Anxiety, Stress, Mental Health...

KristinaB said:
Right now, I feel as if I need to be on some super strong medicine, but I will get myself over all this mess.
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Sometimes medication doesnt solve it though. If you need someone to talk to just message me. I understand the anxiety part and Ive been through alot.
 
Am doing better now. Was able to talk with my therapist as well as a lot of people at church.
 
hellos245 said:
Sometimes medication doesnt solve it though. If you need someone to talk to just message me. I understand the anxiety part and Ive been through alot.
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Meds never solve it. They just help you focus so you can use what you've learned in therapy to get through the immediate crisis. :)
 
hellos245 said:
Sometimes medication doesnt solve it though. If you need someone to talk to just message me. I understand the anxiety part and Ive been through alot.
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I no longer take any medication of any kind.I have learned a lot of coping mechanisms for my anxiety issues. When they get to be more than I can handle, then I talk with someone I trust. I have my therapist (contact is on Skype as she is in Missouri and I am in Florida) and others at my deaf church.
 
KristinaB said:
I no longer take any medication of any kind.I have learned a lot of coping mechanisms for my anxiety issues. When they get to be more than I can handle, then I talk with someone I trust. I have my therapist (contact is on Skype as she is in Missouri and I am in Florida) and others at my deaf church.
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I'm still on medication and I've accepted that I may be for life. This is due to identifiable chemical imbalances that I have. However, not everyone needs medication to function, and certainly, not everyone needs to be on them for life.

We are working on getting me to a point where the number of meds I take will be reduced to maybe just one or two. I'm not there yet.

I also see my therapist once weekly. This has been an improvement from seeing her/him (I started with a guy) twice weekly.

It's been a slow process for me, but after 3 yrs of dealing with a correct diagnosis and having the correct treatment plan in place, I am now seeing improvements in my overall mood and how I relate to other people.

It's been a long journey, though.
 
I went to ER b/c of anxiety. It was awful experience. They gave me ativan and I got hooked on them. I will not take those kind of pills ever again. :lol: Those pills knocked me out. I have PTSD. :(
 
DeafTim said:
I went to ER b/c of anxiety. It was awful experience. They gave me ativan and I got hooked on them. I will not take those kind of pills ever again. :lol: Those pills knocked me out. I have PTSD. :(
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I take Ativan daily. Im not one to get addicted. I can skip them if I want to, and sometimes I do.
They knock you out at 1st but once your body gets more used to taking them they are nice pills to have for the panic attacks.
 
KristinaB said:
I no longer take any medication of any kind.I have learned a lot of coping mechanisms for my anxiety issues. When they get to be more than I can handle, then I talk with someone I trust. I have my therapist (contact is on Skype as she is in Missouri and I am in Florida) and others at my deaf church.
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Can you share some of your coping mechanisms with me? :ty:
 
hellos245 said:
Can you share some of your coping mechanisms with me? :ty:
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I will chime in, too, if that's alright?

If I'm having a mild attack, I use distraction.

I will:

Play an online game.

Do a chore that needs done. (something like dishes, or vaccuming. The physical work actually helps expend that extra nervous energy that is often pent up when our anxiety is high).

Watch something on TV that is not upsetting. As silly as this might sound, I watch cartoons.

You could also try laying down and wrapping yourself in a blanket to help you feel safe until the anxiety passes. (I've done that...good for PTSD).

Deep breathing (telling yourself that there's really nothing to be scared of).

Journalling. I usally write down what time the attack is happening, what I'm feeling (both physical and emotional), and what the circumstances are that may have provoked the attack. (is someone arguing? Did I watch something on TV that triggered my anxiety? Is someone around me upset and I'm anticipating further drama later?)

And, if you're really far into the anxiety that the above may not work, take your rescue med, so that you can employ the steps above.

*I also have a cell number I can call my therapist if I truly need her between sessions. I have NOT used the number yet, but just knowing I have it, is a comfort. If I needed, I call it and leave a message, and, she'll call me back.

Hope this helps.
 
hellos245 said:
Can you share some of your coping mechanisms with me? :ty:
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Oceanbreeze had some good points there.

For me, I have a variety of things. I just mainly work to get my mind on something else. Current living situation makes some things harder than others. (We are living with my MIL, but hopefully next summer our house will be completed.) Depending on the severity of the attack, I will choose from:

Knitting, crocheting, sewing, puzzles, coloring with crayons, art with colored pencils, acrylic paints or watercolors, Exercising with therabands and resistance bands, playing the keyboard (I use no power to it. Since I can't hear, I just run my fingers on the keys and no one in the house is bothered by it.) If it's a real bad situation and I am able to, I will go for a drive. I am fortunate enough to live near the beach. I go down to Ocean Ave on Palm Beach and start at the North side and run down to the South side and breathe in the salt air. Parking is too expensive, so I drive just under the speed limit and enjoy the view. If I am feeling strong enough, I will take my rollator and go for a walk around the neighborhood. If it occurs at night time and everyone is at home and I can't get away due to weather or health, then I go to a quiet space I have made in the closet. I sit in there with no lights and just do deep breathing. If all else fails, then I contact my therapist by the house phone and then we get together on Skype.

I hope to get back into some of the exercises I did when taking gymnastics many moons ago.
 
KristinaB said:
Oceanbreeze had some good points there.

For me, I have a variety of things. I just mainly work to get my mind on something else. Current living situation makes some things harder than others. (We are living with my MIL, but hopefully next summer our house will be completed.) Depending on the severity of the attack, I will choose from:

Knitting, crocheting, sewing, puzzles, coloring with crayons, art with colored pencils, acrylic paints or watercolors, Exercising with therabands and resistance bands, playing the keyboard (I use no power to it. Since I can't hear, I just run my fingers on the keys and no one in the house is bothered by it.) If it's a real bad situation and I am able to, I will go for a drive. I am fortunate enough to live near the beach. I go down to Ocean Ave on Palm Beach and start at the North side and run down to the South side and breathe in the salt air. Parking is too expensive, so I drive just under the speed limit and enjoy the view. If I am feeling strong enough, I will take my rollator and go for a walk around the neighborhood. If it occurs at night time and everyone is at home and I can't get away due to weather or health, then I go to a quiet space I have made in the closet. I sit in there with no lights and just do deep breathing. If all else fails, then I contact my therapist by the house phone and then we get together on Skype.

I hope to get back into some of the exercises I did when taking gymnastics many moons ago.
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I've done the bolded as well. I'm within walking distance of the Gulf of Mexico. When I'm stressed, I'll leave and go down to the water's edge and just sit for an hr or two meditating and that helps a great deal.

I also grab a box of the kids' crayons and my print outs of disigns and will color until I feel better.

When all else fails, I just go to bed. This will be the case if it was late at night and I've done all the above, but still feel anxious. Sometimes, just taking meds and conking out for the night helps a great deal.

One thing I NEVER do is let the anxiety pass without mentioning it to the T. We always discuss the incident afterward.
 
Just got a call today from my therapist. They are shuffling jobs positions and she has been promoted again. She will no longer be able to do therapy sessions with me and no one else in the office is willing to do this for me over Skype. Basically, the new Ex Dir of the agency said, "find someone local and leave us alone". She was one of the bosses that I did not get along with at all.
 
KristinaB said:
Just got a call today from my therapist. They are shuffling jobs positions and she has been promoted again. She will no longer be able to do therapy sessions with me and no one else in the office is willing to do this for me over Skype. Basically, the new Ex Dir of the agency said, "find someone local and leave us alone". She was one of the bosses that I did not get along with at all.
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Ugh, Kristina. That's terrible.
 
KristinaB said:
Just got a call today from my therapist. They are shuffling jobs positions and she has been promoted again. She will no longer be able to do therapy sessions with me and no one else in the office is willing to do this for me over Skype. Basically, the new Ex Dir of the agency said, "find someone local and leave us alone". She was one of the bosses that I did not get along with at all.
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Dislike
 
Sometimes (especially the last few days) I feel like I'm going through a caregiver-stress-tiredness feeling. The kind where it gets to feeling like it's a bit too much for ME to deal with.
 
Play an online game.---Do a chore that needs done. (something like dishes, or vaccuming. The physical work actually helps expend that extra nervous energy that is often pent up when our anxiety is high).---Watch something on TV that is not upsetting. As silly as this might sound, I watch cartoons. ---Deep breathing (telling yourself that there's really nothing to be scared of).
---Journalling---puzzles--- coloring with crayons---art with colored pencils-- acrylic paints or watercolors

Good Ideas--Some of these I already do.
 
In one way, I can understand. I am in Florida and they are in Missouri. Also, they did not charge me for the sessions. It was helping each other out. My therapist is a MSW, LCSW, QSAP and even thought she no longer saw clients on a regular basis, she had to log in a certain number of hours to keep her licensing up, so I was helping her keep her licensing up to date and she was helping me with problems I had. Now, she is required by the company to do her hours of therapy in the Women's residential treatment center only. I just can't afford anyone here. I know my Medicare will cover most of the cost, but I still can't afford the co-pay. Ah well, at least I am doing a lot better and she has helped me with a lot. she is also sending me in snail mail some pages from a book she has for continued journaling and role playing therapy. She said I could handle this on my own and if I had a massive issue, I have her cell number to call.
 
KristinaB said:
I just can't afford anyone here. I know my Medicare will cover most of the cost, but I still can't afford the co-pay. Ah well, at least I am doing a lot better and she has helped me with a lot. She said I could handle this on my own and if I had a massive issue, I have her cell number to call.
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I have NO insurance and pay for everything out of pocket, for every doctor I see.
Im sure you will be fine, I wish you the best of luck.
 
KristinaB said:
Just got a call today from my therapist. They are shuffling jobs positions and she has been promoted again. She will no longer be able to do therapy sessions with me and no one else in the office is willing to do this for me over Skype. Basically, the new Ex Dir of the agency said, "find someone local and leave us alone". She was one of the bosses that I did not get along with at all.
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Wow!!! That is no way to terminate! She should have at least helped you to locate a new therapist!

And the exec director is coming mighty close to ethical violations with that attitude.
 
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