Hello, all, ive been going back and forth with the thought of going on medication, I have a therapist and I have been working cognitively through this recent panic attacks, but sometimes when I am struggling through the anxiety I think that I should start taking the medicine the dr prescribed me.
I look up the side effects from Fluoxetine and its the same as overcoming anxiety naturally,
Anyone out there that has done both? Any experiences?
You can do it without medication it only masks the anxiety for a while you are on them and they have bad side effects. It's your own will power that will help you get to the core and over come it. Keep to your theapy see how that goes.
thank you!
Your welcome the linden method may help aswell google it.
okay I will!
TheResilientOne, I feel there is a time and place for everything. One of them is while going through therapy, it is best accompanied by short term medication. At one time, I couldn't have made it through without the help of medication. It will help take the edge of your struggle while learning ways to overcome anxiety. Talk it over with your doctor again. We all have had the doubts when first going on meds. Only you can make that decision for yourself. We are here to support you.
thank , Im strongly thinking about getting on it to take the racing of the mind and the edge off, I took this before when I was pregnant because I had anxiety .. and it helped.. and I got off. But im strongly thinking of it! thank you!
I have been on Paxil for depression n
Xanax for panic attacks that come whenever they want to!! I chose medication after going to group therapy n reading about Breathing n Relaxing!
One thing I have learned
Medication is what I Needed n Still on it
The Xanex is 2 mg but I only use when I'm traveling. We all have reasons for why
We Are depressed n have Panic attacks.
Medication is NOT the ANSWER, But it's
O K. TO USE TEMPORARY UNTIL YOU
FIND OUT WHAT OR WHY !!!
I have tried to do both and there's no comparison. Not for me. I have GAD and the anxiety is high voltage and does not stop, day and night after more days and nights and on and on. I don't eat or sleep. So for me I must take the drugs. And life is very very good on the drugs. I am even and in a good mood and able to handle whatever I need to. I'm at peace. For 28 years I was on 4 mg of a mild tranquilizer, either clorazepate in the 1st 15 years or clonazepam after the 15 year point, until 11 months ago when I started being sleepy while sitting up. I started decreasing my clonazepam until it is today at 0.5 mg per day. No problems and no side effects. I do have gaps in my memory which I attribute to the tranquilizers. I believe when I was put on them it wasn't known that memory problems could occur from long term use. I say COULD occur because they don't occur in everyone. I also always had an antidepressant. I tried to go off this and immediately became badly depressed.
If you are not having anxiety 24/7 and your therapist is confident that you don't need meds then look at not using them yet. I have been enjoying a fantastic blog called The Worry Games and she offers an AMAZING set of solutions.
Just had a peek at that website and seems very good. Not surprisingly, it is based upon the same principles set out by Dr Claire Weekes in her books. No techniques, no promises of quick fixes, just good old fashioned facing your fears and overcoming them through knowledge and understanding which brings about a change in attitude towards the symptoms.
I thought the medication was just to try to get you out of the anxiety habit, not sure it would do anything long term unless you take it long term. The goal for you is to control your anxiety and learn to live with it so that it doesn't interfere in your daily life.
I rarely have anxiety now, I just get the odd dose of it but I learned to act as soon as it kicks in, once I feel the negative thoughts I tell myself its only the anxiety and it wont harm, after a while of doing this it doesn't get to me much nowadays. I also eat some foods such as bananas daily that act like beta blockers and help a lot, my main weapon is exercise a few times a week. I do things like drawing or listen to music, watch relaxing vids etc, they all help a lot. Keeping your mind active and busy doesn't give it time to think the negative thoughts.
In my opinion its best to take on the anxiety naturally but maybe its different for everyone. Only you can decide which way you want to tackle it but do look into natural ways to deal with it.
Good luck to you.
hey, at times medications is the only option to go if your anxiety is there 24/7 but anxiety is very treatable without medications. it might take a while but teaching yourself and doing therapy is great option because then you'd have something that you've achieved!!
Medication wasn't for me and recovered naturally by facing and accepting the symptoms of anxiety. I wanted complete freedom, I didn't want to be continually looking over my shoulder fearing if anxiety would return which is the risk you take if relying upon medication to get you through. Medication is fine to take the edge of things but you never learn how to truly cope with the symptoms the right way if and when they return. And they will return if you still hold fear in your heart because fear is the root cause of anxiety.
The only way to recover is to continually pass through the anxiety storm, facing and accepting all the symptoms, letting yourself fall into any state and allowing it all to happen without resistance, not running away, not hiding or using any type of technique to stop yourself from feeling anxious. The more you practice acceptance, the better at it you become and the symptoms will gradually ease and fade away. It becomes second nature to let it all go and just carry on regardless of how you feel. You pass through the storm and come out the other side.
Acceptance by not doing anything about the thoughts and feelings isn't easy at first and It does take a leap of faith because they can be very but you will start to see rays of sunlight (normality) which gives confidence that you are on the right course. The confidence you earn is never lost and called upon in times of setback (setbacks are part and parcel of the recovery process and an indication of how far you have come).
Gradually the "clouds" will disperse and, with the knowledge and experience you have gained on your journey to recovery, you will know exactly what to do (nothing!) should you slip. In my opinion, it will be difficult to slip to those depths again because you will have lost your fear of anxiety and the myriad of symptoms along the way. When there is no fear, anxiety cannot exist.
I make it sound easy but know very well that it isn't. It can be hard at times but the thing to remember is that they are only thoughts and feelings of no great importance and a by product of anxiety finding an outlet to release all that excessive energy. Sure, it feels uncomfortable, it is supposed to be uncomfortable because it's your fight or flight mechanism protecting you and telling you to run, hide or fight an immediate danger so needs to grab your immediate attention. It's only doing what it is designed to do. To protect you. It's your best friend and keeps a watchful eye over you, keeping you out of danger's way. By welcoming the symptoms instead of fighting them, you are showing your fight/flight response that there is no danger and it will calm itself down.
I seem to have got blown off course a little with this post and hope you don't mind. I just want people to know that is is entirely possible to recover without medication which will happen with a change of attitude towards the symptoms by allowing and not rejecting. If I can do it, anyone can. No special medals of courage are needed. You all have it in you to recover.
Thank you sooooooo much !!!!!!! I really needed to read that !!!!!!
No Meds!!!! 
Am I the only one?? 
meds or no meds
Do meds work for anyone?
New thought on Meds..
