I feel as though my anxiety is getting the best of me. What can I do besides going on meds for anxiety?

Are you seeing a therapist? Talking with someone trained not to be judgmental really helps. Plus they can help you draw the line of when to be off vs on meds.

How about exercise? It helps me a little. Feel more anxious on days I don’t exercise.

Although you said you prefer not to take medication, a Xanax can be a help to take the edge off when you are really feeling panicky. It is not something you have to or should take regularly but can be a useful tool on an occasional basis.

Here are things that help me. Believe me, I have been relying on them very heavily lately, and especially during the past month:

1. Talking to someone. This is very hard for me because the worse I feel, the more I want to isolate. But I have been a sympathetic ear very many times, and I do know that most people will return the favor. I also know an excellent therapist; holding that card in reserve right now.

2. Recalling the so-called Serenity Prayer: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. As an atheist, I don’t regard it as a prayer so much as a way of focusing my thoughts on what I can control and trying to let go of what I can’t. Sometimes I go over it steadily for a lengthy period of time, like a mantra, just to drown out the noise.

3. Escapism. An absorbing book or movie, music, writing—something I can give my whole mind to. I don’t care if it’s a “crutch.” When you’ve broken your leg, a crutch is exactly what you need, and thank goodness for it.

I don’t like to take medication either, and I’m not using anything for anxiety and stress. I also drink next to nothing (meaning probably a glass of wine a month, on average). Well do I know that that’s a perceived temporary solution that can become a bigger problem than all the rest and exacerbate whatever’s already wrong.

I hope you can find the relief you need. It’s very hard to find solutions or even just take care of yourself in the midst of someone else’s crisis if you’re too stressed to think straight. And you’re no help to others if you need to be taken care of yourself. Best wishes to you.

Although I am now on medication, I used to take an herbal supplement called Calms Forte, which was very effective at taking the edge off of anxiety. (Although it is marketed as a sleep aid, it does not cause you sleep or be sleepy, it just relaxes you.) I have chronic anxiety too.

Thanks for your help.

This reasoning was very popular in the trenches of the First World War…

You have two alternatives – either you are mobilized or you are not. If not, you have nothing to worry about. If you are, you have two alternatives – either you are in camp or at the front. If you are in camp you have nothing to worry about. If you are at the front you have two alternatives – either you are in reserve or you are on the fighting line. If in reserve, you have nothing to worry about. If you are on the fighting line you have two alternatives – either you scrap or you don’t. If you don’t you have nothing to worry about. If you do you have two alternatives – either you get hurt or you don’t. If you don’t you have nothing to worry about. If you do you have two alternatives – either you get slightly hurt or you get badly hurt. If badly, you have two alternatives – either you recover or you don’t. If you recover, you have nothing to worry about. If you don’t, and have followed my advice clear through, you have done with worry forever.

Frankincense oil helps to calm anxiety.

Exercise. The bigger the stress level, the more intense the exercise.
Plus, very few things are truly not in your control.
But certainly some things are not in your control.
Once you identify them, you must simply accept them, and proceed with that acceptance.

@flutherother, that seems to be all about fear for oneself. How about when you’re worried sick about someone else? And what if the threat isn’t physical but mental or emotional? I see the logic you’re explaining, and it might well have helped in the trenches, but by and large I have not seen much success in trying to use intellectual tools to deal with nonintellectual problems.

I haven’t tried it, but many people say that yoga has been helpful in reducing their anxiety.

@Mama_Cakes Hey there. What’s going on lady? I’m here if you want to talk.

I take a warm shower and have a snack and roll up into bed.

I’ve learned to use my happy place & realize tmrw is a new day. I’m sorry for your situation. Do you drink? lol

1. Eat healthfully
2. Get enough sleep
3. Exercise
4. Carve-out some “me” time, even if it’s just 15 minutes to read a book or magazine

These things provide the resilience needed to cope with stress and anxiety. Unfortunately, they’re also the first things that get abandoned during stressful, anxious times.

@Mama_Cakes We can’t always control all the situations we face in life. But, and this is a big but, we can control how we react and how we let those situations make us feel. When someone does something stupid, I’m the one that decides if I get angry or stay calm. Anxiety is tougher, but you still have a degree of control.

First, know that it WILL get better! Also, those who have not experienced it will NEVER understand it so you can basically ignore the casual (but good) advice about eating well, exercising, sleeping…etc. That may help but it’s likely not going to do much to get you out of it. That’s more in the prevention category. Alternate Nostril Breathing in the short-term seems to work for some reason. Only “quick-fix” I ever found that actually worked….and I tried them all. Long-term you’ll have to do 1 of two things: 1. Remove the stressor if it’s not a health related issue like thyroid or detox and I do recommend getting a full work-up if you can afford it. 2. Accept it as you would your own death and realize that in that scope it’s not “real” and created by your mental loops caused by some type of stress. Anxiety like that is a hard thing to get over until you can identify the cause. Ultimately that’s what you MUST do. Meds generally will work to alleviate anxiety until things get back to normal and if you can’t cope any other way it’s a last resort. I’d avoid xanex type drugs and favor ssri type since they are not terribly habit forming so long as they are tapered off of properly. They take a week or three to kick in though. Xanex works right away but what I read when considering it you’ll feel MORE anxious when getting off of it and it’s horribly addictive. I never went that route but I did resort to an ssri for a brief while. I would not do that ever again though. They are not a fix and long-term use of them I feel would be a mistake. For me crippling anxiety was a symptom that I was taking on WAAAY too much stress. You can only ignore stress for so long before things tend to break down. Limiting it is mission #1.

@ARE_you_kidding_me makes a lot of sense but I have had a different experience personally with Xanax – maybe because I am very cautious in my use of meds. I have found it to be effective if I take it fairly infrequently when experiencing a lot of anxiety. If I try to take it regularly I don’t get addicted, it just doesn’t work. So I don’t use it that way.

I never took it so I can’t say that’s not the case. Obviously it works for some people, I’m just advising caution.