Anyone struggle with Anxiety?

[BeerAdvocate]

I suffer from really bad anxiety. Its something that I inherited from my father, which by the way is sending him to an early grave. Something I dont want to follow. It gets so bad for me sometimes, that I feel like jumping through a window. I have tried several drugs and nothing seems to work.
Does anyone else experience extreme anxiety, what type of meds do you take for it, or how do you cope? Besides smoking a cigar, of course

[akakirby]

I have suffered from this for the past 3-4 years so I feel your pain, when it first happened the doctor gave me zoloft for about a year I then decided I did not want to take it anymore so I stopped, I can control it better now (breathing and thinking it through) and it has gotten better I very rarely get panic attacks anymore but still have anxiety sometimes, I try to breath and just think my way through it. Do you get panic attacks or just anxiety?

its runs in my family to, I have a cousin who suffered from it and my mom also had some issues years ago.

[BeerAdvocate]

Not really any panic attacks, just severe tense anxiety!

[floydpink]

I've been diagnosed as a "Type A" stress junkie and have worked in timeshare, a very high stress industry, for 15 years.

Only recently, has it become unbearable at times and I was put on prozac a couple months ago, which seems to keep me a little more even keeled.

hi mate i suffer with bad anxiety and panic attacks and i also inherited it from my father when i was in my teens i was on alot of medication for it but i stoped takeing it as i did not want to get addicted to if u ever need enybody to talk to about it i am hear for you bro

[e-man67]

Yes...I was taking Lexipro which seemed to help but weened myself off of it. I now take Klonopin every once and awhile but not often (even though the doc said 2 a day I might do 1 per week)...it had alot to do with my job and taking problems home...I don't do that anymore...I have a cigar and a stiff drink most every night and that helps to put all anxiety away for the most part. I inherited it as well from my mother, anxiety and panic attacks...I have learned to say "**** it all" and get on with the more important things in life to me (wife and kids). My wife is on the brink now with her work and not sleeping well...Told her she has to leave that crap at work and not bring it home....taking the family away for a week and leaving the Blackberry at home...you gotta learn to relax and enjoy life b/c stress WILL kill you! Life is too short to worry about stupid **** (economy, job, who is in office, etc). Exercise also helps...go to the park...get lost in the woods for awhile. Hope this helps!

[BeerAdvocate]

I just wish I could find a med that really worked for me. My most recent one I was on, was Cymbalta. But it gave me really bad headaches and after a sticking with it for over a month or two, I saw no changes.
I still take Klonopin for when it gets really bad, but I hate taking it, because it knocks me out!
Beer also helps but the Dr what give me a Rx for that.

[floydpink]

I tried Xanax, but it made me unable to function.

So far Prozac has been ok, with relatively low side effects.

It also builds up a reserve in your system, I am told, so going off it isn't as bad as some other drugs.

I keep promising to get back in the gym and am going to really try this week.

[Scottw]

I smoke a natural remedy that seems to help me when I experience anxiety.

[floydpink]

Originally Posted by Scottw

I smoke a natural remedy that seems to help me when I experience anxiety.

I've been known to praise Jah as well.

[BeerAdvocate]

Originally Posted by Scottw

I smoke a natural remedy that seems to help me when I experience anxiety.

Unfortunattly my job does randoms on a monthly basis. And I kind of need my job right now.

[Whee]

Paxil worked for me. Lexapro just didn;t take the edge off enough.

Originally Posted by Scottw

I smoke a natural remedy that seems to help me when I experience anxiety.

Preach on Brother!!

[floydpink]

Originally Posted by BeerAdvocate

Unfortunattly my job does randoms on a monthly basis. And I kind of need my job right now.

If only all professional athletes thought like you...

I've been known to jump out of an airplane two or three times a month.

Great remedy for stress!!!

[markem]

Anxiety can be caused by a number of factors, including depression.

Prozac seems to be the medication of choice for evening out anxiety feelings, at least I know many that swear by it.

I had a couple of employees with very bad anxiety problems who opted for non-medical routes. One found a great practitioner of Chinese herbal medicine that has worked great. One uses Tai Chi and other uses daily yoga at lunch time.

I hope you find something that works well for you. I would suggest keeping a detailed journal to look for patterns, especially with regards to finding possible food allergies. Until I was diagnosed as a Celiac, I had wild anxiety attacks that I would never have associated with eating a sandwich the day before.

[floydpink]

I once mixed valium with viagra to try to relieve 2 things at once and felt like if you don't get a f*ck, you don't give a f*ck.

I am out camping and replying via bberry is a paoin to respond on. Drop me a PM I have had crippling anxiety over the past few years and learned a bit on the subject.

Meds, homeopathics, meditation, exercise all have their place depending on what's going on. There are some fantastic books out there as well that you can add to your tool chest. I have found over the years that different circumstances require differwent tools.

My real father let it kill him at 47, (via heart attack), I will not be the same, but it means being very self observant.

I would be happy to discuss more is you want.

[shilala]

About 10 years ago I used to have anxiety attacks and migraines. The migraines were from the tons of caffiene I took in.
The anxiety attacks would end me up in the ER and they'd draw blood gas because they thought I was having a heart attack. That hurts like hell.
I also had seasonal depression that turned into suicidal depression.
I drank a case of beer a day and tried every drug in the book. Most of them made me puke, so I had to double up.
Long story short...
A guy told me that anxiety comes from looking into the future.
Depression comes from looking into the past.
If I stay in the moment, I can cope. That's as much as I can handle.
It made sense. So I went and got a lot of help from people who had learned how to think in a manner that wasn't killing them, adopted a bunch of perspectives I didn't want to, and found a God that I hadn't wanted.
All that stuff allowed me to become willing to learn how to "stay in the moment". The anxiety has been gone for about five years, the depression hung on a bit longer.

It is absolutely amazing to me that the way I thought made me so incredibly sick.
If I hadn't lived it, I honestly wouldn't believe it. I learned how to think from my Dad, and he's a 100% hopeless alcoholic, and ready for an early grave himself. So it made sense I was in the shape I was in. I just did like I was taught.
I should mention that if it all hadn't been fixed by just learning how to think differently, I'd have never believed that, either. It took a long time, too. A few years of practicing. But it got better slowly. The drugs helped along the way. The one that finally worked for me was serzone. It settled my head down just enough so that I could think straight and listen and accept some reason.

[floydpink]

Originally Posted by shilala

About 10 years ago I used to have anxiety attacks and migraines. The migraines were from the tons of caffiene I took in.
The anxiety attacks would end me up in the ER and they'd draw blood gas because they thought I was having a heart attack. That hurts like hell.
I also had seasonal depression that turned into suicidal depression.
I drank a case of beer a day and tried every drug in the book. Most of them made me puke, so I had to double up.
Long story short...
A guy told me that anxiety comes from looking into the future.
Depression comes from looking into the past.If I stay in the moment, I can cope. That's as much as I can handle.
It made sense. So I went and got a lot of help from people who had learned how to think in a manner that wasn't killing them, adopted a bunch of perspectives I didn't want to, and found a God that I hadn't wanted.
All that stuff allowed me to become willing to learn how to "stay in the moment". The anxiety has been gone for about five years, the depression hung on a bit longer.

It is absolutely amazing to me that the way I thought made me so incredibly sick.
If I hadn't lived it, I honestly wouldn't believe it. I learned how to think from my Dad, and he's a 100% hopeless alcoholic, and ready for an early grave himself. So it made sense I was in the shape I was in. I just did like I was taught.
I should mention that if it all hadn't been fixed by just learning how to think differently, I'd have never believed that, either. It took a long time, too. A few years of practicing. But it got better slowly. The drugs helped along the way. The one that finally worked for me was serzone. It settled my head down just enough so that I could think straight and listen and accept some reason.

That's one of the smartest things I have seen written in a very long time.
I might put that on my desktop if it's ok with you.