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Original poster

Is it sometimes not possible to overcome anxiety without medication?

31 replies

Petals23 · 15/04/2019 19:17

I've been trying to hold off asking the gp for something to help my anxiety - racing heart, feeling tense and constantly on edge - but I'm not able to relax myself. I'm going to make an appointment as it's really starting to affect me, really had hoped not to have to go on medication. Has anyone been in similar situation and found meds helped? Thank you

OP posts:

Original poster

Petals23 · 20/04/2019 17:27

Anyone? I'm feeling down in myself for the first time also... teary, lacking in motivation, snappy... tired of my body feeling so tense. Have a GP appointment next week but unsure how to explain myself.

OP posts:

pullingmyhairout2 · 20/04/2019 17:31

Just tell the gp exactly what you have put here. They will then ask you questions. You don't have to accept medication,they may arrange cbt for you.

Chancewouldbeafinethlng · 20/04/2019 17:34

What’s putting you off medication?

I was really struggling and went on sertraline. It’s helped sooo much, so many of my anxious thoughts have calmed down so much.

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General health

hugoagogo · 20/04/2019 17:40

I suffered from anxiety in my early twenties and got through it with weekly counselling, I suppose they would call it CBT now.
In some parts of the country you can self refer on line through iapts.

BlueMerchant · 20/04/2019 17:56

I have nothing against medication. GP prescribed me Sertraline when my anxiety was at it's peak 3 years ago and urged me to take it but my anxiety over my health and irrational fear stopped me.
I got/am getting through with cbt and it has taken me 3 long years to finally feel like 'me' again and enjoy life rather than feel like I'm in a constant loop of fear and panic.
I still have bad days and often wonder if Sertraline would have speeded up my recovery and indeed wonder if it's what would put an end to my bad days altogether.

I wish I could have made myself take Sertraline when my G.P prescribed it and talked me through it but I couldn't as I had crippling health anxiety and an irrational fear of certain meds.

MockerstheFeManist · 20/04/2019 18:05

Have an online read about SSRI's and how they work. Then go to your GP to discuss it.

MythicalBiologicalFennel · 20/04/2019 18:06

Certainly true for me - however I was in a peculiar situation because my anxiety caused life-threatening physical symptoms.

At my worst it was a week's course of diazepam that allowed me to survive and get on to CBT.

Good luck.

SandunesAndRainclouds · 20/04/2019 18:11

I can’t take SSRIs so I had to overcome it without meds. I can’t have propanalol either.

For me, the key was addressing the cause of the anxiety.... the anxiety itself was just a symptom and treating that alone wasn’t going to achieve much.

Once I’d had some really good counselling I started to begin to be able to manage the anxiety myself and learn some good coping techniques. I still have days where I don’t manage quite as well as others but overall I’m loads better.

There’s an amazing TED talk by Eleanor Longden. Although she’s addressing a different mental health issue (she was diagnosed with schizophrenia at uni) the message was still the same. Until she recognised and dealt with the underlying issue, medicating away the symptoms (in her case voices) didn’t solve the problem overall.

Of course medication is useful for many people, and for some without it they wouldn’t be able to deal with the root cause without that support. But I do think that we forget to look at the whole, bigger picture sometimes.

I hope you are feeling at ease soon

junebirthdaygirl · 20/04/2019 18:17

I do find that exercise helps. Maybe because it distracts my mind but also because it causes my body to relax and the extra endorphins are an added bonus.

frogprincess84 · 20/04/2019 18:18

I'm in the same boat OP. Always been anxious, even as a child, but it's really ramped up lately due to stuff at work and I'm stuck between going off with stress or asking if the GP if there's any medication I could try. Not sure how to explain myself though and I'm worried I'll come across as a bother or a fraud - which is making me more anxious! Feel as though I'm teetering on the edge. Keep us updated how you get on, if you feel able.

Pret · 20/04/2019 18:24

Betablockers saved my life

fr33d0m · 20/04/2019 18:25

I think acknowledgement that its an issue and trying to think your way out of it can be a short term solution but in the long run i would definitely go to the GP. I have medication for it now and don’t know how I coped before... it’s a whole issue having anxiety about going to the doctors on its own! It’s a scary step but in the long run it will probably help you to just bite the bullet and go

Pret · 20/04/2019 18:30

Posted too soon.

I went to GP and said that anxiety is ruining my life but I don't want Medication. She listened to me and then we discussed the betablockers.

Honestly that conversation saved me. Three years later, I only take them very rarely, maybe once or twice a month if there's a situation I'm anxious about.

Original poster

Petals23 · 20/04/2019 18:31

Thanks everyone. My life now is relatively stress-free, but I went through a stressful time a few years ago and I think my body has just got used to being like this. That's why I think talk therapy would be of no benefit to me and I need meds for a while. I walk a lot, every day. To anyone who had similar, is it possible to go on meds for a while, and come off them eventually without anxiety returning?

OP posts:

fr33d0m · 20/04/2019 18:55

I’m not sure because I haven’t come off them but I wanted to do that and now have no intention of coming off them

ateaspoonplease · 20/04/2019 23:24

If you're worried about going onto daily medication of something like sertraline, look into beta blockers - I after discussion with my gp, take a beta blocker as and when I need one- to overcome that heart racing, panicky feeling that you spoke about. So I do not take them everyday - probably about once some weeks, 3 times others? I am doing this in conjunction with CBT, which has been honest to god incredible for me. I had to do group CBT first, and after that, one-on-one CBT and the group was great for making me feel like I had committed to myself and thus encouraging me to keep going with the gym and the yoga and the other steps I'd taken in my life, but the one on one is what has been truly life-changing. It has helped me test my boundaries, come to terms with and accept uncertainty, be able to come better in those panic-inducing situation. What I've learn from CBT alongside beta blockers is what has enabled me to go through stressful situations without popping a beta blocker each time- but for those days when you're panicky and you don't know why and can't stop it, a beta blocker has been so useful to just get rid of that heart racing, sweaty feeling, so that you can actually focus and get on with things. So pleased.
Also, one of the great things for me about beta blockers is that let's say I know I'm walking somewhere I've never been before later so I know I'm likely to feel panicky and convinced that something had might happen, I take a beta blocker and then I'm able to more rationally walk to the place because I don't have the heart pounding, sweaty, etc that is confirming to me those thoughts that 'something bad is going to happen'. But what has been amazing about beta blockers for me, is that if I'm walking to another place I've never been before a few days later, I can actually not take the beta blocker and just remember 'hey you have previous experience of walking somewhere new without your heart pounding. It's possible! Remember!' and so it can have the effect of the beta blocker without me even needing to take the beta blocker of that makes sense!
Basically it's stopping me from thinking that panicking, heart pounding in X situation is the norm- because I have actual proof that it doesn't have to be that way

lilyboleyn · 21/04/2019 07:12

I needed meds to get me to a place where I could benefit from CBT and counselling. And then yes, eventually I came off the meds and was in a better place.

Silversky70 · 21/04/2019 07:32

I was prescribed meds but was too anxious to take them. I was really ill. I had one major stressor and was able to remove that. It's taken time but I generally feel much better, certainly not ill anymore. I think my body is still quite highly strung and I'm very susceptible to stress, so still not there completely.

I have taken them for postnatal anxiety and they really did work but made me quite numb too, which thus time I didn't want as I need to give love to my family.

WiseUpJanetWeiss · 21/04/2019 07:33

I have nothing against meds, but have you considered that you may have PTSD or something similar, which could benefit from counselling and/or CBT? The meds might be a means to help you engage with the therapy.

TheoriginalLEM · 21/04/2019 07:46

I think it is possible to tackle anxiety without medication.

I cannot personally manage but my anxiety is severe and i am told i have bpd.

What has worked for me is exercise - walking isn't enough, you need something that leaves you out of breath or that gets your adrenaline pumping. However at my most anxious i cannot msnage this. Saying that, walking is still beneficial for MH.

Herbal remedies such as chamomile tea (tastes rank) and bach's rescue remedy also good.

Avoid St John's Wort.

The average time on antidepressants is about 6 months. You can't stop them quickly though which is frustrating because my anxiety is set off by triggers so i can trundle along nicely and then be floored by a life event. So a tablet that could be taken as and when needed would be great but they don't seem to exist.

A decent GP wont just offer meds anyway. Don't dismiss talking therapy. You don't need to be dealing with crap to feel anxiety. That's the beauty of the bastard illness!! Therapy such as CBT can give you strategies to cope with your feelings.

Mindfulness works for me to a certain degree.

Good luck Op

babba2014 · 21/04/2019 08:46

I think it is better to get to the root cause and tackle that then medicate. For me medicating just masks things and I don't want to rely on medication. Sometimes it just takes a bit of time for the anxiety to go away just like how the stress goes away. It's the ups and downs of life.
I also thing some level of anxiety is healthy.
This is coming from someone who gets anxiety at what may seem like silly situations but I try to keep it cool and not show people at all.

Realitea · 21/04/2019 08:55

What helped me was amitriptyline (I cant tolerate ssri’s) and mindful meditation. It was an app. Now I’m out the other side I sometimes get anxious that it might return but I know now that if it does, I have the tools to deal with it.
Also a massive realisation was that you have to accept anxiety and see it as your friend rather than fight it.

roisinagusniamh · 21/04/2019 09:02

Yoga helps .
I am on 20 mg of Citalopram and will begin to wean myself off in the summer because the cause of my anxiety has been resolved (family issues).
I don't think I'd have been able to continue to work if I had not taken the meds as I was unable to eat and becoming weak with weight loss.

ateaspoonplease · 21/04/2019 10:46

@theoriginalLEM you may have already tried it, but my GP has told me to take propranolol as and when

teddybear2020 · 21/04/2019 13:40

@Petals23
I have been on sertraline for around a year and a half now. It takes a bit of getting used to but I find it really does help me with my anxiety, however I still get low moods regularly. I find it really hard sometimes feeling so depressed but sertrailne has really helped me overall. I won't lie it is a bit of a pain remembering to take it at the same time every day because if you don't you will feel worse well that's how it is for me. I think if you are really having a tough time it will help well with anxiety. If you wanna talk about it more feel free to pm me happy to talk about my experience with meds. I am on 150mg which is knows as the relaxation dose this means that it really does calm you down. Hope that this has helped

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