Aniexty at its peak

[Anxious216]

Anxiety & depression has been going full throttle over the last couple of days...muscle twitching, tightness in the face, pressure on the head, dizziness you name it...I can’t see my doctor until next month sometime because of my health insurance...Omg! Is there anything that I can do or take to ease the discomfort?

[Hidden]

Keep checking with your doctor to see if anyone cancels so you can be seen sooner. If anxiety becomes worse you can go to the ER. Some home remedies 1- exercise, this releases natural endorphins, go on a walk or run anything for 30 minutes 2- magnesium such as an epsom salt bath or magnesium oil spray on your feet before bed. You can also ingest magnesium but go slow because it can cause stomach upset. Magnesium citrate is well absorbed. 3- valerian root tea, known for centuries to calm the mind and induce sleep. I’ve been insanely anxious before too, it’s awful. Hoping you get into see a doctor sooner, just keep calling everyday and ask if there are any cancellations

[Abbate22]

Anxiety can do a lot of things. It’s not fun. Practice breathing and positive thoughts. It’s hard, but I know you can do it.

[Anxious216 in reply to Abbate22]

Thank you so much

[AUlisCranmer]

I get that tightness feeling as well. I usually lay on a tennis ball and massage it around my shoulder blades and neck to help release the tension, it helps to loosen up that tightness and ultimately makes me a little less anxious. Give it a try!

[Hidden in reply to AUlisCranmer]

That's a really good idea. Thanks for sharing!

[Anxious216]

Ok thank you so much

[Miniwheats]

One thing you can do is try to look at uncertainty differently. You have made a plan to be assessed by a physician and at this point your job is done, all you can do now is wait. Now, you could fill your head with thoughts of the worst possible medical conditions based on nothing other than your symptoms and cause a whole lot of unnecessary anxiety and possibly further physical symptoms. Will this help you? No. Will this somehow lead you to an epiphany of what your diagnosis is? No. 100% no. I have been down that road it did me no good even though it felt like I was doing something productive. Statistically you have as good a chance of getting an "all clear" from your physician, why not anticipate that outcome instead of the other? There is nothing "safe" about assuming the worst and doing so will not somehow protect or defend you against anything, even though every fibre of your being is screaming that it WILL! It won't!! It will be your doc's job to assess you in a month. Why not take the opportunity to do a little assessing on your own before that? Test your theory that it's anxiety that is causing your symptoms by telling yourself it's only anxiety, and then do things like: rhythmic breathing to prevent hyperventilation syndrome that often accompanies anxiety and causes dizziness; immerse yourself in a video game or memory game as soon as you start getting worrying thoughts to avoid negative rumination that increases cortisol levels and causes all kinds of whacky symptoms; avoid all forms of caffeine and alcohol that will raise your sympathetic tone; do things that will raise your sympathetic tone such as getting enough sleep, avoiding excitement especially in the evening, getting some moderate exercise outdoors amidst nature or getting a Swedish massage. These are not woo woo remedies they are based on physiological mechanisms that affect anxiety, I just don't have room to explain it all here but I have read all about it in self help books written by medical professionals and backed by evidence. I hope this helps you!😊😊

[Miniwheats in reply to Miniwheats]

Sorry...I meant "parasympathetic" tone the second time!

[Hidden]

I understand how you're feeling as I've been feeling the same. Especially this time of year, anxiety can really amp up. So much to do and those of us that experience the physical symptoms feel it even more so. Are you getting enough good sleep? Staying hydrated? Exercise can definitely help as well as making sure you're taking some down/quiet time for yourself. Hang in there.