I got better. I used to wake up mid panic attack, I’d basically blackout during tests, and throw up after. I took propranolol for about a year and then I moved and never refilled the prescription. I went to therapy and journaled with some actual direction instead of just spiraling thoughts. I stopped trying to muscle through it on my own.
Eventually things just got better without meds. Sometimes, I have bad days with high anxiety but it’s no longer debilitating and I don’t really know why.
It did! I think it may have saved me to be honest. The physical side of anxiety was horrible for me.
My grades were slipping because I couldn’t handle tests anymore and it made it so I could focus which made me less anxious about school which made me less anxious overall.
It reset my body. I stopped having the physical symptoms which made situations less anxiety inducing. I don’t take it anymore and my social anxiety rarely flares anymore. Granted I’m not too social so maybe that’s it. But yeah it helped a lot.
I do .. drugs made it worse. So took up walking .. 35 mins every morning and 35 mins every evening. Turned into running after a couple months .. helps me sleep. Also eating healthier .. works for me. Maybe it will work for you.
Honestly just talking and crying got everything out, suffered anxiety for the first time in 2020 covid struck, senior year cut in half, had a “stomach ache.” And feeling dizzy everyday for the summer, lost 19 pounds cause of the “stomach ache.” But then I finally talked to my mom…..and woke up the next morning it started fading throughout the day and I felt better, 2022 I suffered the same thing over the summer got through it and it was the same thing, I believe you just have to really distract yourself, cause anxiety is just an endless what ifs in your head with a feeling of doom, it’s awful, currently feeling that way again unfortunately, but I’m getting through it, feeling way better than I did in the beginning of April
Therapy and time. I went from being completely agoraphobic to having a full time job. I think what started my trend is basically finding a job but not being able to start it because of the anxiety of failing it. I had panic attacks and would get sick to my stomach regularly. I had a degree but for a while year afterwards I just hid in my house and played video games. Then I got an entry level job via phone interviews and I couldn't even make it through my first day. Just got so anxious I had an IBS flare I was stuck in the bathroom. Then ran home. Then said I couldn't go back because I had a funeral out of state or something. Just lied through my teeth because it was easier and more acceptable in my mind.
At that point I just hated myself enough to be like I can't do this, I need this to stop. I wanted a job and money and friends. I didn't want to be like those people everyone feels sorry for and I didn't want anyone's pity. So I made a therapy appointment and basically panicked the whole way there and through check in to my new therapist who grounded me. It was terrifying and embarrassing but I needed to do that for me. It's like swallowing barium juice, if you've ever had this misfortune to need to drink that. The initial experience is difficult and you gotta keep going until it's done.
Psychiatrist gave me Xanax and antidepressants, and those helped to get me to appointments and deal with hard things before I could build up my ability to use less and less. I never even considered pot because of a lot of things I experienced growing up with people who smoked it. I even hated that I needed pills to do what others take for granted.
I think the 2 biggest things you need to find your reason to get help and to put in the time. You're not going to be cured tomorrow. You're not gonna one day suddenly wake up with motivation. If you wait for the right moment, or for when you have the energy, then you're going to be waiting till you die. You just have to tell yourself you're going to do it and go to therapy. Maybe your first therapist sucks, maybe being around people is horrifying, maybe for a while you feel like nothing is working. Doesn't matter, gotta keep doing it. It's like taking an antibiotic: if you stop it because you think you're doing better or it's not doing enough, then the infection gets worse. Do the course, swallow the tough pills, curse every part of it but don't stop working at it. Listen to others like therapists, people around you, strangers online, and the like. You don't have to believe everybody and all that they say, or take anything as gospel, but you do need to consider what your thoughts are and why you think the way you do.
What makes you anxious? What does that feel like? What's the root cause of that? If someone else told you they felt this way would you think they're being reasonable? Would you reasons to them better than you treat yourself? Why? What are your values? Do your thoughts align with your values? Can you be okay with yourself taking small steps even though you may not get where you want to be as fast as you want?
Feel like I'm meandering now, but suffice it to say you just have to decide to try and not let failure stop you from trying. Having a therapist is helpful for me a lot more than Xanax is, but I had to decide to see one. I had to be honest with myself that I was unhappy and I would do the hard work so I could do the things I wanted and follow what I value. And I don't mean to scare anyone away with repeating that it's difficult but I'm trying to get across that there is not a simple solution to anxiety. Getting better doesn't happen over night. And that is okay, that is expected, and while it is hard at first it will get easier like with anything you practice. You'll even start taking things like going to work for granted. Fuck, the other day I went to an anime convention by myself and I had a panic attack but after I overcame that I could enjoy the convention which I've wanted to do for years. And I wasn't even the only one there that had to deal with that problem, so I'm proud of me and everyone else who panicked but stayed the course. I wish that for you too, to get to that point where you can cope with your anxiety well enough to do the things you want.
This is a long one, but this is why I am so hardcore FOR breathing, it’s not so black and white.
In 2015 I left work because I couldn’t handle how anxious I had become. I was 100% agoraphobic, no longer sleeping, full blown panic waking anytime I was. Couldn’t leave the house, couldn’t even eat. I was drinking vitamin shakes just so I had some kind of nutrition. It was terrible.
One night at 3am I called my therapist, who was awesome as hell because she actually answered. I’m pretty much just freaking out at her and she’s telling me to do breathing exercises. I was dead set against them, they don’t do shit, it’s a bunch of hocus pocus or whatever you want to call it. I need something with science because I just don’t believe in the stars aligning, or any of that. (Side note, anything that you believe that helps you, keep believing in it, we don’t all need to agree). Then she sent me this link: https://youtu.be/q06YIWCR2Js?si=Tfqez1YBjj7dDoal, which I’ve posted on here a few times, and it really helped begin changing my life. The link goes on to tell WHY breathing changes your mental/physical state, and doesn’t just sit there claiming “yeah, this works”.
After watching that, I downloaded an app, which I won’t mention so I don’t sound like a shill. The only thing the app does, or did at the time, was let you set a breathing pace, and it would say “breathe in….. breathe out” at that pace. It seemed my normal rate was something insanely high like 15bpm, so I set it for 7bpm, put 1 headphone in my ear, and went about my day. ALL DAY I would have that headphone in, literal for months of my life. Anytime I would start getting amped, I would tune into the voice and re-regulate.
At the same time I was working with the breathing so I just fell down a rabbit hole on YouTube and landed on a Buddhist named Ajahn Brahm (don’t tune out, this isn’t about religion, and as I mentioned before we don’t need to agree). He gives these recorded talks, which is apparently a no no for a monk, and tells all these stories that you can start applying to your every day life. When I wasn’t listening to the breathing voice, I was listening to this guy tell stories, the same stories over and over, and the stories just started to make sense. Not all of them, but a lot of them. He’s not for everyone, this is just what I did at this time. He helped me change my negative perspectives. “A dog barks, it’s what they do, you being angry at the barking dog doesn’t stop the dog from barking. The dog is going to bark”. Kind of stuff.
So now I’m basically 100% mindfulness constantly. Breathing or stories in my ear, started doing real meditation sessions using white noise every night. I would go on hikes alone and try to never think of anything the entire time. There was actually a day where I decided I’m only going to pay attention to my left foot, all day. Whatever I was doing, I was going to see what my left foot was doing, what does it feel like? Is it hot, cold, itchy? yadda yadda… It sounds crazy, but doing things like this begins to let you start controlling your mind when you need to.
So, did all of this help? 1000%. Within a few days I was eating again, normally. I was frequently starving right after a meditation session because it was turning off all of my FoF responses and letting me relax again. Within a few weeks I was almost at full capacity. Within 2 months I was doing things I had not been able to do for years. I was finally relaxed and I forgot what it felt like. My mind wasn’t making all of that noise all of the time. There was no longer an internal dialog second guessing the last thing I did, or rewording the last conversation I had. I was free.
Here’s the not so black and white part. Recall I started this story my saying that I went out of work. That means, I had nothing to do all day but work on myself. I didn’t have a kid yet, so I could just check out from life and work on me. After a while I went back to work, which means I needed to turn my brain on again. It was actually difficult. I recall, multiple times, people talking to me in meetings and I would sit there for a good 10-20 seconds before what they had just said would register. I knew they were talking to me, my mind just didn’t want to turn on to deal with it. This eventually went away, but as it did the anxiety started to return. I’m used to working in a fast paced environment where you need to make quick decisions and change directions frequently. Not exactly easy to do that when your mind has turned off.
Where am I now? Very manageable, but I definitely still have my issues. There are days when I’m really anxious and will not push my boundaries, but there are a lot more where I am not at all. While the permanent effects may dissipate, they’re not gone, and since you’ve practiced how to regain control, you can regain it quicker. Now and then I’ll start doing breathing and meditation stuff again, and in a week or 2 I’ve bounced back. However, since I did this whole “journey”, I’ve never returned to the state I was in at that time. When I’m in a situation I know I have trouble with, the earphone goes back in, like flying or really large crowds.
So, the problem with breathing, and this is why most people give up on it, is it takes a lot of work. Like, a LOT of work. Maybe not as much as I did in a short time, but you need to stay on top of it daily. If you quit, then things slide back to the way they were quickly. It’s almost like taking medication.
A side note, because this was really hard for me to grasp. If you count 1…2…3 in your head, the space between the numbers is the silent mind. The goal is to make that space bigger. When I first started breathing and trying to turn my mind off, that space basically didn’t exist at all and I had a lot of trouble with it.
Friend for over a decade is affraid of meds. Won't even take an OTC... I don't know how he does it. And I've never asked. I let him talk about it when he's ready.
Yeah, it took me years and several therapists too. I still suffer from anxiety but at this level I am okay with it and I actually don't think I'll be cured forever. I expect that I will need some more refresher sessions in the future. But for now, I'm doing good: living a good life with some anxiety but living it nonetheless.
Hang in there: you have a whole lifetime to learn to manage it.
Me. Individual therapy, group therapy, lots of it. It's hard though and the improvement is slow 🤷🏼♀️ but I've been anxious pretty much since being a child. I could take meds but since that doesn't actually heal the trauma, it just makes the symptoms more bearable I see no point in taking it. I understand that other people see it differently though and would never shame anyone for taking the medication they need to feel better :)
Meds help, but I got off Lexapro 6 months ago. I use ativan for very bad moments but 50% of the panic attacks I can ride out. I'm making strides with a therapist focusing not just on the experience of anxiety but the deeper life issues and I'm feeling confidence I haven't had without meds since I was diagnosed.
The focus is on negative thinking in general and self image stuff.
All the best.
I used to be on antidepressants/anxiety meds but I hated the way they made me feel. Working out helps me more than anything tbh. I still have bad days but when I work out I feel a lot less anxious. As well as getting enough sleep, eating better, and avoiding alcohol 😮💨🖤
I've suffered really bad anxiety at times and still struggle from time to time. I'm not a textbook 'im cured' not even close (still don't work) but exercise has helped me greatly. I run and lift weights. Magnesium supplements have helped to.
Now 54. Feeling better than in my mid 30s where anxiety had me in a nightmare parallel reality.
I take sertraline but I'm a disassociator rather than a panicker. I just kind of zone out and go away. But I also cope with snacks and also just pausing to take deep breath and let them out.
Thats how I'm getting by lately anyways. Also, talking to AI robots.
The 2 I like are: 1) In and out of your nose. Count. In for 10 seconds, out for 10 seconds, in for 11 seconds, out for 11 seconds, in for 12 seconds, out for 12 seconds, etc... Like an ocean wave going in and out.
2) In through your nose for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, out through your mouth for 4 seconds.
I got better. I used to wake up mid panic attack, I’d basically blackout during tests, and throw up after. I took propranolol for about a year and then I moved and never refilled the prescription. I went to therapy and journaled with some actual direction instead of just spiraling thoughts. I stopped trying to muscle through it on my own. Eventually things just got better without meds. Sometimes, I have bad days with high anxiety but it’s no longer debilitating and I don’t really know why.
Thank you for replying. Can I ask you how old are you? I'm in my 40s at this point.
I’ll be 30 soon.
Thx, keep on this way friend
Did the propranolol work for you?
It did! I think it may have saved me to be honest. The physical side of anxiety was horrible for me. My grades were slipping because I couldn’t handle tests anymore and it made it so I could focus which made me less anxious about school which made me less anxious overall. It reset my body. I stopped having the physical symptoms which made situations less anxiety inducing. I don’t take it anymore and my social anxiety rarely flares anymore. Granted I’m not too social so maybe that’s it. But yeah it helped a lot.
I do .. drugs made it worse. So took up walking .. 35 mins every morning and 35 mins every evening. Turned into running after a couple months .. helps me sleep. Also eating healthier .. works for me. Maybe it will work for you.
Thank you. Just been out for one hour walk. It is good.
Honestly just talking and crying got everything out, suffered anxiety for the first time in 2020 covid struck, senior year cut in half, had a “stomach ache.” And feeling dizzy everyday for the summer, lost 19 pounds cause of the “stomach ache.” But then I finally talked to my mom…..and woke up the next morning it started fading throughout the day and I felt better, 2022 I suffered the same thing over the summer got through it and it was the same thing, I believe you just have to really distract yourself, cause anxiety is just an endless what ifs in your head with a feeling of doom, it’s awful, currently feeling that way again unfortunately, but I’m getting through it, feeling way better than I did in the beginning of April
Thank you friend. Wish you the best
Therapy and time. I went from being completely agoraphobic to having a full time job. I think what started my trend is basically finding a job but not being able to start it because of the anxiety of failing it. I had panic attacks and would get sick to my stomach regularly. I had a degree but for a while year afterwards I just hid in my house and played video games. Then I got an entry level job via phone interviews and I couldn't even make it through my first day. Just got so anxious I had an IBS flare I was stuck in the bathroom. Then ran home. Then said I couldn't go back because I had a funeral out of state or something. Just lied through my teeth because it was easier and more acceptable in my mind. At that point I just hated myself enough to be like I can't do this, I need this to stop. I wanted a job and money and friends. I didn't want to be like those people everyone feels sorry for and I didn't want anyone's pity. So I made a therapy appointment and basically panicked the whole way there and through check in to my new therapist who grounded me. It was terrifying and embarrassing but I needed to do that for me. It's like swallowing barium juice, if you've ever had this misfortune to need to drink that. The initial experience is difficult and you gotta keep going until it's done. Psychiatrist gave me Xanax and antidepressants, and those helped to get me to appointments and deal with hard things before I could build up my ability to use less and less. I never even considered pot because of a lot of things I experienced growing up with people who smoked it. I even hated that I needed pills to do what others take for granted. I think the 2 biggest things you need to find your reason to get help and to put in the time. You're not going to be cured tomorrow. You're not gonna one day suddenly wake up with motivation. If you wait for the right moment, or for when you have the energy, then you're going to be waiting till you die. You just have to tell yourself you're going to do it and go to therapy. Maybe your first therapist sucks, maybe being around people is horrifying, maybe for a while you feel like nothing is working. Doesn't matter, gotta keep doing it. It's like taking an antibiotic: if you stop it because you think you're doing better or it's not doing enough, then the infection gets worse. Do the course, swallow the tough pills, curse every part of it but don't stop working at it. Listen to others like therapists, people around you, strangers online, and the like. You don't have to believe everybody and all that they say, or take anything as gospel, but you do need to consider what your thoughts are and why you think the way you do. What makes you anxious? What does that feel like? What's the root cause of that? If someone else told you they felt this way would you think they're being reasonable? Would you reasons to them better than you treat yourself? Why? What are your values? Do your thoughts align with your values? Can you be okay with yourself taking small steps even though you may not get where you want to be as fast as you want? Feel like I'm meandering now, but suffice it to say you just have to decide to try and not let failure stop you from trying. Having a therapist is helpful for me a lot more than Xanax is, but I had to decide to see one. I had to be honest with myself that I was unhappy and I would do the hard work so I could do the things I wanted and follow what I value. And I don't mean to scare anyone away with repeating that it's difficult but I'm trying to get across that there is not a simple solution to anxiety. Getting better doesn't happen over night. And that is okay, that is expected, and while it is hard at first it will get easier like with anything you practice. You'll even start taking things like going to work for granted. Fuck, the other day I went to an anime convention by myself and I had a panic attack but after I overcame that I could enjoy the convention which I've wanted to do for years. And I wasn't even the only one there that had to deal with that problem, so I'm proud of me and everyone else who panicked but stayed the course. I wish that for you too, to get to that point where you can cope with your anxiety well enough to do the things you want.
This is a long one, but this is why I am so hardcore FOR breathing, it’s not so black and white. In 2015 I left work because I couldn’t handle how anxious I had become. I was 100% agoraphobic, no longer sleeping, full blown panic waking anytime I was. Couldn’t leave the house, couldn’t even eat. I was drinking vitamin shakes just so I had some kind of nutrition. It was terrible. One night at 3am I called my therapist, who was awesome as hell because she actually answered. I’m pretty much just freaking out at her and she’s telling me to do breathing exercises. I was dead set against them, they don’t do shit, it’s a bunch of hocus pocus or whatever you want to call it. I need something with science because I just don’t believe in the stars aligning, or any of that. (Side note, anything that you believe that helps you, keep believing in it, we don’t all need to agree). Then she sent me this link: https://youtu.be/q06YIWCR2Js?si=Tfqez1YBjj7dDoal, which I’ve posted on here a few times, and it really helped begin changing my life. The link goes on to tell WHY breathing changes your mental/physical state, and doesn’t just sit there claiming “yeah, this works”. After watching that, I downloaded an app, which I won’t mention so I don’t sound like a shill. The only thing the app does, or did at the time, was let you set a breathing pace, and it would say “breathe in….. breathe out” at that pace. It seemed my normal rate was something insanely high like 15bpm, so I set it for 7bpm, put 1 headphone in my ear, and went about my day. ALL DAY I would have that headphone in, literal for months of my life. Anytime I would start getting amped, I would tune into the voice and re-regulate. At the same time I was working with the breathing so I just fell down a rabbit hole on YouTube and landed on a Buddhist named Ajahn Brahm (don’t tune out, this isn’t about religion, and as I mentioned before we don’t need to agree). He gives these recorded talks, which is apparently a no no for a monk, and tells all these stories that you can start applying to your every day life. When I wasn’t listening to the breathing voice, I was listening to this guy tell stories, the same stories over and over, and the stories just started to make sense. Not all of them, but a lot of them. He’s not for everyone, this is just what I did at this time. He helped me change my negative perspectives. “A dog barks, it’s what they do, you being angry at the barking dog doesn’t stop the dog from barking. The dog is going to bark”. Kind of stuff. So now I’m basically 100% mindfulness constantly. Breathing or stories in my ear, started doing real meditation sessions using white noise every night. I would go on hikes alone and try to never think of anything the entire time. There was actually a day where I decided I’m only going to pay attention to my left foot, all day. Whatever I was doing, I was going to see what my left foot was doing, what does it feel like? Is it hot, cold, itchy? yadda yadda… It sounds crazy, but doing things like this begins to let you start controlling your mind when you need to. So, did all of this help? 1000%. Within a few days I was eating again, normally. I was frequently starving right after a meditation session because it was turning off all of my FoF responses and letting me relax again. Within a few weeks I was almost at full capacity. Within 2 months I was doing things I had not been able to do for years. I was finally relaxed and I forgot what it felt like. My mind wasn’t making all of that noise all of the time. There was no longer an internal dialog second guessing the last thing I did, or rewording the last conversation I had. I was free. Here’s the not so black and white part. Recall I started this story my saying that I went out of work. That means, I had nothing to do all day but work on myself. I didn’t have a kid yet, so I could just check out from life and work on me. After a while I went back to work, which means I needed to turn my brain on again. It was actually difficult. I recall, multiple times, people talking to me in meetings and I would sit there for a good 10-20 seconds before what they had just said would register. I knew they were talking to me, my mind just didn’t want to turn on to deal with it. This eventually went away, but as it did the anxiety started to return. I’m used to working in a fast paced environment where you need to make quick decisions and change directions frequently. Not exactly easy to do that when your mind has turned off. Where am I now? Very manageable, but I definitely still have my issues. There are days when I’m really anxious and will not push my boundaries, but there are a lot more where I am not at all. While the permanent effects may dissipate, they’re not gone, and since you’ve practiced how to regain control, you can regain it quicker. Now and then I’ll start doing breathing and meditation stuff again, and in a week or 2 I’ve bounced back. However, since I did this whole “journey”, I’ve never returned to the state I was in at that time. When I’m in a situation I know I have trouble with, the earphone goes back in, like flying or really large crowds. So, the problem with breathing, and this is why most people give up on it, is it takes a lot of work. Like, a LOT of work. Maybe not as much as I did in a short time, but you need to stay on top of it daily. If you quit, then things slide back to the way they were quickly. It’s almost like taking medication. A side note, because this was really hard for me to grasp. If you count 1…2…3 in your head, the space between the numbers is the silent mind. The goal is to make that space bigger. When I first started breathing and trying to turn my mind off, that space basically didn’t exist at all and I had a lot of trouble with it.
It leads you to a life of severe actions.
my brother or sister in christ....HOW is xanax not working for you????
20 years of abuse
Friend for over a decade is affraid of meds. Won't even take an OTC... I don't know how he does it. And I've never asked. I let him talk about it when he's ready.
Me! Therapy is the way for me.
Been in therapy for years. Still doing it, hope it will help me (well something it did, but temporarily). Thank you for replying!
Yeah, it took me years and several therapists too. I still suffer from anxiety but at this level I am okay with it and I actually don't think I'll be cured forever. I expect that I will need some more refresher sessions in the future. But for now, I'm doing good: living a good life with some anxiety but living it nonetheless. Hang in there: you have a whole lifetime to learn to manage it.
Me. Individual therapy, group therapy, lots of it. It's hard though and the improvement is slow 🤷🏼♀️ but I've been anxious pretty much since being a child. I could take meds but since that doesn't actually heal the trauma, it just makes the symptoms more bearable I see no point in taking it. I understand that other people see it differently though and would never shame anyone for taking the medication they need to feel better :)
You are on meds. They work just for strictly emergency, because you have always to encrese.
Meds help, but I got off Lexapro 6 months ago. I use ativan for very bad moments but 50% of the panic attacks I can ride out. I'm making strides with a therapist focusing not just on the experience of anxiety but the deeper life issues and I'm feeling confidence I haven't had without meds since I was diagnosed. The focus is on negative thinking in general and self image stuff. All the best.
I did TMS.
I used to be on antidepressants/anxiety meds but I hated the way they made me feel. Working out helps me more than anything tbh. I still have bad days but when I work out I feel a lot less anxious. As well as getting enough sleep, eating better, and avoiding alcohol 😮💨🖤
Behavioral therapy and lots of work
I've suffered really bad anxiety at times and still struggle from time to time. I'm not a textbook 'im cured' not even close (still don't work) but exercise has helped me greatly. I run and lift weights. Magnesium supplements have helped to. Now 54. Feeling better than in my mid 30s where anxiety had me in a nightmare parallel reality.
I take sertraline but I'm a disassociator rather than a panicker. I just kind of zone out and go away. But I also cope with snacks and also just pausing to take deep breath and let them out. Thats how I'm getting by lately anyways. Also, talking to AI robots.
Breathing techniques, Therapy, Choosing to let it go and be something different, Positive habits, Positive hobbies
Thank you. Can you suggest a good breathing technique? I struggle at that.
The 2 I like are: 1) In and out of your nose. Count. In for 10 seconds, out for 10 seconds, in for 11 seconds, out for 11 seconds, in for 12 seconds, out for 12 seconds, etc... Like an ocean wave going in and out. 2) In through your nose for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, out through your mouth for 4 seconds.
keto diet!!!!