New.. need help please

Hi all,

Sorry for a long message im really in need of some information and i'm very new to this subject.

For starters ive known my wife since we were both 15... as we got older we began dating and as we got closer i started noticing more and more how she was different than me in some ways.

She recently came to me and said she really couldn't take the way she feels any more and really wanted me to help her find a possible solution to her problem.. here is the backround

I'm not sure if what she has is GAD but from my research that is what seems closest to me. if you notice that im on the wrong path after the information I give please let me know.

For starters her sister is currently on anti bi-polar medication while her mom is on medication for anxiety. As we got closer I noticed that I could almost FEEL her head thinking. (im a very relaxed person) Even doing a simple thing like watching tv I knew that 500 thoughts were running through her head.. what am i going to make for dinner? did I make the bed? what do i have to do at work tommorow? did i call somone back that called me? do i need to take the trash out?

It was astonishing to me that she simply could not sit still relax and watch tv without her mind racing... as time went by i got used to this.. but noticed that due to the fact that she is CONSTANTLY thinking that it causes her to worry almost non stop.. I have never met somone who worries as much and its very hard for me to understand what could make her worry about things that to me seem to be not a big deal.

She also is a very restless sleeper... I often cannot tell if she is asleep or awake at night even though she will tell me she slept the whole night... I feel like she never falls into a deep sleep... and in college once a month she would wake up unable to breath which i attribute to the anxiety.

what exactly do you think she is suffering from, and what is the best medication to help her? thank you so much.

-worried

I have both bipolar and GAD, my Gad makes the bipolar worse.

But my bipolar thinking isn't worrying, it's constructive thinking. But non stop.

Many people suffer from restless mind. Exercise is a must. It gives you the time to think and working out calms the body by releasing endophines( natural little chemical valiums, released by the brain/ pain killers).

She might start out by making a list of things to do, and carry her list around, or keep it in sight. Then check off her accomplishments.
This can allow for a good nights sleep. And help her realize all is well, and it can wait til tomorrow.

Candle light, and other sense therapy can relax her as well. My fav is giving myself space and rewards by taking a bubble bath with candles in a dark room, alone. A cup of warm tea is nice with this. or a small glass of wine. You might throw in rose peddles and a cup of milk to really relax her.

Speaking of tea, cutting back on all caffeine to half her consumption now will help as well, and slowly decline over the next few months to combat withdrawls and headaches.

I'm down to half a cup of coffee in the a.m. It has helped 200%, I swear.

I hope this helps, we can't diagnose. But try this process of elimination and if you don't see any improvement, she might want to talk to her doctor about it.

Take good care,