Anxiety Killers

[Sethe]

How to you squash your anxiety when it starts to consume you and usually leads to paranoia (for me)?

I learned that if I do some extremely hard labor that my mind will not be on the things that worry me (for the most part).

I spent most of today gardening with rivulets of sweat pouring off my face and body. I felt pretty good, but then soon after I stopped the anxiety started filtering back.

I may start some kind of meditation as well. Yoga has worked for me.

What about you?

 

[Sethe]

Hmm, maybe this belongs in 'Dealing with Symptoms.' I apologize if this is posted in the wrong spot.

 

[Gamereign555]

Anxiety for me does not go away quickly if it decides it wants to persist, and your right about distractions, they only work for so long as I am being distracted. Ultimately I end up getting used to the anxiety and painfully go about my life, and in a few days it kind of fizzles out and I'm almost normal again. It's just how my life is now.

Some of it is distinctly caused by lack of sleep however, beyond that I must still have triggers that I'm not all that aware of. I do know that sleep apnea can pack on the stress, causing your main mechanism for dealing with the stress to be half broken. I believe one medication I take is actually giving me the apnea, kind of defeating the purpose of taking anything for sleep to help my anxiety.

 

[Srain]

I found that when I do more physically it doesn't really help because I tend to go off into unhealthy conversations with myself before I'm aware of it. I do better refocusing on lighthearted things. I will call someone (my friends are funny) or watch a funny movie. Keeping calm is better for me or I tend to go psycho for some reason.

Rain

 

[njray]

Sethe,

Be careful of over exerting. I used to work physically hard to try to escape or mask my PTSD issues. It was kind of good to loose myself for a while but to be honest I did not address my issues and often the symptoms I was hiding or running from came back in vengeance once I stopped working. I hope you are in therapy in conjunction with the working hard self imposed treatment.

 

[Sethe]

Sethe,

Be careful of over exerting. I used to work physically hard to try to escape or mask my PTSD issues. It was kind of good to loose myself for a while but to be honest I did not address my issues and often the symptoms I was hiding or running from came back in vengeance once I stopped working. I hope you are in therapy in conjunction with the working hard self imposed treatment.

Thanks njray. I am seeing a T who has helped me tremendously! I had some things flare up and just needed to 'get away from them' through gardening. We are developing a plan on how to deal with certain stressors.

 

[njray]

Nice

 

[hazen]

Acupuncture has really started to help me. I now really look forward to my weekly session. However, the calm and serene feeling I get doesn't last longer than a day or so from it. I'm hoping to someday be calm and serene all the time... but we will see.

 

[Anna]

I find sleep helps loads. They have even discovered lack of sleep can bring on paranoia. I am wondering to myself if maybe the constant hypervigilance from PTSD stops us from getting a decent night sleep which then triggers the paranoia and anxiety? Like a nasty circle? just an idea?

I find if I get really anxious and paranoid, I take Valerian root and try and rest. Even if I cannot sleep resting helps. I also to avoid people and make excuses I feel unwell or am tired so they leave me alone.