Need advice!!

[butterfly84777]

I have a random question and I would appreciate any bodies advice, personal experiences, and stories..
I have GAD and panic attacks, sometimes it can truly be debilatating and other days I feel much better!!! I am on 7.5 of buspare twice a day and Xanax as needed but trying to wean off right now I take it on average just once a day low dosage..
My question is I have read so much on this lately through the web and books an I hear so many differant things.. From people who fight this for decades and others who beat it!! And I know this is a very personal problem and will vary from each person, but I am a young, happy person who does not want this to debilitate her :-) I want to overcome anxiety and would like to come off meds at some point too.. As I really don't want to be on them long term!!! I don't have insurance so it's hard to do on going and follow up care all the time.. So I just thought I would ask and see if anyone had any thoughts on beating anxiety successfully and when to try and come off meds?? Thanks

[helenhattee]

Hi

Im currently suffering from Anxiety attacks and they are starting to get worse.  I had them when i was younger at school but never though much of it.

In the last two months they have come back and sometimes feel really bad.  I get the most stupidist of thoughts in my head sometimes and feel like im going to faint, pass out or have a heart attack.  I feel constantly sick and feel fed up of not feeling like me.

Im going to see a hypnotherapist next month on 2nd November unless she has a cancellation and can see me next week.  I have had hypnotherapy a coupl of times for other problems that i have had in my life and it worked.  Im hoping and praying that it will work for the anxiety.  I cant see any reason as to why it wouldn't though as its going into the subconcious mind and that is where the problem comes from.

There is a very useful website www.thelindenmethod.co.uk where you can download a booklet that explains all about anxiety and how its caused.  They also offer a programme with various books and dvds to help overcome anxiety but its quite expensive £117.00

Hope this is helpful to you.

[butterfly84777]

Thank you guys all for your thoughts!! I think it's great how people are so involved in this forrum, and how you can really benifit from peoples ideas and stories :-) thanks again I am really benifiting from talking with you guys

[lost_myself]

I was lucky( or stubborn) enough to get through med free for the most part .in the early stages i realized ( for me) the meds seemed to make me feel worse due to side effects which made me more anxious , which led the docs to want to increase or change meds . I could see the cyle early on and decided to go it alone( med free).
i used exercise, meditation and education..the more you know and understand the less scary it is. Fear of the unknown,like not knowing why something is happening,or what is causing it is a real turbo charger for anxiety.
I dont think you're ever "cured" but i think you learn manage a healty life style,similar to how a diabetic has to watch their diet or they get sick, and continue to do it through out life.
I recently (march ) almost lost my son in an explosion. I was a wreck while he was in ICU for 2 months . The anxiety really tried to come back but i was able to use the tools I mentioned above to avoid a total relapse and be there with my son when he needed me.
he is now well recovered from this and i am "back to normal" ..what ever that is :)
i have some helpful links in the journal on my profile..once you get the jist of what might work for you, i suggest seeking out reading material, videos etc to learn more about those things.
I work out regularly now which is a HUGE help ...even a peaceful walk can do wonders to reduce anxiety symptoms ( try googling effects of exercise on anxiety or something similar)
I meditate 2-3 times a week(way less than recommended but it works for me)
i am more aware of how much rest i get and what i am eating...how much water i drink.etc .
Overall i think i feel better now than i did before the panic attacks etc started...sorry that was long..i hope i shed some light for you..take care

[Dalubaba]

Search swaiso . It is an exercise as well as therapy for many disorders.the concep is that we are conscious of our torsoi\ i.e upper part 70 % and 30 % on lower part i.e flegst. The feet is foundation which requires more concentration. so the ratio should be 30 for torso and 70 for legs. Al detals are given in the website.
Second technique:  Based on swarodaya,(scince of sound),close the right nostril by a small plug of cotton and breath from left nostril from 1 p.m to 4 p.m. One gets used to cotton plu in a week's time. you may find some detail if you search the word swarodaya.These are from holisticc therapy.

[suzi-q]

I love your question!  I wish I could help you here..I have been on Paxil now for about 15 years.  I came off once, but quite unsuccessfully...within 3 months I went back on because it started all over again...I am currently on Paxil, buspar, and an occasional klonopin as needed.  I would LOVE to come off all these drugs, but they help me.

I am 42 years old and have a beautiful adopted daughter.  It worked out that my husband wasn't able to have children, so we knew from the beginning that adoption was our choice.  The fact that I wasn't going to have any biological children made it easy for me to stay on my meds.  They make me a fuctioning person and a pretty happy person.  I would love to be able to get off of everything but I know that this works for me.  I will be checking your post to search for answers myself.  

Good luck in what you decide to do.  

[flob]

everyone is different. my anxiety/ocd has been so bad at times that i should have really been in a mental institution....and i mean that. that being said, i've gone nearly 10 years between major episodes like that....and during the time in between i suffered relatively minor occasional anxiety related issues.

you have to understand though, that i was fine for a very long time without meds. then over the course of one weekend and buying a new car, that all went out the window and i spent nearly 3 weeks of my life in hell and nearly ended up in the hospital. however..that sunday i felt funny...that monday i starting feeling anxiety...and monday night i didn't sleep at all. i was up all night feeling like i was going crazy. it was horrible...the way my body felt...everything. i thought i was completely going nuts or dying. but that morning i went to the doctor and within a week i was on zoloft, xanax, and had an appt with a psychiatrist. i didn't dely one single bit and more importantly, i told all of my close family what was wrong and depended a lot on their support.

what i'm getting at is that even though i went 10 years without problems...as soon as it came back, i knew exactly what had to be done. i had to deal with it agressively as soon as possible and i had to be vocal with those close to me about my problems. keeping them in truly on makes them worse. no doubt talking with my family and their support was as important as any medicine that could have been given to me. with the xanax...i only took it for a 2 or 3 weeks every day (i needed it) and then when the zoloft started to work, i was able to cut off the xanax. its important not to use xanax as a preventative. thats not what it's designed to do. anyway...anxiety is always going to be part of your life...it's how you're hard wired. but with therapy and learning how to manage it...and then meds when you need them...it can be managed quit well for some people.

there are so many things you can learn to do that help reduce anxiety. just start searching for things on the internet and start trying out calming exercises by yourself. it doesn't hurt anything. infact, it only helps when you're able to start learning how to control your own calm.