cures to anxiety?

[Icey101]

any anxiety sufferers had any success with different techniques or tricks to over come or minimalise their anxiety?

[shackled]

Face your fears cautiously, but you have to do it.
Lorazepam helps.

[Absentia]

Few things I do
1. exercise especially cardio
2. get you mind on something different if you're like me you tend to focus on things and give yourself panic attacks.
3. St John's Wart take 1-2 pills 3 times daily starts to work in about a week.
4. Don't idle do something anything even if you don't feel like it.
5. I t never works but keep telling yourself it's all in your head.

[cassanova]

I was diagnosed with anxiety & depression. Rather than usually take the meds they prescribed me, I'll meditate. I prefer to do this over take the meds they give me because meditating doesn't leave me feeling like I'm part of the walking dead like meds sometimes do. Exercising also helps.

[ugly_bassplayer]

Exercise saved my life, for real.

[Muaguana]

I'm still working on getting my anxiety under control (probably should start exercising more) but when I have intense anxiety attacks I find that deep breathing helps. Take one prolonged breath in while counting to 5 or 10, and exhale slowly while counting as well. Concentrating on timing your breaths will help get your focus off whatever obsessive thoughts or feelings are causing the anxiety, so you can rationalize them away.

As far as meds go, I've recently been prescribed Luvox Cr for social anxiety. Still too early to tell if it's helping, but if I notice any improvement in a few weeks I'll post an update.

[arbitrary]

sometimes it actually helps to let yourself be anxious & to not fight it. One of the best ways to not have a panic attack is to let yourself have one. Anxiety increases exponentially when you try to fight it or make it go away. The same goes with thoughts, just let yourself have them; let them come and go like a gentle breeze (or ride the wave).

[Bongolation]

Exercise works, especially if it's productive and accomplishes something.

Anxiety and depression are products of physical idleness.

St. John's Wort (hypericum) is a placebo of zero therapeutic value, though it makes some people (like me) quite ill with stomach irritation.

Most doctors are happy to give you (ineffective and unsafe) anti-depressant drugs, but will generally not give you anti-anxiety drugs which, though unsafe, at least work for some people.

[ugly_bassplayer]

I found that a good intense cardio workout is the best thing to fight anxiety.
Better than any pill.

[kesslari]

A couple of different categories of things that help.

1. Meditation and body/breath awareness. Big real-time help.
2. Regular exercise.
3. Basic sound nutrition. Also, have yourself checked for blood sugar issues. Many people who suffer from anxiety have some degree of hypoglycemia. Moderating carbo/sugar swings will get you really, really far.
4. Look up "Theanine and GABA" online and learn about them. 2 amino acids that, in a particular dosage protocol, do a tremendous job preventing anxiety. I have a psychiatrist friend who now recommends them over anti-anxiety meds 90% of the time.

[RosieB]

Exercise helps long term. And to get out of a panic attack? Well, uh, lamaze breathing works for me. But it's probably because I'm concentrating on my breathing and not on the panic.

[Funky Ghost]

I do not suffer from it, but a great many of my former students and current employees have it in varying degrees.

What seems to do the most good, in my non clinical experience, is consistency. I maintained a very structured environment for my students and it worked wonders. I carried that idea to my work place and it has worked just as well. Anxiety can still pose problems no matter what you do. Having a good plan in place to deal with an episode also makes the recovery side easier. Having a map for your daily activities can be useful as well. It's a tool that can be faded when it is no longer needed. I've been doing this with an employee who has the wost case I have personally encountered in 20+ years in the field.

What Kesslari has said is sound advice as well.

[WickedPissah]

Choke the chicken.

[Feedbackers]

Wow, I've been having terrible panic attacks for quite some time (two years) and didn't even know about this thread on TalkBass!

I experience panic attacks mainly when driving on the highway. Sometimes especially when I'm nervous I have them in my everyday life too (elevators, fear of height, etc). What comes together with these attacks is what doctor's call "the soldier's heart syndrome". Its when you have a REAL heartache or strange feelings around your heart and a fear of having a heart attack while your heart is completely healthy. This is really terrifying, especially if you're behind the wheel at 75mph. It all comes along with thoughts like you're about to die, or go insane, or anything just as crazy. But while having a panic attack - these thoughts don't seem crazy at all, they're very real...

Anyway, I've been struggling with this all and have had some success.

First thing - the more you know, the less you fear. When I found out my heart is all fine and THERE ACTUALLY IS such thing as the "soldier's heart syndrome" - my fear of having a heart attack while driving has lessened a lot. Now just reassuring myself that my heart is healthy helps overcome this fear. And - having read there IS such thing as anxiety and panic attacks - and many people are struggling with it - it helps somehow to know you're not alone, and moreover - not going insane.

Next thing - just as arbitrary said - sometimes it helps to actually let panic gain control of you for a sec - and see that you haven't died or fainted or gone insane. This way you'll know that it's just unsubstantial fear and nothing more than that. And panic attacks won't kill you.

As for breathing - there's what they call a 7-11 technique. You slowly inhale while counting to 7 and exhale while counting to 11. THIS REALLY HELPS - I do this for a few rounds every time I am about to take a ramp onto the highway, and it really calms you down.

Of course - try avoiding all the stress that can be avoided. I've noticed that after being really nervous (having a fight or worrying a lot) my panic attacks get more frequent and harder to fend off. Drink a lot of green tea (valerian root, chamomile, melissa, ) - a few cups a day.

I've been trying my best to eat healthy, sleep at least 8hrs a day and exercise. This is a long-term therapy though, I only started noticing the results after 6 months or so - but it is helping anyway. Not as an urgent remedy, but my panic attacks have gone much less severe now, and while I still have them - they don't stop me from everyday activities like driving on the highway or taking an elevator to a 27th floor, which some time ago was just impossible.

[cassanova]

Originally Posted by Feedbackers

First thing - the more you know, the less you fear. When I found out my heart is all fine and THERE ACTUALLY IS such thing as the "soldier's heart syndrome" - my fear of having a heart attack while driving has lessened a lot. Now just reassuring myself that my heart is healthy helps overcome this fear. And - having read there IS such thing as anxiety and panic attacks - and many people are struggling with it - it helps somehow to know you're not alone, and moreover - not going insane.

You've gotta be careful with that though. I've been prescribed meds for anxiety for at least a decade. My heart was always given a clean bill of health. I don't know exactly when it happened, but one of those panic attacks I blew off was actually a mild heart attack. Only reason I found out I had a heart attack at one point was because I mentioned chest pains to my doc when I saw her again. Had I kept my mouth shut, I'd never had known. So don't let having a healthy heart lull you into a false sense of security. Make sure you have your ticker checked regularly, as a precautionary measure.

[flipper_gv]

Originally Posted by kesslari

A couple of different categories of things that help.

1. Meditation and body/breath awareness. Big real-time help.
2. Regular exercise.
3. Basic sound nutrition. Also, have yourself checked for blood sugar issues. Many people who suffer from anxiety have some degree of hypoglycemia. Moderating carbo/sugar swings will get you really, really far.
4. Look up "Theanine and GABA" online and learn about them. 2 amino acids that, in a particular dosage protocol, do a tremendous job preventing anxiety. I have a psychiatrist friend who now recommends them over anti-anxiety meds 90% of the time.

I suppose the undesired effects aren't much of a problem if you take only amino acids?

[TheSuzie]

Good idea to have one's thyroid checked out as even mild hyperthyroid conditions can cause anxiety-like symptoms.

S

[kesslari]

Originally Posted by flipper_gv

I suppose the undesired effects aren't much of a problem if you take only amino acids?

Do you mean "undesired effects of prescription drugs"?
If so, yes - the aminos are pretty much side-effect free.

[garmenteros]

Keeping myself busy and 100% occupied all the time helps me with anxiety and depression. Bass playing and music help out in the department. I echo what others say and get some regular excercise and cardio at least once or twice a week. Set goals for yourself even if they seem stupid and trivial. Getting stuff done feels good and makes you feel better about yourself, even if its something as simple as committing yourself to spending more time with your folks or significant other for a couple of days. Meditation is good but not for everyone, if you're too hyper like me it can be hard to get used to it so I opt for excercise like I said. Don't be afraid to pop the medicine cabinet every now and then by doctors orders but be sure not to over do it. Remember, life is good, keep telling yourself that, others are in worse shape than you could imagine and give back to the world...

[Blisterfinger]

I've had problems with anxiety and mild depression since I was 16 and could never fully come to terms with it until recently. Thoughts of the possibility of insanity did creep in as you mentioned as did other darker concepts I won't mention. What helped me? That aforementioned knowledge of not being alone and time. People say time is a great healer and even just thinking that 'this is only temporary, I'll be fine and back to my normal self within a month/year' actually helped! Now, I work out, play as much music as possible, meditate and listen to stuff like this; Beware the Most Relaxing Song of All Time: Marconi Union's "Weightless" | The Hairpin
I've earned a bit more peace of mind since then but every now and again I still get slight pangs of fright. Still, I know I can happy regardless.