New to the forum

[slg124]

Greetings everyone. I am a 28 yr old male, married, with a beautiful family, and a good job. It is absolutely insane to me that I am suffering from anxiety to the extent that I am. Apparently, it runs in my family. Most of the women in my family are on daily meds to control it, and I have tried that as well. I just dont like what it does to me, and I dont like the idea of having to depend on a drug to keep me going in life.

Anyways, I am desperate at this point. I cannot let this affect my work and family anymore. It comes along at the worst times and has ruined work events, family vacations etc. Needless to say, I am looking for help, advice, anything really. Good books that can help? I know this can be controlled or beaten without daily medication.

My anxiety sets in before largely anticipated events such as vacation. It also sets in when I am sick, or hungover. My worst episode was 2 years ago, when my wife, and 6 month old were about to fly accross country together. I woke up in the morning, heart racing, could not sit down. Eventually, it turned into vomiting, and numb hands and feet. This lasted for 12 hours, until I took ativan and finally fell asleep. I had to stay on Ativan for the remainder of the trip just to stay calm.

I dont mean to ramble. This is my first time really talking about it. It does feel good! Any help is much appreciated.

[Caitatonic]

You're not the only one who is frustrated with it ruining things. If you don't want to be on medication, maybe try therapy? There's nothing wrong with visiting a counselor/psychologist/psychiatrist or even a religious leader like a pastor, if that's your cup of tea. It helps to pinpoint what triggers the anxiety and, instead of avoiding it, find ways to cope with it. I find it helpful to do something like drive, knit or do math because it requires a lot of attention and that takes focus away from the anxiety. As for books, my dad gave me this book called "Stop Running Scared". I never finished it, but it had some pretty interesting points and good advice.

Good luck.