Being new here I'm just kind of curious as to what others do to help them cope. Maybe some of you feel like you've beaten this and could share what worked for you? Others might be like me just taking it minute by minute at times. There are so many different types of therapists and techniques and medications or not using any medications and I'm just very interested in what might be working for others. Also feel free to post what hasn't worked for you.
For me the biggest help of anything is finding the work of Dr. Claire Weekes. This woman's work has been nothing short of a miracle for me. I've read her book "Hope and Help for your Nerves" and I have the audiobook version of "Pass Through Panic." While I am still in a very bad place these works made me understand what was going on with me and to realize that I am not going insane. There was a day when I started to worry that I was going crazy and thought of some of the horror stories we've heard on TV about
mothers with postpartum who do terrible things to their children. I started fearing that I would somehow go off the deep end and do something like this even though I knew it wasn't the case. Just even having the thought of it being a possibility in my head scared me and sent me to the darkest place. Claire talks about
this in her books and says it's one of if not the most common fears she hears from mothers. This truly saved me. I continue to work with her books and they help me keep from going crazy.
I visit message boards like this one for support. I want to be of support to others on the boards but I must admit that sometimes it's hard for me to read others posts because it can be triggering. I still will continue to try to help and also continue to gain knowledge and hope from others who have been there.
At night I listen to various podcasts about
any topics or I might listen to hypnosis or guided meditation MP3's on my phone. I normally have insomnia (thank god I haven't since this has all started) and this has just become sort of a habit of mine. I guess I just do it out of fear of laying there and letting my mind wander.
When all else fails and I feel like the physical feelings are just too much to bear I take a xanax. I've been given the lowest dose by my pcp to take as needed. I don't feel like it does much and honestly maybe it's just a placebo effect. It's my last resort for when I feel like it's too much.
Something that hasn't quite worked for me is breathing techniques. I've tried the belly breathing and really anytime I tend to focus on my breathing I start to get more anxious instead of less. I'm not sure what my problem is because so many others seem to have such good results with breathing techniques.
I'm also currently seeing a therapist but have only seen her twice. To be honest I'm just sort of biding my time with her until I go to Mayo next week. She is great to just talk to and get stuff off of my chest which is a really important thing. However she does not seem too know much about
panic disorder, or at least that's the feeling I get. I was hoping for some concrete advice or techniques I could use but she hasn't been able to offer me that. Hoping to get started with CBT or something like that with a doctor at Mayo as soon as possible.
Post Edited (billybologna) : 9/26/2014 12:35:49 PM (GMT-6)