New to anxiety

[Steph2]

Hi Everyone,

anxiety has come as a shock to my life and I have only recently started antidepressants.

Day 1. Isn't going to well.

is this normal?

[MsPurple]

Hi Steph and welcome to the BB forums

It is normal for anti depressants to take a few weeks to start working. They work differently to other medications (e.g. pain killers may work in a few minutes) as they make take a week or so for you to notice the effects.

Have you been referred to a psychologist by your GP? I have found this very helpful with managing my anxiety. They educate you more on the condition and help you come up with strategies on reducing your anxiety and dealing with it. It is really beneficial. I was sceptical at first but once I really opened up to it, it really helped me.

Another thing I have found that has helped with anxiety is deep breathing and meditation. If I am about to have an anxiety/panic attack deep breathing and focusing only on my breath helps calm me down. It slows down your breath, which slows down your heart rate, which slows down the CNS and helps reduce anxiety and can help stop panic. Meditation helps you focus on the here and now and it can help stop the racing thoughts in your head. I find doing this before bed beneficial for me. I use the app called Calm but I know some use smiling minds. Maybe this is something you could consider trying.

Hope some of this helps. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to help

Purple

[Steph2]

Thank you MsPurple,

It is now day 5 since starting medications and last night was so horrible. I took medication which at first I think helped, but come 2am I was wide awake and fearing another attack. Come the morning I called my doctor and she has been able to calm me down. She advised me that the antidepressants I am on may make me worse before making me better. So let's hope I start feeling more in control soon. I have my 3rd appointment with my psycologist to which I need to tell her I fell into a deep dark hole. I hope she can help me get back on track.

[startingnew]

Hi there Steph welcome to BB

and well done for speaking out

i also suffer severe anxiety as well and know how daunting it can be. while your on medications they wont fully stop your anxiety unfortuately. have you discussed anything with a psychologist about whats causing your anxiety? in the meantime i can give you some coping strategies if you like?

[Broken_Biscuit_Blues]

As far as acute anxiety ie anxiety attacks are concerned your breathing is the key to bringing them under control

Your breathing is becoming more shallow and rapid when you are having an episode , you need to practice breaking this cycle (the worse your breathing the more anxious you become)

Concentrate on breathing slowly through your nose taking the breath all the way to bottom of your stomach and then slowly expel ALL the stale air before you take your next breath.

Your mind will rebel and want to keep freaking out, don't fight it just gently turn your attention back to your breath.It takes practice but it is worth the effort as far as acute anxiety is concerned.

[MsPurple]

HI Steph

I also hate it when I wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep. I also hate it when my mind starts to race in the middle of the night. I found when I was more anxious my dreams would be more disturbing or more 'nightmare' ish. I don't know if nightmare is the right term but I would wake up feeling terrible and uncomfortable. I found once me and my doctor had worked on the correct treatment and medication the dreams for me seemed to become more normal (well my kinda normal) dreams again which was nice. Having open communication with your doctor/psych is really good to have, and I suggest you discuss dreams if it is something that maybe disrupting your sleeping patterns (a good sleep is good for mental health too).

I find if I'm awake in the middle of the night and I can't sleep I either do deep breathing exercises or meditation. Now these may not sound like your cuppa tea to start with, but I suggest you try them at least 3 times before writing it off. The first time I tried meditation I wasn't entirely convinced, but after 3 I realised how it stopped my racing thoughts and helped me get back to sleep. I usually meditate in bed, either lying down or sitting comfortable with earphones on. I use an app on my iPhone called 'Calm' but I have also heard some good reviews on the BB forums called 'smiling minds' and 'headspace'. Maybe downloading these and giving them a go when you wake up in the middle of the night may help. It also gets you to focus on your body and breathing and helps your relax which greatly reduces the chances of you having a panic attack at that moment.

You are doing really well. You are just at the start of your journey, but trust me you'll look back in a few months time and feel amazing in comparison. Just stick at it and listen to what your doctor/psych have to say. And always feel free to come hang out with us on the forums 🙂

Purple