NATURAL

HELLO. I AM A 24 YR OLD WOMAN W/ TWO KIDS I JUST STARTED RESEARCHING ANXEITY DISORDERS I HAVE NEVER TAKEN ANY MEDICINE FOR IT. MY BIGGEST ISSUE IS FEELING PANICKY AND HOPELESS I AM COMPLETLY UNABLE TO MAKE MYSELF RELAX, I WAS JUST WONDERING IF ANYONE HAD ANY SUGGESTIONS AS FAR AS DEALING W/ THIS W/O TAKING ANY MEDS AND IF NOT WHAT MEDS ARE BETTER

[mammo]

You truly need to speak with a psychiatrist as to what will work best for you.  Therapy alone may be all you need, avoiding medication all together. These are things you and your psychiatrist must decide.  We can't say what will work best for you, as we all react differently to these types of medications, and it's often trial and error.  Therapy can help you determine if there is a "root cause" for your anxiety, and address it so your anxiety is lessened.  It also teaches us how to cope differently, relaxation techniques, etc.  There is so much help for you, so take advantage of it so you can have a happy life again.  This is a great place for support, as we all understand what you're experiencing.  Make an appt. with a psychiatrist and go from there.  Take care and good luckl!

[Paxiled]

My take is this:  if you're life isn't severely disrupted, you don't need medication yet.  The first natural approach is therapy with a psychologist, preferable one who specializes in anxiety disorders.  There are many natural remedies that help some people and not others; an overview of these can be found in a book called Natural Highs by Hyla Cass, a psychiatrist at UCLA.  There are also many other books by practitioners of natural medicine.  Exercise, meditation, breathing exercises, visualizations, muscle relaxation, hypnosis are other techniques commonly tried.  If these don't work, then medication will still be there.  If your life has been disrupted to the point you don't function well at all, then it's psychiatrist time.  This is my opinion only; everyone has to decide for themselves what's best for them.