What I've done so far for anxiety

I thought I'd share my story about my panic/anxiety attacks to give those who are feeling like crap right now a little boost. I've been dealing with anxiety for about a year now. After my first anxiety attack (May 2013), I would experience them maybe every two weeks. For seven months I would deal with the hell with no medication. I did not employ meditation techniques because my attacks were mild compared to how they are now. The trigger was when my grandfather died (December 2013) - this was when I started getting intrusive thoughts, feeling paranoid (that my grandfather was haunting me), and feeling the physical symptoms - chest pain, heart palpitations, dizzies, the whole shebang. My doctor prescribed Ativan and then after 3 weeks prescribed Clonazepam which I take to this day as needed. Since December, I've been doing Yoga almost everyday (at home mainly and some days at the studio as a treat). For the past two months I've been trying to meditate. And I still take medication. I tried Cipralex once but quit after a day since it made me feel really really bad. Doctor also prescribed Zoloft which I filled but never ended up taking because of the side effects.

The reason why I did not continue with the SSRIs is because I know I can beat this anxiety. I understand that there are people who experience anxiety 10x worse than I do - if you need it and it helps you - TAKE IT. This is why I continue to take Clonazepam. There is a drug that is right for every person. I was always afraid of it. When I first started Ativan, it took me a full day to fill the prescription, then another day before actually trying it. And when I did, what a life saver it was. I've also been doing cognitive behavioural thereapy for the past 7 months and that has helped tremendously. I have an amazing psychologist. Please see if your employer has an employer assistance plan that provides psychologists, or if your family doctor is affiliated with one that is free. It took me a few weeks to find the right psychologist. I live in Canada where you still need to pay (about $180 per visit) but I see a psychologist who is linked to my doctor, free, and amazing.

I also visited a Naturopath who gave me a list of supplements to try (probiotics, B complex, 5HTP). I also take iron.

Let me tell you - just doing one of the above (yoga, meditation, supplements, medication) will not work. I do a combination of everything and literally try very hard to get through this. I am getting better. Please keep the faith. Some days I feel depressed like I don't want to feel like this anymore!! And it is at that moment where I literally have to force myself to do something - go to the mall or just get out of the house - to distract myself from the negativity. On the days I feel good, I look back and think I am so grateful I dragged my butt out of the house!

Please have faith. We need to have faith in each other and in ourselves if we're going to get through this!

Lorezapam works wonders but it is very easy to become dependent of it. I am right in the midst of medication dependency and grief. Can you please share what cognitive behavior therapy is like? Is this what you do following an EEG, and you play games or watch a film with sensors on your scalp?

Lilly,

CBT is a form of therapy that involves the goal of changing thought patterns for the purpose of redirecting negative feelings, and lessening anxiety and its symptoms.

The premise is, by changing the way we think, we can change the way we feel. It is belived that anxiety is fueled by negative thoughts and beliefs.

If we learn to change our thinking into postive, rational patterns, we can then elimnate much of the anxiety.

It usually involves talk therapy, along with using worksheets, exercises for changing negative/fearful thoughts, and learning coping skills such as journaling and self-help stress relieving coping skills.

I highly recommend it. I personally have recovered from panic attacks due to going through it, and am able to manage my anxiety nicely.

Scaredy Cat

Also, stop googling. I would be obssessed with looking up stuff on Google regarding my physical symptoms. For example, I would feel a muscle twitch in my chest and spend 20 minutes in the morning reading the same thing on different web sites. Ridiculous. I would then ask my doctor who said these twitches are a physical characteristic of anxiety.

As I've said, I feel like I'm almost there, I just need to be at ease with the physical symptoms. So I'm having some heart tests done over the next few weeks. If everything is normal, I feel like I can carry on.