Anxiety problems ruining everything :(

coinxoperated

Thank you to you all for providing such helpful responses! I'm a bit overwhelmed!

I've been and brought some rescue remedy today and have just taken some to see if it has any difficult side effects (I drive long distances for work, so can't risk it making me drowsy!). So far so good, I already feel a little calmer, so ill see how it goes for a few days.

I do meditate and have done for the last 6 years, but lately it just isn't helping.

I'm very short on cash, so hypnotherapy just didn't within my budget at all.

I don't think any of you will realise actually how much you have helped me just by replying, and I don't feel so alone anymore.

Thank you all xxx very much xxx

poorly_scammo

I think you need to get to the bottom of why you're so anxious OP and try to address it. Rescue Remedy will help in the short term (I use it myself) but I think you need to go back to your GP and explain the problem in detail. If he/she won't help other than to offer medication then find another doctor either at the same practice or another and keep pushing until you get help.

This problem is affecting your health. Pumping yourself full of pills isn't the answer.

coinxoperated

I sort of know what the problem is! I've had very vicious and bullying bosses for such a very long time, often constantly being threatened I will be sacked if I don't hit a certain target / expectation. I've recently been promoted and changed bosses. New boss is fab, but old boss has made my life a living nightmare. His replacement starts a week on Monday, so he's more likely to back off a bit.

I would actually consider myself quite a strong person in other areas of my life, but the pressure of my work life has left me with some significant anxiety and nervous issues.

My GP is useless to be honest! This is the 3rd GP I've had an I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere. I also can't afford to be on serious medication due to the side effects meaning I would struggle to actually do the work I need to.

whitewing

coinxoperated wrote: »

I don't think any of you will realise actually how much you have helped me just by replying, and I don't feel so alone anymore.

I think many of us do realise because we have been helped here so much too. I think that is why a lot of us post on the forums.

belfastgirl23

Rescue remedy do sweets too - the blackcurrant ones are nice. Easier to take in meetings etc if needs be. The gum is disgusting tho IMHO

Winter_Jasmine

Oh sweetheart - reading your original post made my tummy do a yucky little flip of recognition! I'm ok at the moment but have been through horrible periods of anxiety, on and off, since I was a kid. It was really bad when I was a teenager but the vast majority of the time I'm now extremely happy and calm. My last really bad period was about three years ago and was mostly work related - not a boss but a really insidious colleague who dressed up their bullying to look like friendship (this really messed my head up).

It sounds like you've been through a lot of upheaval, both personally and in work. This is similar to the situation I was in. I had a counselling session through work - the counsellor explained that sometimes your brain sees times like this, where you lose the familiar, like a bereavement and you need time to recover and heal. Once I started thinking of it lke that, I started being a bit less hard on myself about the way I was feeling

I've only recently discovered Rescue Remedy - I'm having to take a load of work-based exams so started using it to calm my nerves and I think it works a treat. I've also started taking it to slow my brain down at bed-time - no matter how calm I am, my brain still rushes at night, so I agree that I think we anxious peeps are a specific 'type' of person.

The best thing I've ever done to help myself was to talk to people I trust. I'm not generally someone who shows my emotions when I'm sad, I find it really difficult to share anything but happy feelings with people. However, through forcing myself to speak to people who love me, I now honestly believe that a problem shared is a problem halved. Even if it's only people on the internet at first - you really do find out that people care about you and that there are loads of us who feel the same. In the case of my work-based 'issue', by speaking to colleagues I was close friends with, I found out that I wasn't the only victim - this helped because we banded together to look after each other. We never made a complaint, but we turned it into something we could laugh at, so the bully lost his power.

Another thing I've found helpful is making sure you make time to do what you love - be that dancing, walking in the countryside, sudoku or shopping. Anything that reminds you that there are happy, lovely things in the world.

Fire_Fox

I know you said no prescribed medication but ... there are low dose beta blockers which are most often given to students with exam stress. They are not addictive nor habit forming at all, can be taken as and when or regularly, few side effects because the dose is tiny, non drowsy. They are absolutely amazing.

Secondly as I've evangelised about many times before - targeted diet and exercise. Be sure you are getting enough minerals especially magnesium, and essential fatty acids especially long chain omega-3s in your daily diet. Avoid sugar, caffeine and white/ refined carbs like the plague. Eat little and often, always combine carbs with protein or fat. Physical activity - at least 10,000 steps every day PLUS something intense and uncomfortable/ painful three to five times a week if you don't have any other health problems. Be aware exercise increases your need for all nutrients and can cause you to sweat out certain minerals so you really should combine this with a nutrient dense diet.

IBS: long chain omega-3s which are anti inflammatory, freeze dried probiotics to repopulate the gut flora, magnesium which is a natural muscle relaxant. In your diet by preference, only supplement if a medical professional agrees.

clairibel

I have anxiety and have lots of the same symptoms if I don't do self help. I've had medication for it but hate taking pills so have to work at it myself.

I try to do yoga every day or as much as I can and this really helps. This is not easy yoga but Bikram yoga. Really does work you out but relaxes you. I cope so much better with everything when I keep it up.
Its free and you can do it at home. http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&v=dVEbOQFW-AM

I lay off caffeine as this is dreadful for my anxiety and a cup of coffee can send me over the edge.

Take a good multivitamin as stress depletes vitamins/minerals and eat as healthy as I can but I'm not saintly.

Paul Mckenna's Hypno CD's are really good and I find I have fallen asleep before they have finished, but I have misplaced mine and need to find it again. Plus lots of easy tips you can do to calm yourself anywhere. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Control-Stress-Stop-Worrying-Feel/dp/0593056299/ref=pd_sim_b_3

I also use EFT which again is free and can be learned online very quickly, loads of videos on youtube. Works a treat for me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlIrvu78NO0&feature=related

beachbeth

I think from your post that you're still young and not at menopausal age? You can get like this as you head towards menopause because of the drop in oestrogen.

However, I would ask your doctor to refer you for councelling but its absolute rubbish that anything he prescribes will make you dozy. Perhaps if he gave you tranquillisers, then yes. Modern antidepressants are very good for stress and anxiety and they aren't addictive at all and they don't make you dozy. Ive been taking them for quite a few years and I can still function and drive etc. Im not in a fog with a permanent grin on my face, I just feel normal and ok. So don't dismiss antidepressants out of hand. They could just help you along for a while.

Good luck - I hope you can get past this.

Racheldevon

I understand your reluctance to take medication. Doing something to address the root cause - and it sounds as if you have some awareness of the factors contributing to your situation - will have a longer term imapct on giving you the tools to address the issues. Many cities have low cost counselling services that you pay anything from £5-10 per session for, and they are not usually time limited, unlike much of the NHS provision.

You could also look online fore a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction programme, based ont he work of Jon Kabat Zinn, Teasdale, Williams etc - all key people in MBCT. It's recommended by the NICE guidelines, and is an 8 week programme with a strong evidence base. Quite a few places now offer it at local universities in association with the NHS so it's free, but you can also find courses that you pay a small amount for.

Also, the audio CDs by Jon Kabat Zinn are excellant in my view, but having some understanding on mindfulness, and the chance to explore things that may come up with the tutors can be really beneficial.

I also find acupuncture hugely beneficial for controlling my own anxiety. If you go down this route, choose someone who is registered with the British Acupuncture Council - and personally I have found the traditional style of acupuncture more beneficial than western trigger point types.

As others have said, exercise and diet are also key