Generalized assistance thread for Anxiety.

[VII]

This thread will be based around users who are prescribed medication or are on medication for any type of anxiety disorder (doesn't matter what disorder it is, anxiety is anxiety) but have developed a heavy tolerance to the medications.

So let's turn this into an open experience thread about what you personally do to help with your panic while on medications to treat anxiety disorders. For instance, do you have different methods while you're on the medication to reduce your amount of panic you have throughout the day? How do you personally handle your panic attacks? All these questions are just examples of what I'm talking about here.

For me personally, I'm on Xan, KP, Val, and a muscle relaxer for fibromyalgia which I've been on for quite some time now. I picked up smoking which seems to assist to an extent but it's very unhealthy, it's bad enough that I'm on these medications let alone adding in another addictive substance like nicotine. I've tried alcohol mixed with these medications but it's just too risky - I've had very strange experiences while under the influence of alcohol while on these medications seeing it practically ten folds the effects which is not what I wanted at all. It got to the point that I was unable to function at all, just lay down and wait for the heavy effects to wear off.

I've also found as childish as this sounds is video games, TV shows, and movies also helps. Regarding video games, it's the most effective as I've found out seeing it keeps your brain focused so if you're looking for a really cheap alternative there's tons of games out there from any genre that will keep your hands and mind busy on what's going on the screen while TV/Movies are stationary in a sense where you can get into what's going on but your brain isn't as active. Keeping your brain active is crucial from my years of personal research on assistance with anxiety. You may PM me requesting my email about games, I have gift orders that are bought from the manufacture (legally, not illegally) which I can hand out to those that seek such a thing. There's also a ton of free games online that can keep your brain busy, I'd suggest nothing team based though seeing the community can really manipulate your feelings.

I've also been prescribed anti-depressants with the medications stated above for obvious reasons but I always have bad reactions to them. Any ideas on what would be a good alternative?

All advice, stories, experiences, and solutions that you've personally found are welcomed along with anything related to the topic.

 

[PTFC]

I got a dependence on zan and Di@z stupidly last year. I take mirtazipine also, on prescription. I found it works well along with my tapering schedule, which I'm now near the end of, I used/using the Ashton guide and am currently near the end of it, though it has taken quite some time, and a little longer, especially at these lower doses. I am looking for a short term sleep aid when I finally finish and I will probably use one of the Z meds, though next day drowsiness I do not want if possible. But I have found that focusing on the taper and getting back to work after a tough year last year has helped immensely with anxiety. Like yourself I'm a gamer and I agree that it really helps focus yourself and also reduced any anxiety, especially during dosage drops, though it isn't for everyone. I suppose the key is managing anxiety, and differentiating between "normal" and excessive anxiety. But that's a vicious circle in itself.........!!!! An interesting thread, I would also like to hear others views.

 

[VII]

Exactly my point, the trick is to get your mind off what triggers your anxiety and focus on the good things or anything else besides the triggers. I'm glad you were able to taper off such medications, I know it's a real pain to taper off such a thing after developing a dependence on the medications. Would you perhaps have any advice regarding your own personal tapering techniques? I'm quite interested in knowing what different methods work for specific people.

Ah, a fellow gamer. I generally play specific games like Diablo 3, World of Warcraft, or even card games to relax my mind. MMORPG's and MMO's really hit the spot because it takes you out of reality into a virtual world that you can become anyone and have your own free will on what happens. Focusing on the character and the in-game events or anything that's happening tends to help a lot. Some call it a gaming addiction, I call it a time-killer between work, sleep, and other duties you do around the house to maintain a clean house to keep your mind off the anxiety that you might experience inbetween those periods which I found that when I play these games I don't feel the need for "as needed" medications like Xan. There's less occurring panic attacks during that time period but yes, you are right it's not for everyone.

The vicious circle statement you made is why I made this thread to begin with, it sometimes feels the cycle never ends. It seems yourself and I both are interested to hear other users stances, stories, and so forth about this topic. Thanks for your reply, it's very insightful! 

 

[PTFC]

I tapered/still tapering using the Ashton guide, it's been ideal, but I was in the right state of mind to do it. I was angry though not surprised to aquire the dependence and that spurred me on. I'm big on ESO and fallout just now, and if i want to hit up with my mates, I'll go battlefield. I do love my "me time though"!

 

[VII]

From what I've heard (I have not tapered yet) Ashton is rough to go through but if you're making it through the process with ease then that's fantastic. The question is what will you seek to assist you with your anxiety now that you're being tapered off them? I'm sure there's a better solution than benzos but I haven't found any source or doctor that says otherwise due to my history of having bad reactions to some classes of medications they've tried. 

Fallout is great, haven't tried 4 yet but a huge fan of 3. Not much of a BF fan but I assume whatever helps is best for you! Not to mention being around your friends can also help. From observation, silence is the worst for people with anxiety disorders. Personally if I was to sit in a room in dead silence it would probably drive me crazy, metaphorically speaking of course.

Perhaps there's any form of music that assists you? I've been testing out binaural beats for awhile to soothe my mood, but that's very iffy for most people because it's a 50/50 chance it will help you. There's been reports that it helps, there's been reports that it does nothing besides making them dizzy or unattoned from the world around them for a short period of time due to stopping the binaural beats into silence (or after the session ends). Perhaps you have experience with binaural beats? If so, which ones worked best for you? 

 

[PTFC]

I don't know know much about binaural beats, but I do like my music! That's something else that takes me elsewhere. There's a favourite album thread listed somewhere, and my only contribution is that I just don't know what my favourite is,  it could be something one day and another the next! I don't think I will bring my anxiety with me on tapers end, I'm in a pretty good place from say, a year ago.  Though the thought of it continuing on gives me cause for concern, I see light at the end of the tunnel. The Ashton wasn't as daunting as I thought, especially the higher end drops, now on the low dosages I'm finding every mg counts and I've stayed at the same level for a while. I'll get there though,  I'm sure of it! 

 

[VII]

I don't know know much about binaural beats, but I do like my music! That's something else that takes me elsewhere. There's a favourite album thread listed somewhere, and my only contribution is that I just don't know what my favourite is,  it could be something one day and another the next! I don't think I will bring my anxiety with me on tapers end, I'm in a pretty good place from say, a year ago.  Though the thought of it continuing on gives me cause for concern, I see light at the end of the tunnel. The Ashton wasn't as daunting as I thought, especially the higher end drops, now on the low dosages I'm finding every mg counts and I've stayed at the same level for a while. I'll get there though,  I'm sure of it! 

There's bound to be an album that you listen to more, would love to hear what you listen to along with everyone else seeing music can say a thousand words about a single human being based on the artists they like. It's very similar to art to be fair, if you're an art fanatic you can read somebody based on their taste of art and get a good idea of who they are. Not saying that as a bad thing, just an example if you listen to pink floyd or genesis it pretty much tells me you've been through a lot in your life, you want to reach out to people but instead you keep to yourself and cope with your issues on your own terms. That's just from observation, a simple example no harm intended.

I'm very pleased to see you're having high success rates with such a tapering method, you really don't know how happy that makes me to know there's another life out there that made the right decision and made the right choice. I guess the world isn't as bad as I thought it was as people are concerned. Your motivation is also quite inspiring, I'll be here right by your side every step of the way. I'll most likely be tapering off countless years of high doses of these medications (with professional help) which will take years but will be worth it in the long run.

Seeing that you're so optimistic about this shows a lot of hope, some people loose hope after awhile and that's why it's so inspirational to see somebody say that. As you stated, the thought of continuing brings up concerns. Maybe there's a better alternative than benzos for you, most doctors would recommend anti-depressants even if you're not depressed to suppress your anxiety. However, I am not a medical professional so please DO NOT take this as professional medical advice.

Your success story will inspire tons of people, believe me it gave me hope and it gave me hope that really means something seeing regarding such things it's hard to convince me otherwise. Hopefully others will find your success story to be helpful and inspiring for the ones that want to taper off but are scared to try. I really appreciate you posting here, you're going to help a lot of people. 

 

[PTFC]

I am prescribed mirtazipine also, been on it 6 months now, last year wasn't great at all , but I've bounced back well and the optimism has increased. I'm listening to ABC's Lexicon of love mostly just now, along with snippets of my many favourites, The Charlatans, Blur, New Order (substance was the first album I ever purchased) et al, but I have so much music, nearly 12,000 tracks. Funk, new romantic, little bit of punk, 80's electro, 90's house etc etc, too many to mention. I still find it amazing I have my entire music collection on a handheld device!

As I said regarding tapering, I had to be in the right frame of mind, getting back to work was my main goal, and that spurred me further with commencing the taper, and religiously sticking to it as much as I could. I'm happy to assist anyone who is gonna give it a go, it's daunting, there's no doubt, but I see it as breaking free too. But I won't count my chickens yet, still a bit to go, the word is caution!

 

[VII]

I am prescribed mirtazipine also, been on it 6 months now, last year wasn't great at all , but I've bounced back well and the optimism has increased. I'm listening to ABC's Lexicon of love mostly just now, along with snippets of my many favourites, The Charlatans, Blur, New Order (substance was the first album I ever purchased) et al, but I have so much music, nearly 12,000 tracks. Funk, new romantic, little bit of punk, 80's electro, 90's house etc etc, too many to mention. I still find it amazing I have my entire music collection on a handheld device!

As I said regarding tapering, I had to be in the right frame of mind, getting back to work was my main goal, and that spurred me further with commencing the taper, and religiously sticking to it as much as I could. I'm happy to assist anyone who is gonna give it a go, it's daunting, there's no doubt, but I see it as breaking free too. But I won't count my chickens yet, still a bit to go, the word is caution!

Now you're the kind of man that I'd like to chill with. Seems you're a really fun guy to be around and even on the forums it's always a pleasure to see your posts and read through them even if I can't relate to the topic you've changed a lot of lives here. I too listen to a lot of the 70's and 80's "good" stuff. I must say it was the best time in the music industry. Now-a-days we have Justin Bieber...beiber? Ah who cares you get the point.

You also seem like an audio book kinda guy aswell. Have you tried any of them yet? Heard they're good, personally haven't tried any audio books but always open to options. Hearing peoples voices always calms me down as long as it's not in a crowded location. So laying in my bed listening to a single voice is very comforting. 

I do plan on tapering soon, perhaps you could provide some advice for someone that's been on Xan, KP, and Val for over 10 years on a daily basis? Dosage is important but I'd prefer not to publicly state what I'm fully taking each day as prescribed for security reasons but I can PM it to you if it will assist you while giving advice. I'm open to ideas but I have to be mentally ready as you've already stated. However having advice ahead of time never hurts.

 

[PTFC]

Of course, you can PM me anytime VII, I'm happy to assist where I can, that counts for any member also of course.

I'm not an audiobook person, I much prefer to read, love my kindle, and I read as much as I can, when I can, fiction/non fiction/ factual, I'm happy, though a little fussy. But who isn't??

 

[VII]

Of course, you can PM me anytime VII, I'm happy to assist where I can, that counts for any member also of course.

I'm not an audiobook person, I much prefer to read, love my kindle, and I read as much as I can, when I can, fiction/non fiction/ factual, I'm happy, though a little fussy. But who isn't??

You've helped me a lot throughout this short period of time and put me at ease with tapering, so I'm presenting you this.



There's no going back, my mind is set and I'm ready to do what's right for my body all thanks to you and the others that have assisted me in this subject. 

Regarding reading, I tend to get side-tracked too easily and the silence while reading tends to up my anxiety levels unfortunately. Yet if I listen to music while reading I find it hard to focus on the story and I end up getting lost. It's really unfortunate but I make by with it as best as I can. 

Perhaps you use any other method to calm yourself down when your anxiety begins to erupt so to speak? I find the more harsher cases to be more difficult to deal with - I generally have to take Xanax to sort of "kill" the panic at it's source when it gets really bad but beyond that I am unaware of any particular method that can assist with the heavier panic episodes. Maybe you could shine some insight on this not just for me, but for our readers aswell.