topic Re: My name is Mike. in Depression

My name is Mike.

Mike33 — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 06:38:09 GMT

I have GAD and I get tension headaches. I find watching an old movie, lying down meditating or sitting quietly on my own they can sometimes ease.

Re: My name is Mike.

That Other Guy — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 06:44:52 GMT

Hi Mike. Lovely to meet you 🙂 I'm sorry you suffer from anxiety and headaches but I'm glad you have strategies to deal with it.

Re: My name is Mike.

Croix — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 12:10:35 GMT

Dear Mike33~

If I'm right this is the first time you have posted to the forum, so I'd like to welcome you here. I think it was a pretty good move of yours to do so as you may expect to find others wiht similar circumstances.

I too have GAD along with a couple of other problems, and these raise all sorts of physical reactions for which there is no medical cause - tension headaches being one of them, chest pain being another and so on.

All these physical effects have their own drain on the system, making me feel disproportionately worse and less able to cope.

There are couple of things that help me, though I've no idea if they would be applicable or even good for you - I guess before anything see what you doctor thinks.

The first is to take the idea of relaxation further, I use a smartphone app called Smiling Mind. This is free and contains umpteen exercises. They are all based around allowing your mind to concentrate on something else and leave me calmer and wiht less physical pain. It does take practice!

I've even found one that nags me just often enough to keep me on track😕

https://www.smilingmind.com.au/smiling-mind-app/

The other thing is my GP and psychiatrist treat both the physical symptoms themselves as well as the underlying causes. While they do not go overboard with physical remedies what they do provide can be a help and reduce my stress levels.

I hope your headaches become less over time as mine have

Croix

Re: My name is Mike.

smallwolf — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 12:43:34 GMT

Hi and welcome.

Thanks for sharing your story and what works for you. This is a safe and non judgemental space for talk. The people here are also super friendly so if you get the urge to share more... Well you will not have to worry about any trolls. I look forward to seeing you around the forums.

Re: My name is Mike.

geoff — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 16:33:05 GMT

Hello Mike, lying down and watching a movie does help many people, however, if the phone rings or there is a knock on the door all of this may be disturbed, so you can ignore this or take the phone off the hook, but can I ask what is also important is what do you do when the movie finishes.

Geoff.

Re: My name is Mike.

romantic_thi3f — Sat, 09 Jul 2022 00:52:04 GMT

Hi Mike,

Thank you for sharing this with us how you manage your tension headaches.

I get really bad headaches sometimes too, and one of the things that helps the most is sensory shutdown- so blocking out the light and sound.

An old movie sounds kind of relaxing, have you seen any lately you can recommend?

Geoff - such a good point. I usually keep my phone beside me and sometimes I put it on silent.