Posted by CarolW on March 5, 2004, at 10:50:54
In reply to Stressing...Adivan vs. Xanax, posted by mel_light on March 4, 2004, at 20:33:10
Those anxiety attacks are awful, aren't they? I did the whole ER route, too - several times.
For me, books like Triumph Over Fear by Jerilyn Ross and the Anxiety and Phobia Workbook by Edmund Bourne are helpful (find both on Amazon). Also, therapy does work, but it takes time to ease the symptoms. Ever thought of hypnotherapy? Hypnosis CD's, along with going to a good hypnotherapist, can be really helpful to calm down. I listen to those CD's on my headphones when I get too stressed out. Maybe you can start out your day with one.
Be careful about the meds... The withdrawal from Ativan really rocked me. All benzos have the ability to relax you in the short term, but you have to dig deeper to stop your attacks long term.
In the process of it all, I found out that my anxiety is from midlife and family issues that I need to come to terms with - they're not just random anxiety attacks.
Get a good and complete physical. Rule out any physiological issues that can be causing your stress (sleep apnea, thyroid issues, endocrine/hormone imbalance...). If everything checks out, just know that, as Ross says in her book, she's never had a patient physically collapse due to anxiety. So, you are safer than you think.
Good luck to you.
poster:CarolW
thread:320349
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040304/msgs/320617.html