I want to explore techniques, exercises, medications and other solutions to manage anxiety. The notion of taking anxiety medication kind of terrifies me, because I worry about developing reliance. But I mean, if the medication helps restore me to normal functionality, then that's good, right? Can anti-anxiety mediation be prescribed for short term use to help a patient through a brief, troubled time, or is there a risk I develop dependence? That is, is it better for me to try and just manage without it?
Anxiety medication is effective and safe symptom relief. When taken as directed it can offer you tremendous relief from the constant churning of rumination, unsettledness or however else anxiety may manifest for you. The issues with medication mostly come (a) when not taken as directed or (b) when used as the
only means of treatment.
On point (a), medications like benzodiazepines are probably what you're thinking of when you worry of dependence, but dependence with these medications comes mostly when one gets into a cycle of dose escalation, especially when working with short-acting anxiety relief solutions (such as Xanax). As a point of fact, I have been taking a longer-acting benzo (Klonopin) for nearly 5 years now at the same dose and it still works as well for me as it did day 1, because I've been careful with it.
There are some other elements of dependence, such as withdrawals; nearly any medication taken consistently for a long period of time will produce a physical dependence leading to some withdrawals upon discontinuation. But again, this is mitigated by the keen supervision of a medical professional, who should always strive for the lowest effective dose and will taper things off rather than ever stopping cold turkey.
On point (b), anxiety medication can be a bit of a dead end if we don't also make efforts to up both our coping skills and our understanding of what creates our anxieties. Think of it this way, perhaps: a fire extinguisher is a fantastically effective tool, but at some point you want to prevent new fires from starting. Does that mean we should not use the fire extinguisher out of principle? No. Both approaches are useful. Understanding and coping usually come through therapy, which is of use to
all people in all walks of life, but meditation, journaling, exercise and many other things can be great as well.
Let me know if you have any more questions!
I won't have health insurance until mid-June at the earliest. I'm trying to cope by starting meditation, which I'm not great at, and reading books. I've mostly managed to silence rather nuanced suicidal ideations (e.g., your ex is much better off without you; you're only as good as your life insurance plans) and I'm able to avoid spiraling.
In the immediate term, I know that my anxiety is pushing my girlfriend away. She says she wants to fall in love with me; she admits that a part of her already does. But I guess I'm naturally defensive. She feeds off of my anxiety, and then it's a truly detrimental cycle. In my head, I can picture a confident, self-assured, employed, loving person. I just don't know how to get there.
Thanks, GAF.
Thanks for checking in, AD. I cannot rightly identify what the "block" is, the obstacle between your current you and the you you can very nearly picture as existing, but I think therapy will be of tremendous help in finding and coping with that block. Likely it has something to do with your military experience / PTSD, which is a whole realm of experience I cannot offer much wisdom on. In the mean time, self-reflection, journaling and meditation may be helpful, as well as doing your best to be consistently understanding and patient with your girlfriend and letting her know that this is something you intend to work on, and thus you appreciate her patience.
For some reason everyone thinks they can ask me to solve their problems. I have two friends who just broke up and who are talking about ending it and I'm doing all I can to support them but they won't go see a psychologist. My mother is also depressed because she thinks that my familly doesn't love her (she thinks we don't tell her enough or do enough to show it but I'm always doing everything I can from cleaning the dishes after everyone to taking care of the damn cats, and I even buy her flowers sometimes).
On top of that I have my own issues like university and trying to get through the fact that I was raped. However, I am managing these things.
The problem is that everyone are just throwing their problems at me. My mother is depressed so my uncle asks me to take care of her (which I am trying to do) and gets mad at me because I'm not doing a good enough job for his taste. My friends tell me their problems and expect me to do everything I can to help them all the time. My brother's friend asked me to take care of him too.
I don't know what I'm supposed to do, I just can't do it. I want some peace of mind
Mathunilx,
Have you tried (gently) bringing up your limits with these friends? I know it's tough when people are in a bad place, but there is a way we can gently, warmly, lovingly establish our boundaries and help our friends find other solutions if what we are able to currently offer simply isn't enough for where they're at right now.
Last fall I had a friend go through an extreme bout of panic and anxiety. I was with him nearly 24/7 for a few days, talking to him, listening, etc, but after a few days I did have to gently establish my boundary - I hadn't much more to offer - and we were able to work together, amicably, on other ways he could find support and how I could best continue to help him (quite a bit, but not 24/7).
Every time I have a period of better days (I hesitate to call them good because I'm still in pain and tired, it's just that I'm functional), I do the exact same thing to myself. I get my hopes up, thinking things will be different. I start making plans with people. I start getting out of the apartment. I start thinking I can work again. I start thinking that I can finally travel again, something which I desperately want to do because there's so many people I want to spend time with. My oldest bud Bob and his wife moved to Germany late last year and I'm dying to go over there. I even told him last night that it might be a possibility.
Of course it's not. Once the next flare hits, I'm bedbound again, absolutely miserable and contemplating the most efficient way to off myself. It's a never-ending cycle of hope and then misery. This time especially tore me to shreds because it was almost two weeks of feeling better and being able to do things. Especially in the last week, I was pretty active and this actually had a negative effect on my mental health because I'm so used to being alone. My anxiety and mood swings went way up from the stress of being around people. Despite this, I'm happy I was able to spend time with some friends in the area (that I needed to reconnect with anyway) and family for Mother's Day.
It's just that now, I have probably two weeks of agony to look forward to and I'm not handling it well at all. It makes me feel nauseous and I've been holding back sobs all day. I don't know. I don't know what I'm doing anymore or why I'm even still here.
It's curious to wonder, in times of tumult and changing circumstances, how much of our suffering comes from the present situation and how much comes from the anticipation of future suffering.
It seems sort of ridiculous, doesn't it? Suffering now over the possibility of suffering in the future? I do it all the time.
Sorry you're in a flare again, jb. I'm glad you were able to get yourself out there last week, even if it was a bit much.
Does anyone know what to do if you've stopped medication cold turkey and need to start over?
I was at 200 mg sertraline (zoloft?) and I forgot to refill. One day became one week. I was very busy with work so I kinda forgot about it too. I think it's been close to a month now.
I think part of me didn't feel the need to refill because I didn't notice any difference. I take these meds for OCD and I didn't notice any differences. But now that it's been close to a month, I can feel myself getting more anxious and obsessive again.
I just don't know if I can just start at 200 mg again. I know I shouldn't just have quit outta nowhere... but yeah. It's only afterwards you realize what these meds really do/did.
Please consult a medical professional, explain the situation honestly, and ask for the best next step. Perhaps you should go back on the Setraline, or perhaps there is a better solution now that you're off of it. Can you go back to your prescribing doctor?
<3
