I'am not really sure where this anxiety came from. I do know that I have had anxiety attacks for a very long time. my grandfather got very sick and I spent alot of time with them and along with beign a single mother with 4 children,then they were in a car wreck and not wearing there seat belts and I saw my grandfather so into sezuires and then put him in to the hospiotal and witnessed alot. Then he died on New Years eve. the stress was to must and the depresstion set in and then I ck'd myself into a mental place to get treatment and got worse, and it went on from there. I take remeron and night 30mg and 60mg of buspar and usualy .1 mg of xanax, i have been asked to take a leave of absents from work because I had a panic attack,so i need to know if there is anyone else out there that deals with GAD on a daily basis and what do they do. I fine myself doing breathing all day long and I get frustated with this. exerise also causes anxiety, HELP HELP HELPI have a hard time with visual. Am just having a very hard time I spend alot of time reading and doing my homework not sure if I'am getting anywhere but more anxious

Hi KLV,

I've just completed the program and I come back into the site to see if there's something I can offer anyone that's in the program.

When I saw your message my heart went out to you. I too suffered from day and into the night anxiety, until my body finally would fall asleep from pure exhaustion. I too have have some very stressful things that have happened in my life, including losing people I love and witnessing it.

I can totally relate to you. I want you to know that when I started this program, even half way through I kept thinking, I'm never going to feel normal. I was getting to the point, that I didn't want to leave the house, even though I suffered the anxious feelings all day long, which would always turn into a full blown panic attack, I just couldn't deal with going out and feeling this way. If I went I would be exhausted trying to keep the anxious feelings at bay. I felt so out of control, I honestly kept thinking there must be something really wrong with me.

I'd like to suggest to you, to start exercising. I know just the thought probably makes you feel anxious. But what I did was start off by walking around my complex, if I only got two houses away and came back I felt I at least did something. I would then make it a goal to get further by saying one more house, each day I added another house and before you know it I had walked over a mile around the whole complex. Plus each day I walked and got farther it gave me a sense of strength and accomplishment. Some days I would come home, feel good for 5 minutes and then the anxious feelings would start again, but I would not let that discourage me. The best thing for people like us to keep distracted while working and learning how to deal with things goings on around us better.

There were days I'd feel anxious and I didn't even know why. I also noticed when I begain the program I actually started feeling more anxious. I really got discouraged then, but I kept going. This is probablly going to sound funny, but when I was feeling anxious, I decided to pick up a coloring book and art paper complete with crayons of course. I decided to do this one day when I had gone to a function all anxious and nervous and I could barely carry on a conversation when a little girl at the party came up and asked me if I'd like to color. I of course was freaking out, but you know when I started coloring with her I was actually free of my symptoms, I couldn't believe it, before I knew if we were leaving and I was feeling good. When the symptoms returned I thought I'm going back to childhood and getting a coloring book. So when I started getting anxious I would start to color or just doodle and draw dumb pictures on paper. I could not believe how this little distraction helped me. You might try to find something you really enjoy doing, that requires little concentration and just begin doing it when you feel anxious. Also, I found then while I was doodling on paper, I started journal my symptoms of anxiety and as I did they begin to go away.

I'm not coloring much these days, but if I feel a little anxious, I start exercising.

The big thing is to take baby steps towards exercising. Also I make some big changes in my diet. I noticed I ate a lot of carbohydrates in my diet along with drinking caffeine, so I cut back on these, added more protein, fresh fruits and vegatables. I also started to take an anti-stress vitamin and flaxseed. I'm telling you I begain to notice a huge difference.

Poor diet was adding to these all day anxious episodes. I am doing very well today and if I ever have any anxious episodes all I have to do is recap the food I ate that day or the day before and usually I find there was too much sugar, caffeine or carbohydrates.

Please don't give up on the program. You will be ok. Believe me I was so bad, I felt weak and was hanging on to walls thinking I wasn't going to make it through the day.

Again, start with these few changes, little by little. Of course the coloring book was my personal preference for distraction (ha-ha), then I worked myself into exercise, along with vitamins and a good diet you'll begin to feel like you can take on the world. While there will be things that make you feel anxious, you will have some tools and ways of working through these moments.

I know that when you are feeling like this you just feel like you can't get a grip on anything, breathing, visualization, so that's why I recommend doing something distracting but it doesn't necessarily have to be visulization or breathing for these things are making you anxious right now. Use something different to distract yourself. I now can visulize, do breathing, exercise, etc.. do help me through any anxious days. Just for the record I hardly ever have any anxious days and again if I do, I find, I haven't done the right things for my body on a given day, diet, exercise, vitamins. When you find another distraction you will find like did when I was coloring or taking a walk the breathing will just automaticaly begin to calm down.

Have a great day. Relax, you will be fine!!!
You are not alone!! Hang in there and work your program. Also I might suggest you get a couple of books, Hope and Help for your Nerves or Peace from Nervous Suffering by Dr. Claire Weeks, also Don't Sweat the Small Stuff by Richard Carlson. I have found them to be helpful. Not to mention keep coming to this site to get more helpful hints. As you can see you are not alone, there are many of us that suffer the same thing as you and you are ok, you are fine, relax!!


Nancy

quote:

Originally posted by klv:
I'am not really sure where this anxiety came from. I do know that I have had anxiety attacks for a very long time. my grandfather got very sick and I spent alot of time with them and along with beign a single mother with 4 children,then they were in a car wreck and not wearing there seat belts and I saw my grandfather so into sezuires and then put him in to the hospiotal and witnessed alot. Then he died on New Years eve. the stress was to must and the depresstion set in and then I ck'd myself into a mental place to get treatment and got worse, and it went on from there. I take remeron and night 30mg and 60mg of buspar and usualy .1 mg of xanax, i have been asked to take a leave of absents from work because I had a panic attack,so i need to know if there is anyone else out there that deals with GAD on a daily basis and what do they do. I fine myself doing breathing all day long and I get frustated with this. exerise also causes anxiety, HELP HELP HELPI have a hard time with visual. Am just having a very hard time I spend alot of time reading and doing my homework not sure if I'am getting anywhere but more anxious