If you’ve ever suffered with stress/anxiety what helped or helps you?

[Starfishswimmer]

Going through a hard time right now
mainly due to my house being upside down and a mess due to an extension being done

found this far far more stressful then I thought I would

but I’ve got to the point where I’m struggling to sleep
can get off ok
bit I wake about 3 and can’t get back to sleep
ive also had a couple of nights where I’ve not slept at all
which I didn’t know was even possible

move been really struggling to eat
havjng to force food down
I lost weight

and there’s been a few time about 3 times where I’ve thrown up in the am
which. I think is from the stress of not sleeping, or eatting well
but it’s just been bile

also my body’s been aching all over
guess that could just be tension in my body and I was wondering would a massage help ?

Or to anyone out there that’s struggled in this way what did you do to help yourself

Sending you a hug OP. Hope you feel better soon.

Talk to your GP. Things that helped me through depression and anxiety were:

1. therapy. I had 1:1 sessions with a councellor
2. cbt
3. time away for myself. I slept at my mums a few nights and took a sleeping tablet. Helped immensely to get some good sleep in the bank
4. exercise
5. better you magnesium sleep spray
6. reading before bed or listening to an audio book from the sleepy bookshelf.
7. medication. I started sertraline after trying all the above and felt immensely better within 2 weeks.

The biggest thing though was to talk about it with my GP who was fantastic and got me sorted with councelling first.

yoga. taking a blanket out to the park and just sit there or lie down. massage is also a good thing. eat together with people. make enough time for eating. walks. re-asses what stress can be taken out of your life. go for a swim or any other physical activity that you enjoy. I also second magnesium.

Do you think it’s sounds like I’ve got anxiety ? Depression ? Or having some sort of breakdown ?

i have done a lot things already to try n help
like no alcohol or caffeine
hertong myself ready for bed like washed and teeth brushed early
so when it’s bedtime all I have to do is slip into bed
I also try lavender spray etc
so I have tried alot of things already

yes, lack of sleep can make your body ache. anxiety can make you body ache. get some sleeping pill, prescribed if the over the counter stuff doesnt help. you obviously need to be carefull with prescription drugs but they will help you to get some sleep which in turn will make you more stress resistant. sometime anti-anxiety drugs can work better that sleeping pills.

I had CBT last year on the NHS which really helped. You can self refer so you don't need to contact your GP. Other things:

I listen to funny radio shows or podcasts to keep the mood light if I wake up anxious in the night. Also means I can keep the light off so I don't fully wake up.

No caffeine or alcohol

Getting out of the house for walks, seeing friends etc. If I spend too long in the house I get anxious

Exercise really helps my mood plus makes me feel less tired.

Setting small, practical goals like a little DIY or gardening task so I feel motivated and have the success of completing something useful.

Meditation doesn't work for me because I also have health anxiety so I don't like to focus on my body too much but I know it helps a lot of people.

Don't be afraid to seek professional help if you need it though x

Also been having a Bath in the evening but not too hot or anything
qns drinking a glass of milk in the Evening too

.

you can be "just" worn out by all the stress and lack of sleep which is a vicious circle.
do you have someone in real life to talk to? that could also help.

You may benefit from psychotherapy which will help you find the ground again.

I definitely recommend having one room as a ‘haven’. No matter what it gets tidied every single morning and kept as close to perfect as possible. I’m going through some house reno right now and the anxiety is piling up. I remembered I haven’t been keeping up with my haven which really helps me.

you can try passion flower to help with stress/anxiety and melatonin for sleep.

I also wake around 3am and struggle to get back to sleep because my brain kicks in and I start stressing.

It sounds weird but I have a 'comfort thought' which helps me - say for example going on the holiday of a lifetime, I start planning it in my head, thinking about where I would go, what I would do. As soon as I can't get back to sleep I start thinking about the holiday - I start from scratch each time and over time it has gone from planning the whole two weeks to becoming literally the thought 'where will I go' before I fall back to sleep. The repetitive thought stops me thinking about anything else and it's almost like I have trained my brain to recognise that as a signal for sleep

The problem with sertraline is that it will take a couple of weeks to have an effect - in the meantime side effects like insomnia and nausea are very common snd these are exactly what the OP is battling.

Short term things like a massage, walks in nature, cold water swimming, dancing, exercise, sex etc can give your brain and body some respite from the anxiety. I second the suggestion of melatonin, I had a bout of anxiety a month ago with a couple of zero-sleep nights and melatonin made a huge difference.

Good luck

Exercise longer and harder. Also open up to loved ones about the stresses. Tell your friends. A problem shared is a problem halved.

I think body aches are common-ish with anxiety as you are tense all the time. I had this awfully when I was ill with it - all round my shoulders and jaw. Try not to get in your head about it, it's all normal stuff and will resolve when you're feeling better.

Meditation. Look up Mark Williams on YouTube. Totally free and by far the best guided meditation out there. Try the body scan. It’s amazing.

Audiobooks. Stephen Fry reading Sherlock Holmes takes me away from 2022 and all my worries. Some authors, especially P G Wodehouse, Evelyn Waugh, Dickens, Tolkien, etc, are perfect for audiobook.

Deep breathing. (Works much better than you’d expect.)

Watching old films.

Not watching TV.

Not listening to the news.

Not drinking caffeine.

Long walks.

Yeah luckily I do have people I can talk to in real life, family members and a few select friends
probably a few friends I can’t really talk to deeply but they help in other ways like distraction etc

is melatonin just like a vitamin as well
maybe I could try that and magnesium and see how I go

thanks so much for all the tips I really hope it helps tonight
I’ve also got. A book ready to read too if need be

whay do you think to the idea if you’ve been in bed awake for over an hour to get up and go to another room ?

Defo speak to your go, op.
Sertraline changed my life.
Agree re no caffeine or alcohol.
I cut down on white carbs and gluten - just made me feel much better physically, and I run a bit and walk my dog - fresh air is such a tonic.
If sleeping is an issue - and I went through a phase of insomnia too - I stayed in bed and focused on breathing and relaxing, mindfulness, etc - to not get stressed about it. Over time, it got better - probably in combination with everything else I was doing.
good luck op.

Well managed to sleep till 4.20am
tried all the tricks to try and get back to sleep but none worked
I did feel sleepier after going downstairs to read after I’d been trying to get back to sleep for an hour
but by the time I came back upstairs the sleepiness seemed to have woken off
so I’ve basically been awake since 4.20am

Your anxiety sounds very 'situational'. So when your house is sorted, you'll probably find that you begin to return to normal.
I've struggled my whole adult life with anxiety, but I currently feel the best I've felt in years after:

• having talking therapy
• changing job after nearly a decade in a highly competitive (dog eat dog) environment
• being moderate with alcohol and caffeine
• taking a magnesium supplement daily
• getting regular exercise

I've never taken medication as I've always wanted to tackle the root cause. Absolutely no shame in taking something if it helps though.

If I find myself awake worrying about things, I tell myself “rather than do this now, I promise to think about it tomorrow.” Sometimes that helps to quieten the part of my brain that is busy. To avoid the whole “if I get to sleep in the next 30 minutes, at least I can get an hours sleep before I get up” cycle, I tell myself that it is useful to rest my body even if I can’t rest my mind - sometimes that helps to calm the anxiety enough to actually sleep! Occasionally I will take a Nitol for a couple of nights and that can help to break the pattern of not sleeping

Medication- 20mg Citalopram. Would never be without it now.

Could I just ask how old you are (just trying to rule out menopause-related anxiety and sleeplessness). Also, I too have the occasional episode like this, and I also went to Holland and Barrett just like you the last time, and now I do take 5-HTP. I think it very slightly takes the edge off the awful wired feeling. I've been taking it for 2 years now. 🙂

It sounds to me like insomnia. And what ever the cause (in this case the renovation) the insomnia is making is removing your ability to cope with it.

You need something to help you sleep. can try nytol the over the counter ones but they didn't work for me. About 10-12 years ago A GP prescribed me some (weeks worth) of sleeping tablets after a bout of insomnia related to a break up and later a period of Jet Lag that never went away. It was zopiclone.

Amytriplyline is an antidepressant used for pain at lower doses and that also helps you sleep. I take that now for my back. If you happen to have any any where, much more widely prescribed than zopiclone.

Hope you find some Peace.

Body aches from muscle tension. I’d do what you can to ride it out and see how it is after the stressor goes (house extension).

I suffer long term anxiety from cptsd and i would personally never take medication for it. It’s ok for your body to react to real stress, anxiety can be normal when there is a stressor. My stress is over mostly so my anxiety is no longer necessary. I have therapy and do yoga and meditation to manage.