I have fear of dying... and i cant get enough sleep...help!?

[fearmenot]

:( This past few months i felt a really change in my system... i have changed my eating habit... w/c is very strange because eating and food tripping is my happiness... and i feel weak and might get an illness... and i fear i might die and i fear to lose my parents as well as my brothers and relative.... and sometimes i fear to enjoy and celebrate... i fear the feeling of happiness... but I've heard so many advice and it helps me a lot... its just that maybe someone else want to add up... i know I'm anxious... w/c I'm not last year...and it really suck in the morning when i wake up it felt like someone is grabbing my happy life... and i want to cry for no reason at all... :roll:
btw i dont take medications i live it in a natural way...im nearly 23.... soon to be a Dad on FEB.... please help...

[AnxiousYankee]

Do you see any psychologist or psychiatrist? If you don't want to take medication, you should see a psychologist to help you cope with your anxiety in everyday life. Maybe you should give medication a try, it does wonders for some people.

[northstar]

hi fearmenot, the one thing that struck me is that you seem to say this started when you changed your diet? is that right, i'm not very certain from your post? what is your diet like now?

did you know that diet can majorly affect how you feel? eating too much of the wrong kinds of foods or not eating very much can cause anxiety and panic, so perhas it's possible that this applies to you.

the fact that you wake up feeling bad in the morning suggests that you may just have low blood sugar becaue you haven't been eating all night long. the easiest way to solve this is to have a healthy, wholesome breakfast as soon as you can when you wake & this will help you feel much better :)

you can find more information on this post here: http://www.anxietyforum.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4087

it is also a good idea to talk to your doctor, he may be able to suggest therapists in your area who can helo you out. hope you're feeling ok again soon :)

[fearmenot]

Guys i thank your for your help... i try to the things ive done before especially eating and try out new things... like on monday i will enroll myself to a gym... im sure having a healthy lifestyle will help me a lot... tnx guys God Bless you!

[Giz]

To back up Northstar, there are several nutritional factors, such as blood sugar imbalances, B vitamin deficiencies, seratonin, histamine or adrenal imbalances which can cause anxiety..

Also, having high levels of "heavy metals" such as lead, mercury, cadmium, alumimium etc can give rise to phobias and extreme fears.. As can the Histamine imbalance-and the answer to the Histamine imbalance is large doses of vitamins B complex & C..
The Heavy metal you can have checked out by getting a hair mineral analysis, this would also help to identify nutritional deficiencies in minerals such as magnesium, manganese, selenium etc..

The best treatment for all things mentioned above are;
* Make sure your diet is "Whole grain only", if you have a food intolerance to wheat, substitutes such as quinoa, brown rice, and buckwheat should be used. Oats do not cause sensitivity in all those intolerant to wheat, as they contain gliadin rather than gluten-however gliadin is found side by side with gluten in grains such as wheat, rye & spelt.
*As much fresh vegetables as possible. Get fruit too, but more vegetables are better, as fruit can be quite sugary, and dried fruit is extremely sugary.
(Both of these should aid balancing blood sugar)
*Get a good quality, well dosed multivitamin. Ask in your health shop for advice, personally I use solgar, but thats not all there is out there..You may benefit from relatively high doses of B vitamins, with magnesium and chromium to help balance blood sugar. Take these with food, in the morning.
* Add extra vitamin C, to help detoxify histamine. Just make sure theres no sweeteners like aspartame in it! You cant overdose on Vitamin C, anything you dont use will be excreted, but high levels will cause bowel loosening. This is an indicator that you have reached your limit!! Vitamin C is also best taken away from food.. And at intervals during the day, as it is so easily excreted..
*Combine complex carbohydrates with protein in meals, this gives you the ingredients for seratonin (along with the B vits)
*Limit the intake of any processed food, this reduces your exposure to refined carbohydrates and food additives which can make adrenal problems worse
* If you smoke, try to quit (cadmium comes from cigarettes) avoid sources of lead (that ones on the decline now unleaded petrol is used) if you eat a lot of tuna consider switching to wild red salmon.. As tuna, being a big fish caught in mercury laden waters contains a high level of mercury-as they eat other fish swimming in the same water.. Aluminium is easy enough to avoid-just dont use anything wrapped in it!!
Soft plastics are not great either sadly, as they can leak a substance that the body sees as estrogen into the food. So always clean your veg, and take any plastic off ASAP!!
* Filter your tap water, its fine so long as you filter out the things that could reduce its purity, such as copper from old water pipes etc.. Get lots! Its really good for you!!
* And get more aerobic exercise.. This raises the levels of oxygen in the body, encouraging the elimination process. Things like walking, running, swimming, and yoga are very good for this.. In fact Yoga is great for anxiety, as a good session usually involves meditation too!
* It may be worth not watching the news too.. If anything is going to make you anxious that will..
* And positivity, beauty and light.. You have somehow become locked into some negative thinking, but you can change that-you can look at the beauty around you and shift the balance.. Sure there is bad stuff, but there is just as much good-and getting bogged down in all that negativity is not going to be of any benefit to you. So find something that you love, get passionate about something positive.. It can work wonders!

If you want to deal with it naturally then more power to you! We dont need drugs, sure they work for some, but the vast majority find that they can make things worse.. Why play the guinea pig? Go with what you feel in your heart is right for you.

I wish you the very best of luck.

(((HUGS)))

[fearmenot]

Giz this is a very helpful information... ill do this immediately tnx so much... anyway bout the diet thing... i dont diet... or eat less... i lost my appetite... but after 3 days fighting mind over matter... im eating the same as i use to eat... but i cant sleep whenever i wanted to...^_^ and it sucks in the morning when i woke up! TNX AGAIN GIZ!!!! God Bless you!

[Giz]

For the sleeping you could try Valerian Tea..
It smells rank, but once the waters in and its been stewing a few mins its ok, tastes alright too despite the overwhelming smell of feet from the teabags!

Unlike most conventional sleeping aids it encourages deep sleep rather than keeping you in REM sleep which leaves you feeling groggy..

Some deep breathing as you try to sleep and perhaps a drop of lavender essential oil on a tissue inside the pillowcase would help too. (1 drop only please, too much would keep you awake!)

The essential oils of frankincense and ylang ylang aid deep breathing. Again-if you use one, use one drop only-but it is ok to add 1 drop of lavender to that drop(as lavender has this nifty ability to boost the effectiveness of anything its mixed with)
Frankincense aids meditative states, while ylang ylang has a tremendous soothing action-as well as uplifting the spirit.

If you hate the smell of any of these however-dont buy them, liking the smell is a very important consideration when using essential oils. Ylang Ylang can be quite heady and in large doses can induce nausea..

With deep breathing keep your mouth shut.
Breathe in through your nose, allowing your abdomen to expand first, then the chest. Count to 5 in your head-or better still use a clock with a second hand or display. Hold it for 5 seconds, then let your out breath take 5 seconds.
As you get comfortable with that, expand the time frame to 6 seconds, when comfortable with that, 7 seconds, and keep going until you reach your lungs capacity. We are all different, so some people will find longer time periods uncomfortable-and this is not the goal. Aim to work only within your limits. You may find that they increase over time.

And as silly as it sounds, you know those relaxation cds in the health food shops? Some of them are actually very soothing, and can aid restful sleep (thats why us therapists use them during treatments!) they are designed to be non distracting, unlike some other forms of music, of which the patterns may be inclined to keep you awake.

The best of luck getting your sleep back together.. If you are adding minerals to a multivitamin (such as calcium, magnesium) then take these in the evening and the multi in the morning, as minerals have a calming effect.

[fearmenot]

Just making sure of it GIZ.... is this Valeran Tea should be drank before bedtime or in the morning??? :D is this available anywhere in the country...?

[Giz]

Valerian tea should be drank an hour before bed.
Im not sure about the Philippines, but you can get it all over europe, just in tea.. You can get the root in capsule form-but I have heard people say that the capsules can cause some body odour. The tea doesnt seem to do this..
Its also more gentle-so its like starting with the lowest dosage..
Best not to go too heavy handed on anything starting out!

[fearmenot]

tnx Giz... God Bless you... btw are you a doctor or something? or have u ever been anxious also??? just asking dude :D