Advice

[franceslee]

Short history, I am a 31 yr old female I am on a low dose blood pressure medication but otherwise healthy.  I do fine some days but on others I just don't feel right it's kinda hard to explain.  I check my bp an it's great but I jus feel weird(uneasy, cold an jus nervous feeling) could it just be my anxiety.  I see a therapist but I'm afraid to try any medications.  I was prescribed valumn an zoloft but nervous to take either

[franceslee]

My problem is I don't really know what triggers my anxiety.  I can be just fine then all the sudden out of no where it hits me, I start feeling weird an thinking something bad is going to happen to me.  I don't sleep well, like my mind is racing.  I don't exercise I know I need too but I'm afraid to be walking around, think something will happen to me.  I'm just in desperate need of becoming normal again!!

[benthic_man]

Oh, almost forgot. The universal FIRST treatment for anxiety is exercise. There are very few non-medical therapies that work without it. Making time for yourself, to walk 15, 30, 60 minutes every single day, whatever you can, triggers hormones that will help significantly. In addition, by taking that time just for you, you come to treasure it within a few weeks! For me, it was a substitute for eating when I was anxious. I've lost 40lbs in just the last few months, and the months I spent in therapy without exercise showed little progress compared with after I started walking. Plus, my BP went from 180/110 to 130/85.

[benthic_man]

As silkything mentioned, there are more options available than simply being medicated for anxiety. Most everyone can benefit from relaxation exercises- they work, and with daily practice, they work well.

    I'm not a huge fan of throwing powerful medication at a person with anxiety as a stand-alone treatment. Some doctors do this, but it seems to me to be a band-aid treatment- it provides some comfort by hiding the wound, but doesn't actually do anything for the wound.
       If you're not comfortable with taking medication for anxiety, this isn't necessarily a bad thing; if you feel that you're comfortable and rational enough on a regular day to the point where you can focus on therapies, treatment and the VERY hard work of identifying your triggers and the sources of your anxiety, you truly may not need medication. If, however, you're struggling to focus and are dealing with sleep issues, emotional trauma, and other powerful emotions, medication can put you in a place where you'll be able to respond better to treatment. This is something you'll have to decide for yourself, but do try to listen to your doctor.
      I've had great luck with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, a program that has helped me control and manage anxiety for about a year. It's not for everyone, and requires a lot of work in finding the techniques that work for you, but many people have great success with it... in my own experience, a mental health professional with CBT experience really can help guide you and work with you to form a treatment plan.

[silkything]

If you're nervous to take meds, could you ask your therapist for relaxation/breathing exercises to do? (And a suggestion if you do, on the days you feel fine, practice them: they work better than if you just use them when you're feeling weird).
Have you noticed that something specific happens when you feel like this, or you're in a certain place etc?
The other thing which might be worth noticing is does it happen more when you get hungry. I sometimes feel like that when my blood sugar drops. If you do, It doesn't mean you're diabetic, just that you get low blood sugar.
Take care xx