoms. The biggest things that have helped me are journaling, guided meditations on You Tube and swimming. Anxiety stinks. It makes life difficult. You are in the right place to get support and ideas.
Welcome aboard, Tiger! I really like meditation and progressive muscle relaxation. I know they may sound hokey, but I really find them useful. If you want to go the natural route, you can take St. John’s Wort. As with all of these, it takes time for it to be helpful. But bottom line there is a lot of help out there.
Welcome PurpleTiger. I don't know how old you are, but it could be hormones. Hormone fluctuations (after delivering a baby or during menopause) can cause anxiety.
Stress is a big trigger for me. I read Adrenaline and Stress by Dr. Archibald Hart and learned about adrenaline, fight or flight, etc. I try to avoid stress by drinking Tension Tamer tea, relaxed breathing exercises (yoga), avoiding caffeine, sugar and processed foods, using doTERRA Lavender essential oil.
I also read Rethink How You Think by Dr. David Stoop. I learned from this book that our emotions follow our thinking and a lot of the time, we have anxiety because of what we are thinking about. When I start to feel anxiety coming on I stop and evaluate what I am thinking about. Then I deliberately start thinking about something else. Sometimes I'll even turn on a comedy on TV or watch a comedian on YouTube just to get my brain going in a different direction. It sounds simplistic but it really works.
I'm 25. I've tried much of what you mentioned and apparently am not very good at it. Nothing seems to help. The worst part is when I start to feel like I'm coming out of it I can't help but focus on the fact that my feelings of anxiety are gone and inadvertantly cause it to come back.
I know what you mean. I have experienced that also. When I worry about being anxious or depressed, then I become anxious and depressed.
Change Your Brain, Change Your Life by Daniel Amen is also an excellent book. Be patient with yourself. You can change your brain, but it won't happen overnight. For me it was a several year process. But the good news is that the good periods began to last longer and the bad periods began to not last as long. I learned to recognize when I was beginning to slip into negative thinking patterns. And I would practice the things I learned. I still have brief episodes of anxiety and depression but I don't live there anymore.
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