Tips for anxiety-important medical visit next week

[LukeSkyrocker]

I was disillusioned when Dr. Jordan Peterson admitted to being on SSRIs... people need to lose this focus on ‘being perfect’ and just enjoy. A few things! Relationships... pff. Until wisdom proliferates investing in relationships is building castles on sand. Good fucking luck with your family buddeh

 

[j123]

Hookers and cocaine

Post on sherdog

 

[jefferz]

Thanks, dude.

You’re welcome. I hope it helps.
Carry around a pocket notebook and write down what you were doing before your anxiety kicked in. That will help you identify your triggers and help prevent an anxiety attack in the future.

 

[blaseblah]

Hard to tell without knowing the symptoms but it's possible the anxiety itself is the reason for your problems, or at least exacerbating what may have started off as something small. Weed may help.

 

[GSP_37]

Try thinking through the worst case scenario, then put that into perspective and come to the conclusion if the worst case scenario really is a big deal or not.

This is what I think when I'm driving and see some fucktard driving dangerously just to reach the red light sooner than everyone else. Was it worth it to risk killing self and others just to get somewhere a few seconds sooner?

 

[Damien Karras]

I'm sorry to hear that. I admire your courage in the face of such adversity. When this happened to me, it came out of left field. I have my share of job/relationship-related stress, but I actually felt like I was in a pretty good place in life when it fiest manifested itself. Anything in particular help you cope with anxiety?

To be fair I never suffered from crippling chronoc anxiety. The anxiety from my cancer was/is situational although I found some ways to cope. My anxiety would manifest itself when I would have dark thoughts creeping into my mind about the thought of death. It would prevent me from sleeping and from enjoying things in life. Talking about it with people I trust or just talking to other people about anything to take my mind off of I helped a lot.

One medication I took gave me panic attacks. When we pinpointed the origin of the panic attacks we changed it to another med and I didn't have any more issues. But holy shit now I know what real anxiety is and it's fucking scary. The scariest part of it was the feeling that I couldn't control how I felt no matter how much I tried to convince myself there was nothing to be anxious about. Real anxiety is incredibly incapacitating and you can't know how bad it is until it happens to you.

I'd ask for anti-anxiety medication that is not addictive. They freely prescribed Ativan to me to help me sleep in the hospital. I don't have an addictive personality and I had difficulty weening myself off of it. It's very effective though but very addictive. I'd try other options before trying that.

 

[danny23]

Do mindful meditation. It might not get rid of your anxiety, but it'll help you control it. The longer you do the better.

 

[Scott Parker 27]

Hi Mayberry,

I'll try to keep this brief. I have had ongoing symptoms for over a month now(for the sake of this discussion I'll refrain from discussing them specifically). But it has drastically affected my quality of life, and sometimes find myself fearing the worst. I have a couple of medical appointments next that should shed some light on this. Has anyone been through this? Any tips for dealing with the anxiety? Feel free to share to any personal experience, advice, or other positive thoughts. Thanks.

I have anxiety disorder. I have had it for years. The best advice I can give you, and I wish I wouldve learned earlier was do not fight the anxiety and be open to anything that your therapist suggests. I recently had a bad flare up of anxiety again and this time instead of fighting/denying it I attacked it head on. The next day I got in to see a psychiatrist and enrolled in some classes. Sometimes just moving in the right direction towards bettering yourself and not hiding behind anxiety is the best thing you can do. It starts positive momentum and builds up confidence that you can deal with your issues.

 

[gspieler]

I have anxiety disorder. I have had it for years. The best advice I can give you, and I wish I wouldve learned earlier was do not fight the anxiety and be open to anything that your therapist suggests. I recently had a bad flare up of anxiety again and this time instead of fighting/denying it I attacked it head on. The next day I got in to see a psychiatrist and enrolled in some classes. Sometimes just moving in the right direction towards bettering yourself and not hiding behind anxiety is the best thing you can do. It starts positive momentum and builds up confidence that you can deal with your issues.

Much appreciated. Did you have physical symptoms before figuring out it was anxiety? I have some pretty serious physical symptoms, don't know the cause, and am having anxiety.

 

[Grassshoppa]

So are you still taking Xanax? I never wanted to rely on medication, but I guess eventually it may be the only option.

Nope, weened off of it a few months ago. Psychiatrist had me take .25mg not more than once every other day while we ramped up the Lexapro. Lexapro started at 1/4 of 5mg, 1/2 of 5mg, then we stopped at 3/4 of 5mg once I began to feel better. Now I'm off the Xanax and down to 1/2 of 5mg of the Lexapro. Didn't have any problem coming off the Xanax which I also quartered and eighth-ed until there was none left. No addiction problems. Felt a little strange as my mind and body adjusted to the lowering of the Lexapro but that only lasted a few days and I've been fine again.

I would find a psychiatrist that is in favor of starting with baby doses of the medication and increasing it slowly. The recommended minimum adult dose of Lexapro is 10 mg and I started way below that.

 

[IloveTHIS]

Ive said this before, and some people may say it is stupid, but as someone that has dealt with anxiety, severe OCD and repetitive thought loops of "everything is bad and the worst possible scenario is going to happen"....this is the only thing that has helped me:

This is temporary. Life is rediculously temporary. One hundred years out of 13 billion. Maybe even trillions in an infinite cycle of big bangs and big crunches. What is the worst thing that can happen to you? Who cares? in 100 years you will be dead. And you will be dead for.........forever. None of the shit you are stressed about will matter. Enjoy the moment, because....nothing matters

 

[ToxicShocker]

What can you do right now.

If the answer is there is nothing you can do, then you are powerless; and that's not a bad place to be. Relieve yourself of the burden of worry and focus on the present. Devote a little time to contingency planning, but stop yourself from obsessing. Remind yourself that this is out of your hands, give that burden away to the cosmos and breathe.

 

[gspieler]

Hard to tell without knowing the symptoms but it's possible the anxiety itself is the reason for your problems, or at least exacerbating what may have started off as something small. Weed may help.

Yeah, whatever it is, the anxiety is exacerbating it. Im staying away from weed though. At least until i get a diagnosis. From my experience, weed increase paranoia.

 

[A.S. Deep]

Yes, it was really hard for me in the beginning but it is better now. I am/was on medication. Recently got off one and we're weaning down off the other so hopefully I'll be med free in another six months. Something important - don't Google your symptoms and stay away from reading things on the internet. Go to your professional general doctor then a professional psychiatrist then a professional cognitive therapist. I wouldn't be afraid of medication. It was so bad for me that I couldn't drive a car by myself or go anywhere by myself anymore. The medication helped me through the roughest part until I started to learn what anxiety/depression/PTSD is and how to deal with it.

I recommend the book - At Last a Life by Paul David.

See my thread:

http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/have-you-dealt-with-anxiety-depression-ptsd.3549523/

Things that have helped me:

Eat right
Sleep right
Think right
Exercise
Meditate
Massage
Walk
Hobbies
Church
Structure/routine

Hope this helps.

Exercise was big for me. At first exercise would make my anxiety worse because it's make my already racing heart work harder, but after a few sessions it brought down my anxiety. Hope this helps!

 

[gspieler]

Bump: posted an update in the OP.

 

[GordoBarraBJJ]

6 beers

Alcohol will help until the fun stops (everyone goes home) and you're left alone and the depression sets in.

 

[PhitePhan]

Hi Mayberry,

I'll try to keep this brief. I have had ongoing symptoms for over a month now(for the sake of this discussion I'll refrain from discussing them specifically). But it has drastically affected my quality of life, and sometimes find myself fearing the worst. I have a couple of medical appointments next that should shed some light on this. Has anyone been through this? Any tips for dealing with the anxiety? Feel free to share to any personal experience, advice, or other positive thoughts. Thanks.


Update 6/23/18: Hi everyone, just wanted to update this thread, as it helped me through a difficult time. Also wanted to give anyone else a chance to share similar experiences.

After all of the tests(mri, eeg, emg), they did not find anything. I have been diagnosed with anxiety disorder. The neuro's reccomendation was to treat for anxiety, and the symptoms will likely go away. My symptoms have actually slightly progressed since then, mostly have to do with muscle twitches, cramps, and general stiffness. While I am not convinced all I have is anxiety, I am willing to follow the advice of a neurologist with 20+ years experience, given the tests came back normal. I am on anti-anxiety meds, and starting CBT. I hope all goes well. Just to disclose what my symptoms were in the past 10 weeks:

Visual distortions(blurriest, auro, vertigo, etc)
Confusion
Chills
Headaches
Muscle twitches in hands
Muscle twitches/tension(legs, arms, abs, back)
Shaking
Anxiety/panic attacks
Impending sense of doom

Just like to say I have appreciated all the responses(particularly @Grassshoppa), and welcome others to share their experiences. Thank you all.

I can't say I've experienced high anxiety, but I have had unexplainable physical symptoms that were debilitating, but without the typical symptoms... was like a severe flu but only severe muscle aches, fatigue, and just feeling overall shitty. I was working around 70-80 hours a week with family and kids... I chalked it up to doing too much and took a break (called in sick a few days, slept a shit ton, and refused to do any work (tough because I am doing contract work largely from home and there is never really a time I can't be working). That did wonders, and after a few days I was feeling a lot better. Moral of the story, you are probably doing too much. Is anything in your life different than it used to be? Are you working too much? Meds can help, but you don't want to mask your symptoms and not figure out the root cause...

 

[Jack Reacheround]

I had kind of the opposite issue. I had a heart condition which caused anxiety. My heart would just start beating rapidly out of nowhere, like I had just run 5 miles.

So I could never actually get rid of the anxiety. But the things that helped me deal with it were things that would take my mind off of the thoughts of impending doom, that accompanied the anxiety, like playing music, exercising really hard, even posting on sherdog. Anything to get me thinking about other things.

 

[PubliusVentidius]

If you have a panic attack tell yourself that it's just an innocuous surge of adrenaline and not something that's trying to kill you and the fear goes away and with it the panic attacks as well. Panic attacks are self-perpetuating in the sense that the more you worry the worse they get; I don't think breathing or distracting yourself really help because your mind will still linger and worry in the background, you need to recognize them for what they are and they will dissipate.

This video is spot on imo: