How do I counter Anxiety?

[Dante]

This is a bit long winded so I have put the lead-up in its own section that you can skip if you arent interested.

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I am living in a situation where I am under intense psychological pressure, not anything immediately traumatic but an invasive, insidious pressure; the closest analogue I can come up with is the novel 1984.

I have found that I don't have the mental fortitude to survive this indefinitely so I have been monitoring and compensating for my mental deterioration as it happens.

When i developed clinical depression, with some experimentation it seems that self-administered CBT and high dose antidepressants with very occasional, mild self harm as a distraction during extreme lows seems to work and appears to be sustainable, however, depression isnt the end of my mental deterioration, I have been developing a steadily increasing anxiety disorder as well as an aversion to any kind of social activity.

I can overcome my dislike of social situations and my depression and even reverse them after I get away from the source of the pressure because I have done it before, but I have no experience with anxiety disorders, I don't know how to cope and compensate for it.

Up to now I have just been ignoring the anxiety and pushing through it but it recently reached an unmanageable level. I had a sudden increase in the pressure I was under yesterday and I went to pieces physically, though I was able to maintain composure i had intense versions of the following symptoms:
- Headache
- Nausea
- Lightheadedness
- Fatigue
- Intestinal Distress
- Difficulty breathing
- Difficulty focusing my eyes
- Difficulty thinking clearly
- Crushing chest pain
- Insomnia

Today the pressure has almost completely lifted again and I am comparitively relaxed when I avoid any of the identified anxiety triggers I have developed, but my chest still hurts, however, its not the same as yesterday, that felt like someone was standing on my chest, today it feels as if the chest pain yesterday actually did damage, my chest is sensitive to movement and breathing and I'm getting occasional shooting pains from my heart.
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This cannot go on, my anxiety is almost impossible to simply push through anymore and it feels like it is causing lasting physical damage, I normally disregard my own feelings but its getting physically damaging now so I need some way to cope with or even counter anxiety but I have no idea how, and as much as I REALLY wish it were, avoiding the cause of my anxiety is not an option.

Does ANYONE have any idea how to counter anxiety?

 

[Rockclimbinggirl]

What about telling your doctor about it. Medication and/or therapy might help too.

 

[Just Lost]

I've been searching for the remedy for as long as I can remember. If you find one, please share

 

[DrownedFishOnFire]

Have you paid attention tothe triggers? What causes it to build up before you start feeling it physically?

 

[ToBeAtPeace]

Anxiety is my most obvious symptom. If you have little experience of it, and it's only starting to affect your life, there are many options open to you. It starts with talking to your doctor, being clear with how invasive it is to your life. The are several types of medication and therapy which can help.

The one type of medication I would avoid if I was you, is any kind of benzodiazapine, because of their combined addictiveness and poor ability to handle long term anxiety. They are effective to manage short term distress only - provided their use is very carefully managed.

 

[SillyOldBear]

I was just telling someone else about an audio series called Anxiety Audio Program 120 by Healthy Audio Ltd. It is a program of self hypnosis for anxiety. Might be worth a try. Regarding benzodiazapines. I have had great success with them. But like ToBeAtPeace says, they are highly addictive. You have to be very frugal when it comes to taking them. Not more than once or twice a week.

 

[ToBeAtPeace]

Regarding benzodiazapines. I have had great success with them. But like ToBeAtPeace says, they are highly addictive. You have to be very frugal when it comes to taking them. Not more than once or twice a week.

Unfortunately, I became dependant on them. I was only taking them once or twice a week, but that crept up. Now I have to take them twice a day and they don't help me any more, I just have to take them to stave off withdrawal symptoms (which include serious physical withdrawal symotoms). My anxiety is still sometimes through the roof.

SSRI's are the usual long term treatment for anxiety. They can work well unless you suffer from something like bipolar. With bipolar, SSRI's can make the illness worse. In the case of biploar, atypcial antipsychotics and mood stabilisers are used. Both of which can help with anxiety.

 

[Dante]

Im on SSRIs, they help with my depression but arent doing anything for my anxiety

 

[changed the name for good]

Hi. A friend of mine had faced a similar situation and had undergone a mental health treatment in Toronto ( helixhealthcaregroup.com/catalyst/ ), a few months back. The treatment helped her to reduce anxiety and break through the stress. They include meditation, yoga, massage, acupuncture etc. She is feeling much better after undergoing the treatment. Hope it would also help you.