Posted by Snakeadelic on April 17, 2005, at 0:26:27
Let me start by saying I would LOVE to go out and buy every decent helpful book I'm sure could be recommended for either myself or my partner. HOWEVER, since he's about to lose his job and I'm waiting (probably another 3 months) to find out about disability, if the local (tiny) library doesn't have it, we're outta luck on books.
My darlin', the light of my life, is looking at possibly a desperately ugly tripleheader diagnosis--panic disorder, agoraphobia, and dissociative disorder. So far, chemicals have not proven his friends. He has failed to respond to Lexapro, Seroquel, Abilify, Paxil, Neurontin, Strattera, and Wellbutrin. He responded VERY poorly to Effexor (and the three problems mentioned above all began while he was on Effexor and worsened when he was removed). The only medication helping at all right now is Xanax.
He recently had a massive episode of stress-induced dissociation that landed him first in an emergency room and then in a locked ward where, though he was signed in as a voluntary commit, he was refused release when he asked to go home. As a result he is EXTREMELY reluctant to invest any kind of trust in the local mental health care system.
I am not only his partner but his non-professional caregiver. He has not been assigned the need for a paid caregiver, but still--I've got 18 years of experience, including being licensed to do live-in fulltime care in 2 different states. I need to know if anyone can offer any suggestions other than "Buy this book", and not only for my partner to learn how to manage his panic attacks, decompensation, exponentially rising anxiety levels, and fear of being in public. I need the help too. I am deeply concerned with the idea of not only being an effective partner but a trustworthy and reliable caregiver.
As things stand I am offering every support I can, including having him sign releases of information (one of his major anxiety symptoms is severe stuttering, so I talk to health care personnel whenever possible). He and I work very very well together, but I cannot ride in with him to work in the morning to make sure we don't have a repeat of last week when he got off the vanpool van and did not make it the 30 feet to the front door of his office.
What suggestions can anyone offer about non-chemical ways to help control his anxiety, and any ways at all that I can support and assist him?
poster:Snakeadelic
thread:485337
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20050409/msgs/485337.html