Anxiety

[Buffalo Head '75]

Does anyone else deal with anxiety? I was diagnosed w/ an anxiety disorder and it is just hard.

Any thoughts?

[LIBRA]

do you smoke? :bandit:

5-htp works great, you can buy it in a pill form. Take it at night before you go to sleep, it has the same effect as serotonin, Im pretty sure it causes your brain to release more serotonin. Look it up, I bet it would help. But with any supplement you have to give it time. I can look up more stuff for ya?

[Buffalo Head '75]

I do not smoke...

I am actually on Luvox and some benzo's and that is working. This goes far beyond anything that just a supplement would help. I am doing a lot better though and have thankfully returned to work.

[LIBRA]

sorry man and I wish you well!!! :group_hug

[Buffalo Head '75]

no reason to feel sorry. It is just like anything else. You deal with it and go forward.

There are a lot worse things. It isn't like I have cancer or something.

[LIBRA]

true true! I ment no offense by the sorry comment :o

[Buffalo Head '75]

no worries. no offense taken!

[butterflyDancer]

I'm really sorry to hear that, but cheers on your outlook!

I may have some advice:
I've been diagnosed with ADD and manic-depressive illness (a.k.a. bipolar disorder, but I hate that term). I was on four different meds for several years, got off all of them them for about a year, but I recently started taking just concerta again. I hate the pharmaceutical industry, but in certain cases their bullshit is actually necessary.

Anyway, the point of all this is that for the year I was off medication and even now, daily or even twice-daily meditation made a HUGE difference. Have you thought about that?

I'm guessing you're pretty healthy, so you may have done this already, but caffeine and really sugary foods are stimulants, so it's helpful to minimize or altogether cut them out. Good luck! And I'd love to hear more about this if you're willing to share, I have a bit of a fascination with things like this o_0

[Buffalo Head '75]

I am definitely willing to talk about this. I am very open with this as I feel it is very important to get the word out that depression/anxiety isn't something to be ashamed of.

When I started going really badly in September (I was fine before that) I read an interview w/ the guy from 60 minutes (Mike Wallace) about his battle with depression and his use of anti-depressants and his openess and honesty really helped me.

I have cut caffeine out completely. Sugar... well I am a New Englander so that has to stay! LOL

I have considered meditation... and have tried it without as much success as I would like. Right now, I need to keep moving. A busy mind is a happy mind!

I do write haiku's and as dorky as this sounds, I play a basketball simulation (I love basketball) board game which keeps me focused and out of trouble.

I hate the pharmaceutical industry too but a lot of the products really help people. I believe if they went to a true non-profit, research based, pharmaceutical industry the world would be better off. Let places like UCLA or Harvard or whatever lead the way for these things. It would make a lot more sense.

[gogreengirl]

That's great Buffalo Head that you feel it should be out there in the open. If people get over the stigma attached to mental illness than I think more people would be willling to talk to a friend or seek help froma doctor or counsellor. If depression was like a visible black cloud hanging above our heads, then the world would be blind.

[Buffalo Head '75]

That's great Buffalo Head that you feel it should be out there in the open. If people get over the stigma attached to mental illness than I think more people would be willling to talk to a friend or seek help froma doctor or counsellor. If depression was like a visible black cloud hanging above our heads, then the world would be blind.

There is finally (at least in MA) a television commercial campaign to bring awareness to depression and "mental illness".

Anxiety still has a little bit of a taboo feel to it... some people just call it "depression."

MA Govenor (Duvall Patrick), wife was hospitalized for chronic fatigue and he is battling to force insurance companies to treat mental illness visits the same as regular doctor visits.

We also have health insurance for everyone in MA. I took part in the plan for awhile and it is really good. Very affordable.