Relapse! Coping, Symptoms and Tips.

[medesis]

Carnation, you are an absolute star!!
I'm new to this site. Well that's not true I've been a voyeur for years, but have never bothered to post anything myself. I've been feeling so bad of late that I came on here again just to look, but I saw your opening post of this thread you wrote back in 2014 and nearly burst into tears. You described me and my symptoms perfectly, especially the floatiness, unstable ground and heavy head, not to mention of course the hypervigilance.
It is amazing to know you are not alone!! I'm a recovering alcoholic and I remember my first meeting of AA, many moons ago now, gave me that same feeling of not being alone.
It is fantastic that you have carried this thread for all these years. I'm sure you have been a great help to many many people as you have been to me today.
Love,
Medesis

[Carnation]

Medesis, what a charming post.
And I know how much courage it takes to write how you feel and open the doors to your emotions.
I also know what it is like to be a drinker and pleased to say I've also left those days behind me.
There's always reasons for the things we do that may not be the healthiest option in the long run.
When you feel bad, you have to ride that wave until you come out the other side, and you will come out of it, because you are a survivor.
You are not alone, you just feel alone in your suffering. x

[medesis]

Sorry press the post button by mistake. Just come off of a year on Mirtazapin. Do you or anyone else on this thread know how long the side effects of coming off last?

[medesis]

Probably should post that on a different thread but just wondered if anyone had a quick answer🤔

[Carnation]

That's ok medesis, but this thread is pretty quiet and I don't take meds, never have.
Probably best to start a thread so more people can see it. x

[Carnation]

So today I am going to share some coping tips.
Some people don't believe in them and think you should just carry on as normal. But when you feel your anxiety rising bordering on panic or your sensations are so strong, I believe that something to lower that feeling helps.
You can even prevent a full blown panic attack.
So there are basically two types of reaction to panic. We've all heard of the fight or flight, but there's a third called the freeze. This is where you become so fearful that you are frightened to move. I've experienced this hundreds of times and it's not a nice feeling at all.
So when you get the freeze response you can do something that will bring your body back to a more stable setting.
If you clench your fist with your thumb tucked inside this action helps you to regain some normality back.
You can do this when feeling anxious too.
Another tip is to turn your head slowly from side to side looking around you as you do this. This action will tell your brain that you are not in any threat and there is no danger. The first couple of times it may feel difficult but it gets easier after that. When we are fearful we look straight ahead and our body becomes rigid and ready for fighting or fleeing. The same with the freezing. We become tooscared to move. By moving the head and looking around, it sends signals that there is no longer any fear.
Another tip when you are feeling highly anxious or feel the panic rising is to do the colour game.
Go through the colours, look for 4 things that are red, then blue, then green and continue until you feel more calm. This is a good one to do if you are waiting in any aspect like the doctors, hospital, dentist, a queue or someone talking to you.
There's also a good tip to do when you feel like you are off balance. You can do this sitting or standing.
Lean your body to the right, then bring back to the centre. Then to the left and back to the centre. Lean slightly forward and back to the centre. Slightly back and to the centre. This will tell you and your mind that you are not off balance at all and it is misinformation that is being fed to you that you are off balance.
I do yoga with balance exercises and I wouldn't be able to do them if I truly had balance issues, but for some reason when I am anxious and fearful I think I am going to fall or collapse. It's all anxiety.
I used all of these tips yesterday and for the first time was able to go into a shop that I had not been into for nearly a year.
There are so many tips to help you cope but more importantly to nip that panic attack before it happens.
And its all about control.
I particularly like the clenching of the fist with the covered thumb. Let's face it, you couldn't fight like that because you'd break your thumb. It's something you can do anywhere and no one will even notice you doing it.
So hoping some this will help someone else. x

[DustingMyselfOff]

Yes, Mrs. C. has been a trooper about keeping this thread going so long and she has helped SO MANY people through the years, myself included. Those are some some simple but great tips, Mrs. C..... where did you get those? I remember when I used to have panic attacks while driving on a highway I would force myself to do a difficult addition or multiplication problem that I would just randomly make up.... my mind would be forced to focus on coming up with the answer and would distract me long enough to stop feeling dizzy and to start breathing again. I think affirmations do help. I woke up in a positive mood today and had a pep talk with myself saying that I was going to continue having a good day, would deal with whatever confronted me calmly, would handle everything the best I could, and would continue to feel positive. And I did! We have so much control over our minds, if only we could better learn how to use that control.

I woke up a few days ago with the room spinning again... another case of that BPPV ear thing I guess. It kept me on the couch for about 12 hours barely able to move my head. My husband reminded me that perhaps it was the Universe's way of forcing me to take a day off and slow down..... he might be right because there was no way I could do ANYTHING that day, not even e-mails. Luckily it was pretty much gone by the next morning but of course I live in fear of when it might happen again.

Still keeping really busy with the new job. I'm working on stuff for their 7 days a week but try to only physically go into the shelter 5 days a week. But I'm still enjoying it and I know this pace will slow down after I've finished implementing some of the big changes I'm making to all the systems. And I really don't have time for anxiety or noticing my physical ailments when I'm that busy, so I guess I'm going to have to be a non-stop runner all my life. Or at least until my body tells me it's time to slow down, but for now, I'll keep forging ahead.

Dreading the upcoming holidays..... how sad is that. :(
Sue

[Carnation]

Hi Sue,
I meant to get back to you yesterday but the day seemed to run away from me. (what a strange expression that is).

I'm always on the search for tips in coping and I'll give anything a try. But this came from a life coach as opposed to a therapist. I haven't gone down that road of having a coach yet, but never say never.

Sorry to hear about the vertigo and hope you are back on your feet again. It's one of the scariest things to experience and it seems to clear itself by the next day or even sooner. I think you did the right thing by resting up and hubby knows how much you are on the go all the time. It's in the past now. And I know too well how easy it is to investigate why it happened or obsess about it happening again. You just have to continue your life and maybe find a window in your schedule for some relaxation.

Yes, Christmas is a strange one this year but you can make it to suit yourself. I'm already decorating our little pad and probably going over the top with the twinkling lights. I say, if it gives you joy, then do it ". I'm hoping others will benefit from my efforts too when they walk past. To be honest there's only the two of us at Christmas anyway, so not much change.
At least you won't have to adhere to your sister's commands.

I'm so pleased you are enjoying your job. I think you are the sort of person that needs a purpose in life. Well, we all do really. It's what keeps us going. Less time to worry about anxiety too.
So remember Sue, you are doing brilliantly, a far cry from even a year ago and you need to tell yourself that when you have any doubts. xx

[DustingMyselfOff]

Friggin' dizziness...... it is probably my most-feared symptom and ailment and the one I am scared to death of. Glad I'm not the only one. And the more I read, the more I see and hear about the fact that as we get older, it becomes a more prevalent problem. Seems lots of seniors are chronically feeling dizzy, off-balance, balance issues, vertigo, etc. I beg the Gods and Heavens to NOT let it be a prevalent problem for me. I would rather have pain than dizziness. Hope I didn't just jinx myself.

The only bright side to the latest incident was that there was very little panic when I opened my eyes and saw the room spinning. I knew what it was and even though I was agitated and disappointed (and sick) I was not in a state of panic. I pretty much accepted I was going to be spending the day doing nothing but trying to get it to resolve and being totally unproductive. The only anxiety that kicks in is "what if this happens at a time or on a day when I can't afford to give in and hit the couch?" But with this ailment, it almost seems that won't matter - even if the Pope were coming to dinner I wouldn't be able to participate so anything planned on a day it happens has pretty much GOT to be cancelled. Since I am now working at a job that allows for that type of flexibility, that eases some of the anxiety.

I don't decorate at all for Christmas. I probably should but it always seemed like more of a chore than a thrill and since there was no one here to see it anyway, why bother. If my husband did the outside I would probably still do the inside, but we both kind of gave it up when the kids left home. I always say when I have grandchildren I will start again but the two I have are on the other side of the country. Wait - not sure if I ever mentioned: my LOCAL son and his wife, after 6 years of trying to conceive, will be having a baby in March! I better get this shelter job totally under control and running smoothly before then because come March I want to switch my focus to my local grandchild!

But regarding not having to deal with my tyrant sister? Nah, she'll still get to me. I'm sure any day I will be getting the invitation (command) to attend her Thanksgiving dinner and I'm not sure how I will reply. On the one hand I appreciate the efforts she goes to to keep our family together on holiays, but on the other hand I don't want to be in a house with 16 other people in close quarters. I will have the same predicament on Christmas.

I'm glad your twinkling lights are bringing you some joy - we have to grab it wherever we can find it these days!
Sue

[pulisa]

Tell her you've been in contact with Covid and have to self-isolate, Sue? She'll never know...

Thank God for our lockdown!