Spikes In Anxiety

[TonyG]

I have been feeling better since my medication was increased but some days my anxiety is so bad I need Diasapam to calm me down, The grounding works most days but not on the spikes, nothing works, Any suggestions?

 

[arfie]

When grounding doesn't work, I like to get more aggressively physical. A stout, physical workout is my personal ideal. I prefer physical labor, but a long hike or a visit to a gym or swimming pool can work, also. Dancing is another fave.

 

[anthony]

When I have spikes in anxiety, I also go for valium, or a run, or both, or I just get out and go walking with my headphones in. One of those, or combination, will do the trick. I normally reserve medication purely as a last resort, as exercise / walking with music normally chills me out enough to curb such spikes. I don't get them often, but I did just endure one recently due to a lot going on surrounding me. That one... nothing but valium worked, and it was the most I'd ever used to curb it, still combined with running and exercise too.

 

[Friday]

I don't have any meds at present as a safety net, so I have to ride it out. Today was a bad one. Exercise didn't work so here was my next progression:

Hot & cold shower, changed my scent, total sensory overload, and none of that worked... So I deliberately triggered myself into some doozies of flashbacks.

Which sucked. And I'm still all numb and wobbly. But it's better than dead or locked up. I think. If another one spikes tonight it'll just be the curl up in a ball and close my eyes and shake through it. I'm too tired to be at risk of anything now. Not sure about your spikes, but mine often group together. Ditto panic attacks. Kinda aftershocky.

Being here, helps as well. Anything distracting. And other people's problems help me climb out of my own.

 

[Seasounds]

In addition to the great activities that have been mentioned above, I help my mind-body anxiety hormones shift by :

• Practicing my self-defense moves for twenty minutes, with a pillow, while shouting "No, get back!" (This shifts the fight, flight, or freeze.) You could just hit some pillows, and it is important to vocalize.This is followed by gentle stroking (rebuilding safety) of my face, arms, and legs, for twenty minutes, while saying to myself, aloud, things like, "I'm a good person", I have boundaries".
• I will set my timer for 30 minutes and keep doing easy and some mildly challenging, even made-up yoga-like stretches (anything that brings relief), accompanied with deliberate slow breathing. This can include stretching with a yoga ball.
• Take a hot bath or hot shower, for ten minutes, then dry off, put on socks, and a wool hat, lie down and cover yourself with: first, a cold wet sheet (wrung out), then 3 layers of preferably wool (it breathes) blankets-from head to toe. Close your eyes, turn off electronics and lights. Through this hydrotherapy routine, you'll induce a deep relaxation state, in about 20 minutes. Make sure to put your focus on your pulse in your toes or heart. Believe me, you will only feel chilled for a few minutes. Within 20 minutes, you feel hot.
• If the physical engaging activities, alone don't work, I will add a dose of clonazipam.

 

[TonyG]

@FridayJones
I have tremors most of the time but today it was pretty bad, I have taken two Diazapam and I am starting to calm down now, ready for sleep.

 

[Sandstone]

Practicing my self-defense moves for twenty minutes, with a pillow, while shouting "No, get back!" (This shifts the fight, flight, or freeze.) You could just hit some pillows, and it is important to vocalize.This is followed by gentle stroking (rebuilding safety) of my face, arms, and legs, for twenty minutes, while saying to myself, aloud, things like, "I'm a good person", I have boundaries".

Aren't we all different? Just reading this has made me anxious enough to affect my breathing and give me those sensations of imminent panic

Distraction is the thing that works for me - focussing on detailed drawing, and I've recently tried learning a poem by heart.

 

[darrenS]

i cant take meds for anxiety , they just dont agree with me , i do get anxiety to the point where i shake and tremble and it feels like it all over , but like FridayJones i have to ride it out, i do smoke but it dosent seem to stop it , i accept it when i am shaky and just try and relax and keep doing things. I find the biggest danger is to sit for long periods.

 

[Little Flower]

This is an area I have difficulty with
I have Xanax for anxiety but I haven't been taking it before u get out of bed. I,ll stumble around till I start getting anxiety THEN it occurs to me I haven't taken meds. I also have lexapro and Wellbutrin Weight lifting is the only exercise I've ever done that is can get lost in
At 53 my hip and back are forcing to find something else that will work
I like yoga too but it's been 20 years since I've tried it
My question would be I shouldn't feel "guilty" about needing my Xanax right off? My stupid brain tells me I'm an addict if I need something to help me kick start the day. This is a stigmatism I get from the Bible Belt fake love culture here