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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by janetlee on November 21, 2006, at 18:53:02
Hi, All!
I'm on 25mg. of Paxil CR and have been for about 5 weeks. I was doing somewhat better with the anxiety, but today (and a bit yesterday) has been really rough. I have Vitamin B complexes, fish oil, magnesium, and such that I take, but now I'm wondering if I should try taurine or L-theanine. Would it be dangerous to try with Paxil? What's my best bet? I took some niacinamide this a.m., but it lasted such a short time. HELP!! :(
janePS-I've been feeling weepy and scared today.
Posted by teejay on November 21, 2006, at 20:06:28
In reply to Anxiety Suffering...Need Your Help, PLEASE!, posted by janetlee on November 21, 2006, at 18:53:02
Janet, what you really need to do is calm down!
Yep, I know its an almost impossible task with mega anxiety, I know I designed the T-shirt, but you really have to try.
The thing with anxiety (and it took me years to learn and grasp this) is its the fear of the fear which really cranks up the level of anxiety.
I have horrible obsessive repetative thoughts which leave me feeling dirty and tainted about myself and would crank my anxiety up to a whole new level, but since I've managed to teach myself that these thoughts are no more than a symptom of my illness and that thoughts in themselves can't hurt me, my anxiety levels have eased somewhat.
You see, as an anxiety sufferer, the fear will always be there, but its what you do with that fear that determines whether the anxiety will remain bearable or will ratchet itself up to higher and higher levels.
I've had (and still get) the weepy can't cope type feelings too (and i'm a grown bloke!). You have to really think about what you are fearful of and then when in that situation assess if the reality matched your perception of it. You'll normally find that you've worked yourself into a tizzy over nothing and will feel angry that you worried so much befoire the fact. You ned to really remember this so next time you can dismiss the worry and say to yourself ' no pointin worrying, I will worry when I get there', and when you get there you invariably just deal with things without the time to worry.
Sorry, I'm waffling, but hope this helps at least a bit.
TJ
Posted by kiwiredbeach on November 22, 2006, at 2:59:48
In reply to Re: Anxiety Suffering...Need Your Help, PLEASE!, posted by teejay on November 21, 2006, at 20:06:28
Teejay very interesting replyCan you tell me what you did to lose your fear of the fear. I totaly believe you that this is important. What steps or processes did you go through to get to this stage...did you do cbt or breathing was it a book
> Janet, what you really need to do is calm down!
>
> Yep, I know its an almost impossible task with mega anxiety, I know I designed the T-shirt, but you really have to try.
>
> The thing with anxiety (and it took me years to learn and grasp this) is its the fear of the fear which really cranks up the level of anxiety.
>
> I have horrible obsessive repetative thoughts which leave me feeling dirty and tainted about myself and would crank my anxiety up to a whole new level, but since I've managed to teach myself that these thoughts are no more than a symptom of my illness and that thoughts in themselves can't hurt me, my anxiety levels have eased somewhat.
>
> You see, as an anxiety sufferer, the fear will always be there, but its what you do with that fear that determines whether the anxiety will remain bearable or will ratchet itself up to higher and higher levels.
>
> I've had (and still get) the weepy can't cope type feelings too (and i'm a grown bloke!). You have to really think about what you are fearful of and then when in that situation assess if the reality matched your perception of it. You'll normally find that you've worked yourself into a tizzy over nothing and will feel angry that you worried so much befoire the fact. You ned to really remember this so next time you can dismiss the worry and say to yourself ' no pointin worrying, I will worry when I get there', and when you get there you invariably just deal with things without the time to worry.
>
> Sorry, I'm waffling, but hope this helps at least a bit.
>
> TJ
>
>
Posted by teejay on November 22, 2006, at 7:17:01
In reply to Re:Teejay an important question please reply, posted by kiwiredbeach on November 22, 2006, at 2:59:48
Hiya kiwi,
well I can give you no definitive answers as I still suffer, and suffer terribly but there are some strategies which certainly seem to ease the symptoms, or at the very least put a cap on their severity.
Breathing exercises help with immediate panic of flare ups of focussed anxiety. You should be able to find lots of these exercises on the web. The same goes for stretching exercises which too can help in the short term.
The main thing though is to realise that its not the potential stress of a given situation thats causing you anxiety, its the WORRY OF IT thats causing the anxiety. Its a subtle but very important difference. Your mind forms a mental image of you in a given situation and then projects certain fears and neuroses onto that image. The thing to do is when you are actually in the situation (which is never as bad as your mind has told you it will be) remind yourself of all the worry you had and how much time you wasted getting anxious about it. Believe me, it makes you feel really stupid! The thing to do is then remember that experience and how it wasn't as bad as you imagined and recall it each time you get anxious about an event.
The real tough one (and the one I have no answers to) is the mega free floating anxiety issues. They are without doubt chemical in nature as nothing I do will even blunt it when its there. It can last a day or several days and be severely debilitating, but then all of a sudden its like it burns itself out and it lifts and disperses with no intervention at all. Now if you have any answers to that conundrum I'd love to hear em.
Hope that helps in some way.
TJ
Posted by kiwiredbeach on November 22, 2006, at 7:24:21
In reply to Re:Teejay an important question please reply, posted by teejay on November 22, 2006, at 7:17:01
Thanks Teejay
Out of interest have you read any of the books written by Dr Caire Weekes. Check out the reviews in amazon.com if you havent
Cheers Kiwi
Posted by teejay on November 22, 2006, at 7:50:02
In reply to Re:Teejay an important question please reply, posted by kiwiredbeach on November 22, 2006, at 7:24:21
No, i've not read any books on anxiety, I am however looking to obtain that book by Foxton recommended by sregan.
Posted by kiwiredbeach on November 22, 2006, at 8:45:06
In reply to Re:Teejay an important question please reply, posted by teejay on November 22, 2006, at 7:50:02
She
has a amazing reputation which is hard to ignore. Here book is called "self help for your nerves" the other book is called "hope and help for your nerves" these books come very well recommended, there also quite cheap
Posted by janetlee on November 22, 2006, at 11:01:05
In reply to Re:Teejay an important question please reply, posted by teejay on November 22, 2006, at 7:17:01
> Hiya kiwi,
>
> well I can give you no definitive answers as I still suffer, and suffer terribly but there are some strategies which certainly seem to ease the symptoms, or at the very least put a cap on their severity.
>
> Breathing exercises help with immediate panic of flare ups of focussed anxiety. You should be able to find lots of these exercises on the web. The same goes for stretching exercises which too can help in the short term.
>
> The main thing though is to realise that its not the potential stress of a given situation thats causing you anxiety, its the WORRY OF IT thats causing the anxiety. Its a subtle but very important difference. Your mind forms a mental image of you in a given situation and then projects certain fears and neuroses onto that image. The thing to do is when you are actually in the situation (which is never as bad as your mind has told you it will be) remind yourself of all the worry you had and how much time you wasted getting anxious about it. Believe me, it makes you feel really stupid! The thing to do is then remember that experience and how it wasn't as bad as you imagined and recall it each time you get anxious about an event.
>
> The real tough one (and the one I have no answers to) is the mega free floating anxiety issues. They are without doubt chemical in nature as nothing I do will even blunt it when its there. It can last a day or several days and be severely debilitating, but then all of a sudden its like it burns itself out and it lifts and disperses with no intervention at all. Now if you have any answers to that conundrum I'd love to hear em.
>
> Hope that helps in some way.
>
> TJTeejay,
That's my problem! I have GAD, which is the free floating anxiety. I can be okay one day and then wake up the next and it's waiting for me, for no specific reason! It's been 3 days now and it really gets me down.
janet
Posted by teejay on November 22, 2006, at 11:30:22
In reply to Re:Teejay an important question please reply, posted by janetlee on November 22, 2006, at 11:01:05
Oh Janet, I'm so sorry to hear that. It really is horrible, I can sympathise. I've often wondered which is worse, depression or anxiety and I've slowly come to the conclusion that anxiety wins hands down :-(
Exercise is pretty good at easing it, but its only a temporary measure. I also find being outside is better than being inside too.
Stupid as it sounds though, try to laugh at your symptoms rather than letting them bother you. It might not actually make them better but it does help break the cycle of worry causing worry.
The fact my anxiety can just kind of vanish (well ease dramatically anyway) for no apparent reason suggests there is a biological basis for it, but what that might be I have no idea.
TJ (who apologises for hogging the board with his ramblings!)
Posted by kiwiredbeach on November 22, 2006, at 12:15:50
In reply to Re:Teejay an important question please reply, posted by teejay on November 22, 2006, at 11:30:22
The more I learn about anxiety the more I believe in a psychological aspect to it. Im sure there is a biological aspect as well. The best we can do is eat well take our vitamins and minerals. We also need to do some CBT as well, im going to give psychological treatment a good go in the future.
Cheers kiwi
> Oh Janet, I'm so sorry to hear that. It really is horrible, I can sympathise. I've often wondered which is worse, depression or anxiety and I've slowly come to the conclusion that anxiety wins hands down :-(
>
> Exercise is pretty good at easing it, but its only a temporary measure. I also find being outside is better than being inside too.
>
> Stupid as it sounds though, try to laugh at your symptoms rather than letting them bother you. It might not actually make them better but it does help break the cycle of worry causing worry.
>
> The fact my anxiety can just kind of vanish (well ease dramatically anyway) for no apparent reason suggests there is a biological basis for it, but what that might be I have no idea.
>
> TJ (who apologises for hogging the board with his ramblings!)
Posted by aeon on November 22, 2006, at 22:54:51
In reply to Re:Teejay an important question please reply, posted by kiwiredbeach on November 22, 2006, at 2:59:48
Hi guys
I also suffer from a sort of free floating anxiety that gets me sometimes... I realised that nothing I did pharmacologically really helped it, except for knocking myself out with benzos. But that is not an effective strategy.
What I discovered, and I don't know if this will work for you but it does for me, is that when it rears up my attention is focussed in a very specific part of my brain, on the right middle. I think it may be the right amygdala but who knows.
All I do is imagine that area releasing - like this: Clench you fist, hard as you can. Keep going. Keep going. Eventually it starts to hurt. Now release it. Let it got. That is the same sensation I use in my brain - I tense it make it worse to locate it and then ---- release. Then I imagine it is clear and clean there and relaxed, just a for a few seconds.
Then I consciously transfer my attention to the left prefrontal cortex, just behind and above the eye. I imagine this lighting up and I try to keep my attention there.
After a few tries this technique really works for anxiety for me. Sometimes I practive it when I am not anxious - I rememeber an anxiety proiducing thing, and go through the process, just to get my brain trained up.
The left prefrontal cortex is where all pleasant thoughts come from.
aeon
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