Struggling with anxiety in foreign jail

[Boo Bass]

Hello everyone

Taken me a week to register using fon and Wi-Fi but glad I finally got on.

Been in jail over a year still not convicted of any crime and don't know when I can get out. Jail not good for a GAS sufferer.

Yoga lowers the anxiety a bit but hard to get motivated to do it. EFT tapping having no effect, meditation doesn't do it for me. No exercise yard so inside cell all day.

Just wondered if anyone hast any self help methods I could try.

There isn't a doctor here but wife sends me meds. I take1 klonopin 0.5 per day which doesn't really make a lot of difference. Also antidepressants which stop me getting desperate but don't stop the anxiety.

All suggestions gratefully received.

[Tala202]

I honestly don't know how much this will help you but I just wanted to offer one thing I like to do:

We all take breathing for granted but it's amazing how much it can help. I used to be incredibly cynical so I can get how difficult it can be to get motivated, but this is so incredibly easy, it doesn't need much more than an instantaneous decision to breathe in deep and pay attention to it. Do it for a few seconds and see how you feel. I have a terrible time ever calming down but this has been the most helpful so far; I just let my mind wander as it is but try to deepen my breathing a bit and eventually relax enough to control my mind (not always, but enough to count it as a successful technique). Then, if you can, let your mind truly wander - as in, don't let it settle on anything for more than a second, while breathing deep. It's incredibly relaxing and introspective! Meditation like this does truly change the shape of your brain over time (I can look up the studies I learned some of this from if you're still unsure) and makes relaxation and control much easier.

I hope you see this soon and that it helps you! In terms of medication, the only thing that's ever helped me was Wellbutrin; I've never tried Klonopin so I'm not sure how this will compare, but it's truly helped with the negative, self-destructive thoughts and lack of control that made me so anxious. Unlike most other meds, it doesn't try to stop you from caring but gives you the energy to deal with the world (realistically).

[Boo Bass]

Hi Tana

Thanks for your kind reply. I do deep breathing doing yoga but need to do much more of it especially when I am really struggling. In fact I already started. Presumably it is OK to do lying down, not necessarily in maditation position?

[jessed03]

Hey Boo Bass

Sorry to hear what you're going through, my friend.

In response to Tala's post, I think you'll be fine however you choose to position yourself, as long as it's comfortable. With relaxation exercises the exercise itself is far more important than the position you're in - especially if you have health problem, fatigue, lack of space, etc.

Hang in there!

[Dahila]

Jesse is your inbox full, Dave can not get the message to you, and he feels kind of lost, He has some difficulties to log in.
I am so sory Boo Bass that you are in jail, and still waiting for conviction, I can not even imagine something like that. Is there anyway, to try some meditation?

[Kixxi]

Hello everyone

Taken me a week to register using fon and Wi-Fi but glad I finally got on.

Been in jail over a year still not convicted of any crime and don't know when I can get out. Jail not good for a GAS sufferer.

Yoga lowers the anxiety a bit but hard to get motivated to do it. EFT tapping having no effect, meditation doesn't do it for me. No exercise yard so inside cell all day.

Just wondered if anyone hast any self help methods I could try.

There isn't a doctor here but wife sends me meds. I take1 klonopin 0.5 per day which doesn't really make a lot of difference. Also antidepressants which stop me getting desperate but don't stop the anxiety.

All suggestions gratefully received.

Is there any help available at the jail? I know some institutions have mental health professionals available, but I do not know which jail you reside at? If you want, I can do some research into it.

Btw, may I ask what the source of your anxiety is and how it manifests?

[Boo Bass]

Is there any help available at the jail? I know some institutions have mental health professionals available, but I do not know which jail you reside at? If you want, I can do some research into it.

Btw, may I ask what the source of your anxiety is and how it manifests?

Hi Kixxi

Thanks so much for your kind offer of help. I can't get online every day because of bad Wi-Fi and my fon charger got stolen while I slept. Unfortunately I am in a tinpot 3 the world country where the rule of law does not apply.

My anxiety is typically knotted stomach or cloud in brain even in the absence of any thought. Any recommendations would be invaluable. Deep breathing helps up to a point, as does massaging my stomach.

As for the IBS, the peppermint tea arrived with the Japanese version of Colpermin and I have had no attacks in 17 days, a new record.

Thanks again everyone for all your help.

BB

[Kixxi]

Hi Kixxi

Thanks so much for your kind offer of help. I can't get online every day because of bad Wi-Fi and my fon charger got stolen while I slept. Unfortunately I am in a tinpot 3 the world country where the rule of law does not apply.

My anxiety is typically knotted stomach or cloud in brain even in the absence of any thought. Any recommendations would be invaluable. Deep breathing helps up to a point, as does massaging my stomach.

As for the IBS, the peppermint tea arrived with the Japanese version of Colpermin and I have had no attacks in 17 days, a new record.

Thanks again everyone for all your help.

BB

I understand completely. I also get heavy attacks of nausea and even diarrhoea because of the anxiety. After a while, one becomes really good at monitoring themselves, so we can actually make the symptoms a lot worse by just constantly monitoring ourselves. When the feeling gets there, I try to accept the feelings. I still get upset with them, since I feel they are interfering my feelings and how I see the world at that point. Accepting the feelings and stop fighting them is the only thing that works, since you do not make your symptoms worse. At the worst days, it can feel like you are losing your mind or you are going to die, but you will notice that this won't happen. As soon as you surrender yourself to what you are feeling, you take the power away from the anxiety.