Posted by bassman on October 4, 2006, at 6:30:22
In reply to Why and What to Do about Horrendous Anxiety, posted by Phillipa on October 3, 2006, at 22:29:19
I wondered how you were doing-a few posts ago it seemed you were really in bad shape. Here are my prejudices: if you are really anxious and it doesn't make you feel weird, Xanax is the best anti-anxiety med there is, BUT, at least for me, to really come back to earth, I need an AD of some sort that is actually doing something. The problem is that when you are anxious, it seems any AD just makes things worse with the side effects, at least for awhile. I'm sure you know that. But I find the reaction to changes and fears in the outside world perfectly understandable...when I'm most anxious, everything seems threatening (not that it is, of course, I'm just more reactive to it) and when I'm calmer, I can just say "so how much will worrying about it help?" At least for me, anxiety and fear remove a lot of my rationality. I'm less convinced than others that someone can talk you out of that...I think meds are needed to get to the point where talking might be helpful. One of my favorite expressions is that CBT, for example, is really useful-if you are well. When you're really anxious, the stuff doesn't seem to work. Best of luck, Jan, and I hope things work out for you-don't forget to tell us-I'm sure there are lots of people out there, who, like myself, are concerned about you.
poster:bassman
thread:691663
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20061003/msgs/691717.html