Sleep disorders & anxiety issues

[z1ggy]

Those of you who suffer from any sleep disorders, do you also suffer from anxiety (or perhaps vice versa)?

I have been suffering from low energy and fatigue for quite some time now. I'll go to work for between 8-10 hours a day, do a 30 min work out and by the time I get home, I am totally wiped. I only do desk work, so it's nothing manual or stressful on the body. Additionally, on weekends I could go for a walk or hike for a few hours, then after be completely beat, needing a nap or something.

I got all my hormone levels checked.. Everything looks normal. The Dr. said the next step would be a sleep study, or even go (back) on anti anxiety meds. I have taken these in the past, but I have mixed feelings with them. I feel as if I do suffer from anxiety in the classic sense that I will obsess over small things and the stress and obsession kind of creates a circular affect where it then spirals out of control, and it effects my happiness.

I've been told sleeplessness can be caused by anxiety, or anxiety may cause sleeplessness. I tend to have anxiety ridden dreams as well, and 1-2 times a year I will have horrific nightmares where I can't quite distinguish reality from dream any longer.

I'm considering going to get the sleep study and maybe even the anxiety meds. I've set up an appointment with my old therapist to talk about it first. Sleep study is not cheap and I am not a fan of medicating myself either.

 

[UglyCasanova]

I have both to a degree and it hasn't been fully addressed yet. My doc prescribed hydroxyzine hcl for anxiety and it doesn't really seem to be helping. I don't have pervasive anxiety all of the time, but do have panic attacks every so often that the hydroxyzine hcl doesn't seem to touch at all.

For sleep I haven't seen a doc but take 50 to 100 mg of diphenhydramine hcl to help me go to sleep. I'm not well rested and I wake up groggy and I'm not sure of the long term consequences for taking it what amounts to almost every night, but it beats staying up until 4am.

 

[z1ggy]

I have both to a degree and it hasn't been fully addressed yet. My doc prescribed hydroxyzine hcl for anxiety and it doesn't really seem to be helping. I don't have pervasive anxiety all of the time, but do have panic attacks every so often that the hydroxyzine hcl doesn't seem to touch at all.

For sleep I haven't seen a doc but take 50 to 100 mg of diphenhydramine hcl to help me go to sleep. I'm not well rested and I wake up groggy and I'm not sure of the long term consequences for taking it what amounts to almost every night, but it beats staying up until 4am.

Sorry to hear.

My anxiety comes generally when I get stressed. Seems natural but to me it's not normal anxiety really. It kind of perpetuates the other issues that when I'm feeling good, are minor at best.

The part that sucks the most is I end up creating false situations in my mind (due to obsessing) that create stress based on events that aren't even likely occurring.

I was given Prozac in the past to deal with these small occurances as I felt like I didn't need/want to be on a permanent drug. Thing is with that though, I almost become intoxicated and there's no way I could go lift weights or play sports while on it.

 

[Scarpozzi]

UglyCasanova: hydroxyzine hcl is a very low-end anxiety medication. It's basically an antihistimine if I remember correcly used for anxiety medication. That means, it's just a mild drug that's very cost affective.

z1ggy: Sorry to hear you're having issues. Do the sleep study because you could definitely have a problem reaching deep enough sleep to really recharge your batteries. I think everyone has sleep apnea these days. (that's sort of sarcastic because I know 10 people that were diagnosed in the past 2 years)

Consider that hitting the gym for 30 minutes is alright, but maybe you should look at your workout routine and do something totally different. Try going to be earlier and waking up to work out in the morning. Change your diet to raw foods for a bit and see if that helps. Take 1200mg of fish oil a day and a good multivitamin from a health food store or GNC/Vitamin Shoppe.... You can also find multivitamins with probiotics mixed in....

Studies have shown that happiness resulting from seretonin starts in your gut. Probiotics may be one of the best things you can do for yourself and I'm not talking about eating yogurt. The dairy aspect of yogurt can actually be counter-productive...despite it being cooked.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Sorry to hear.

My anxiety comes generally when I get stressed. Seems natural but to me it's not normal anxiety really. It kind of perpetuates the other issues that when I'm feeling good, are minor at best.

The part that sucks the most is I end up creating false situations in my mind (due to obsessing) that create stress based on events that aren't even likely occurring.

I was given Prozac in the past to deal with these small occurances as I felt like I didn't need/want to be on a permanent drug. Thing is with that though, I almost become intoxicated and there's no way I could go lift weights or play sports while on it.

Then you need to work out more often and to get some hobbies.

Working out gives you an opportunity to sort things out while you're doing a physical activity. Hobbies give you something ELSE to obsess over. Just don't start collecting cats.

 

[UglyCasanova]

The part that sucks the most is I end up creating false situations in my mind (due to obsessing) that create stress based on events that aren't even likely occurring.

This I do get. Once the snowball of the panic attack gets rolling downhill, everything becomes a worse case scenario and even though my mind is the one coming up with the situations they become reality to me even if there is nothing to base it on. And from there it's full of suck until I can get it under control.

 

[Imp]

Do you like your job? Or is there some other life situation bugging you?

I do jack shit at my job yet I am stressed the hell out. It's because the commute sucks, I have to wake up early (I'm a night person), and it feels dead end. I have to pry myself out of bed every morning. This situation has kicked my general anxiety level into overdrive. I pray for the weekend every second I'm at work.

The only thing I'm holding out for now is a mass layoff with a sweet severance package. Hopefully, it's coming soon.

 

[Mixolydian]

I've had life-long anxiety, and lately I've been having really bad issues with sleeping. Nothing out of the ordinary, just tossing and turning all night long. I take melatonin before I go to sleep but it doesn't help with staying asleep through the night. A link between anxiety and sleep issues makes sense, at least to me. But I'm not a doctor.

 

[William Gaatjes]

If you have trouble sleeping and anxiety issues and the idea that your brain is running in circles, you could ask your therapist for olanzapine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olanzapine#Other

 

[Kaido]

Yes, the root cause for me was food allergies. I don't have external reactions like rashes or lips swelling up; I get anxiety & sleeping problems, among other things (such as panic attacks). To illustrate, the adverse food reaction squeezes your body's adrenaline pump & gives you a consistent feeling of anxiety, like you've made a terrible mistake or a deer is going to jump in front of your car or whatever. Your body is not designed to feel that way. It's typically caused either by hidden food allergies, an underlying illness (ex. my friend was diagnosed with MS), or by substance abuse. There are other causes, but for the majority of people I've talked to, it's been undiagnosed food allergies.

The anxiety was caused by a gluten allergy; I've been gluten-free for 3 years now and have not been plagued with anxiety since that time. It comes right back if I eat anything with gluten in it. Dairy caused my panic attacks (different type of reaction - not constant like a anxiety, but more like a one-off rollercoaster ride where my heart would race etc.). If I anything with gluten, even "hidden" gluten (it's in everything), I start getting that anxious feeling again. It's not something you can control; you just have to deal with it because it's basically a chemical reaction going on in your body.

If you do pursue the food allergy course, definitely get allergy tested, but also realize our tools aren't very good right now. For example, the gluten sensitivity test only works 50% of the time (it only works 100% of the time if you're a full-blown Celiac), so you really have to go on TED (total elimination diet) where you basically eat really bland, unprocessed foods for a couple weeks to get your body clean & see how you feel. I'll warn you that it is not easy to do...

Definitely sounds like you may have a food allergy: anxiety, crazy dreams (night terrors), sleeping problems, etc. One easy way to test it out is to do a fast for a day (i.e. don't eat or drink for 24 hours or so). See how you feel the next day. Technically gluten takes 2 or 3 weeks to really clear out of your body, but I've felt better in as little as 3 days. That was one of the first things that tipped me off...I would feel better when I skipped meals, like if I was super busy at work & missed breakfast & lunch, I felt a lot better when I got home.

 

[z1ggy]

Then you need to work out more often and to get some hobbies.

Working out gives you an opportunity to sort things out while you're doing a physical activity. Hobbies give you something ELSE to obsess over. Just don't start collecting cats.

Well, I haven't been in the gym regularly over the past 3 weeks. I took 2 weeks off because I hurt my shoulder, and the last week I have had a bunch of hockey games so I don't lift those days.

Otherwise I do the gym 5x a week and have hockey games on Sundays.

If you have trouble sleeping and anxiety issues and the idea that your brain is running in circles, you could ask your therapist for olanzapine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olanzapine#Other

Wiki says it's used to treat bipolar and schizo's.

Yes, the root cause for me was food allergies. I don't have external reactions like rashes or lips swelling up; I get anxiety & sleeping problems, among other things (such as panic attacks). To illustrate, the adverse food reaction squeezes your body's adrenaline pump & gives you a consistent feeling of anxiety, like you've made a terrible mistake or a deer is going to jump in front of your car or whatever. Your body is not designed to feel that way. It's typically caused either by hidden food allergies, an underlying illness (ex. my friend was diagnosed with MS), or by substance abuse. There are other causes, but for the majority of people I've talked to, it's been undiagnosed food allergies.

The anxiety was caused by a gluten allergy; I've been gluten-free for 3 years now and have not been plagued with anxiety since that time. It comes right back if I eat anything with gluten in it. Dairy caused my panic attacks (different type of reaction - not constant like a anxiety, but more like a one-off rollercoaster ride where my heart would race etc.). If I anything with gluten, even "hidden" gluten (it's in everything), I start getting that anxious feeling again. It's not something you can control; you just have to deal with it because it's basically a chemical reaction going on in your body.

If you do pursue the food allergy course, definitely get allergy tested, but also realize our tools aren't very good right now. For example, the gluten sensitivity test only works 50% of the time (it only works 100% of the time if you're a full-blown Celiac), so you really have to go on TED (total elimination diet) where you basically eat really bland, unprocessed foods for a couple weeks to get your body clean & see how you feel. I'll warn you that it is not easy to do...

Definitely sounds like you may have a food allergy: anxiety, crazy dreams (night terrors), sleeping problems, etc. One easy way to test it out is to do a fast for a day (i.e. don't eat or drink for 24 hours or so). See how you feel the next day. Technically gluten takes 2 or 3 weeks to really clear out of your body, but I've felt better in as little as 3 days. That was one of the first things that tipped me off...I would feel better when I skipped meals, like if I was super busy at work & missed breakfast & lunch, I felt a lot better when I got home.

Interesting...I'd have to talk to my Dr. about this one, but generally speaking I've been eating the same items for the last 4 years. I don't even eat many processed foods either. Here's what my diet today will be:

16oz skim milk
2 scoops BSN Syntha-6 protein powder
8oz chicken
4oz steak
1/4cup pasta cause (typical store jar)
1/4 almonds
1 cup greek yogurt

So yeah some processed foods in there, but it's hard to eat 100% non processed when you work in an office. I can't cook fresh food for every meal, I need some stuff like yogurt or other little snacks.

 

[justoh]

try some herb

 

[Kaido]

Well, I haven't been in the gym regularly over the past 3 weeks. I took 2 weeks off because I hurt my shoulder, and the last week I have had a bunch of hockey games so I don't lift those days.

Otherwise I do the gym 5x a week and have hockey games on Sundays.


Wiki says it's used to treat bipolar and schizo's.



Interesting...I'd have to talk to my Dr. about this one, but generally speaking I've been eating the same items for the last 4 years. I don't even eat many processed foods either. Here's what my diet today will be:

16oz skim milk
2 scoops BSN Syntha-6 protein powder
8oz chicken
4oz steak
1/4cup pasta cause (typical store jar)
1/4 almonds
1 cup greek yogurt

So yeah some processed foods in there, but it's hard to eat 100% non processed when you work in an office. I can't cook fresh food for every meal, I need some stuff like yogurt or other little snacks.

Not necessarily processed so much as a core allergen. For me, dairy = panic attacks & asthma, gluten = fatigue & anxiety. Pretty good gluten reaction list here:

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-7482/10-signs-youre-gluten-intolerant.html

For example, if you have a dairy intolerance, you've got milk (dairy), whey protein powder (dairy), and greek yogurt (dairy). May or may not be a food allergy. Worth checking out if you have the symptoms tho. Again, easiest way is to go the DIY route - try out TED or just skip eating for a day (drink water if you're thirsty, but nothing else).

 

[z1ggy]

try some herb

I could lose my job in the off chance I get randomly drug tested. And, I hate having the munchies. But I enjoy being high. Oh well..It's not an option at this point.

 

[z1ggy]

Not necessarily processed so much as a core allergen. For me, dairy = panic attacks & asthma, gluten = fatigue & anxiety. Pretty good gluten reaction list here:

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-7482/10-signs-youre-gluten-intolerant.html

For example, if you have a dairy intolerance, you've got milk (dairy), whey protein powder (dairy), and greek yogurt (dairy). May or may not be a food allergy. Worth checking out if you have the symptoms tho. Again, easiest way is to go the DIY route - try out TED or just skip eating for a day (drink water if you're thirsty, but nothing else).

Instead of not eating, I will just try not dairy in there. I'll have oatmeal with peanut butter and eggs in the AM, and extra almonds and chicken to satisfy the protein that goes missing with out the protein shakes and yogurt. I'll do it for 2-3 days to see how I feel. Best I also do that next week when I can get back to my regular 5x a week lifting schedule.

Also, is gluten in my protein shakes? I don't know much about it but I have a few symptoms of being gluten sensitive. I assume if I only eat meat and nuts while taking a multi vit. that should cut all the gluten correct?

 

[moonbogg]

Sorry to hear.

My anxiety comes generally when I get stressed. Seems natural but to me it's not normal anxiety really. It kind of perpetuates the other issues that when I'm feeling good, are minor at best.

The part that sucks the most is I end up creating false situations in my mind (due to obsessing) that create stress based on events that aren't even likely occurring.

I was given Prozac in the past to deal with these small occurances as I felt like I didn't need/want to be on a permanent drug. Thing is with that though, I almost become intoxicated and there's no way I could go lift weights or play sports while on it.

I do that as well. I suffered bad social and general anxiety when I was 17 years old, and it has improved greatly, but not completely. I used to take meds for it but the solution is temporary.
Sometimes at night, I will feel just fine until my head hits the pillow, then, when it is quiet, I can feel my thoughts start to race and the anxiety sets in. I start panicking about hypothetical situations etc and can't fall asleep.
Things that help me:

If I can't fall asleep within 30 minutes or so, I get up and do something else for a little while. Have a snack or something usually helps. I avoid lights and computers at this time of course.
Acceptance is key for me. Why should I expect my mind and body to function exactly how I want it to function? I have anxiety sometimes and it is uncomfortable. Trying to fight it and make it so it isn't so, only makes it worse. Its like trying to calm the water with your hand by swiping it flat across the surface. Does that work?
My mind and body does what it does and I don't have to expect it to be ideal or perfect all the time.
I avoid medications.
A big one that helps is if you can't sleep, write your thoughts on paper. Get the thoughts out of your head and onto paper. By seeing them and reading them, it will take some power away from them and you can visually see how unlikely those scenarios are.

 

[manimal]

Ive had anxiety for a long time and tried various things but the most effective has been plain on xanax. If I get a panic attack the Xanax nips it in the bud and makes me sleepy after my energy load has been expended. Two birds with one stone. If I take half when I start to get anxious about something that seems to help as well.

I also have a prescription for good old beta blockers as well. I take about 10-20 pills total a month at the most in a bad month. I don't like daily meds since I don't feel bad every day.

 

[z1ggy]

Ive had anxiety for a long time and tried various things but the most effective has been plain on xanax. If I get a panic attack the Xanax nips it in the bud and makes me sleepy after my energy load has been expended. Two birds with one stone. If I take half when I start to get anxious about something that seems to help as well.

I also have a prescription for good old beta blockers as well. I take about 10-20 pills total a month at the most in a bad month. I don't like daily meds since I don't feel bad every day.

That's the thing. I don't feel bad every day. Or even every week or every month. In the last.. 16-18 months, I've only felt this crappy 2 other times. And they ended up working themselves out with the help of a therapist.

I suspect the same will take place this time as well, but I don't like the thought of living my life anxiety attack to anxiety attack.

 

[moonbogg]

That's the thing. I don't feel bad every day. Or even every week or every month. In the last.. 16-18 months, I've only felt this crappy 2 other times. And they ended up working themselves out with the help of a therapist.

I suspect the same will take place this time as well, but I don't like the thought of living my life anxiety attack to anxiety attack.

There are many things that are out of my control that I don't like. My anxiety, to a certain degree, is one of those things. I don't obsess over trying to change my IQ, or the color of my teeth, or my height, or my ability to hold a rhythm and write music (which I can't do) so why should I obsess over my anxiety as if I have the power to remove it?
I can reduce it and try to manage it, or reduce things in my life that may cause it, but by and large its a part of who and what I am, physiologically and otherwise.

 

[alzan]

Those of you who suffer from any sleep disorders, do you also suffer from anxiety (or perhaps vice versa)?

I have been suffering from low energy and fatigue for quite some time now. I'll go to work for between 8-10 hours a day, do a 30 min work out and by the time I get home, I am totally wiped. I only do desk work, so it's nothing manual or stressful on the body. Additionally, on weekends I could go for a walk or hike for a few hours, then after be completely beat, needing a nap or something.

I got all my hormone levels checked.. Everything looks normal. The Dr. said the next step would be a sleep study, or even go (back) on anti anxiety meds. I have taken these in the past, but I have mixed feelings with them. I feel as if I do suffer from anxiety in the classic sense that I will obsess over small things and the stress and obsession kind of creates a circular affect where it then spirals out of control, and it effects my happiness.

I've been told sleeplessness can be caused by anxiety, or anxiety may cause sleeplessness. I tend to have anxiety ridden dreams as well, and 1-2 times a year I will have horrific nightmares where I can't quite distinguish reality from dream any longer.

I'm considering going to get the sleep study and maybe even the anxiety meds. I've set up an appointment with my old therapist to talk about it first. Sleep study is not cheap and I am not a fan of medicating myself either.

Up until 5 years ago I was much the same; anxiety and restless/bad sleep; as well as side effects of those (headaches, nausea, low energy.) Because of other symptoms I was having I had a sleep study done. Discovered I have mild sleep apnea (stop breathing ~10 times per hour) and narcolepsy (as well as cataplexy, associated symptom of narcolepsy). Doctor put me on CPAP for the apnea and Trazadone (non-addictive) for one of the symptoms of narcolepsy (restless sleep syndrome), and an anti-depressant for the cataplexy.

Using the CPAP and Trazadone not only improved my sleep and anxiety, I experience headaches only rarely and nausea/gastritis only when I eat spicy food. I actually feel rested most mornings and don't start feeling tired until late in the evening. Any anxiety I feel now is related to current situations and is temporary.

 

[Kaido]

Instead of not eating, I will just try not dairy in there. I'll have oatmeal with peanut butter and eggs in the AM, and extra almonds and chicken to satisfy the protein that goes missing with out the protein shakes and yogurt. I'll do it for 2-3 days to see how I feel. Best I also do that next week when I can get back to my regular 5x a week lifting schedule.

Also, is gluten in my protein shakes? I don't know much about it but I have a few symptoms of being gluten sensitive. I assume if I only eat meat and nuts while taking a multi vit. that should cut all the gluten correct?

Depends on the protein shake. Gluten is a binder in a lot of stuff & isn't necessarily listed straight-up. Like, it's in most deli meat, mustards, etc. It's kind of like food glue. I was pretty much tired all the time, always cold, and had that constant low-level anxiety following me around. I lived with it for like 20 years before figuring out it was food-related.

In a perfect world, you would not have those symptoms. Because you have those symptoms, something is wrong. I don't believe that people just "have anxiety" because I've never met anyone who has anxiety who either didn't have some kind of food reaction, had an underlying health issue (tumor, cancer, MS, whatever), or had previously abused drugs to the point where they were a bit unhinged. Or something like PTSD from the war or whatever - some kind of cause that made the effect happen. I mean, just speaking from my own personal experience...under normal circumstances, people do not just "have" anxiety all the time, there's a reason things aren't working right, they just haven't figured out what is causing it.

Today, I sleep great. I can fall asleep within 15 minutes. I can stay asleep. I don't wake up groggy. I don't have night terrors - my wife told me I would grind my teeth in my sleep, and also wake up, yell, and go back to sleep (which I never remembered). I don't have restless leg syndrome anymore. All caused by food reactions. Go figure

 

[Kaido]

Up until 5 years ago I was much the same; anxiety and restless/bad sleep; as well as side effects of those (headaches, nausea, low energy.) Because of other symptoms I was having I had a sleep study done. Discovered I have mild sleep apnea (stop breathing ~10 times per hour) and narcolepsy (as well as cataplexy, associated symptom of narcolepsy). Doctor put me on CPAP for the apnea and Trazadone (non-addictive) for one of the symptoms of narcolepsy (restless sleep syndrome), and an anti-depressant for the cataplexy.

Using the CPAP and Trazadone not only improved my sleep and anxiety, I experience headaches only rarely and nausea/gastritis only when I eat spicy food. I actually feel rested most mornings and don't start feeling tired until late in the evening. Any anxiety I feel now is related to current situations and is temporary.

Yup, it's amazing what getting diagnosed will do for you! Food allergies, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, some kind of disease, etc. Lots of ways to make you feel weird, haha. They pretty much all have the same results - you feel weird, you sleep funny, etc.

 

[z1ggy]

Up until 5 years ago I was much the same; anxiety and restless/bad sleep; as well as side effects of those (headaches, nausea, low energy.) Because of other symptoms I was having I had a sleep study done. Discovered I have mild sleep apnea (stop breathing ~10 times per hour) and narcolepsy (as well as cataplexy, associated symptom of narcolepsy). Doctor put me on CPAP for the apnea and Trazadone (non-addictive) for one of the symptoms of narcolepsy (restless sleep syndrome), and an anti-depressant for the cataplexy.

Using the CPAP and Trazadone not only improved my sleep and anxiety, I experience headaches only rarely and nausea/gastritis only when I eat spicy food. I actually feel rested most mornings and don't start feeling tired until late in the evening. Any anxiety I feel now is related to current situations and is temporary.

Interesting. I think I have a very minor narcolepsy. I'll be texting my gf while laying in bed, and BAM I wake up at it's like 3 hours later. I feel really bad that I do this but I can't help it. Not sure if that's even considered narcolepsy, but I always thought it was the ailment of falling asleep extremely quickly with out warning.

I'll probably get the sleep study done. Going to cost me around $300.. but I guess I don't have much choice. It it'll help my quality of life.. it's $300 well spent..

 

[z1ggy]

Depends on the protein shake. Gluten is a binder in a lot of stuff & isn't necessarily listed straight-up. Like, it's in most deli meat, mustards, etc. It's kind of like food glue. I was pretty much tired all the time, always cold, and had that constant low-level anxiety following me around. I lived with it for like 20 years before figuring out it was food-related.

In a perfect world, you would not have those symptoms. Because you have those symptoms, something is wrong. I don't believe that people just "have anxiety" because I've never met anyone who has anxiety who either didn't have some kind of food reaction, had an underlying health issue (tumor, cancer, MS, whatever), or had previously abused drugs to the point where they were a bit unhinged. Or something like PTSD from the war or whatever - some kind of cause that made the effect happen. I mean, just speaking from my own personal experience...under normal circumstances, people do not just "have" anxiety all the time, there's a reason things aren't working right, they just haven't figured out what is causing it.

Today, I sleep great. I can fall asleep within 15 minutes. I can stay asleep. I don't wake up groggy. I don't have night terrors - my wife told me I would grind my teeth in my sleep, and also wake up, yell, and go back to sleep (which I never remembered). I don't have restless leg syndrome anymore. All caused by food reactions. Go figure

I'll check the label when I get home. I just found out my almonds have wheat by product on them possibly, too. Shit, what the hell can I eat then besides water, meats and veggies? I'm going to be lacking in many key nutrients, esp vitamin A and C.

 

[T9D]

Make sure you are not taking any kind of caffeine ever. I'm assuming you cut that out already. No coffee or soda or chocolate. Your body being stressed from being addicted to that stuff is not good obviously. When I got off that stuff it's amazing how mellow and chill and clear thinking you are. You become a much more centered and clear thinking person. I think all of society would be much better off not on that junk.

Also stay off the sugars. Especially white breads too. White breads turn to sugar to fast in your body. It causes your body way to much stress. Your adrenal glands go crazy from sugars and caffeine. Causing massive stress to you and your body. It also dehydrates your body. Alcohol also. Anything that dehydrates your body is bad for stress. Dehydration throws your body into stress mode. To much salt obviously. Drink lots of water with lemon in it (to keep your body ph high, a low acidic ph will cause major problems for your body and sleep). When you drink something only drink that.

After doing all that you need to have a place where it's totally silent. Or where you can just listen to wind in the trees and water. Nature has an amazing affect to naturally relieve stress. Find a room or make a silent room if you can.

And for the love of god stay off those meds. They will just put you on a roller coaster ride.

I promise you you'll feel like a new person after doing these things.