Natural remedies question

Hi, is there another way to control anxiety and bipolar etc I don't like how prescribed meds effect me.

[c-mac]

I can somewhat control the extremes when I'm not taking enough medicine, by reduce stimulating things in my environment when I'm hypomanic, and forcing myself outside for walks to the store when I'm depressed. Hell, no, that's not right. I've never controlled a depressed mood, I don't think, other than dragging myself to a doctor and on the right medicine. 12-step groups kept me going, but I was still pretty miserable. Now that I'm on good medicine and stable, every every once in a while I'll have a little depression, but it will last literally less than 8 hours before I'm able to get out and about again.

Every medicine is different and affects you in different ways. What have you tried? I probably tried 6 of them before I found these, lamotrigine (Lamictal) and ziprasidone HCl (Geodon). And you know what? I was absolutely godawful miserable on them the first six months, and still quite miserable for a few years after that. But I was stable. I didn't have mood swings, I didn't do things that jeopardized me having an income, I was taking care of my health and being a better husband. And eventually I adjusted to the side effects where now I don't feel them at all, except maybe once or twice a month I'll get sleepy and need to go to sleep around 9. Hardly an ordeal! And best, I was stable enough to have a child, and I guess that's been going pretty well for 10 years now.

My advice is not to give up on medicine, keep trying, find the one the doctor thinks best fits your health profile and work with it a good long time before giving up. That's what worked for me. The benefit is that your mood stability is no longer the only thing you can concentrate on, and you can start having goals outside of your mental illness -- like finding paths to greater happiness. I'm not "back to my old self", because I've had to set goals that work for my illness -- avoiding anxiety, having a support network, etc. But I can have happiness as a goal now, not just survival, while I'm on medicine. And I can be giving now, not just desperately taking.

[Hidden]

I’m not sure about depression but anxiety can be helped with mindful meditation and therapy. It’s hard work though. You are relying entirely on yourself and you have to stay ahead of it. Medication used in conjunction with CBT or DBT therapy could be really helpful too. If your depression and anxiety is severe, it might be safer to be on medication until you can find something else that works and then slowly come off the meds. I hope you find something that works for you.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Thank U

[Thearc]

I use Lavender Essential Oil. It has helped through some pretty rough times. I go through a lot of it. I put some on my chest for anxiety and also my temples and wrists, the smell is calming. Hope this helps.

[Hidden in reply to Thearc]

Hi. I used it before I'll get more.