Still struggling with anxiety...

[Nikki Sahagin]

I have suffered with GAD and panic disorder for my whole life (on and off). Even as a very young child I displayed anxious behaviours like not eating, biting my nails until they bled, not speaking in social situations, waking up in the night to continuously use the toilet etc.

 

As an adult now I've tried to incorporate several strategies to help me manage my anxiety (and the resulting depression that hits). As I speak i'm sitting at home taking a day off work hiding behind a cold when I'm really just feeling I need a day to deal with these feelings.

 

* I eat a healthy, balanced diet and I rarely drink fizzy drinks, eat sweets etc and I never drink tea or coffee

* I rarely drink alcohol

* I don't smoke

* I am currently on 10mg on amitriptolyn for anxiety. It has cut off the anxiety that takes me into full panic mode every day but the underlying anxiety is still there (I wouldn't expect the medication to just zap away all feeling - that would make me a robot. I'm happy it takes the sting out a little though)

* I meditate

* I sleep well

* I cover my bedroom wall in quotes and mantras

* I've read loads of self help books

 

But STILL...I can't get rid of this underlying feeling. It's horrible. I wake up with it and I can't shake it.

 

I can worry about literally anything and I bet most of the things are things that no-one else would give a **** about:

 

I worry about making phone calls, especially to someone I fancy, even if I've called them 15 times before...

 

I worry about having to make convo with people

 

The list just goes on and on.

 

Has anyone managed to get a grip on their anxieties big or small who would have any advice?

[KathyM]

I don't have an anxiety disorder myself, but I do know a lot about them. I would suggest that, if you are not already seeing a therapist for this, you should consider doing so. Certain forms of therapy have proven to be effective in treating anxiety disorders, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. With that form of therapy, you would write down your negative thoughts that are causing you anxiety, and the therapist would help you recognize the cognitive distortions involved in those thoughts, and would implement a variety of techniques designed to help you overcome those cognitive distortions that are contributing to your anxiety. The therapist would also probably teach you visualization and relaxation techniques that you would use daily when you feel your anxiety is rising, and also as a preventative measure.

[pie2]

I think that starting the day with an intense cardio workout really calms the body and mind, probably due to the endorphins that are released in the brain.

[markymark1]

Hi Nikki,

 

from what you said i suffer from stuff similar but not as bad, you might think thanks for saying that, but its true,

i think once you have admitted you got a problem with anxiety problems and stuff then you can start to work on them,

 

i agree perhaps seeing someone to talk through your feelings fully and on a regular basis would improve you greatly,

 

i suffer from depression, i spent this last week in bed hiding from the world, still feel scared to get outside, lots of life problems for me at the moment,

i wake up and feel scared to what the day might bring, which debt company going to write to me next, and how am i going to do at work (i work for the ambulance service in london)

 

you might be asking why am i telling you this,

 

well once in awhile i get a week where i just got to stay in bed, feel down, write depressing statuses on facebook and get moaned at by people and eat loads of junk food and beat myself up about all of this,

 

after that i tend to say sod it, put a smile on, push it back in the bottle and get out there, back to work and move on, easier said than done,

 

you need to get some help and speak to someone, a professional will help with advice and know how to take this back to the start, but to begin with talk to a friend, talk to family, talk to a randomer,

 

you just need to get this weight lifted and i wanted to leave this message which i just wrote and hopefully it will help and inspire you slightly,

 

sometimes looking back on your past is not a bad thing, but you see the good times and the bad, which help to look forward to the future, they help you remember the important lessons you learnt and the lessons you are still learning, it shows you that you are strong, you can get through tough times, the past also shows you times of weakness, times where you took confidence in your friends, time where you were low, the one thing that past can teach us is that you didnt give up then, so why would you in the future, i think people who say forget the past, it is the past forget that if it was not for the past where would you be, this is not a cry for help, a depressive status, it is just a thought that i wanted to share at 01:30 on this saturday morning, it is however a reminder to myself that good times and bad times help mould you to what you are going to become, i used to be an angry kid, i used to be aggressive, i also used to struggle with speaking, now look at me, i stride to help people, i do my best in life and know that if i make a mistake that i will do my best to bounce back and learn, i will do my best to forgive, but never forget, just take a moment to think about your past, the people you met, the people you have seen, the people you have learnt from, the people who have pushed you and shown you the right way, or picked you up and brushed you off, these people helped YOU get to where YOU are, YOU do the most work but you have people who help YOU along the way,

Mark.

 

just remember you are not on this world alone, you can be strong by yourself but you need people to help lift you up, things wont improve over night but small fixes to every day bits will start to build,

 

 

 

i am hoping this has helped and im sorry if it hasnt, just remember everyone needs someone, but we also have to take some steps alone to find the right person at the right time.

 

 

all the best and dont give up

 

 

mark