Hi, when I first joined this online forum over a year ago, I had a bad case of anxiety over an upcoming event I was worried sick over. I had terrible symptoms, lightheadedness, headaches and a rapid heart rate. My usual methods of cognitive behav therapy did not help with totally irrational thoughts. What did help was deep breathing, relaxation tapes, distraction and most importantly of then all -mindfulness. I was almost driven to medication, i made it to the phamacist counter- but I just couldn't do it (worried about side effects, dependency) so Ijust continued with mindfulness. The stressful anticipated event passed, which went by without a hitch, and I calmed down immensely. However lifes worries often bring the anxiety back. I know what it is now (some comfort), and how to deal with it. Also not all worry management the same- the cognitive behav therapy works with logical worries. The anxiety still comes back but it is more manageable. I just wanted to say a big thankyou to all you forum posters when I went through a difficukt time and had not many people who understood. Also to the people going through it, i can definately recommend the book 'The HappinessTrap' which despite its name is all about mindfulness and living with anxiety. I have also since been open about my experiences with other mums from school and am totally surprised how much lack of knowledge and stigma there is about this subject. One mum i spoke to for over an hour had no idea how to deal with her worries and knew little about anxiety (i directed her to this website) Good luck and best wishes to all, hang in there, try to do something tranquil every day. Lastly someone once commented there were not enough success stories on here, so please count this as one.
