Tips for managing intense anxiety

[Orchidflower1]

Just that really feeling edgy, anxious- will be on my own until dc get bk from school (11&9) then on my own until dh gets in from pub tonight.

[KeemaNaanAndCurryOn]

Hi Orchid, how are you doing now? I know when I get anxious it can help to break the day down into smaller chunks. I plan to do something for 0 mins, like read or draw or watch TV or play endless games with the kids. For so,e reason if I'm only looking at a small piece of time it's less overwhelming than worrying about the big chunk of time I need to fill.

Anxiety is an absolute bitch.

[AnxietySertraline]

Can you ask your dh to come home earlier?

[Orchidflower1]

Thanks keema that's a good idea- I'll try that.
anxietysert I don't want to Ask dh to come back now as its his bday Tom and he has gone out with dbil after long week at work.
Trying to be brave and calm

[KeemaNaanAndCurryOn]

Just re-read and I meant 30 mins not 0 mins. Doh.

[KindDogsTail]

This is a simple, well-known yoga breathing exercise to reduce anxiety and bring about a feeling of calm.

[Orchidflower1]

Lol- I hadn't noticed keema - it has helped saying right 10 min of this etc hate the feeling of anxiety

[Orchidflower1]

Thanks for breathing exercise- not familiar with it - will try

[erinaceus]

This animated GIF helps me. There are a few other, similar ones around.

I also discovered - to my surprise - that colouring in a colouring book using colouring pencils is almost guaranteed to quell anxiety. Another unexpected anxiety quasher I discovered was web sudoko.

I think everyone has their own tips for managing intense anxiety so I would not be surprised if what works for me does not work for you.

I hope your DH is home soon!

[KindDogsTail]

That is nice erinaceous - very effective. Also if you count your breaths as you do it, it is like Mindfulness which is very calming too Orchid.

[erinaceus]

I know. I find the fact that I find it so useful most odd, because mindfulness meditation leaves me with racing thoughts that are the opposite of calming. According to the person who led the few sessions of mindfulness that I did, the experience of racing thoughts is normal when one first starts mindfulness meditation. However, I do not feel ready nor able to tolerate the racing thoughts at the moment. I find breathing in time with an animated gif a much more effective way to stave off an impending panic attack. . I have the link saved to my phone for on-the-go anxiety reduction.

[pinocchiosnose]

Is there any way you can exercise when they're out ? I'm at the start of an 8 week Wat to find out medical tests results and I've started running every day just to try and help my anxiety. It has really really helped and I'm someone who hasn't exercised properly in years . Good luck op anxiety is rubbish .

[navygravy]

That gif is great erindaus so simple and effective.

[Orchidflower1]

Thanks for the support at the moment it just feels like constant anxiety- hate it

[Wolfiefan]

That sounds awful OP. Are you having any treatment?

[Orchidflower1]

I'm seeing a councillor privately cos. the nhs waiting is a mile long. Tried several diff meds without success- couldn't tolerate side effects. Doc prescribed duloxetine last week but scared to take it as leaflet says can increase anxiety. When I tried Prozac that's exactly what happened. Feeling tense and like I'm not 100% here but I don't know if that's the Diazapam - was taking 4 hourly but I've upped to 3hourly as I can't cope. Starting a cbt book but struggle to concentrate on words.

[Wolfiefan]

I couldn't read when I had anxiety and depression.
You need to keep trying the meds. They should help you get on an even keel and face the therapy.
Not 100% here. I know that feeling all too well.
Is Counsellor CBT it talking therapy?

[Orchidflower1]

I know I should try with the new ad but I'm scared if anxiety gets worse I'll melt into s puddle- deal like I'm hNging on to some sort of life as it is

[Wolfiefan]

I was petrified to start ads. Could they prescribe something to help with side effects?
And is it CBT? Tried mindfulness?

[KindDogsTail]

I wonder if by any chance this article by pubmed about Magnesium, an easily obtainable supplement, might interest you Orchid?
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16542786
Case histories are presented showing rapid recovery (less than 7 days) from major depression using 125-300 mg of magnesium (as glycinate and taurinate) with each meal and at bedtime. Magnesium was found usually effective for treatment of depression in general use. Related and accompanying mental illnesses in these case histories including traumatic brain injury, headache, suicidal ideation, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, postpartum depression, cocaine, alcohol and tobacco abuse, hypersensitivity to calcium, short-term memory loss and IQ loss were also benefited

[KindDogsTail]

I forgot to say, magnesium is natural and does not cause side effects and I do find that it helps me personally a great deal with anxiety.

[OhWhatAPalaver]

I was just about to start a similar thread, I have health related anxiety and struggle to keep calm on my own at home. It's totally irrational and hasn't been helped by my recent readmission to hospital following the birth dd2 (i managed to contract a super bug post c-section!) The recovery process is proving extremely difficult and now I keep thinking every new pain or sensation is an infection and I get panic attacks if I convince myself there's something wrong with me.
I had cbt for anxiety over a year ago, which helped a bit but this has set me back to square one.
I'm definitely going to try the magnesium thing, I'm not a fan of meds, I wouldn't even take codine after my section as I hate the feeling of not being 'with it'. Anxiety makes me feel not really there as well so I imagine taking meds would only increase that feeling.
Anyway, that's me! You're not alone in feeling like this. Its something I really want to get over as it's starting to affect my relationship with dp so I'll be trying everything mentioned on this thread :)

[KindDogsTail]

OhWhat
You mentioned you have recently had a baby and a bad infection.
Perhaps both these have made things worse and then there may be stress and exhaustion.

There was a recently very interesting thread with some useful advice and reassurance about intrusive anxious thoughts after a birth: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/2663609-Intrusive-thoughts-Normal-or-not?

In my opinion infections can leave one anxious and shaky anyway. Also, anti-biotics seem to cause me to feel anxious too - though I don't know if this is generally true for most people - and it is difficult to tell the infection factor apart from that factor.

Another consideration is that with anti-biotics, the micro=flora in the gut get killed off. As new research suggests the micro-flora in the gut affect the mind beneficially this may have affected you.
Here is a quote from the Conclusion of this article:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4367209/
Strong evidence suggests that gut microbiota has an important role in bidirectional interactions between the gut and the nervous system. It interacts with CNS by regulating brain chemistry and influencing neuro-endocrine systems associated with stress response, anxiety and memory function

So replacing these may help with live yogurt and I have been trying Boots pre and pro biotic supplements after a course of anti-biotics .
www.madeformums.com/reviews/pregnancy-products/pregnancy-supplements/boots-digestive-health-probiotic-and-prebiotic/346.html

Other supplements that may help are B vitamins (or look up the foods with these), Vitamin D3 (if you do not live where there is much sun). But of course make sure these would be OK for your circumstances. You may find omega 3 oils are helpful, either in seeds and nuts and oils for food or you can get it as a supplement.

[Cocoabutton]

I found Setraline good for anxiety, much better than Prozac. I also do meditation but have been practicing for a while.

You can get CBT apps from i-store, so if you have an i-phone, what about that? It does not require much reading, you simply write your thought and it prompts you through the steps. The point is it stops your thoughts racing. Google Play may have some.

I agree re vitamin and mineral supplements. These have helped me too.

[MyPelvicFloorTrainsItself]

I'm on beta blockers for anxiety and they really help, have you tried those? Anxiety is awful.

[CheeseCakeSunflowers]

A CBT counsellor recomended this book
www.amazon.co.uk/Overcoming-Worry-Generalised-Anxiety-Disorder-ebook/dp/B0097AY5UA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468173055&sr=8-1&keywords=overcoming%20worry%20meares%20freeston&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21
to me and a relaxation CD, I found they helped.