hi. could use some advice

[mizzy83]

Hi all.

Ive been an anxious person most of my life, but it had always driven high performance with no real drawbacks. The main challenge I'd always had was in getting to sleep. I had an overactive mind that I struggled to switch off but I'd come up with a routine that  worked really well, that consistently and reliably allowed me to drop off.

Things got alot tougher 4 months ago. Following a health scare my anxiety kicked into overdrive. I became very anxious over my health, and my sleep routine crashed and burned. I was prescribed sleeping tablets, which helped me sleep, but made me more anxious as I feared I'd become addicted, so I stopped them a month ago. Tests showed there to be no underlying medical issue after all but still my anxiety didn't go away.I after returning to the doctor several times I did a mental health plan with GP who referred me to a psychologist noting down that I should be given CBT treatment for GAD. I've had a few sessions but not sure there had been any real breakthroughs yet.

the only things I feel anxious present now are a) that I won't sleep on any given night b) slight lingering worry about my health, and, c) That I still feel physical symptoms of anxiety (occasional sore chest, tingling  hands or feet, weird tingling in neck, shortness of breath, burping) And that it's not going away. Why can't it just go away?!?

I've made changes to try to combat this. Exercising more, taking stress supplements, yoga, breathing exercises, etc but I'm still unable to feel normal again, and the nights of bad sleep always causes the anxiety to ramp up again which sets me back. I just want to beat this and go back to being my old self.

My GPo suggested ssri's to help me, but I'm scared to take them, and that they may do more harm than good, in particular that they might further interrupt my sleep. I also hate the idea of taking anti depressants when I have no depression.

The things that I struggle to understand with all this:

Has something physically changed in my body that means I'll never be the same again?

Is my situation bad enough that i should actually consider meds? I feel that I only have mild to moderate anxiety.

 Are medications more likely to help me get better than therapy alone? Will they result in me becoming a lifelong user of them? Are Ssri's more likely to help or harm my sleep?

 Thanks for taking the time to read this.

[CrashCoyote]

Hi mizzy83,

I don't have troubles sleeping and can't possibly improve on your professional advice, but I hope someone else that has found a strategy to help them get to sleep contacts you.

Kind regards, John.

[Neil_1]

Hi there Mizzy

Welcome to Beyond Blue and thank you for providing your post;  a very good post by the way, described well your situation and have asked a number of good questions.

I do want to touch on your routine/method for getting to sleep, but will do that near the end of this post.

Your sessions with the psyche, you feel they aren’t perhaps doing any good – could this be that you don’t find a repour with the psyche, they you the two of you don’t ‘gel’?  I’ve experienced that on so many occasions and finding another psyche is the next option there;  and when you find the right one, it IS worthwhile.

So your anxiety is largely affected by your ability to sleep and a little over your health?

It’s interesting to note that you still aren’t able to sleep well, despite you taking on more exercise, yoga, etc – as these kinds of things can lead to the body getting more tired than usual and as a result, should assist with helping the sleep process.

Now you’ve got a number of processes in place already to help combat your anxiety, which is fantastic – another process I believe to add is the taking of medication;  no one medication can fix any mental illness – but when taken in conjunction with a number of other helping mechanisms, that’s when they become most effective.

With regard to sleep hindering or helping sleep, your gp should have given you a time of day that you need to take them.  So obviously if first thing in the morning, then take them then and not at night time; and vice versa.  But if you’re able to get onto those meds, as well as all your other things you’ve got in place, I really think your anxiety will lower and HERE I’ll mention your sleep again.   If you can then try to those methods/routine for getting to sleep, you may find that you’ll be able to get that to work again.

I also don’t believe you’ll be a life-long user of meds – this is just needed for the present time and hopefully things will slowly start to turn around;  just letting you know though that there are no quick fixes to all of this.

Hope I’ve made some sense.

Neil

[Leviosky]

Hi there.  Thanks for sharing. It's so frustrating to be stuck in the anxiety routine/bubble. I've had medically diagnosed generalised anxiety for 8 years but have suffered for most of my life without knowing what was wrong. Sounds like you are taking some really good steps to help yourself. I have done therapy and medication which both have helped me but have also in the last year started meditation.  It has definitely helped me significantly and I certainly notice I struggle more when I dont keep meditation in my life.

 Anyway thought I would share something that has unexpectidly helped me in case you want to try.

Keep on working at it, you are doing well 

[jupiter]

Hi there Mizzy83

I use CBT all the time and find challenging those thought distortions very useful .

With the yoga I suggest you have a chat with the teacher and beware of some types of classes. Gym type classes are not usually the best and it is good to try a few different teachers till you find one that works for you, and a teacher that understands. I am a qualified practicing yoga teacher, and it has been a great help to me through the years.Regular meditation works to lower the anxiousness so try to put some time aside each day. even 15 minutes will help. Some yoga breathing will help but some will over energise you. Slow out breathing and alternative nostril breathing is useful. It was because of anxiety depression that I started yoga in the 80's and it will help. Hang in there!

[mizzy83]

Hi Jupiter. Thanks for your response. I've only just ventured into CBT in my latest session with the psychologist. Before that it had been sessions of more general chit chat. The CBT session was very good and I already feel it has improved me and I think CBT will be a great help long term.

 I think I hit the yoga jackpot with my instructor. It's very much a yoga for relaxation and stress relief class  I love it and want to keep doing it. I tried tai chi also but haven't found that as promising, but I think it could be the instructor just isn't as good as my yoga one.

the only yoga breathing exercise I know is in for 7 out for 7 going 4 stomach, 2 diaphragm, 1 chest. What pattern do you suggest for relaxation? by "do meditation" do you just mean yoga breathing exercises? I'm not sure I understand exactly what meditation is...

Thanks.

[mizzy83]

Hi Neil.

Many thanks for your reply. I think the main thing with the psyche was it was early days. Since that initial post I had another session where we officially started CBT and it was better, mainly in that I now have a clear purpose and know what I'm meant to be doing between sessions. I picked my psyche bade on being same sex and similar age to me. I feel he's a good fit.

You've correctly summed up my anxiety. health and sleep. My sleep is pretty variable, but at its worst it can be pretty bad, and hard not to get distressed about. My original post was written at 4am on a night that was entirely sleepless. But last night was pretty great and a full night sleep only waking once midway through. my faith in my ability to sleep has been shaken, and without any CBT thought correction I can think myself into a bad state at bedtime.

 Well see about the medication. My psychologist thought we could hold off on that a while longer but that it's an option down the track if required. In the meantime I was thinking about trying st John's wort as a more natural remedy. Do you have any thoughts or experience with that?

Thanks again for your excellent reply.