Calm or headway app - any thoughts?

[SimSam]

Hi all
I'm a 50 yr old with a combination of peri menopause and stress/anxiety symptoms....
I have a child with mental health problems that has meant the lady 18 months have been horrendous.

I'm suffering with hot flushes, sweats, heart palpitations, inability to focus, over emotional reactions, tearfulness, quick to get angry and lots more.....I'm taking some hrt but it's not getting rid of all symptoms.

I am looking after my diet, walking everyday, trying to sleep well. But my anxiety is getting crazy. I cant think about stuff without my body temp rising so quickly, I feel like I'm on fire, actual sweat running down my legs ...it's hard not to be tearful.

I am considering trying a meditation app
Any thoughts on the app Calm or headspace ??

I appreciate feedback on the apps I don't know where to start...

How long have you been on HRT and have you increased the dose yet?

Until the hot flushes have stopped you aren't on enough HRT and the anxiety will more than likely be better then too.

Hi SimSam
am so sorry you are having a difficult time - sounds horrendous!
I used Headspace to help me manage insomnia and stress- love the app.
very practical, step by step foundation course, very non judgmental- no background music- so once you are in the swing of things you are in the position to step back anywhere
specially love the SOS 3 minute breaks …
good luck
can you get a GP referral for CBT as well?
🍀

Forgot, I haven't used Calm but have used Headspace and really liked it.

I've had headspace for about 3 years. I love it, the way it's set out and presented.
I tried a free trial of calm but preferred headspace. X

I'm off to go next week - your messages made me think about getting medication upped.

I think I might try head space app in the meantime

Thanks for your support

There is an app called Insight Timer which has hundreds of free meditations on it, well worth a look too.

I love Calm but mostly use it for the sleep stories. When I wake in the middle of the night and my mind is whirring I find it helps me fall back asleep quickly. I particularly like the stories narrated by Erik Braa. I haven't really used the meditations often so can't comment on those

I use Calm. I've tried both of them and preferred Calm by about a million percent. Headspace was (when I had it) mainly men talking without music and all traditional meditations whereas Calm uses music, has a broad range of speakers and does lots of different series and types of meditations. But the thing that really sets Calm apart is the sleep stories. I honestly don't think I could do without them now. I often struggle to get to sleep or fall back asleep and Calm is the only thing that helps with that.

If you’re going to buy Headspace, try a free trial first. I read good reviews & signed up for a year and really really don’t like it. Have tried to use it on and off but don’t like it at all. I had Calm previously and although I didn’t re subscribe, I much preferred it to Headspace.
one tip I would also give is I think they do offers around Black Friday, so the subscription is cheaper then.

I use calm every night. But only for the sleep stories. Like @awkwardturtle, it stops my mind thinking about everything and anything. I have to concentrate to listen so I'm distracted from my own thoughts. I wake up multiple times most nights so I put it on each time.

I’ve had horrific anxiety this year. Completely debilitating. I tried three different SSRI, Valium, zopiclone. Complete mess! They kept increasing my patches too but nothing was working.
Turned out my HRT patches weren’t working, I wasn’t absorbing it. I’ve now swapped to a spray, with a low dose of sertraline, and can see such an improvement.
Maybe checked bloods to see what the levels are doing?
x