Morning panic/anxiety

[Her Indoors]

I am really not coping with my anxiety, feeling so dreadful and afraid. I wake every morning with terrible anxiety which lasts pretty much all day until the evening. I cry a lot and feel I will be like this forever, it has been going on for the last 7 months and I am taking medication, but it's not really helping me, apart from helping me to sleep. I have been referred to a mental health Recovery Team and have my first appointment soon. Will this ever go away, I am so afraid I will be like this forever and it's just so hard for me, not sure how much longer I can go on being like this? I can barely cope with the housework and am so tired all the time. My thoughts wont stop. My life has practically stopped.

Please tell me there are effective medications to help me. I am taking Sertraline and Mirtazapine but it's not really doing much. Getting very desperate, even considering ECT, anything, advice needed. Can't take diazapam for the rest of my life, it's all such a mess.

Please give me some advice, I would really appreciate it.

J xxx

[Col]

Hi j,

I was like this. I had a breakdown (long long story compound stress for over 10 yrs) anyways I was always very very strong person. Didnt cry at sad movies, my view of panic sufferers - "what's that ohhh God people like that need to pull themselves together" & generally life and soul of the party. Always seen as confident and outgoing!

So 2011 all caught up with me had to leave my postgraduate teaching course , gutted worked sooo hard anyway ended up house bound due to panic attacks making my life soo unbearable , even a 5 minute drive up the road to my daughters school for school run - turned into months of agony. I didn't go to town 3 miles away from my home for 6 months, I felt guilty for depriving my kids of simple days out to the park. My mum and dad are sepearated and use me and my brother to get at each other even though were grownups & i think they individually thought I was taking side making excuses up using panic attacks so I didn't visit each of them. THEY BOTH , just did Not buy - I Collette had started to suffer with panic attacks? Don't know why they thought this wasnt true knowing the shit they had put me through & thought my mum would have known better - being sectioned herself etc??? Dare I say it just a complete F-ing nightmare. Worried my marriage was suffering blah blah.

My panic attacks just got worse and worse durring this time and I know there are meds and coping mechanisms BUT for someone whose never experienced anything like this before - I didn't know what to do where to turn! Tbh even if idid know the coping techniques at that time, my panic attacks had a mind of their own. SO I was (other than school run) agrophobic for 6 months!


It does get better - 2 years on - never taken meds as I stress over side effects but setting myself small walking tasks each day & getting a hobby and giving advice on here - with time really helped. Also, eating well, manuka honey, less caffeine and tapping exercises are what helped and sleeping more!

But time , it takes time.

I'm still not 100% never will be , I am optimistic BUT I'm sorry NO matter what anyone tells me , the experience will still cloud my decisions and I will always be aware of the despair I felt at that time. I will not ever push myself & I will never take crap like I used to , in order to avoid this happening to the extent it did in 2011 , again.


Hang in there , this is a great site for support XX

[Her Indoors]

Hi j,

I was like this. I had a breakdown (long long story compound stress for over 10 yrs) anyways I was always very very strong person. Didnt cry at sad movies, my view of panic sufferers - "what's that ohhh God people like that need to pull themselves together" & generally life and soul of the party. Always seen as confident and outgoing!

So 2011 all caught up with me had to leave my postgraduate teaching course , gutted worked sooo hard anyway ended up house bound due to panic attacks making my life soo unbearable , even a 5 minute drive up the road to my daughters school for school run - turned into months of agony. I didn't go to town 3 miles away from my home for 6 months, I felt guilty for depriving my kids of simple days out to the park. My mum and dad are sepearated and use me and my brother to get at each other even though were grownups & i think they individually thought I was taking side making excuses up using panic attacks so I didn't visit each of them. THEY BOTH , just did Not buy - I Collette had started to suffer with panic attacks? Don't know why they thought this wasnt true knowing the shit they had put me through & thought my mum would have known better - being sectioned herself etc??? Dare I say it just a complete F-ing nightmare. Worried my marriage was suffering blah blah.

My panic attacks just got worse and worse durring this time and I know there are meds and coping mechanisms BUT for someone whose never experienced anything like this before - I didn't know what to do where to turn! Tbh even if idid know the coping techniques at that time, my panic attacks had a mind of their own. SO I was (other than school run) agrophobic for 6 months!


It does get better - 2 years on - never taken meds as I stress over side effects but setting myself small walking tasks each day & getting a hobby and giving advice on here - with time really helped. Also, eating well, manuka honey, less caffeine and tapping exercises are what helped and sleeping more!

But time , it takes time.

I'm still not 100% never will be , I am optimistic BUT I'm sorry NO matter what anyone tells me , the experience will still cloud my decisions and I will always be aware of the despair I felt at that time. I will not ever push myself & I will never take crap like I used to , in order to avoid this happening to the extent it did in 2011 , again.


Hang in there , this is a great site for support XX

Sorry you have had such a tough time and glad you have come through it and are feeling better. Not sure I am as strong as you are though.

Could anyone advise me about effective medications for chronic anxiety, I am getting very desperate, its been going on a while and I can't cope.

J xxxx

[ankietyjoe]

Something to consider is that your body and nervous system can get into habits.

In my experience it's actually very normal to feel like crap first thing in the morning, it's certainly when I feel at my worst. Sometimes it's for 10 minutes and sometimes it lasts well into the day.

You say that medication isn't helping, but you want to take more? Perhaps that's not the answer.

When I wake up feeling rubbish I just let it happen now. It's not easy and it takes some practise but it absolutely makes things easier. Anxiety is self sustaining, and the more I think about it the worse I feel.

I also had huge bouts of insomnia (sleeping at 4-5am and waking at 7-8am) and then feeling wired all day. Again, I just ignored it and slowly got myself back into good sleeping habits (although it's still not perfect).

Ultimately what I found was that there are two ways to deal with anxiety and panic. One is to look inwards and use your own mind and willpower to combat how you feel (not easy at all), or the other way is to use medication and hope for it to get better. Now I'm not saying that antidepressant/anxiety medication is pointless as I've never taken it so I can't really comment about its effectiveness. What I do know is that I used to rush for 'the fix' whenever I used to feel panic (beta blockers, kalms, aspirin for the million imagined heart attacks etc) was another self sustaining cycle.

On the other hand, just taking some deep breaths and reminding myself that it's just yet another panic attack eventually works wonders. What you're doing is teaching your sub conscious that there's nothing wrong. For me, popping a pill was just reinforcing the idea that something IS wrong and needs a solution.

I do feel for you though. It's a horrible thing to wake up to, but it's important to believe that there is another way and it absolutely can get better.

[PanicPod]

Hello, Her Indoors,

I suffer from very bad morning anxiety and struggle as you are doing. It is so difficult, isn't it?
I am seeing a counsellor and it does help to have someone there to talk to - she thinks I am doing alright and I suppose things are improving but it is all too slow for me. I want to be well - NOW! I also take Propranalol but I think I will go back to my GP and ask for the slow release ones as that might help with the early morning anxiety.
I do find distraction helps so try to get busy as soon as I can in the mornings, but sometimes I just feel too tired to. My distraction for this morning was going out with a friend but she has messaged to say that she is poorly! So I am going to make some gooseberry jam instead!

Hope you can have a good day today - think of something nice to do and enjoy it. Message me if you ever want to chat. xYx

[Her Indoors]

Thank you all for your kind replies,

I am really not coping at the moment, struggling to do pretty much anything. Counting the days till my appointment, I really need some medication to help me as at rock bottom. Constant anxiety/intrusive thoughts. Haven't got the willpower or strength of mind to cope without the tablets unfortunately and hopelessly depressed now. Not sure how anyone can help me?

J xxx

[rhpanic]

Hi Her Indoors,

I'm sorry to hear you are feeling so low. I am in exactly the same boat at the moment. In fact this morning was an all time low. I have been taking fluoxetine 20mg for 3 weeks now and feeling no better but from reading lots of other people's posts things will start to get better. Unfortunately it just takes time.

Maybe seeing a doctor might help you? They can talk through different options.

Anyways I hope that you start to feel better soon.

Xxxxx

[Kim51]

It must be bad thursday !! I too have waken up with extreme anxiety/panic, just have to hope this is just a blip and all of us will have better days, imagine one day we will wake up full of beans jump out of bed on top of the world and we will have a fantastic day, it's so damn hard but we have to hang onto this thought.
:hugs::hugs:

[Her Indoors]

Hi Kim,

I think I would pretty much give anything for that day, I want to get better, but my head won't let me. Wish there was a magic pill that we could all take to make us well.

J xxx:weep:

[jjgamesroom73]

It will be better if you start your day with some relaxation exercises. Just take 10 to 15 minutes for this. If you start your day relaxed and focused, you may feel a sense of emotional balance that carries you through your day.

[pickycricky]

I am currently in the same situation...Had a bit of a relapse in my anxiety recovery. Before bed and the mornings seem to be the worst. It's horrible at the time but it's so true that if you get busy doing something...get out, go for a short walk, etc...it really does distract you and makes the anxiety better. They say to distract yourself for 15 minutes or so and you should be ok. Since I'm kind of in a relapse right now so it takes me a bit longer to distract myself. It actually feels like I'm distracting myself the whole morning. It does work though and you will get better.

[fosty1]

I get morning anxiety pretty much every day. My work has gone through a restructure and there is no post for me. Trouble is is that they can't get rid of me yet either, so I'm in limbo every day. It saps the life out of you and gives you no reason to get up. This negativity then lasts all the way through to mid afternoon, when I can start thinking about going home. I can't leave due to financials, so rock and hard place springs to mind. What can I do to change my thoughts when I wake up?

[dally]

Hi
I find the morning best for me because my mind hasn't had the WHOLE day of anxious thoughts.
I have only taken Valium, cos I'm too scared of the side effects of ADs and they take sooo long to get any effect. Although for some people on here, I agree they do work. But, for others who have had success th ADs, eventually stopping them seems to be a problem. So all in all they ar not for me

Valium, I can control. I am acutely aware of its additctive nature and take them carefully.
I have also had beta blockers which do help anxiety but not anxious thoughts. And like all mess I am scared of side effects. So never really took them long term.
I also take rescue remedy. Don't know if it really works, but it doesn't do any harm if it doesn't.
Deep breathing and relaxing CDs.
BUT
I agree when I'm REALLY desperate, I need medication. I just can't do it by myself.
And that's when I take a Valium. It calms me down within half an hour.

I really do not not want to take meds and ESP Valium so I have seen myself struggle
For a whole day (14 hours). With major panic (shakes, sweat, pacing,vomiting, crying,petrified hysterical.). Trying desperately to calm myself down h breathing, CDs, walking round the house to use of the adrenaline. Very occasionally, it's through sheer exhaustion, cos major painic is like a heavy WORKOUT!!!, I will eventually go to sleep
Or
I resort to a Valium, and calm after half an hour. I then think....why didn't I take the Valium 14 hours ago!!! (Because I don't want rely on addictive drugs r any mess)

S I guess I'm saying Valium and propane lol are quick acting helpfull drugs used carefully
Take care xx