Posted 8/16/2016 4:28 PM (GMT 0)
As my other thread suggests, I´ve been through hell over the past months. I´ve had moments where I would stay awake on nights with eyes wide open, fearing that I´ll faint and then pass away without even the cause of it being discovered! So anxiety is a horrible thing to suffer from. I´m someone who, despite the recent troubles with it, still has suffered more physically than mentally, without a shadow of doubt. Without resorting to compare the two, I´d just add that things like anxiety, panic, depression etc. are just... plain horrible, a torture to yourself and your beloved ones.
The worst thing about it is, it is not something that is apparent or one that can be seen by others. At best you can only rely on your words to describe it to your family, and even if they believe and trust a hundred percent, deep down there´s that feeling within you, asking yourself whether they really do or are just nodding their head. I´ve one very, very supportive family, but it sounded so strange telling them certain things that I eat cause me so much troubles. With time though, things gradually began to get easier as they themselves saw me lose my mind and behave so differently than to the kind of person I´m. Alongside running to the doctors of course, I began to experiment with my body, and noticed that just as some things triggered the anxiety and caused panic attacks, some had an extremely calming effect on me. Some of them surprising to me, some of them very mainstream in the sense that even online websites suggest. Either way, I thought must share some of them here in the hope that my fellow anxiety-sufferers too will benefit from it.
Ginger tea is one. It is something that I noticed would cause me to feel very drowsy and assist a good night´s sleep even when I was yet to suffer from all those issues. So this is a very early discovery, a pre-illness one in other words.
My first discovery during the early days of my illness were bananas. They had a very calming effect on me and sometimes even caused me to yawn as soon as I ate a couple of those, such was its relieving effect on my anxiety (DISCLAIMER: it may not work for someone who has fructose intolerance).
Chamomile tea is a tricky one. Quite on the contrary to what the online suggestions are, it would worsen my panic as I´d find myself cursing the ones who recommended this in those online write-ups! Here´s the reason for it though: it contained caffeine, which is a bigger enemy than Chamomile is as your friend! So the key is to buy a decaffeinated version of it.
Peppermint tea is another, but a very light one. In my case for example, sometimes just a cup of it does the job, but more often I´d to make it a part of my routine two to three times a day to notice its full effect.
Maltodextrin was bit of a discovery for me. During panic at night, a spoon of it disolved in water would calm me so much and I´d fall asleep within minutes! However, it is generally to be avoided though as it isn´t ideal if you want to keep your weight in check, and can in the long-term cause intestinal damage (my experience of minor diarrhea following it the next day each time I take it testifies to that concern). My brother introduced it to me and neither of us knew that it would calm me so much. The reason why I even tried it was, I had a panic attack and it left me afterwards to feel very weak, as if I hadn´t eaten for hours. So my brother asked me to try it and he hoped it would do away the weakness. That it did, but alongside it, it calmed my anxiety and have ever since been using it as the last resort if nothing works.
And here comes the most effective thing, that is cocoa power. Does work even if disolved in hot water, but disolving it in milk produces the best result (use lactose-free milk if you´ve its intolerance). It has one side-effect though, which is the minor kind of insomnia that it can cause. So I wouldn´t advise anyone to take it in the evening hours. It has a very strong effect and may keep you calm the whole day (or many hours at least) even if you take it in the breakfast. Again, keep a record of calories that you´ll be consuming a day plus with it, if weight is a concern for you.
So these are some of the things that work for me, sometimes a combination of two, sometimes just one of them. Additionally, I must add here though that some of these are discoveries brought upon through experimenting, because often what I´d read online wouldn´t work for me (watermelon is an example). So there´s no guarantee that they´ll work for you too, and you´ll have to judge things individually for yourself, but my job was to share these remedies.
The usual tips that you must´ve yourself searched online revolve around staying calm and composed, to not to worry about things and to take deep breaths. Alright, but only you know how hard it is to not to lose your mind when for example a panic attack is underway. I´m myself a very calm person and it is one quality that I´m known for amongst my family and friends, but it is not much that you can do when it is already beyond your control. Nobody wishes ill for himself and I´m sure everybody tries to solve this problem by maintaining his composure, but it really isn´t that simple.
Lastly, all the best to all my fellow anxiety-sufferers. Best wishes and prayers!