Sleeping techniques/help

[Obelysk]

So it seems that from time to time I have real issues falling asleep to the point that I get 1-2 hours of sleep at best on my worst nights. I have a hard time with my sleep, every single night I wake up between 3-5 in morning for no apparent reason. :evil: Sometimes I wake up feeling slightly anxious or with weird heart palpitations or for no apparent reason but that is about it. What the hell is wrong? I manage my anxiety pretty well and I am not scared of it or the panic attacks but I still have these issues. It also seems that I was grinding my teeth at night to the point that my jaw would be killing me all day long the next day but I already got a mouth guard for it and its working like a charm. :D Either way, anyone have any sleeping techniques, videos and what not to help me or any other insomniac?

[northstar]

hi obelysk, this sounds like exactly the same kind of stuff i went through. unable to sleep, waking up feeling anxious, heart palpitations in the middle of the night , teeth grinding and all kinds of horrors lol. i don't have the time at the moment to write you a post about what worked for me, work is keeping me soooo busy today, but i'll get back to you with some advice as soon as i can :)

[northstar]

hallo again, i'm home and finally able to spend some proper time writing a reply to you :) i apologise that this is so long, but i wanted to tell you everything, i know what a nightmare you're going through. please let me know if you've found it any help.

ok, there are lots of things that you can do to help you sleep. i went through pretty much the same stuff as you. my sleep progressively got worse over 2 years. sometimes i wouldn't be able to sleep cause i felt anxious and on fire. sometimes i would sleep really lightly with images flashing through my brain all night long stopping me from getting any proper rest. as my anxiety got worse i barely slept at all, the exhaustion only making everything worse. i would get up frustrated in the middle of the night and watch family guy dvds until i eventually got some light rest on the couch. after i got really sick i would wake up with awful heart palpitations and knots in my stomach, my heart beat would wake me up in the middle of the night or too early in the morning. when i felt my heart beating that way it totally freaked me out and i had to concentrate so hard to not panic, often it didn't work. i was a total mess :(

fortunately all that's past now :D

here are some tips for you, i hope you find them helpful!

first things first, you've probably seen other posts i've written about this before, but i'd like you to really consider what i'm saying. waking up in the middle of the night with your heart beating hard or random anxiety is a possible indication of low blood sugars. it used to happen to me all the time. to combat it you need to have a snack right before you sleep, and keep a snack by your bed side to have if you wake up in the middle of the night. by snack i mean something healthy that will release energy slowly into your body. bananas or toast with peanut butter (wholemeal toast, white won't do!) do it for me.

http://www.anxietyforum.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3750 - this is a link to the article i posted up on hypoglycemia, a low blood sugar problem that is easily solved with a healthy diet. your heart palpitations, anxiety and insomnia problems indicate you may benefit from this information so i really think you should consider the information :) it saved my life!


ok, the next thing you can do to promote sleep is to cut out things like coffee, tea, soda, alcohol and sugary & processed foods in the evening time. ideally you should cut them out altogether, but people find that incredibly hard to do. be careful if you're a coffee drinker and considering cutting it down as the withdrawal process can add to anxiety, come off it slowly and carefully. all these things can not only irritate the anxious feelings but can add to insomnia too. caffeine stops your body producing the chemicals it naturally makes to send you to sleep at night and sugar will mess with your blood sugars causing all kinds of energy highs and dips that will play havoc with your sleep. instead stick to the kinds of foods mentioned in the hypoglycemia article and try having soothing calming drinks like herbal teas or warm milk. i used to go out to the cinema or pub and was never able to sleep right when i got in home. it took me YEARS to realise that it was because at the cinema i was eating loads of sweets (goddamn that tasty pick n' mix lol) and drinking loads of coke, and at the pub i was of course drinking alcohol - no wonder i wasn't able to sleep with my whole system jacked up on all that sugar!


another thing that will help is getting some good exercise in a couple of times a week. exercise with wear you out in a natural way and will create good hormones in your body that will help out with the anxiety also. be careful you don't exercise too close to sleep as all that adrenaline will keep you awake. and also, if you are having heart palpitations consult your doctor if you haven't already, you want to make sure that your heart is working right. exercising will also get your heart pumping hard naturally and get you used to not feeling so stressed out if you have palpitations (i found that anyway).


make sure that you keep your bed only as a sleeping area. that is don't sit on your bed to watch TV or do homework/work or anything else but sleep. this will keep your bed as a relaxation area only, and your brain will associate it with sleep making it easier to relax at night. avoid taking naps during the day if you can, keep all your sleeping for night time and try to keep regular sleeping hours. make sure there's not too much light in your bedroom when you sleep, like digital alarm clocks or curtains that aren't heavy enough to keep out all the light from outside. if there's light it will keep you awake if you're a light sleeper. some people say that the colour of your bedroom is also important, that it should be a calm soothing colour, nothing bright or full of energy like yellow or red.


to relax in the evenings try taking a really hot bath just before you go to bed. add a couple of drops of lavender oil to the water, it's soothing smell can aid relaxation. you can also put a couple of drops on a tissue and keep it near your pillow as you sleep. if you don't have a bath then take a really hot shower and use a lavender scented product. don't do anything that will make your brain active too close to sleeping like work or computer games, try chilling out with a nice book or listening to music instead.

learning something like meditation or yoga can also help to get your brain into a nice relaxed state. i invested in some relation CDs that my boyfriend and i listened to as we went to sleep, it was very nice :) you might also like to try booking yourself in for a nice massage if you're into that kind of thing! be good to yourself. accupuncture can also help with insomnia, i found it very relaxing and soothing.


there are also plenty of herbal supplements that you can try, ask your health food shop/pharmacy about them. make sure that whatever you try is compatible with any drugs you might be on.


if you're still waking up in the middle of the night don't lie in bed staring at the ceiling for hours. but if you're getting up don't do anything that will overstimulate your brain, try listening to music or meditation to put your brain in a relaxed state again.


ok that's everything i can think of for now. if i remember anything else i'll let you know. i really hope you find this helpful, i know what a nightmare not sleeping can be, i thought i would go crazy from not getting any rest. these days sleep comes easily and naturally to me providing i keep a good balanced diet :) i hope you can find the same again.

[Obelysk]

Northstar, THANK YOU for that information. Some of it I am already doing; I don't drink coffee because it used to make me real anxious before I developed my panic attacks.:D I have also stopped drinking alcohol and soda for the past month and a half and I don't drink coffee. I have never been a fan of sweets either, I actually like to stay away from eating too many sweets because they leave my mouth feeling too sweet and I have to drink water (kind of weird huh?). I do exercise 4 times a week so I suppose I am doing that right and I have started taking massages, they are quite wonderful. The idea of having a banana near my bed sounds like a great idea, I am going to have to go shopping tomorrow. lol Again thanks! I will try this and get my room more relaxed.

[northstar]

wow sounds like you're doing loads of stuff right already :) i'm sure you'll be feeling ok in no time if you keep up all those great things. remember recovery can be a slow process but it's possible. perhaps the snack thing will help you out then, it's worth trying. i used to keep a banana by my bed and if i woke in the middle of the night with anxiety or palpitations i'd have it as a midnight snack and it really helped. not eating enough can be just as problematic as eating the wrong things, so perhaps that snack will help you out a little. i really hope it does :)

[Obelysk]

thanks northstar, you really do help a lot around here, I have read some of your other posts and they are very comforting. I already talked to my landlord and I am going to have my room painted as well and I am going to join some yoga classes. :D Unfortunately I had a panic attack when I was at the gym today and I still feel a little shaky, :evil: but like you said recovery is a process and I know it can take a while. I want to do as many things as possible with my anxiety. At the moment I have some generalized anxiety and I have a panic attack about once a week or once every 2 weeks. I do appreciate all your help, A LOT. :agree:

[northstar]

obelysk you have such a positive attitude, it's exactly what you need in recovery :) you're doing so many things to help yourself and putting in such a great effort, you really deserve a break. and you should be so proud of yourself! you've been through so much, anxiety and panic attacks can really crush a person, but look at you still fighting through it all, making the changes that you need to move forward and start recovering - you are very strong and i hope you recognise and celebrate that :)

you know i've come across so many people on the web who only want to know about meds and drugs, it's really refreshing to come to a forum where people are active in their own recoveries! anxiety takes away so much from us, it makes us feel weak and like we have no control. i believe that reaching out and making changes to help ourselves is a very important part of the recovery process, it helps us to know that we can rely upon ourselves, it helps us to regain that inner strength. and you know facing the fear and dealing with it takes incredible strength, i hope you see that in yourself :)

i hope you're feeling a bit better after your panic attack at the gym. you know a neuro linguistic therapist i went to see gave me a pretty cool thing to do to help with panic attacks. she had me make a little card that could fit in my wallet and on it i wrote a little reminder of how strong i really am. in times of uncertainty i could pull it out and be reminded of my inner strength. perhaps you'd like to try something similar? my card read "i am stronger than this, i have been through worse and survived. i am supported my people who love me. i am ok. i am strong." - simple sentances, but really positive affirmations. fortunately i didn't really have any panic attacks after i made it, but i still keep it in my wallet cause i like to be reminded of how much i've made it through!

ok i didn't really intend to waffle on like this! i just wanted to tell you that you're doing so well, making positive changes, being good to yourself and actively reaching out for what you need. that's so fantastic, i hope you know that and i really hope you're feeling good again soon :D

[Obelysk]

Again thanks for your kind words. For me it gets real difficult at times because the constant worry is always there. At times I feel like I will never recover from this and I will live like this the rest of my life. I am not taking medication out of free will but I do question that decision often. I know I am not going to die but the constant worry is there and it depresses me at times which makes me feel even worse, trying to think positively is hard enough to do for me already. I try to read as much as I can but it seems that I only find negative things online, like people saying that I will never recover. Some say you can "recover" but what it means it's contain it, which is what I am trying to do at this very moment and is hard to do. :x Sigh. Your kind words did make me feel A LOT better though, thank you. :)

[northstar]

don't worry about those people who say that you just contain it - recovery for me meant regaining my inner strength, learning how to be free and happy again and returning to a self that i recognise. it was a long difficult journey, but it wasn't one where i tried to just squash my anxiety away and lock it up. i tired to do that for years and years and it only made me feel bad. i learned to accept my fear and to grow with it instead of just letting it take over. my anxiety is not contained, i don't expect never to feel anxious or worried again, they are normal emotions after all. the difference is that i don't feel the anxiety has control over me, i've learned how to be happy. it's the most amazing thing, i am happy :) of course i have problems and i get stressed, but worry no longer rules my life. i'm not the most perfect person, i do worry a bit more than other people, but you know it just doesn't get to me the same way it used to. i even surprise myself by being able to listen to rational thoughts and not to freak out about things i would have freaked out about in the past. i'm better at asking for what i need and want and reaching out to people, expressing myself and not containing anything (i was really bad at keeping things bottled up in the past!).

are you going to see anyone like a counsellor about it? i went to see a psychotherapist once a week, sometimes a little less often, for just over 2 years and it really helped me to get things in perspective. exploring the self is an amazing journey i discovered. i learned a lot about myself. i had to spend hard earned cash on it and it took me a long time to come around to the idea, but in the end i think it is one of the best gifts i have ever given myself :)

today i got angry at a stranger for the very first time. i know that sounds rather silly but i was amazed at myself. i've been really bad at expressing anger in the past. and you know, it's a valid emition yet i always denied it and bottled it all up. but today i was in the park with my little cousins whom i love when a couple of teenagers came in and started to play on the slides and stuff, scaring away some of the little kids around. i didn't think it was very nice. then they just stormed over to the toy my cousin was playing on and kinda intimidated him into getting off it and he ran back over to us. well i was just so mad, to see them treating little ones so disrespectfully, so i just jumped up and spoke to them rather sternly without shouting or getting abusive, reminded them of their age and not to scare little children like that and they left pretty soon after. now, that may not sound like much to some people, but me a year ago would have been just as terrified of those teenagers as my little cousin and would never have dreamed of standing up for him!! me in the past wouldn't have thought i had the right to get angry at a stranger for that, but me today i felt a powerful urge to protect and not to allow people to be abusive and get away with it. it was a tiny exchange but it was so powerful an experience for me.

ok by that big waffle i just meant to demonstrate that i've let go of the anxious part of myself that felt the need to stay calm and please everyone and not to ripple the pond. i feel in control of my emotions rather than them controlling me :)

you know you're really brave for not going down the med route. i didn't want to take that path either, i took maybe about 3 - 4 xanex when it was really bad, but even at that i cried with each one because i wanted to be strong enough to do it on my own. it's not easy to take the no meds path! i don't think drugs are a bad thing at all, but i do believe that they only mask the problem and avoid dealing with whatever the real issue may be. and i'm sure you've seen people who have tried just about every drug there is out there but can't find one that works or who's current meds are wearing off, i think all of this is because the real problem is just not being dealt with. perhaps you've seen me say this elsewhere on the forum but a therapist i saw once told me "if you always do what you've always done then you'll always get what you've always got" - it basically means that you can't continue to live your life the same way and expect that things will just change. we have to make the change ourselves, and i don't believe that expecting a drug to do the work for you is really a good idea, people need to be encouraged to help themselves especially with anxiety! i recently heard about orthomolecular psychiatry which deals with helping people regain the chemical imbalances in their bodies through nutrition rather than through drugs, it's really very interesting.

man am i ever good at writing epically long posts lol!!! i hope i'm not boring you, i tend to think and explore as i write so i'm sorry if it's a bit long winded at times. i understand your struggle to contain the anxiety, but i don't think that containing is the answer. the key is in acceptance of the emotion, but acceptance does not mean defeat. remember the anxiety is a part of you afterall, and you have the power to control it as you have the same power to control your joy, happiness, anger etc. i know it's hard to think like that where you are right now, but it is possible. and you know you're working so hard at being good to yourself i am sure you are on the right path :)

oh and i meant to say, if you're feeling random anxiety for no reason at all it can also be linked to hypoglycemia, it's called "free floating anxiety" because it doesn't seem to have any root or cause. i used to feel it so often for a period of about 2 years. now i feel it only if i haven't eaten in time or if i've had too many sugary things, but when i eat again it goes away and if i take care of myself then i don't feel it at all. it may not be the same case for you, but it's worth thinking about.

ok i gotta stop or you're gonna fall asleep reading this!! lol. and i gotta get some rest myself. take care :wave:

[Obelysk]

I really like reading your posts, they seem so encouraging and they make me feel good again. Don't worry about the size of your posts they don't bore me at all, I find your advice very insightful. Thanks again for your tips, I have been trying to eat more often and my anxiety has diminished more. I sleep a lot better at night but I still weak up after 6-7 hours later feeling a little anxious am I am not sure why, but I do sleep a lot better though. :) Like you said at this point I am not sure how you have made peace with your anxiety to the point that its a part of you. lol I try to put up with my anxiety and ignore it a little but I don't try to let it over take me. Its hard at times but I hope that I can make peace with like you have, I just hope it doesn't take 2 years like you did. lol

[northstar]

hey it's great to see that you're sleeping a little better! i hope that continues. the anxiety you're waking up with can be due to the same thing, low blood sugar because you haven't eaten all night. the best remedy for it is to have a good breakfast as soon as you can after you wake up. no coffee or tea though! when the hypoglycemia was still really bad for me i woke up with the same anxiety, so i used to eat some fruit like a banana straight away (i kept it on my bedside locker) and it would start sending my blood sugars up to happier level as i got up and about before breakfast.

there are many reasons why the anxiety lasted those 2 years for me. but the main reason was that i only discovered the food/hypoglycemia thing in about feburary this year! so i suffered for quite a while before i figure it out, about 2 years of GAD and then 4 months of major anxiety and panic attacks. but now things are so much better, several months later. no more panic and only anxious if i'm not being good with nutrition.

i'll tell you the proper story later on, for now i gotta get back to work! :)

[northstar]

well i'm home again and on the couch chilling out! i'm not sure you really want to hear my whole story, but i'll give you an abbreviated version of it in case you learn anything from it!

i've always been a worrier, just someone who was a little bit more careful than other people, not really an anxious person though. the anxiety started somewhere after i finished college, i'm not sure where, but all through college and through the end of my teens i had also suffered from mild depression. the anxiety got worse over the years, i'd worry irrationally about loads of things and my stomach was in knots often for no reason at all. i moved in with my boyfriend, we'd be sitting on the couch in the evenings watching TV and i'd have this horrible anxious feeling in my stomach even though i was perfectly relaxed and happy. my job was really stressfull but not really anxiety inducing!

eventually i couldn't hide from it any longer, it was impossible to when i was living with my bf. so i decided eventually to get some help and spoke to my GP. she diagnosed mild depression and anxiety and sent me to a counsellor to start dealing with it rather than going on meds. so i started seeing a really great psychotherapist and began my long road to recovery (that was about a year and a half ago now). a few months into the therapy i really felt like i was getting better and was thinking about finishing up with the therapy, when in november last year i got really sick with a virus that made me loose my balance. i was sick for about 6 weeks, i couldn't do very much, couldn't go to work, read, write, walk very well, eat. all i could do was drink smoothies and watch TV!

throughout this month the anxiety just intensified, i was panicking a lot, i felt on edge all day long and nothing was working to help me feel better, none of the relaxation techniques i had learned, none of the therapy, absolutely nothing. i stopped sleeping and eating and my life turned upside down. one night i was so bad, i was panicking for HOURS, not just a 10 minute attack, i had to call the doctor to the house at 3am and all he did was give me a prescription for xanex and told me i'd be fine. he also gave me one xanex tab to try to calm me down until morning. i cried my heart out before taking the tablet, i just felt so weak, i didn't want to take drugs i wanted to feel like my old self and be strong enough to recover on my own. the next day i went to see my own GP to ask about the xanex prescription. she had seen me several times that month because of the panic, and we spoke about the fact that i was getting worse and worse each time she saw me. she wanted to put me on antidepressants, and i reluctantly agreed, i was so desperate to feel better. needless to say i cried buckets after that too lol

i managed to get a little exhausted sleep that night, but the next morning i woke up and went straight into a panic attack. this time it was different, all these dark thoughts were rushing through my head about suicide, i couldn't control them, i was so freaked out i thought i would hurt myself so i called the doc again and took another xanex. while i was waiting to see her i realised something that my accupuncturist had mentioned: i had just started taking a new contraceptive pill about 3 months before all this happened. i spoke about this with the doctor and she agreed it was possible that the pill was causing all the panic, especially considering that my life had been just fine before all this had happened, there was nothing that should really have triggered such bad anxiety.

so she gave me about a month off work to go and recover and come off that pill. i went home to the country and started to get better, i was taking very good care of myself, but it was really hard, i was still very very anxious and panicky. going back to the city after the month was difficult, but i was doing ok for a couple of days when suddenly i woke up one morning and it was right back again. and this time the anxiety was just so crippling that it felt like i had been punched in the stomach. i had to be convinced into taking half a xanex tab by my parents. i couldnt stop crying, i felt so overwhelmed. i still went to work, i struggled against it every day because i didn't want it to beat me. i had to talk to my mum on the phone every day before work. but my world was falling apart, i thought coming off the pill would make it all better, but it clearly wasnt the answer. i thought i was just going mad and would have to go on those antidepressants afterall.

one day at work, struggling with the anxiety, i realised that sometimes as well as feeling anxious i was STARVING. i hadn't really noticed it before, the anxiety had made me not want to eat. i thought there must be some kind of connection, so i looked it up and discovered all about hypoglycemia. discovering it saved my life. i realised that the month i was ill i hadn't eaten properly at all for weeks on end, so it was no surprise that my body felt the way it did, i must have been totally drained of the nutrients that our nervous systems need to work properly! i put the hypoglycemia eating plan into place and slowly slowly i began to feel soooooooo much better. it was AMAZING!

i eventually discovered that a contraceptive pill i had been on for the 2 years previously when my anxiety had gone downhill has been known to cause adrenal failure, hypoglycemia and anxiety are both symptoms of this. it turns out that women around the world had had the same problems as me, worsening anxiety and panic, all because of that pill and their doctors didn't know anything about it so they were all being put on meds and the like.

i reckon what happened to me was a combination of adrenal failure from that pill and my stressful job and then the month of illness where i couldn't eat. my nervous system was totally shot, i just had to start taking care of myself with nutrition and food and i slowly started feeling better :) so far it's worked quite well! i only feel bad if i don't eat properly. i quit therapy a couple of months ago too - but it was also vital, just as much as the nutrition, through therapy i learned how to control the irrational side of myself and not to hide or to contain the anxiety but to accept it. it helped me to regain confidence and to trust in myself again.

it was a pretty rough experience, but through it i learned SO much! my life is totally different and i feel more like myself than i have in years. i feel stronger and happier :) i've started to do the things that i've always wanted to, i've learned to be good and kind to myself and to take care of everything i need. in saying all that i'm not perfect! i do get anxious during stressful times, and i still worry that little bit more than other people, but that's just how i am and i have made peace with that. the main thing is that the GAD and depression have gone and i'm now living a life that i want to :) anxiety no longer controls my life! and i have leaned, most importantly, to reach out for what i need.

ok i guess that was much much more than an abbreviated version!! i'm sorry, i hope it's not boring!! but i guess you see where i'm coming from, what i've been through and why i know so much about sleeping tips and nutrition lol. i try to share what i know wherever i can in order to help people going through the same thing. i'm glad you find some of my posts helpful, thats all i want :) if you want to know anything about the different things that have helped me along the way then i'll very gladly share them. ok i've written enough, i should finish up! i hope you're still sleeping well and feeling good :)

[Obelysk]

Woah you do write a lot.............no I am just joking. lol Don't worry about long posts I read a lot everyday and length is not an issue for me at all, its better to fully express your thoughts and feelings than to leave it half way. :) You sound like you have gone through a lot yourself. I went through a similar stage myself. I guess I will share my story as well.

For me it all started 3 months ago, on a Monday morning when I went to Dunkin Doughnuts and I bought a tea and shortly after I drank it I had my first panic attack. I vomited, trembled, my heart pumped like crazy and the fear of death hit me to the point that I had to be taken to the hospital because I thought I was having a heart attack. The doctors checked me and they found nothing, so I was dismissed and I went about my business. I really didn't put much thought into it since it had already passed and I was feeling fine. Everything was fine until I suffered another panic attack the fallowing Saturday night. Again I went to the ER and they ran some tests and again found nothing, I was scared out of my mind because I had no clue what was happening. l, as always, tried to do some research as to what the hell was happening to me and at first I thought I had thyroid problems, the symptoms matched pretty well but there were some differences. So I had the doctors run some blood test to see if it were my thyroids and a few weeks later they told me I had nothing. :shock: OK, that go me really thinking, what the hell did I have? Two weeks later and again on a Saturday I had yet another panic attack and I ended up on the ER yet again because I thought I was going to die........

They finally told me that what I was having were panic attacks and that I need to talk to my doctor regarding this issue. 3 Saturday nights and 3 more panic attacks later and on a Saturday night (yes this was a trend.......) and I had my worst panic attack. As usual it started on a Saturday afternoon (at around 6 pm) I started to get the symptoms and I started to panic as usual. The difference here was that unlike my previous attacks that lasted between 30 minutes or up to 2 hours later this panic attack didn't go away. :evil: I didn't go to the doctor because they never gave me anything since there is no medicine for panic attacks. So I panicked from 6 pm until 1:30 am in the morning when I finally fell asleep, still trembling in my bed as my mother looked at me in horror. Everything was good up until I woke up the next morning, I was attacked by a lot of anxiety and it was eating me from the minute I woke up. I had no freaking clue what the hell was wrong with me, I didn't want to eat anything but I was starving. So I went to the doctor to see what they could do for me. Again they gave me nothing except some relaxation techniques. lol So helpless as I was and feeling like I was going insane all day long I finally forced myself to eat something at around 6 pm even though I didn't want to eat anything, but my stomach was starving. I nearly puked the steak I ate and my heart started to pound for like 2-3 hours straight and it was draining me, I had no energy. As I started to panic again I started hyperventilating and since my mother had no idea what was happening to me they called the an ambulance. When the paramedics got there they made me breath out of a bag and I finally relaxed. I was completely drained to say the least, It had been a long day and I went finally went home to try and rest. To my surprise, when I jumped in bed I had another panic attack. :evil:

I somehow fell asleep and the next day was even more fun, I had about 3 more panic attacks during the day and suicidal thoughts were crossing my mind left and right. My body couldn't take it anymore, even when I was not having a panic attack my whole body was trembling I was really exhausted and i could not fall asleep because the slightest sound would startle me and wake me up. :| I was trembling all night long, I was scared out of my mind and I was really exhausted and the only thought that crossed my mind was that I was going to live like this the rest of my life. If it wasn't for my mother I would provably have killed myself. I spent several nights where I very little sleep and I thought I was going insane. :( I even cried during those days, truthfully I cannot even remember the last time I had cried before that. Those were the longest 4 days of my life. The panic attacks went away but I started to have generalized anxiety every day, it sucked. So like many out there I have been trying get as much help as I can get. I been trying to change my life, like you have seen on my previous posts and I am making progress. For the past few days I been trying to eat every 3 hours like you said and my anxiety is gone for the moment. I am SOOOOO happy right now I actually felt normal the last 3 days!!!:D I know this can still comeback so I am not letting my guard down but its a lot of progress. Like I said I really appreciate your advice, as you can tell. I am still a little new to anxiety as I have only had it for 3 months. I have talked to a lot of people who either have anxiety or know someone who does and they have tried to help me the best they can. I have learned a lot but its a long way to go for me it seems.

[northstar]

wow you've really had a terrible time with it too! that horrible panicking feeling that lasts for hours just is horrible, i know it so well. it's so different to having a panic attack, i've had those and they just lasted a couple of minutes but being in a constant state of panic is really so difficult to manage. i'm so glad you've come out of that stage! reading what you've been through it's really great to see how far you have come and the connection that you have made with your inner strength, you're fighting away instead of giving up and that's admirable :)

hey what great news that you've been feeling well for a couple of days! i know it's only a couple of day but just thinking about all that you have been through having even one day of peace is a blessing :) well done, once again i say you should be extra proud of yourself for all the hard work! i remember when i first started getting better being just totally amazed by the finally feeling at peace and happy again, having no knots in my stomach was just the best thing and it made me so happy whenever i stopped to think about it!

bad days may come, you are still recovering, but try not to dwell on that. the main thing is that you're finding out what works for you and putting it into action and right now you feel good. it's hard work but you're doing it! one of the hardest things for me is not being able to drink tea (i only really drink herbal tea now). oh how i love a nice sugary cup of tea lol! but whenever i drink it it makes me feel bad, so i have to think about that before i make a cup. i do have the odd one, but i miss being able to have a cup a day, it's been one of my biggest battles lol.

it's amazing how when you begin to suffer from anxiety how you begin to notice how many people actually suffer from it, not just across the world on the internet but in our everyday lives. but because of what i've been through i've been able to help out friends and family with similar problems. or even when someone i know doesn't have anxiety but is having a panic attack because of stress & problems i know exactly what to say to help them calm down. my anxiety problem has turned into a powerful tool to help others :) so little people know anything about it or what to do with it, it's great to be able to help them when they don't know what to do. it's made me a stronger person. i hope it will do the same for you :)

[Obelysk]

When I first developed this I kept telling myself that this was going to help me be a better person. I am more at peace with myself but there were a lot of hard days. Before I was told that I had anxiety I had no idea it even existed. :? So I I had to go an research a lot about it and all I saw was negative stuff and all that did was make me even worse. lol Now I have a lot more understanding about and like you said I had no idea just how many people actually suffer from this condition, I have met several people out random that suffer with this and even a lot more people that know someone who suffers from it. My biggest thing is still finding out exactly why my anxiety developed. I did have conflict in my childhood and a lot of depression but I have been fairly happy for like the past 2-3 years. Other than that I am going to have my ears checked because I have sort of become sensitive to loud music or I even get a little anxious when I put on my head phones or watch TV (32 inch flat on my wall) in my room (specially if I try to play xbox) and go to the movies. I really don't know why all of that makes me a little anxious, I never had all those problems before with those things.

Those are my only issues, I am so glad that I was never big on sweets so staying away from chocolate, coffee and other sugary sweets are not much of an issue at all for me. So I do feel bad for you and your tea, that must suck not being able to have what you used to enjoy regularly. I do miss liquor a little.lol Not that I was a drunk or anything, but I did have a few beers/wine/liquor/etc on weekends with my friends but its all gone now. Totally weak man............either way, I just have to practice relaxing before I go to sleep, a hot bath always helps me. I was thinking of enrolling in yoga but I am kind of iffy, being provably the only guy in there. lol I don't want to feel awkward in there. lol

[northstar]

hmmm sounds like getting your ears checked out is a really good idea if they are sensitive. there were some posts up recently on anxiety and the inner ear, and i know myself from that month where i lost my balance that when your body is all off kilter and unstable it automatically feels anxious. it may be something easily solved :)

you know i found that therapy was really great for getting to the bottom of my feelings. for years i had been hiding from worry and depression and just feeling lonely, dark and lost. but talking through it helped me to discover a lot about myself. i also found neuro linguistic therapy really great for excercises that help you to get to the root of your fears and then deal with it, you might like to look it up? i went for about 3 sessions with a friend of my mum and she was amazing. she was also
there on the phone for some extra support if i really needed it. other than that the only thing i can say is that there can be so many reasons that the anxiety developed. for me it was a combination of that pill, a stressfull job, very poor nutrition and the loss of balance that all left both my body and mind in a bad state. i do believe that anxiety doesn't appear for no reason at all, it's a way that your body is trying to say it's not quite happy for some reason, so it's a good idea to work trying to figure out the root of it but don't get too involved in it. your main focus should be getting better :)

and i know exactly what you mean about missing alcohol! i didn't drink too much either but i do miss having the odd glass of wine or baileys! it gives me heart palpitations now, so i can have some every now and again but i have to be careful.

yoga is a great idea! i went to a class where there was only 1 guy too, but the instructor was also a man so i guess he didn't feel too bad. so no need to be embarassed (although i understand if you do!) - it really makes you feel good. i always found myself really happy and relaxed after the class in both body and mind, it was great. at the moment i just started a graphic design class and also am going for singing lessons so i just don't have time for yoga anymore, but i'll get back to it again, it was very enjoyable.

[Obelysk]

Yeah I am going to have them get checked out, I want to make sure that nothing there is causing me my troubles. I already got in touch with some of my emotional problems that I had hidden within me, but I did with my mother. I have always been the type that has kept all the issues well hidden from the outside world and in a way I am not sure if that is one of the reasons why I am like this right now. I spent a good 2 hours talking with my mother about a lot of the problems that I have had in the past and some resentments that I have, I guess it did me good I was quite emotional about it too and it really made me think. I didn't really know just how much certain things really bothered me, since I do have a tendency to brush things aside, but I think that I did have some issues that may have contributed to my mental state that i am in right now. Either way, for the most part I have felt perfectly fine all week, which has been a TON of improvement compared to last week and that us because I have been eating a lot more but less and a lot healthier too, I should thank you for that, that has brought some "sanity" back in to my life.:D But right now I can't fall asleep. lol I need to wake up in about 5 hours so that I can go and talk to my counselor and I can't seem to fall asleep, I did drink a glass of wine with my best friend a few hours ago and I am not sure if that had anything to do with it, but I was exhausted before I tried to go to sleep 3 hours ago since i had not slept well all the last few days.lol I have those weird heart palpitations that seem to make my heart stop for like a second and it wakes me up. Oh well, If I don't fall asleep in the next half hour I am going to have to go look for a 2 by 4 and knock myself out to make sure that I do sleep. lol Either way what exactly is linguistic therapy? Sounds a bit interesting.