rachael wrote:I've been medicated (paxil/xanax) for severe anxiety/panic disorder for 6 years now, and I am a totally different person. Everything in my life is better, I can't tell you how glad I am that I did it.

Thank you.

I started taking Zoloft in the fall and so far it's been helping a lot. I had some weird side effects at first--I was a little bit shaky/jittery, but otherwise it's been good.

The big obstacle was to just take that first step--talking to a doctor. For a long time I was in denial that it was even a problem or something that needed to be taken care of. I still feel down from time to time, but it doesn't have an opportunity to sink to the lows that it did before.

Thanks again for all the help/advice from EA users!

I've suffered from anxiety for a few years now and it comes and goes. For a month, or even a few months, I might feel fantastic... no panic attacks and only mild anxiety in certain situations. Then it'll come back a little more heavily and the weird thing is... relapses never seem to be caused by a root problem, they just start up again. There's never really any traumatic instance that brings anxiety back.

The best thing I've found is to stay confident and to not let things get you down. If you get heavily depressed as a result of anxiety, you're only digging yourself into a deeper hole. Do the best you can at all times to improve, and whenever you start to feel like things are shit, think about how much better you are then a previous point. Exercise, eating right, and staying busy have all been suggested and those are great suggestions. I always skeptical about meditation but I gave it a try a while ago and now I do it a few times a week... it's fantastic.

Strange enough, and I don't know if I'd recommend this because it doesn't seem to work the same way for others... when I started drinking a lot more often, a lot of my anxiety disappeared. Not when I was actually drunk, of course, but the time in between. I have no idea.

I haven't had much experience with the meds because I'm still in with my parents and I don't want to tell them about things, which would be a necessity before getting a doctor to prescribe me with something. Benadryl is fucking AMAZING though, but it's sedating effects seem to go away if you take it everyday for a while.

It's about goshdarned time somebody recommended the abuse of alcohol and Benadryl as a possible cure for my soul-crushing depression! Getting blind-drunk sure beats the heck out of exercise when it comes to curing the blues! Thanks, mate!

Anyway, I'm starting to think the solution to my problem with depression is mind over matter (working in tandem with the ingestion of copious amounts of psychedelic mushrooms). I dunno, I've found that if I don't put myself into shitty situations or dwell on past shitty situations, I actually feel alright, at least until I enter into a new shitty situation. Maybe there's something there...maybe not...maybe I just need to get laid...

Hey, after all the Zoloft and crap I ended up experimenting with, it took a pretty serious cocaigne addiction to give me the kick in the ass needed to break out of my depression.

HOWEVER: I am in no way suggesting hard drug addiction as treatment for depression. But it is fun...in bits here and there...

rayj wrote:Hey, after all the Zoloft and crap I ended up experimenting with, it took a pretty serious cocaigne addiction to give me the kick in the ass needed to break out of my depression.

HOWEVER: I am in no way suggesting hard drug addiction as treatment for depression. But it is fun...in bits here and there...

While I can't say that the yeyo has helped me get through bad times, I do find that doing a lot of little things can help a lot. When I broke up with my lady a few months ago, I decided I was not going to let myself become a sloth. I disciplined myself like never before and it helped much more than I anticipated. Again, it was the little things that made every day easier than the one before. Some examples: no sleeping in later than 10am(i don't work a 9-5, so sleeping in is way too easy to do), always making my bed within an hour of getting up, keeping my bedroom, desk, and even my computer's desktop as tidy as possible, having as little downtime as possible, no channel surfing on the tv at all, keeping a good budget so that I am never broke(I get so fucking depressed when money is tight), taking a walk at least once a day, and other little things. I guess just keeping my immediate physical world organized helps keep my mind organized so that I can't get stressed over the stupid little things.

Like many have said before, keeping busy is key.

Use depression and anxiety as fuel, burn it, and from that energy make/build/create something. Best cure for any feeling you don't want is to allow it to meet it's own inevitable conclusion. Depression and anxiety have a reason for existing - they should be conquered. Happiness and serenity mean nothing without depression and anxiety (imo).

Joseph wrote:It's about goshdarned time somebody recommended the abuse of alcohol and Benadryl as a possible cure for my soul-crushing depression! Getting blind-drunk sure beats the heck out of exercise when it comes to curing the blues! Thanks, mate!

I wasn't really trying to advise anyone to abuse alcohol or Benadryl for depression/ anxiety, just stating my experiences with the two. However, if you're having a panic attack, Benadryl will provide quick relief... that is if you don't have any decent amphetamines on hand.

2006 was the first year I truly experienced anxiety. I call it "THE FEAR". Mine came from having a rough year. Bad decision making. Binge drinking. Fist fighting. Etc. My anxiety was crippling. I could barely get off the couch.

I stopped drinking as much and started taking B Complex Vitamins (this helps with stress) along with a multivitamin. Also, I started eating way better (more fruits/vegetables, less wings) and running M-F. Now I feel alot like I did before anxiety really introduced itself to me. I'm still a little anxious here and there but nothing like the crippling anxiety I experienced at first....