Trying to balance what I lose/gain from medication. Meditating to manage Anxiety

[zeldablues94]

I have severe social anxiety and some GAD and have been taking venlafaxine/effexor since I graduated college. By far the best outcome of any psychotropic Ive tried. I can go to work and carry on normal conversations with people without falling apart. My own thoughts and feelings arn't torture. It was awful before. but.... for a long time ive been feeling that I also dont have any passion for life. I dont have any hopes or expectations for the future. I dont have any interest in activities outside work (I go on walks, read, and knit sometimes but thats about it.)

With all this time off I finally figured it out. When Im off work, at home, and there arnt the constant stress triggers, my anxiety medication just makes me depressed! I need the meds to go to the bank or the grocery story or out with a friend and not be miserable all the time, but at home alone i'm an empty shell with the effexor. Ive tried reducing the dose while at home but it mostly seems to be either/or. Its so frustrating to need the medication to be comfortable doing anything and then once Im comfortable enough to do it I dont care about it anymore! I find I want to sleep more and more to escape the cycle.

Ive been researching/practicing meditation off and on to manage anxiety. I guess I'm wondering if anyone else has had some success with meditating when medication wasnt cutting it and what that process has been for them. Oh, I have also done talk therapy for 1.5-2 years.

[BetaTogetha]

Hello, you are not alone! Yes mediation!!! Yes yes!!! When I am consistent with meditation I feel better/empowered to deal with my anxiety.

When you say talk therapy why do you mean? I’ve been working with a therapist and doing cognitive behavioral therapy, where I’m essentially reprogramming my thought processes. Typically in a stressful event my mind will go straight to negative thought/destructive thoughts and that leads to unproductive behaviors. So my therapy is to re-learn the mental components and work on changing my overall responses. It sounds complicated but it’s really not. For me this therapy has been extremely helpful with my GAD.

To be my best it really does take a continuous effort from multiple directions: regular nutrition/exercise are huge in maintenance, medication, therapy and mindfulness(reading, journaling, meditation)

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You can purchase a book on Mindfulness on Amazon for £7;00 that may allow you to learn various techniques, Hopefully you will pick up some useful ways of helping yourself

I use two different techniques MaxwelL Technique and Alexander Technique I mix and match although these two techniques are older and more Western in their techniques

BOB