Anyone suffer from anxiety/depression/panic disorders?

[apologetic]

yup, it sucks man. Sorry to hear you're going through that.

I"m currently on Paxil (30mg) and take Ativan occassionally to calm down. Ativan is very addictive, but Paxil isn't. Sometimes it's just as easy to calm down if you get some alcohol but that could be bad also.:beer:

Therapy really helps me out. I had some pretty traumatic stuff happen when I was a kid, so we talk about that, and it has REALLY helped.

Learning how to control your breathing is something you can do just on your own. One way that helps is to do "breathing squares," which are just controlled breathing methods that help your body to calm down. Inhale for 5 seconds (whatever is comfortable), hold it 5 seconds, exhale 5 seconds, hold it 5 seconds. Do that for a while, and it helps also.

Again, sorry to hear that, but you're not the only one to have to deal with it!

 

[Locut0s]

Originally posted by: apologetic
yup, it sucks man. Sorry to hear you're going through that.

I"m currently on Paxil (30mg) and take Ativan occassionally to calm down. Ativan is very addictive, but Paxil isn't. Sometimes it's just as easy to calm down if you get some alcohol but that could be bad also.:beer:

Therapy really helps me out. I had some pretty traumatic stuff happen when I was a kid, so we talk about that, and it has REALLY helped.

Learning how to control your breathing is something you can do just on your own. One way that helps is to do "breathing squares," which are just controlled breathing methods that help your body to calm down. Inhale for 5 seconds (whatever is comfortable), hold it 5 seconds, exhale 5 seconds, hold it 5 seconds. Do that for a while, and it helps also.

Again, sorry to hear that, but you're not the only one to have to deal with it!

Thanks for the reply

Yes I've tried controlled breathing and to a limited extent is has helped. Like I said above I'm going to run to ground the possibility it's not something else, cardiac or respiratory related to make sure. However the two times I've taken adivan in the past few days seems to have helped, which adds to the likelihood it is anxiety/panic.

 

[skim milk]

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[Locut0s]

Originally posted by: fritolays
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Thanks for the link.

 

[GTaudiophile]

I didn't read the entire OP, but yes, I do from time to time. Sudden increase in heart rate, pulse, blood pressure, sweating, light-headedness. When it happens to me, it's a manifestation of a series of stresses going on in life: work deadlines, relationship issues, physical health worries, bills to pay, etc. All those stresses sort of roll themselves into one ball and the result isn't good.

In the short term, you learn to breathe deeply and make sure to build relaxation into your daily schedule. You learn that all that stuff is small in the big picture. In the long term, as those stresses are eliminated one-by-one, the panic attacks tend to go away...of course only to resurface sometime in the future.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally posted by: Locut0s

Originally posted by: jobuRAVE
I would try reducing or even stopping your consumption of sodas and carbonated beverages. I have found that the single best thing I ever did to reduce my anxiety and stress level was to reduce my intake of caffeine. At most, I have one caffeine in a 24 hour period.

If you are anything like me, inputing a stimulant to a system that is already wired or has anxiety about some things is a very bad thing.

Schrodinger is right though. Eating healthy and sleeping not 8 hours a day, but at a regular time every night does help. Also, working out helps to stimulate your secretion of endorphins...

I drink a certain amount of diet caffeine free sodas, which don't count. Otherwise I don't eat a lot of sweets and hate the taste of coffee. There is too much sodium in my diet though.

Since your drinking diet soda's, you might find this interesting about an ingredient thats in most diet soda and sugarless gum.
It's called Aspertame. It's pretty bad stuff. If you do some research, you'll find Spenda bad news as well.
Here's a link with some symptoms linked with Aspertame consumption.
http://www.mercola.com/fcgi/pf/article/aspartame/symptoms.htm

 

[LeetViet]

/raises his hand

OCD.

 

[Platypus]

Yes, but there's no way I'm posting about it here.

 

[Nomada]

Best thing to do is grab a bicycle, mp3 player, 6-pack and a joint and go ride around for about 10 hours. It has a funny way of putting aspects of existence back into focus. Works for me anyway.

 

[edi sucks]

i've been having issues with anxiety lately, i've only been averaging about 3-4 hours of sleep a night because i keep waking up @ 3am or so thinking about work...

hopefully i'll land another job soon so i can quit this hell-hole and return to my normal self...

*EDIT* oh and what sucked the most is yesterday was my birthday, i tried to enjoy it but all i could do was worry about work...

 

[chrisms]

I'll admit I didn't read the whole post so I apoligze if my advice makes no sense.

You need to find out what your priorities are. Failing school is the stupidest thing you can do, it will only make you more depressed because with your crappy GPA what kind of major is going to take you? I was in a similar situation and started failing school.. it just made me feel like a loser. 3 years from now if you keep this up, all you're going to do is be an empty shell of a man working at Mcdonalds wondering what the hell happened.

 

[yhelothar]

I don't have any depression/anxiety/panic disorders, but I have a mild case of ADD.
But generally, I'm interested in learning, so I don't zone out. Although there are a few classes that just doesn't captures my attention, and I just completely zone out.
I could never get myself to do homework until the very last minute. I can't stand doing routine math problems over and over, but I've been pretty good at math, so I was still able to manage a C usually.
I think joining the band and picking up a musical instrument helps me focus on the details, that I tend to oversee a lot.

 

[bandana163]

Nope.

 

[QuitBanningMe]

Panic attacks suck. I didn't have my first one until about two years ago. They don't suck as bad as wondering when the next one is going to happen though and being hypersensetive to every little thing going on with your body which of course can cause another attack.

 

[LeetViet]

Having a bad day myself but I've found this nice discussion forum for anyone suffering from OCD:
http://www.stuckinadoorway.co.uk/default.asp

 

[Willoughbyva]

I have had panic attacks in the past. i haven't had them in a few years. Good luck to you on your recovery.

 

[imported_hscorpio]

I agree with what everyone has said about diet/exercise, but I wonder if you have a girlfriend/sex life? It's amazing how some good female companionship can improve depression in young males, at least it did for me.

 

[aircooled]

be careful with the pills. if you have an addictive personality they are hard to kick. me and xanax have a long history (and easy to order online when the doc doesn't prescribe).....