Anxiety driving me insane

Hi, I'm Brandy. This is my 1st post on this board, I usually post on the self injury forum. I suffer from Generalized Anxiety Disorder and right now my anxiety is out of contol. My psychiatrist won't see me till the end of next month and my meds aren't working. I feel like I might go insane before then. I don't know what to do to calm myself down. My therapist told me to take slow deep breaths but that makes me lightheaded. I feel like I am stuck in a small crate with an elephant sitting on my chest. I don't know what the point of this post is, but maybe someone has some ideas to help calm my anxiety. I am sorry if I bored you with this.....

Hey Crazy butterfly,
I know how bad anxiety can be, and how hopeless it can feel, like there is no end in sight. But I find that taking long walks with loud music, having in depth conversations with friends, and picking up new and strange hobbies and interests (I learned how to play the ukelele, and I can speak Ancient Greek) works for me. Anything to keep your mind fully busy and hopefully your hands too. Another thing I try is writing my feelings down as if I was writing lines for a character. Often it turns into a dialog, and I give myself advice and calm myself down.

I don't know if any of this will help you, but I hope it does, and I hope you can find a way to manage your feelings. If you need to talk, just message me and I am totally willing to listen. =]

-Jessi

Thanks for the advice. I have a hard time listening to music when I am
anxious because i somehow finding the bad in even the happiest songs. Trying new hobbies sounds like a great idea. I have always wanted to learn Russian. And I love to write, I never thought of writing it in a dialog. Thanks for the suggestions. I will have to try them out.

-Brandy

Hi Brandi,

If you need to see a professional ASAP and yours is not willing to meet your needs, go to the nearest emergency room. If you don't feel comfortable doing that, contact a local mental health agency and explain the situation. They usually can accommodate you sooner than 4 weeks from now.

I am sorry yu are experiencing anxiety like this. Do you know where it stems from or how it has come about? Often Anxiety appear physical because of a belief or experience that has caused trauma or a blockage of emotions. When identified, the issue at hand can be let go with careful consideration and professional intervention. May be worth a shot.

Best of luck,
Brian

Hi Brandy,

Jessi gave some good advice - similar to advice I was about to give.

My anxiety sometimes feels like I'm about to go insane as well. I began to realize my mind was bored and that was when I allowed those thoughts to return. I try to stay busy and engaged in things I enjoy and when I am successful the anxiety literally melts away. It's not always easy and some days it much harder than others but the more you practice, the better you are able to quiet your mind and focus on happier things. Every now and then it's overwhelming and I end up in the fetal position on my bed until it passes, but those are especially awful days. I try as hard as I can to avoid those days. Sometimes incense help (aromatherapy), sometimes something funny on TV to distract me, a journal, music, art, my dog and cat even help often. Hope this is of some help.

Hi butterfly,

as already suggested try to be/stay active, it will help.

Physical activity, hobbies, studying, general involvement in things around you....anxiety responds well to it.
I've been there, dear butterfly. When I was 20 I developed GAD. I didn't have panic attacks or depression, which helped a lot, but my anxiety was out of control. I never went into therapy or took any medication. I never spoke with anyone about my problems except with my mother who didn’t really take me seriously. I was too embarrassed to seek help. You can imagine the hell I was going through. However, I intuitively started doing things. I got involved as a disability peer mentor at my Uni, started hiking regularly, travelling..simply being involved. I didn’t particularly like it, b/c by nature I don’t like too much socializing so I had to carefully choose activities that would not aggravate my anxiety, but I knew that I was on a sliding scale and that various activities were the only way to “survive”.

Based on my experience, it helped a lot. To this date I have some residual anxiety but that is because it was not treated at all. If you are in therapy and on top of that you help yourself, I am positive that you can and will make tremendous improvement. Just choose something that you enjoy doing.

Please let me know if any questions! Best of luck

crazy_butterfly wrote:Hi, I'm Brandy. This is my 1st post on this board, I usually post on the self injury forum. I suffer from Generalized Anxiety Disorder and right now my anxiety is out of contol. My psychiatrist won't see me till the end of next month and my meds aren't working. I feel like I might go insane before then. I don't know what to do to calm myself down. My therapist told me to take slow deep breaths but that makes me lightheaded. I feel like I am stuck in a small crate with an elephant sitting on my chest. I don't know what the point of this post is, but maybe someone has some ideas to help calm my anxiety. I am sorry if I bored you with this.....

You need to keep yourself busy. Exercise is your best option in my opinion. Try it out and see if it helps you out. You can also ponder seeing another doctor.

I believe yoga and cardio vascular exercises are usually the best options for most cases.

Keep us posted.