Help anxiety-how do you deal?

I'm sorry to hear about all you're going through.

You might want to seek out a counselor trained in working with patients who are dealing with chronic disease. Failing that, you might explore mindfulness meditation. Since it doesn't involve physical activity, you can do it, no matter how sick you might be. I found it helpful early on, when I was at my sickest, to calm me and to help me control negative thoughts.

Hi Susan.
Sorry to hear about all the trouble. As something of an opposite to you, UC is new to me (thought it's been severe and unresponsive), but I've been dealing with severe anxiety for many years. For the most part I get by these days without medication (actually, medication for the anxiety has been pretty rare throughout). That being said, just having medication around and available in case things became worse than I felt I could handle, has been very helpful. Just knowing there's a lifeline can make a big difference.

If by 'seeing someone' you mean a psychiatrist, you might ask for something to help with your anxiety. Describe in detail what you're feeling, how often, and how it impacts you. I've found that spikes in my anxiety actually worsen the symptoms that come with the UC, so controlling it can be crucial to your other treatments. Depending on how anxiety presents itself to you, Xanax or Ativan might be a help (though you wouldn't want to make a regular thing of either), or your doctor might prescribe something smoother that lasts longer like Valium or Klonopin.

If, on the other hand, by 'seeing someone', you mean a therapist, that is also good - but you're not likely to find any relief to your anxiety anytime soon. Therapy can be very helpful for some folks, just being able to openly talk to someone about everything you're feeling can certainly provide some emotional relief, but it does tend to take time. I never had much luck with therapy myself, but I still recommend it, as I know it's been very helpful for other folks.

Lastly, and most importantly, my biggest gun against anxiety comes from an old Garbage song; The Trick is to Keep Breathing. And it is. The trick. Remind yourself - "The trick is to keep breathing." Best advice I can give.