Anxiety 😬 Would love to know how other people manage their anxiety.

[Samuraivest]

After a couple of stressful years (illness, bereavement & associated crap) I seem to feel anxious much of the time and the everyday stresses and strains I used to take in my stride feel almost overwhelming. Obviously life is full of ups and downs - that’s not going to change - but it would be great not to go in to panic mode every time a stressful situation comes along.

Anyone want to share what they do to relieve anxious feelings?

https://www.mindful.org/meditation/mindfulness-getting-started/

Check this out. I used to do mindfulness meditation daily and it helped me a lot. I got out of the habit when I became a parent. However , I do still take a few minutes here and there to be fully in the present. Like watching the way the sun glints off the leaves of a pretty tree.

I seriously am going to make time for it more though. Because I feel overwhelmed by life’s stressors at the moment.

I think I mentioned it further down - you are absolutely right on how helpful it is.

Setraline . As a pp said , I didn't realise that I had been anxious at some level all the time .
Setraline seems to have stopped the constant ruminating and fight or flight feelings .

@MontyCCU You absolutely did mention it in pp, in a pretty good list. Sorry I somehow missed it😌

A few recs as sertraline didnt work for me, it made me feel worse:

1. Paul McKenna's new book on anxiety- get the audible if you can, its amazing, loads of practical NLP exercises you can do the moment you start to feel panicky and it really explains why it happens and how to stop it
2. Supplements- GABA, L theanine, Rhodolia
3. Exercise- something that really gets your heart rate up
4. Absolutely NO alcohol (this has been proven to increase stress chemicals in the brain) and reduce caffeine
5. Dale Carnegie's book "how to stop worrying and start living" is also bloody brilliant- talks about how to stop catastrophising
6. HRT also helps if its that
7. You can get loads of free relaxation and meditations on apps like Calm, Insight timer and headspace
8. Look into mindfulness - loads of resources online

Can I just come on to say that McKenna's hypnotic trance meditation was the turning point for me? It's in his anxiety book but there is also a free one on YouTube. With the CBT and that anxiety book I turned the corner.

The Dr had mentioned hypnosis (but said I'd have to pay). I was so dismissive of it but alongside everything else it worked for me!

Sertraline

I agree and I think this is why CBT never worked for me. CBT is about changing your conscious thoughts, which definitely can work for some. But, the problem is- anxiety is often an unconscious reflex fight or flight response that originates from your subconscious- we arent even aware of it triggering until its upon us and it feels like drowning. Its the same response that tells your brain in a flash to move out of the road when a car is coming. Your brain doesnt consciously think "there is a car coming, what action should I take?" because that would take too long and by the time you think about what to do you'd be hit by the car. Thats why I think hypnosis can be so effective- it works on your subconscious mind and calming down those automatic responses that in conscious thought we simply dont have access to.

Thanks everyone, really appreciate the responses and lots of useful suggestions to investigate. I wouldn’t wish anxiety on anyone, but it is comforting to know other people experience the same and have found ways of dealing with it.

@MontyCCU absolutely agree with your comments about anxiety narrowing your focus. I keep telling myself that I will take time to do things I enjoy, take regular exercise, improve my diet etc after I just get through this current panic / stressful event. Of course there is always something to worry about so I never seem to quite get there.

@ImustLearn2Cook I would love to be able to meditate and incorporate that in to a healthier lifestyle. I’ve tried a couple of meditation apps but haven’t been very successful so far as my mind starts racing as soon as I try to concentrate on a meditation. I will keep trying.

Samuraivest anxiety is quite common and creeps up on you. You've had a lot in your plate.

I've had to start swimming too and walking - postmenopausal me absolutely needs to exercise. It just brings the tension right down.

It really is a case of put your O2 mask on first then deal with everything else.

OP I've been noticing my anxiety more for very similar reasons as you've stated.

I think I've always had low level anxiety that I thought was just normal and so hadn't ever really considered medication for, but a couple of horrendous years had really brought it to the fore.

For me there's a specific anxiety that was following a really bad work situation which is gradually improving but I think the general anxiety has been brought to the fore much more as a result of the past few years.

I've found CBD oil helps a lot and I also find cold showers help (I would really like to save up for an ice bath) for me, as well as yoga, exercise and meditation.

This for me too. A huge part of my anxiety I think centres around work after a particularly bad time (albeit I think it all came to the fore due just a generally horrendous couple of years during Covid) and the problem was I was so stressed about work and workload etc that I had completely stopped taking time for myself and self care, most notably exercise.

I used to take maximum dosgae of sertaline but it was starting to make me feel strange so I came off them gradually and started to look at different alternative methods.

I now regularly meditate, do breathing exercises, yoga, have read a ton of self love books vex king books are brilliant. I also use crsytals and regularly cleanse with sage and palo Santo. I have also done some theta healing and a course around thought forms.

I can honestly say I have never felt better, and 10x better than sertaline made me feel am not saying I will never need them again but I feel I have new coping methods now.

CBT was great for me. 50mg of Sertraline was also amazing in helping reduce the physical reactions to anxiety that I had (tight throat, tight chest, feeling like I can’t breathe etc).

Good luck, anxiety is awful