Well, hey all..just felt the need to drop in my comments on what helped me with my anxiety..

First of all, and foremost, excersize! I feel that the best anxiety relief is getting your mind off of what is causing your anxiety. And usually the cause of that, is actually thinking about when your next attack is! This creates a un-stoppable chain of events and ultimately will make it worse.. So, go for a run, lift some weights, throw on your headphones and go.. I guarentee if you work out 3-4 times a week, you will feel a lot better about yourself and the anxiety *should* decrease.

Find a good hobbie! I play guitar and have been playing for a few years now, and it is the best anxiety relief imo. Playing for a couple of hours will eliminate all thoughts, and force your concentration into something positive.. you can do with this with any hobbie, but guitar is just what I chose.

Force yourself to deal with problems...I know it sounds hard but if you constantly force yourself to deal with the problem at hand, you will learn how to control it. I myself work in a very demanding customer service job, (US NAVY) and I am constantly talkin in front of people sometimes large crowds. I tell you, this has made me such a better person.

Well those are just a few thoughts I felt some people should try (if you haven't already). I was on medication for a little while but that didnt help at all, and made a life decision..either I'm going to suffer with this for the rest of my life, or face the problem and fix it myself. Its your choice.

I wouldn't recommend that to anyone who has palpitations, like me.

well said systemofadown ( Not the quietest band!! )
Do anything to take your mind of all the negative stuff you keep putting in your own head. Its easier for some to say they cant change, than it is to put in the effort to change. This is good helpful advise.

Nothing works unless you practice everyday, every minute...if you broke your leg, I'm guessing you would get a cast put on , learn to walk on crutches, learn to climb stairs on crutches, learn to walk again , I hardly think you would say YUP broke me leg, cant walk again, nah cant do that, me legs broke..see what I mean , You WOULD learn to walk again, yet with anxiety , cant do that , nah suffer anxiety, cant do that, I"m not putting anyone down here, but dont you see that we are all so obsessed with telling ourselves that we cant do things it is just no wonder that sufferers cant, they have never told themselves they can on a minute to minute day in day out, actually until normal thoughts replace all the negative ones.
When you play guitar, I think your meant to be thinking about what your playing , not thinking about palpiltations!
Its simply called living in the moment.
Keep on Playing System
S

Thanks for the post, I am very very nre to this anxiety thing an dit scares me so much and I just caught myself in the pattern you mentioned. I will have a few good days and not think ablout it, but then after like 2 or 3 days, those thoughts come a creeping, like isnt it time for one, or things are going to good, so thansk for the info, I actually thought about starting a workout plan tomorrow, so thanks again, any help you can give me is great...CHRISTINE

no problem, and if you need any help gettin a plan together , dont hesitate to ask..i have been workin out consistently for the past 3 years so i can give you some good advice as how to not become bored with working out.

Hey System,

Did you ever take any MEDS? Also, was it hard for you at first to start EXCERCISING? Did you do more Cardio, or weights? I am looking to start back up....but I just seem to get so sore / muscle aches now...! Did you ever experence this? I think it could be the MEDS (ZOLOFT / ATIVAN)....

Thanks,
-Brandon 21m college

Hey whats up,
Yes I was on meds, i used to be on ativan (didnt like it) and another one that began with a C. ( cant remember the name, but somethin like califax or somethin like that)...it took me a few months to get into the regimen of actually going to the gym and forcing myself to go. but after about the 3rd month, i was addicted..i was at the gym every day for about 6 months, but have definitely slowed down since then (work, hobbies, etc).. I go at least 3 times a week now, but just enough to me feeling good...and yes, soreness is natural, even people without anxiety experience this (this is actually a good thing because you are excersizing correctly)...i used to just weight lift, but now I do cardio about 3 times a week, and lift about 2 times a week.