To ask if anyone has had any success with treatment for Anxiety

[judybloomno5]

That isn't meds or counselling?

I am considering cold water swimming which i have read may help and also Camomile tea. In 1 week after Ive moved house, I can take my LOs without the prospect of being mowed over by speeding cars so I can try exercise.

Ive had an awful, awful year and I'm fed up!

I'm sorry you've had a bad year. I really feel for you.

Camomile tea is a pleasant enough drink if you like it, and some people find it soothing in the same way that some people find a mug of warm milk or a bowl of chicken soup soothing, but it isn't a 'treatment' for anxiety.

In terms of swimming or other exercise, I think a lot of people find those things are good for relieving stress and clearing your head a bit, and I'm sure you'd see positive benefits from them; it's good self-care and something to focus on, which is always good. But again, although they definitely fall into the category of things that are generally beneficial, I wouldn't really say they were 'treatments' for anxiety if you're talking about the sort of anxiety that is an actual mental illness that isn't necessarily caused by a situation, rather than the general stresses of life or a reaction to a tough time you've been having. Don't get me wrong - both those things are rotten to have to go through and I'm not saying one is more serious than the other, it's just that I think they're quite different.

I found cognitive behavioural therapy helpful for anxiety, which I don't really think of as 'counselling' as such; it wasn't the 'So, tell me about your relationship with your parents' type of thing at all. It was very practical (they gave me homework) and I did find it very useful. It didn't help me with depression, which I also tend to suffer from, but it absolutely did help me with anxiety and I still use some of the techniques the therapist taught me. I did do it in conjunction with medication though. Without medication I wouldn't actually have been able to get it together to go through the course of CBT, really.

Whatever solution you find, you do have my sympathies and I really hope you start to feel better soon.

I tried... for years! No meds or counselling didn't work.
Believe me I tried!
I got a prescription for beta blockers. I take them as and when needed... on average 4 days out of 7.
Inner peace is the answer but can be so hard to achieve. On the days I can't nail that I take a beta blocker. It saves my sanity. Priceless

I was at my worst when pg with dd.
I was wracked with a sense of impending doom 24/7.
Then one day I just shouted 'do your worst' and I waited.
Nothing happened, in my head I took the power back.
I've had bad days since but never more than I could cope with.
I don't fear it anymore, we co habit In a weird harmony.

I hope this doesn't sound too wishy washy. I'm very genuine & hope this helps .

I can't without medication.

I'm having anxiety attacks ATM, the way I now see it is that if I was diabetic type then I wouldn't try and go without insulin. I need medication to keep me sane.

Meds did help at one point, but so have a number of other things. In my case the meds saw me through the worst of it but the other things have have helped more in the long term.

• I went to a one-off group workshop on reducing stress and anxiety. It was actually really good and offered sensible advice. Plus good to hear what worked for other people.

• Daily exercise. I didn't notice how much it helped until I started doing 30 mins a day during the week. I often used to have trouble sleeping at night / feeling overly anxious in the evenings. I see a huge difference now if I don't exercise regularly. I don't even go to the gym, I just use workout videos on YouTube and work out in my living room first thing every morning.

• Yoga. Not for the yoga itself, but mainly for the breathing techniques. It helps me to refocus when things are getting too much.

A friend of mine also told me taking a class in Mindfulness really helped. Haven't tried it yet but keen to.

Thank you. I have generalised anxiety disorder anyway, but managed to keep it under wraps on sertraline.

This year I've suddenly lost my dad (due to potentially an undiagnosed heart condition that could be made worse by sertraline hence why I've stopped taking it- they couldn't find a cause for his death so it is speculation but I don't want to be on meds anyway), done probate, narrowly missed redundancy, lost my great uncle, had a baby, had various family spats with a family member taking advantage of my recently widowed mother and now I'm moving house....with a 6 week old and a 22 month old.

I've been prescribed beta blockers but they aren't having too much of an impact

Violetbunny can you recommend any YouTube vids please?

Judybloom, try Jillian Michaels 30 day shred as a starting place. Have a search for the threads on her too. You don't need any equipment, I started out using bottles of water, then eventually bought some light hand weights (which are inexpensive).

Thank you- I will give it a go!!

I second daily exercise

Sorry to hear about your dad x

Did attend CBT but it depends I think upon your own personality as to how useful it may be to you. For example, when I get a phone call with difficult news I am completely unable to allot my worry about it to a timeslot at 6.30 pm. It was more worrying to have to delay the worry if you see what I mean! That said, everyone is different.

I gave up going when the worker asked if I had any friends I could talk to, I was aware I seemed to be talking at her. This made me feel embarrassed and demoralised and I did not return. I think I was in the wrong therapy.

It is used a lot in this area as it is a cheap, short term "fix". If it works for some people, then that is great, just not for me.

I walk my dogs and try to get out and about. It does not make my situation better but it is better than sitting on the sofa dwelling.

I have found meditation very helpful in the passed. It helped me to manage the constant thoughts and over analysis that comes with my anxiety. If you can find a local group near you it is nice to so something with other people that doesn't involve needing to actually talk to them (social anxiety here!).

I know you said no counselling, but in the end it has been CBT that made the most difference its not a magic bullet but it has helped me so much. It took me a few goes before I went private and found a site that meant I could do it online. I got to choose someone I would be comfortable with and did it all sitting in my bed through an instant messenger, so I was in my space and didn't have to speak to the counsellor. It gave me much more control and worked much better.

Sorry to hear what you've gone through. Meds didn't work for me personally, I felt like I was living in a bubble, it numbed me.

I find I have to be disciplined; I used to wallow in feeling awful but 12 years ago I said, enough! I have to challenge the negative voice in my head, and make myself put positive things into action:

For me, exercise (I walk or run depending on how I'm feeling) in nature is amazing. Especially if I go with my hubby or a girlfriend and we talk the whole way.

Also I find yoga makes a huge difference, I sleep so well after yoga. I've heard about cold water swimming and can imagine it's hugely beneficial.

Also can you get your vitamins and minerals checked? Magnesium is amazing for anxiety.

I take vitamin D and Magnesium as Magnesium EAP from Biocare (you can buy it on Amazon) - 3 tablets at bedtime with just a tiny bit of carbohydrate to aid absorption.

I tend to shut myself away when I'm anxious but being social with friends is actually much better for me, as long as I'm still getting enough sleep etc.

Hope that helps... xxx

I found hypnotherapy helpful.

I second hypnotherapy. It was expensive but it was a game changer. 2 friends also found the same.

Only meds helped me tbh.

Did attend CBT but it depends I think upon your own personality as to how useful it may be to you. For example, when I get a phone call with difficult news I am completely unable to allot my worry about it to a timeslot at 6.30 pm. It was more worrying to have to delay the worry if you see what I mean! That said, everyone is different.

@ElsieMc - Agreed - and as well as everyone being different, I think there are lots of different types of CBT and different techniques as well. I had CBT and allotting specific time to worry about things was not something the therapist advised/suggested to me at all; in fact she specifically said that she didn't think that was the right approach for my particular problems. I think therapists vary so much in how they tackle things and I do think it was pure luck in my case that the NHS therapist I was sent to happened to be a fairly good match for me.