Anxiety

[Guest_98574445]

I have always suffered from anxiety but the last week has gotten bad, with panic attacks serve enough to goto ED multiple times. I have been put on antidepressants for anxiety  which I find only works for 1-2 hours. Does anyone have any tips for when my chest and mind is going crazy? 

[Mudball98]

Hello ☺️  I just wanted to say you aren’t alone. I’m still working out what works for me but trying to reduce the amount of things I have to do in a day and also taking it literally a minute at a time helps.

Sometimes deep breathing helps but I have to catch it early otherwise it’s no good. Also reminding yourself this is nasty but it will eventually pass, again that’s easier said than done.

I’ve recently been trying vitamins and also essential oils as well as anti-anxiety meds although my anxiety is linked to hormones so it hits me completely randomly with no trigger.

Anti-anxiety medication can also take a few weeks to settle in your system so be kind to yourself. 
 

Always here to chat if you need. 
Take care

[sbella02]

Hey there, thank you so much for sharing your experience with us, welcome to the forums.

Anxiety is one of those things that does tend to manifest in physical ways, which can make it really difficult to go about everyday activities. While antidepressants can be effective, there are also other effective treatments and therapies that can work well in conjunction with medication. If you'd feel comfortable having a chat with your GP, therapist, or psychologist about finding some alternative therapies to try as well, professional advice like this can be really helpful. 

With regards to short-term things you can do to ease the feeling, techniques like squared breathing and grounding exercises (eg: five things you can see, four things you can feel, three you can hear, two you can smell, one you can taste) can be really effective in the moment. 

If your mind is wandering and it feels uncomfortable, journaling can also be really effective. Whether you're writing down how you're feeling, or writing about a specific moment in time that you've been thinking about recently, or even just doodling on a page, this kind of expression tends to be very therapeutic. 

Listening to or watching relaxing videos are another quick coping strategy that tend to be quite effective. ASMR or meditative music are two kinds of videos that can be really good for this. 

I hope this helps, please feel free to keep chatting some more with us if you'd like to, we're here to support you as best as we can.

Take care, SB

[eloop]

I too have been living with anxiety for years due to ongoing health issues it has worsened through fear of not being able to breathe I been finding meditation especially breathing is helping to slow it all down anxiety often shallow fast breathing slow it all down is really helping 

[Butterfly101]

Hey - when suffering panic attacks, go to a quit place with your phone. Breathe in and out slowly and deeply. Search meditation music on you tube - I find Tibetan flute very soothing. If you need time out go and lie down, preferably in your home and sleep. Go to sleep with the relaxing music. Or go for a relaxing massage, get into a pool or spa, go to the beach, take a walk or just sit in nature, be still and peaceful for a while. The smiling mind is a good app. You will feel better soon. Just rely on these methods and you will feel better. When better you will be able to face the challenge at hand.