Possible to cure Anxiety without medication: I DONT think so

[tommy1982]

This is my view from Experience..

For 5 whole years I battled Anxiety with excerise, CBT and every other crappy non medicated remedy I researched with doctors terapists and online advice.

As soon as I found a med that worked for me (lucky the first one exfexor) my whole life changed and I hardly ever ever get anxiety, I now live with my girl friend which I thought was never ever possible and am so so happy.

I am posting this post for people who are afraid to try meds due to advice around them, or if a med failed try another, as I was advised by the overall public not to go near anti depressiants for 5 years and suffered so so so much with no sign of hope, and for the past year I have lived such a wonderfull life.

Tom

[Louise2009]

Hi Tom

Thanks for that post, its great you are doing so well. I'm sure this post will encourage a lot of people.

Louise x

[tommy1982]

Thanks Louise

I woke up tormented every day for weeks even months, I suffered so bad. I hated getting out of bed, I didnt know how I could even cope with getting through the day at some points.

I had thought I had tryed everything and totally avoided meds thinking "they are not for me" "they do more harm than good at the start" then I got so mad with health anxiety I said feck it went on them and had little to no side effects I posted the first 2 weeks on here on the effexor section.

Just want to give people who are down a boost, I really thought notting would even help my anxiety now almost every day for the last year I have been super.

Amazed at the changes.

[Saor]

Just want to give people who are down a boost, I really thought notting would even help my anxiety now almost every day for the last year I have been super.

Amazed at the changes.

Tommy I've another post on here aswell though it's for another med. I suffer from GAD/Depression. I see people like yourself all coming on saying how pleased they are with the changes and how life is so good now etc. When I started on citalopram, I felt better like I'd stopped crying but I wasn't feeling fantastic everyday, just like a bit emotionless really but at least I wasn't crying or over anaylsing or panicking. I'm just wondering, as i'm inthe process of reducing my meds, should I stay on them to see how 'happy' I can be, or increase the dosage to see if I can actually be happy??

I'm all confused with this stuff, I'm only 32 but I've had anxiety problems for 15years almost, probably longer who knows for sure....

[Desprate Dan]

A bit like the above i have been on Citalopram for almost a year now, i am sick of the everyday struggle with life, really dont want to take meds, i cant sleep, i work full time and am just so exhausted, do you think i should ask to change my meds, also why do doctors think its wrong to give meds to help sleep, if i was an animal u wouldnt let it suffer, so why do they think its okay for me. Dan.

[Dooges]

Hello people,

I dont come on here to often anymore. Why? For two reasons.
1. I consider myself mostly cured of anxiety. I say mostly as I have to keep my mind focused on what worked for me to kick it.
2. I find this site only fuelled my anxiety. I'm not bagging this site, I love it and so do all the people that have come then gone again. Realising that although this site is very helpful, it does tend to focus your thoughts on something that only fuels itself on this focus. I hope that makes sense.

I didn't go down the meds line. I suffered for over 2 years. Seeing psychs, doctors etc doing a lot of reading here and on other websites boks etc. Even youtube.

Tommy, I came on here to say that I'm proud of you for not using meds for 5 years. I came very close myself. So 5 years is a good struggle and I'm glad they have worked for you.
One thing I want to ask though. What was the core reason for your anxiety and have you been able to address that now that you have calmed down?

It's these questions that I focused on along with acceptance of the symptoms and the tricks , thoughts and stories your mind plays on you over and over. Acceptance is the key. A hard thing to grasp i know and it takes heaps of practise, but it pays off big time...
Regards
Doogie

[Anxious_gal]

if the meds aren't helping couldn't you change them?
I tend to get physical side effects , tremors, weight loss etc from meds.
Citalopram scared me the most, I felt like I was having a bad trip :-(
I tend to e sensitive to most meds including the pill, antibiotics...
hoping that omega 3,6,9 tablets may help :-)
shame there wasn't a pill that worked for everyone !
glad to hear your better!

[Bill]

Do meds work or not? I don't know. It's always an interesting debate though because it's difficult to find concrete proof to confirm either way.

I've no doubts though that some people like yourself really have found a huge benefit from them and if they help you to lead a normal happy life then that's all that really matters so I wouldn't argue against the meds because they work perfectly well for you.

I always feel that the bottom line is we all just want to live life free of anxiety so if we find something that works for us then that's all that counts.

I think the subject of meds is a very complicated one because there are so many different types of anxiety caused by various factors affecting people with so many different personalities which is why I feel there is not one single "cure" that would work for everyone. Each case has to be treated on its own merits. I think of it like creating a package and meds are often involved somewhere within that package too.

I've suffered from anxiety for as long as I can remember but it was only about 15 years ago when the anxiety became so great that I was prescribed meds. I tried various ones but how much they actually benefited me is open to question. I think I probably found diazepam most effective because it sedated me but it's very addictive so shouldn't be taken long term as I did because I feel then it's benefits begin to decline as the body grows accustomed to them.

For a long while I then coped perfectly well without meds until I lost my dog who I had owned for nearly 13 years. It relly set me back so I went back on meds (amitriptyline) for about a month to help me to sleep and theyreally knocked me out so I guess they worked!

Now though I'm coping fine without meds again and I really don't feel I need any.

That's my story though. I know some peoples anxiety are so severe that they couldn't do without meds but there are also those who prefer to learn to cope without them.

How do meds actually work for anxiety? I can see that they must help to sedate the nervous system so I guess they would help to reduce panics but how do they cure fear?

What I mean is...if you opened the front door and a lion was sitting there, you'd naturally feel extremely anxious which would induce panic so if you then turned to your meds, would they help you to feel better whilst the lion was still there looking at you?

Modern day lions are stresses at home, work or in our past through emotional traumas so can meds cure them?

Also, what is the difference between an F1 racing driver and us? They can zoom round a racing track with no fear but we'd be in a panic about crashing and would meds provide that confidence we lack or would practise make us more able even if we could never achieve their supreme confidence and ability?

It's because of this word "confidence" that I feel deepens the debate. We go to the doctor looking for a cure so he gives us a med. We believe that this med must be a cure otherwise he wouldn't prescribe it, and we suddenly find our panicky feelings have gone. Is this because the med has worked or because we "believe" they're working and its the belief that has restored our confidence?

What if in years to come we find ourselves under extreme emotional stress again as I did when I lost my dog. If I were taking meds at the time, would they have prevented my new anxiety and would I think they're no longer working but then I did feel I needed a bit of extra support to help me through that period.

If we take meds for many years and we attempt to stop taking them, do our panics return and if so why? Would it be because our body has become so accustomed to them or is it that we "believe" they are working and so our anxiety returns because we've lost our "security" so feel more anxious coping without them? What if we were going through an extremely stressful period when we started taking them but that period was long ago and life had since settled but we still took the meds believing they were preventing the anxiety so in coming off them we then re-create our old anxiety due to trying to cope without the meds?

There are also the side-effects. Some people will find they feel hugely better from the med but others will experience bad side effects which make them "worry" more which increases their anxiety and if they suffer from health anxiety, these side-effects will make them worry about more illnesses. Pros and cons I guess.

I also find that with psychiatrists the only way they can treat mental illnesses and conditions are through trial and error. They can't see the causes without going back into your history but even then there might not be any obvious cause. I think they can only try different meds until they find something that works. I can remember when I was ill that after trying all the meds without any long term effect, they then tried ECT as a last resort. When that didn't work either they realised I didn't suffer from biological depression but instead severe anxiety due to my circumstances at home and at work. They wrote me off and left me to cope for myself so I guess I had no choice but to learn how to cope or else take more od's and go back to selfh.

Anyway, I think with true depression where there is no obvious cause going on in our daily lives then yes, I have no doubts the person should take ad's but when a depressed state is caused by anxiety, I'm not so sure how effective meds really are.

In a way I think maybe its in our genes. We're sensitive people who lack confidence so bad things in life will affect us much more than others and so our anxiety then develops. What if we were in a world without stresses? I bet we'd still find something to worry about because it's in our nature!

We say we suffer from anxiety because "excess worry" has taken over our lives but in truth, low level anxiety is perfectly natural because it produces adrenalin to used to help us to run or fight to help us to survive but these days the lions we face we can't run from or fight because we're trapped in pressurised offices and so this trapped feeling then causes the anxiety to grow out of control. Can meds prevent this from happening or should we think of changing jobs?

I think this debate wil run and run until probably they use gene treatment to remove the genes that cause excess anxiety! I wouldn't be surprised!

Please don't think I'm against meds though because to me, like I said in the beginning, if it works for an individual then that's all that really matters. Just as people find different therapies work for different individuals - some believe in mindfulness, others in acceptance, others in counselling or CBT etc...just as one med will work for someone and another for someone else. I don't think there is one cure that suits all.

I think it comes down to personal choice and whatever we find works! I would just say that if you feel meds are the "cure", just be aware of their pros and cons before you go down that route. You may find they work, you may not and it's when they don't that I feel a can of worms can be opened without realising so just be aware how anxiety can deceive us. However, if they work then that's brilliant because we all just want to live normal lives.:)

Just my thoughts.:shrug:

[Maj]

I woke up tormented every day for weeks even months, I suffered so bad. I hated getting out of bed, I didnt know how I could even cope with getting through the day at some points.

Hi Tom,
I totally understand how you felt because I, too, once felt like this. I carried on working, but it was a living hell. That's when I had to take antidepressants because I was struggling on my own for so long. Although terrified to take them they were the best thing I did and I turned a corner from there. I only took them for 6 months, but they were the crutch that I needed. Sometimes you just need a little help. I'm so glad you're feeling better.
Myra x

[ladybird64]

I have come to the decision that there is no actual "cure" for anxiety and for many of us, as Bill says, "it's in the genes". I don't think that one particular approach will suit all but think that it's not a good idea to put complete faith in medication to deal with everything that ails us..we know the problem lies within ourselves, often exacerbated by outside triggers.

In that respect the buck stops with us, yes the doctors/therapists can provide a certain amount of help with medication but we need to work alongside that to help ourselves feel reasonably ok.

I'm on medication now for a severe bout of depression, not for anxiety. It wasn't until I read the info on the Citalopram packet that I realised that they are used for treating Panic Attacks as well! My panics have decreased since I started taking the drug but I don't think for one minute it is because of meds, rather because I have regained some inner strength and sense of purpose, not tons but enough for me to take advantage and push myself a wee bit.

I know Im digressing a bit but must also say that although positive thinking is a great thing sometimes we find ourselves in positions where that just isn't feasible and there is nothing worse than someone that says "you don't need meds, just positive thinking!"..that one really gets my goat!!

Whatever helps you live with your anxiety is the right thing for you, regardless of what anyone else says. Living with it doesn't necessarily mean being crippled by it, it means being able to function and accepting the fact that its there but without being ruled by it.

I don't feel miraculously different but then I never expected to be..I just feel more at peace with who I am and the fact that no, I am not bloody superhuman but nor am I a failure..I'm just me.

With or without meds. Doesn't matter. I am grateful that I made the enormous step of talking (briefly) to my GP and with medicinal intervention I am back on the path that I want to be on.

I wonder if this post counts as positive thinking? :winks: :D

[joannap]

have to totally agree with the non meds posts! yes - i feel they have been life savers for me at times and yes - i too have felt great for months/years at a time but have then relapsed. i am going through a very bad patch at the moment but am not rushing back to my gp to up/change dose (i am on 10mg now) because i do not feel it is the long term answer. yes - i too felt anti depressants had changed my life when i first started them - i felt everyone should be on them! and if they make you feel like this for years tom then great! but from my own experience - i did relapse every few years and am still doing because it is acceptance of how you feel is the way forward. it is loosing the fear of fear that helps you to work through it yourself - the meds make you feel better in the short term (perhaps they do work for years for some people) but they do not address the causes or prompt us to make the lifestyle changes that help us to manage our stress levels/anxiety too. i too felt as though life was a living hell but am now learning that with acceptance - i can come through the other side of relapses and learn to manage anxiety myself which is much more rewarding then relying on meds long term.

[onceagain]

Hi

I feel that anxiety has many traits and that only sorting out what is causing them or how to learn to handle those feelings is the only real way of dealing with it... anxiety fight or flight is natural as Bill states so it will never be truly eliminated and like most on here we are generally aware of the things that cause upset but don't know how to deal with it or escape it. When things hurt it is now unacceptable to fight so our frustrations stay, to feel such strong emotions are unacceptable and it usually pans that the devious types come out stronger or the winners situations don't bother them as they didn't care in the first place. We are very sensitive and things and people matter to us... we live in a society which is false and ordered in itself..so we don't have that natural release given to us by nature.. and flight when we are arguing or having a stress day or something at home has a huge impact on us..where do we run..we can't we have to hold ourselves together..well generally that is fine..people do have ups and downs that is part of live, but the thing is that when things never get resolved or just keep happening our bodies can only handle so much we can only take on so much holding things in.. and eventually it breaks.. but still we can not run screaming down the road as this is unacceptable so we fight our emotions our natural emotions and that can't be good for anyone. We don't say the things we want to for fear of upsetting or losing something or someone and take this hurt on board ourselves.. our fears mount up and so does our reaction to it until we feel we are going to explode.. our body reacts we have to hide it and it can become too much. Bill is correct again, I have found that people with a who care attitude rarely go through this simply because they don't allow themselves to get hurt by worrying about anyone or anything ... they don't care unless it affects them and then they blame others or are horrible to others and it assists them in getting on with life. Health anxiety phobias are all unresolved fears hidden away, swept under the carpet ...fine if things don't get added but everyone has a threshold of what they can take and we I believe have overfilled.

I do believe however that meds do have their place in recovery of the worse times on our journeys. When we are so bad that we cannot cope with the day itself and we are making ourselves ill we do need that balance.. no pill can be a wonder pill but I do believe that a chemical imbalance can occur when we are so overrun with worry or fears and our natural body resources must kick into action we are confusing ourselves..

I think that people do need the help to get a chance to at least calmly work out what is going on with their lives but the main problem to me is society..itself.. we don't live in a society where people truly care anymore.. if someone asks how we are, we are expected to be fine...even when we are not.. busy lives mean people don't want to have to worry or take on problems so they are avoided..everyone wants to be bigger and better and the general caring has disappeared..people items relationships are all taken too lightly and therefore no one really talks or deals with anything anymore we are forced to just deal ... Meds are not the answer but they are a help to give us the chance to find the answers.. we don't want to be numb to our emotions we want to learn to deal with them .. and a lot of it would come from understanding family and society within itself... I listen to people at work harping on about such irrelevant stuff as if it is the end of the world but often the only talk they have for people is gossip or negativity..false smiles .. life is difficult to get through now a days normally when there are too many worries it all is too much ..

[Bill]

Something that Ladybird said got me thinking in connection with my thoughts about how and why meds can help......

there is nothing worse than someone that says "you don't need meds, just positive thinking!"..that one really gets my goat!!

I think I know exactly what you're saying Ladybird. When things pile on top of us So much that we feel in really deep hole with no escape, it can be extremely difficult to think positive when everything feels so hopeless.

I can remember when I reached that point that there was nothing positive I can think of. All I thought of was being trapped and there being only one way out by taking od's. When ad's were prescribed I just took them in the hope that they would make all my anxious and depressed feelings go away and yes, they did help but not long term. The reason they didn't work long term was because the underlying causes both at home and at work still remained and they kept dragging me down every day. The meds did help to get me through it which leads me onto how exactly I think they helped...

I'm not sure but I think I heard that Ad's were originally created for depression which would seem to make sense since they're called Anti-Depressants. In other word, they lift your mood for depression sufferers. This is what I found when I took them. Nothing had changed around me but my mood definitely lifted for a short while before they lost their effect because things around me constantly made me anxious.

However, if an AD lifts a person mood, the sufferer will feel more positive and therefore they could then give thm that little bit of support that's needed to achieve positive thinking. A bit like showing a light. When we feel more positive, we feel more confident and so are better able to look for ways to help ourselves through difficult times. What you could say is that meds can help to replace confidence that we've lost by lifting our mood. When we feel more confident, fear also subsides and therefore anxious symptoms such as panic maybe less likely to occur.

As I've mentioned though, I think there are alot of things to be wary of by taking meds for anxiety because no one really explains how they can mislead and how sufferers can become addicted when in themselves they're not.

I do believe though that meds can be used as a necessary tool to aid recovery but if a person goes down the meds route they should be made fully aware of the pros and cons to them rather than made to think they are a magic cure. Once a person is taking them then I feel it should be personal choice if they wish to take them short or long term but helped if they prefer to learn how to cope without.

Just an example of one of the cons about meds would be supposing you've had a build of pressures suc as studying for important exams but not aware of the effect the pressure is having on you until one day you appear to suffer a panic attack out of the blue. You think you must be ill so you see the doctor who prescribes ad's. You are made to think they are the cure and will stop future panics. You take the exams whilst on the ad's and pass with flying colours but you're still afraid the panic attacks will return so you continue to take the meds. What the sufferer doesn't realise is that it was the pressures leading up to the exams that caused the panic attack but the sufferer becomes "addicted" to the meds because they have becom too afraid to stop them because of the fear of panics. When the sufferer does stop them, they feel anxious without their support and another panic occurs but it isn't the ad's that were preventing them but instead the "fear" of coping without that has created new panics....and so the sufferer then goes back onto the meds thinking they must have been stopping the panics.

I'm only mentioning the above as an example because no one tells you how anxiety can affect and mislead, and how meds can be addictive.

Anyway, I was thinking then about our options...

Supposing you're in a very stressful job which is causing alot of anxiety and panics. What should you do? The doctor will certainly offer AD's so the first choice is to accept them or not. Most probably the person would take them and indeed they could well lift the persons mood so that they feel happier and more confident doing their stressful job. They may well find that they will always need the meds to help them cope.

The other option this person could have is to attempt to look for a job that they would feel happier doing because that way they'd feel less stressed and so not need the meds.

The one group of people I feel Really sorry for are mothers coping with young children. For them, they are their job and there's no escape and often they don't get the support from their partners if indeed they have one. When the stress becomes too much I don't think they have much choice than to try ad's unless they can find the support they need.

I think also that if someone is suffering from agoraphobia, they can get really depressed because they can't do the things they want to. Ad's can be the lift they need because by lifting the mood and helping to ease symptoms they can boost confidence to help the sufferer past their barrier.

I think if someone cannot find the strength or willpower, and they can't see a way out, meds can help.

By the way, have you ever noticed on the leaflet that ad's can actually cause anxiety! I couldn't believe it when I first read it! That's another issue how side-effects can mimic anxiety symptoms and so mislead the sufferer into thinking they're ill....and of course an anxiety sufferer often won't read the leaflet in case it triggers health anxiety!

Sorry..I could go on...I do think meds can help when we're really low but just be careful and don't assume they're a magic cure because anxiety loves to trick us!:winks:

[jude uk]

I have worked with many clients who after being on meds for a while decide to stop the meds because they are now feeling better but they end up feeling just as bad. Now there are a few reasons why

1. The meds help to balance them out
2. They think because they feel better they no longer need the meds

Everyone would love to be med free but to be honest I dont think this is possible and taking meds should not be looked at as a negative thing but it should not be looked at as the complete answer to ones mental health issues.

The meds are a stepping stone for many to get their anxiety, panic, agoraphobia under control. The real work is done by each individual every day.

I would like to suggest that it is not the meds that people are fed up with, it is the fact that they are not getting any better and then they blame the meds. The real truth is people just dont try!!!!

The person with anxiety
The person with panic attacks
The person with agoraphobia
They all sit there wishing to get better but wont do anything about it. If we are really honest with ourselves we will admit that we dont try hard enough.

I suffered agoraphobia/panic attacks/ anxiety/ fear of death for years and done NOTHING ABOUT IT!!! Sure I took the meds but I would not face the fear. I wasted years of my life and I will never ever get these years back.

1. Accept that you have a problem
2. seek medical advice
3. Take the meds
4. Get support from a counsellor
5. Take the steps that will move you forward
6. Get some excercise...This is a key factor in getting better
7. Eat better, more fruit and veg

I failed 100s of times
I have ran about like a headless chicken in my house with fear
I have gone to the hospital only to be told I am fine
I have cried all the way from the shops to my house because of fear


It has been a long road to get to where I am now but it has been worth it.

We all have the power to over come anything. Okay we may not be 100% but 50% 70% 80% is better than we have been.


Take the first step and you will get there

[Thumbelina]

Jude,

I agree, you have to accept and admit the facts, then you get well faster,

Medications are very important at some point and its up to the doctor to detrmine when we need them, though we can tell the doctor when we think its time to think about lowerng the dozes, or coming off them.

It is important for our selfesteem and for inner strengh to be able to say to ourselves, i can do without them now, i can face the reality and anxiety ad depression without them.
Some people might prefer not to do that ever which is safe and good as well, but for others it is some kind of challenge - to come off them with no damage to all the healing done.

It is for me after 5 years on them.

I am scared still of many things, like now shaking of the flu that damaged my selfconfidence so badly during the past week.
But i still want to be myself. I will continue antidepressant Cipralex which helps anxiety as well for some time, but antianxiety medication I will try not to touch again. I have not taken them for 1y min.

Medications are beneficial when they are the right ones.

I have been intoxicated 2 times with the antidepress and antianx coctails by docs, was on drips, so its not always beneficial.... but I stil believe in doctors regardless...

[joannap]

jude - WOW!

totally agree with you. i am having a major relapse at the moment and my thoughts have been - oh god - i don't want to be back here again! Should i rush to the doctors and change my meds/up my dose etc!

NO! because i know i am saying these things because i do not want to put the work in! i want someone to wave a magic wand for me and make it all go away! it is incredibly hard work getting through a set back but i have done it before and the feeling of coming out the otherside - knowing i have done it myself is the most empowering thing ever - so thank you for your post - the timing could not have been better! :bighug1:

[Saor]

jude - WOW!

totally agree with you. i am having a major relapse at the moment and my thoughts have been - oh god - i don't want to be back here again! Should i rush to the doctors and change my meds/up my dose etc!

NO! because i know i am saying these things because i do not want to put the work in! i want someone to wave a magic wand for me and make it all go away! it is incredibly hard work getting through a set back but i have done it before and the feeling of coming out the otherside - knowing i have done it myself is the most empowering thing ever - so thank you for your post - the timing could not have been better! :bighug1:
I'm glad of the recent posts here too, I was starting to doubt myself whether I should stay on them or not. Granted I'm not ecstatically happy all the time but I'm in a better position to cope, plus this time I have a really good clinical psychologist and am ready to face my demons. It's really hard so far, but I'm going to do it this time. I'm going to stick with it. The meds got me through the first phase but now I'm ready to deal with the anger, the trauma, reality and finally start to accept me for who I am and like me too. I don't think I would have gotten to this position without the meds but I feel empowered just thinking I can continue on now with my psych and med free and come out the other side better than ever.

Thanks girls :bighug1:

[Thumbelina]

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