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What works better for you, medicate, or meditate?
I'm a 33 year old woman who was recently (about a month ago) diagnosed with anxiety. While I've had 'worries' in my life the symptoms I'm experiencing now (primarily chest pain / shortness of breath - my journal describes them in more detail) are new and scary to me. I've had several medical screenings that show that I'm normal, so intellectually, I'm pretty convinced that I have anxiety and not a serious cardio or pulmonary problem -- my mind and body just doesn't seem to want to cooperate and knock it off!
I don't like the idea of using a long term medication but the symptoms (especially shortness of breath) were getting freaky enough that I decided I would try. The doctor gave me Buspirone (BuSpar), and I had a significant number of side effects that I felt were pretty severe -- headaches, nausea, dizziness (i.e. those three together made me feel as if I were motion sick most of the time), severe dizziness about 30-45 minutes after taking a dose which would improve but not completely go away in about 30-60 minutes, depression and strange thoughts (suicidal notions), and attacks of what I can only describe as nervousness in the middle of the night, with trembling and quick pulse - just like the butterflies before going on stage or giving a big speech. Among all of this my anxiety was totally out of control - worrying about the side effects mostly, was I taking the medicine correctly, was I going to have to have this 'dazed' feeling for the rest of my life to be otherwise 'normal' etc. All the things I was trying to resolve - especially the chest pain - were coming at me full force. The doctor weaned me off of this medication - I only took it for about 10 days total so I don't think I ever got to the therapeutic level. Now I'm afraid to try another one of these meds because I don't want to be back in the same place.
I've been doing yoga once per week (I want to eventually ramp up to 2-3 times), I took a meditation class, I got some relaxing music, started a ritual of relaxing at the end of every day, use breathing exercises when I feel the anxiety start to ramp up, try to 'let go' of things that don't need to be done 'right now' (i.e. reduce stress), and I've been going to a psychologist (though I don't know how beneficial this person is, I get to talk a lot about how things are going which is good, but I don't feel like I'm getting any ideas from her on what to do about it.... maybe I'll start another topic about that at another time). Finally, I joined here to try and find some people with similar experiences and seek support.
Despite all of that I feel like I'm still 'on the edge.' I still have chest pains almost daily, though they are not as bad as they were before I recognized the anxiety.... I still get shortness of breath on occasion, though I can recognize and calm it better.....
Do I need to even use medication? What opinions do you have on using medications, have they been good, bad, other? Anything else that I can try in lieu of going to a long-term anti-anxiety medication? Maybe I just need to keep on doing what I'm doing and it just takes more time to work itself out or get well controlled?
This is probably the anxiety talking, but, I feel like I've been 'ill' long enough already and just wish it to be over -- soon is never soon enough.
I don't like the idea of using a long term medication but the symptoms (especially shortness of breath) were getting freaky enough that I decided I would try. The doctor gave me Buspirone (BuSpar), and I had a significant number of side effects that I felt were pretty severe -- headaches, nausea, dizziness (i.e. those three together made me feel as if I were motion sick most of the time), severe dizziness about 30-45 minutes after taking a dose which would improve but not completely go away in about 30-60 minutes, depression and strange thoughts (suicidal notions), and attacks of what I can only describe as nervousness in the middle of the night, with trembling and quick pulse - just like the butterflies before going on stage or giving a big speech. Among all of this my anxiety was totally out of control - worrying about the side effects mostly, was I taking the medicine correctly, was I going to have to have this 'dazed' feeling for the rest of my life to be otherwise 'normal' etc. All the things I was trying to resolve - especially the chest pain - were coming at me full force. The doctor weaned me off of this medication - I only took it for about 10 days total so I don't think I ever got to the therapeutic level. Now I'm afraid to try another one of these meds because I don't want to be back in the same place.
I've been doing yoga once per week (I want to eventually ramp up to 2-3 times), I took a meditation class, I got some relaxing music, started a ritual of relaxing at the end of every day, use breathing exercises when I feel the anxiety start to ramp up, try to 'let go' of things that don't need to be done 'right now' (i.e. reduce stress), and I've been going to a psychologist (though I don't know how beneficial this person is, I get to talk a lot about how things are going which is good, but I don't feel like I'm getting any ideas from her on what to do about it.... maybe I'll start another topic about that at another time). Finally, I joined here to try and find some people with similar experiences and seek support.
Despite all of that I feel like I'm still 'on the edge.' I still have chest pains almost daily, though they are not as bad as they were before I recognized the anxiety.... I still get shortness of breath on occasion, though I can recognize and calm it better.....
Do I need to even use medication? What opinions do you have on using medications, have they been good, bad, other? Anything else that I can try in lieu of going to a long-term anti-anxiety medication? Maybe I just need to keep on doing what I'm doing and it just takes more time to work itself out or get well controlled?
This is probably the anxiety talking, but, I feel like I've been 'ill' long enough already and just wish it to be over -- soon is never soon enough.
Best Answer
Whether you "need" medication is up to you. If your life gets to the point that it's intolerable, then medication might be useful, but medication doesn't cure, it treats symptoms. Therapy might cure, though it can take time and doesn't necessarily work. Meditation is useful for reducing stress and anxiety, but by itself, might not be strong enough for you, and it doesn't do what therapy does, which is explain what you're suffering. You might have the wrong therapist for you, or the wrong type of therapy -- there a lot of different forms. Most would recommend cognitive therapy for anxiety, but there are no guarantees. As for meditation, some forms have been shown to work better than others for deep relaxation, and a good teacher is important, as is regular two a day practice. Right now the two most popular for anxiety are mindfulness and the sutra on compassion and lovingkindness, but you have to learn both from a "guru," which just means teacher. The one they used to like the best is TM. Again, you need a teacher. But I'd still find a good therapist who can help you understand the process of anxiety and the process of overcoming it, or accepting it. Good luck, and don't expect quick miracles -- your teacher of meditation will tell you not to expect anything, actually.
In case anybody's interested I did look up some info on the Tolle book, former anxiety and depression sufferer... his web site is here: http://www.eckharttolle.com/home/books/ ... have not read the books yet but looks interesting.
Right now I'm tolerating my life pretty well, with small exceptions. A month ago, not so much. I think I'll stay with what I'm doing, and keep my options open for medication instead of ruling it out completely.... thanks everyone for your comments, I appreciate them all.
Right now I'm tolerating my life pretty well, with small exceptions. A month ago, not so much. I think I'll stay with what I'm doing, and keep my options open for medication instead of ruling it out completely.... thanks everyone for your comments, I appreciate them all.
i don't recall severe side effects from zoloft, i had trouble with so many before i found this one that seemed to help and the least side effects. I remember when he tried to up to 100mg and i felt too groggy, 75 seems to work for me, to a point, but like the above said, each body is different but i didn't feel like i could function without help. I do do meditation from a cd. It doesn't "cure" anxiety but just the relief of learning to control my breathing and learning how to change my focus makes living with it more tolerable
It's hard to explain but in my case I felt like I could see better out of one eye than another or my vision was blurry. Sometimes I feel sort of dazed, like Im not 'there' or watching my life on TV.... Distant I guess.
I had an unexpected panic attack yesterday and spent the rest of the day in that bubble in fact... Miserable feeling... But I do not want to take a Xanax unless I am desperate, and I'm scared to try another long term (the thought of more side effects makes me worse actually).
Can NOT treating anxiety medically or otherwise affect your health (physically speaking? Mentally I suppose it's a question of tolerance?)? If I kept on this path I am curious whether the downstream effects might be worse than risking side effects... Just wondering about others experiences with this.
I had an unexpected panic attack yesterday and spent the rest of the day in that bubble in fact... Miserable feeling... But I do not want to take a Xanax unless I am desperate, and I'm scared to try another long term (the thought of more side effects makes me worse actually).
Can NOT treating anxiety medically or otherwise affect your health (physically speaking? Mentally I suppose it's a question of tolerance?)? If I kept on this path I am curious whether the downstream effects might be worse than risking side effects... Just wondering about others experiences with this.
I didnt want to take the medication but i got no better that i just had to take it!! though i hope not to be on it for long!it takes the edge off things! what do u mean by can';t see through your eyes its just i have this but do u mean blurred vision?? And i find i can't swallow properly along with the shortness of breath have had numerous tests i.e ECG, chest xray they found nothing but still have in my head its something!! take care xx
Minithint, I have that too... I read another thread on here by a community leader that described it pretty well, it was called 'derealization.' It only happens sometimes to me and is usually mild, like I keep thinking there is something wrong with my eyes. I know the crying well too and feel for you... Happens to me a lot too. Thanks for letting me know I'm not alone. Good to know about acupuncture too. I am not a fan of needles but anything to help make it stop.
DJ873 thank you, I will check out the Tolle book, too. Did you have any side effects from the zoloft? I have as needed Xanax but trying not to use if I can get controlled without it. At first I was using it almost daily (tiny dose but still) which is why the dr. wanted to move me to a longer-term med. Right now I am on nothing, have not been using Xanax either, and it's better (milder) but still feeling the symptoms often.... And of course the more I feel the more I worry and the anxiety starts to ramp up over the course of the day.
DJ873 thank you, I will check out the Tolle book, too. Did you have any side effects from the zoloft? I have as needed Xanax but trying not to use if I can get controlled without it. At first I was using it almost daily (tiny dose but still) which is why the dr. wanted to move me to a longer-term med. Right now I am on nothing, have not been using Xanax either, and it's better (milder) but still feeling the symptoms often.... And of course the more I feel the more I worry and the anxiety starts to ramp up over the course of the day.
hi, i could not take buspar either, i do take zoloft only 75mg and keep xanax for as needed maybe 1 a month. I rely more on relaxation, meditation, and there is a super great book by eckhart tolle about the power of now. I am putting alot of effort into retraining my mind and fear reactions so i guess i would say a combination of both until you have a good handle on it and then maybe be able to get off the meds. That is my hope anyway.
Hello there, I'm in the same situation but my symptoms are more of the dazed feeling, shaky legs, can't calm down, cry often cause I'm sick of it. It's been about 2 months now and I too got a medication from the Dr but took 1 pill and stopped cause I felt it made me worse and scared of the side effects. I tried yoga but its hard to focus. I am now trying acupunture. I've had a few sessions so far n my symptoms are getting better but still have anxiety daily and crying spells some days. My worst feeling is the feeling of daze, out of this world, head in a bubble feeling. Can't really explain it but just can't focus n can't see clearly but not with my eyes but my head. Again hard to explain. If anyone knows what I'm trying to say n can explain it better please share.
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