Has anyone improved without meds?

[Bonnibelle]

Has anyone found a way to help their anxiety without medication? I am having counselling and doing CBT. I was just wondering if anyone had found any natural ways to relieve anxiety and panic, and lift their mood.

[livethelife]

i have suffered from HA for years - i am 48 and remember this starting when i was 10 years old. thankfully i have had lots of good years over that time period and only a few times where the HA was totally out of control.
when it was totally out of control i needed to be on medication - and even though i thought it wouldn't help me - because i believed that i really did have something physically wrong with me - the medication helped tremendously.
but like you, overall i would rather go without medication.
right now i am going thru a period of HA and trying not to start any medication. i do have clonazepam which i use to get me thru if i am having a really rough time with anxiety that just won't go away. i don't mind taking something like this as long as it is only on occasion as i don't see any side effects from it. i think that most docs are ok with prescribing something like this as long as you are not using them all the time. i can go for months without taking any when i am feeling pretty good and right now i am getting by on maybe 1-2 tabs per week. to me this is preferable than going on something that i have to take daily that will have potential side effects.
the one thing that my doc always emphasizes is exercise - so if you can exercise, then do so every day for at least 30 minutes. also i know that on the days i am most busy, i worry the least. idle time is the worst.

[Bonnibelle]

Thank you.

Sorry to hear you've been suffering. You do very well to control it yourself.

Exercise is good, it helps me a lot.

[Rennie1989]

*Hands up*

I've had GAD since I was a teenager (Christ knows when I was diagnosed) and found that medication made me worse. I've recently made a huge turnaround thanks to CBT. I changed the way I think about things whilst looking after myself better, like eating and drinking better, better sleep, and having a more of a get-up-and-go attitude. I take herbal tablets if I need a kick.

[Bonnibelle]

Well done Rennie xx

*Hands up*

I've had GAD since I was a teenager (Christ knows when I was diagnosed) and found that medication made me worse. I've recently made a huge turnaround thanks to CBT. I changed the way I think about things whilst looking after myself better, like eating and drinking better, better sleep, and having a more of a get-up-and-go attitude. I take herbal tablets if I need a kick.

[Raphaels]

I have been unwell with health anxiety for the past year. I was forced to take mirtazepine which I did for 3 months. Then I knew that I could do it on my own. It isn't easy but with professional help you can do it. There have been times when I wished I was back on them. But I'm glad that I persevered. I'm not as well as I could be but I'm still a grat deal better than this time last year.

[quinnell]

hi
its been a while since ive been on the forum I went back to work in feb of this year after six months of ha I cant seem to take tablets as my mind does not proses them at all and ive tried all of them so I had cbt which helped and thought I was well enough to go back to work so slowly I grew with confidence and seemed back to my normal self which has been well over twenty years since I been anxiety free. how ever an incident at work which involved me and my supervisor has sent me right back to square one im now back off work with anxiety I tried so hard not to let the incident affect me but deep inside it must of and all the physical symptoms crept in headaches feelings of going mad dizziness feelings of im going to fall over when I walk have all come back with a vengeance so here I am again going through the affects of anxiety. I hope to pull through again and hope it will be temporary this time and I can get back on my feet and fight my old enemy mr anxiety.

[Bonnibelle]

Well done Raphael's. I hope things keep getting better for you xx

Sorry to hear that Quinell. All the best for the future xx

[HappySadPunkDude]

I think exercise really helps to get rid of stress.I also stopped
drinking coffee, which made a huge difference.

[Lilharry]

Yes, I have managed to control my anxiety without meds and through using natural remedies. I would suggest seeing a reputable naturopath. I have made huge inroads and managed to heal things that I thought were a normal part of who I was seeing as I had suffered from them all my life! Anxiety is no longer an issue for me. Diet has played an enormous role too. Happy to share more if you're interested.