Unable to physically relax

[Bourbona]

I have been struggling with anxiety and PTSD for some time and recently gone through a very stressful time which has made things worse and triggered my PTSD as well. I'm having a lot of physical symptoms of anxiety such as muscle tension, muscle twitches, shaky/adrenaline feeling, insomnia etc.

I have just started seeing a counsellor/psychotherapist but it's early days. I already take beta blockers but can't take any other anxiety medication for health reasons.

I have tried going for walks, guided meditation, hypnotherapy, distraction such as painting/crafting/gardening, deep breathing etc. and nothing seems to help any more although it has done in the past. Whenever I lie down now to e.g. listen to a meditation or hypnotherapy recording I start to feel even more wired and twitchy.

Does anyone else get like this and is there anything else I can try?

I’m sorry to hear this. I have suffered the same in the past. I also tried everything - but the only thing that really cracked it for me is anti anxiety medication. I wasted a lot of time and money as I didn’t want to go down the medication route but then peace it has brought me is wonderful. I also exercise every day and try to keep to good sleep patterns.

Mine really kicked off early/mid 40s; looking back, I am sure some of it was also hormonal due to the peri menopause, so you could also investigate HRT if you are “of that age”. I’ve suffered anxiety on and off all my life though, so it wasn’t solely hormones,

Good luck 🤞

Thanks, mine could also be affected by hormones as I'm 43 and also just come off the pill and not yet had a period (although only been 6 weeks). I can't take HRT due to previous cancer diagnosis.

yoga?

the thing about yoga relaxation is it happens at the end of a period of activity - your body is primed to go into deep physical relaxation, and gradually you can - hopefully - come to link that to mental relaxation too. the breathing sections (and/or chanting if your group does it) are also really helpful. i saw a mental health physio once, and pretty much all the advice she gave me linked to something done in yoga :)

You could try progressive muscle relaxation - this is a good guide;

Yes I love yoga but am recovering from surgery so can't so it at the moment.

I've tried progressive muscle relaxing but thanks for the link I will try it again. This is the kind of thing that usually works for me but I feel so full of stress and adrenaline at the moment that even this feels stressful and then when it doesn't work I get more stressed and annoyed with myself!

Hi, I am sorry you're finding it hard to relax. For me getting out of breath helps, sometimes all the relaxation techniques made it worse, a good dance or aerobic exercise helped more. Maybe not possible if you are recovering, or are you able to move like that?

Hi op, I’m in a very similar situation to you, diagnosed with complex PTSD & suffering from all the symptoms of it. Therapy is very intense for me right now & all my other methods to calm myself have been failing, mindfulness meditation etc normally I’m OK doing these but lately struggling but I did read that it can be difficult to do if you have PTSD. I have been doing the 5,4,3,2,1 technique which has helped insighttimer.com/blog/54321-grounding-technique/

Also this can be helpful
Looking into somatic exercises/ meditations might be helpful as well

Stress/squeezy balls, play doh, I find helpful to release tension/trauma/emotions, your favourite fragrances to smell, things like that might help

Also try not to get annoyed with yourself as it won’t help, I know it’s easier said than done as I also struggle with a harsh inner critic but we need to try to be kind to ourselves

How we feel physically in our bodies come from what we're thinking.

Compare how your body feels when you think something like "I'm so glad she remembered my birthday" to "The banks sent me a threatening letter". In the first example my shoulders feel relaxed and I can't help but smile. In the second, I feel sick in my stomach and tension in my chest.

So the next time you get twitchy when you're trying to relax, pause and really inspect what you're thinking at that exact moment. Because whatever's going on in your head will translate into a physical sensation.

Alternatively think of something that makes you feel relaxed (eg it might be imagining you're on a sun lounger or that you're sitting in the garden) and bring that feeling to the moment.

I can’t relax, I wish I could, would love too but I definitely have something wrong with my wiring! The only time I ever can actually relax is if I’ve hugely burned myself out during the day!

Have you tried practicing yoga?

What about singing? It sounds really weird, but you can halt a panic attack sometimes with singing, so would it also work to relax you?

I can't do yoga due to recent surgery.

I will try singing, thanks!