anxiety solutions - Menopause Message Board

lorbis · 09-13-2005, 07:56 PM

For those of you who suffer with anxiety, especially the kind that wakes you up in the middle of the night with that "fight or flight" feeling, what have you found helpful for relief? Any and all suggestions are welcome and much needed!!! Ugh!

ainfante · 09-13-2005, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lorbis

For those of you who suffer with anxiety, especially the kind that wakes you up in the middle of the night with that "fight or flight" feeling, what have you found helpful for relief? Any and all suggestions are welcome and much needed!!! Ugh!

Oh I hated that feeling, that is the panic and the only thing I did was read some material on panic attacks and anxiety and menopause. But really, it wasn't until i started taking Prozac that I began to recover from this waking up panic feeling. I still wake up occasionally, but not in panic mode thank God! There was a book I read too, all about bad nerves, it was really good and it helped alot, it was about panic attacks, anxiety, nervous breakdowns, etc. really helped alot.

littlejmb · 09-13-2005, 09:13 PM

Lorbis, have you tried taking Valarian root before bed? It calms and relaxes you, and it may help you not to do that. Another good supplement is 5-HTP, which increases your Seratonin level. They both promote good sleep, and I take them both.

babydog · 09-14-2005, 04:54 AM

1. Breathe deeply
2. Say a prayer. Better yet, go to church.
3. take a hot bath
4. exercise ALOT during the day to get all the adenaline out of you system (this one if really imporant). Find something you love to do and do it everyday. I took up bike riding in the last 2 months. Saved my life.

5. avoid sugar, caffeine, tobacco and other stimulants (once your condition stabilizes, you can treat yourself every once in a while.)
6. When you get the symptoms during the night, breathe deeply and tell yourself it is just peri and it will go away because eventually it does.
7. Try to think about the things you have to look forward to . If you have nothing to look forward to (like I did), create some. It can be the vacation you always wanted to take OR going to the corner convenience store to play a lottery ticket and get a cup of coffee. Establish some pleasant routines in your life.
8. Watch a funny movie.
9. Eat something you really enjoy.
10. Watch your internal tape. Say nice, positive things to yourself.
11. Be patient with yourself.
12. Simple mental tasks I find are helpful. Scratch off lottery tickets are great for this. Some women find knitting is just as helpful (and I guess a bit cheaper

).
13. When I did get that horrible nighttime anxiety, I took 2 benadryl. It doesn't work for everybody but it worked for me. Now I can't remember the last time I had to take it.
14. 500mg of magnesium 1 hour before bed may help too! I still take this.
15. Hug your children.
16. Hug your grandchildren.
17. Play with your dog more.

Lorbis, aren't you on Zoloft?? For some reason I thought that you were. It's not helping to quell the night time anxiety. If not, you might want to ask you doc about switching to something else.

I have been on a low dose of Paxil for a about 2 months now. It's like Lazarus raised from the dead.

I originally took it to control my blood pressure that was spiraling out of control. This morning I took it and it was 102/66!

And I went from barely being able to sleep at all to sleeping a full 8 hours last night without getting up once

Ofcourse, had I not incorporated the tips listed above, I don't think I would have been as successful even with the Paxil.

Hope this helps.

rmc12 · 09-14-2005, 11:20 AM

Babydog,

Thank you for your list which I am going to print out and refer to often!! Anxiety is one of the biggest issues for me in peri and it is like at times a cloud appears overhead and won't go away. Then it lifts and I am myself. I try many times to just say "it is peri and it will pass" and it does but it is when one is in the thick of it that is difficult to listen to ones own voice!!

Again thanks for these excellent tips to help us all. Thanks for sharing.

rmc