Anxiety

[Drache]

Just wondering if there is anyone on these forums who deal with it on a regular basis and how they deal with it? Due to my Epilepsy and the type of medication I am it, they both cause anxiety, even more so now that they have doubled my medication. I will be dealing with this for the rest of my life and I'd rather not take any medication for it. I mainly get quick to stress out or anger which can lead to bouts of depression. Work, martial arts, driving, etc all used to calm me down but Epilepsy cost me my job, martial arts, and driving for almost 2 years which lead to even greater anxiety so now Im looking for other ways to keep calm.

[68chrgrwife]

Is there any other "hobby" that you can do?  Sometimes some small hobby can help with anxiety.  Believe me I understand.....

[RD]

FIRST AND FOREMOST... I AM NOT YOUR THERAPIST...

now.. that the legal and ethical mumbo jumbo is out of the way.

the thing I tell all my consumers is that in order to come to grips with your anxiety, you must identify the triggers that cause the episodes to exist in the first place.  sometimes it could be what you have ate, drank or smoked (hehe) and in some cases it may be fatigue, too much sleep, the environment, stress, and even relationships.

stress:  where does it come from??  identify the stressors in your life that you can directly manipulate and control.. make them so they do not exist or are far removed from your current state of mind

relationships:  identify which personalities best compliment you and which ones that do not.. remove those that do not from your environment... bad relationships can cause stress, stress causes fatigue, anxiety, and depression... see the proverbial snowball rolling down hill here?

you cannot do anything in regards to your epilepsy except what you are doing now (maybe figure out what causes an episode and try and remove the triggers from your lifestyle).  Do you suffer from grand mal's?

any way... there are plenty of things you CAN do.. but first and foremost, find out what things directly link you to increased anxiety and/or depression and begin filtering those so that their affects on you are minimal.

i recommend writing a journal each day that focuses on how you feel, what you ate, how much you slept, where you went, with whom you interacted, etc... this will start painting a picture and will begin connecting threads to triggers to your anxiety... it will also help your physician and your therapist (if you are seeing one), in regards to future strategies in identifying medication or coping mechanisms.

hope this helps.

Jamey

[Drache]

FIRST AND FOREMOST... I AM NOT YOUR THERAPIST...

now.. that the legal and ethical mumbo jumbo is out of the way.

the thing I tell all my consumers is that in order to come to grips with your anxiety, you must identify the triggers that cause the episodes to exist in the first place.  sometimes it could be what you have ate, drank or smoked (hehe) and in some cases it may be fatigue, too much sleep, the environment, stress, and even relationships.

stress:  where does it come from??  identify the stressors in your life that you can directly manipulate and control.. make them so they do not exist or are far removed from your current state of mind

relationships:  identify which personalities best compliment you and which ones that do not.. remove those that do not from your environment... bad relationships can cause stress, stress causes fatigue, anxiety, and depression... see the proverbial snowball rolling down hill here?

you cannot do anything in regards to your epilepsy except what you are doing now (maybe figure out what causes an episode and try and remove the triggers from your lifestyle).  Do you suffer from grand mal's?

any way... there are plenty of things you CAN do.. but first and foremost, find out what things directly link you to increased anxiety and/or depression and begin filtering those so that their affects on you are minimal.

i recommend writing a journal each day that focuses on how you feel, what you ate, how much you slept, where you went, with whom you interacted, etc... this will start painting a picture and will begin connecting threads to triggers to your anxiety... it will also help your physician and your therapist (if you are seeing one), in regards to future strategies in identifying medication or coping mechanisms.

hope this helps.

Jamey

I have what is called Temporal Lobe Epilepsy and suffer what I believe is called complex partial seizures. I dont collapse to the ground, I get a sense they are coming. I will start to shake, lose consciousness, memory loss, etc. The cause of the seizures are unknown although stress is one of the greatest triggers.

It seems that my anxiety will happen at the drop of the hat for some of the stupidest reasons. The most recent was my 4 friends saying they can't make it to my place for my birthday barbque. I have spent sometimes up to hundreds of dollars going to everyone of my friend's birthdays. So just random stupid things. My stressful day that I posted about was another.

The hardest part I think is keeping myself busy. I live an hour and a half one ways drive to the nearest town so I am literally home alone 24/7 and only get to town once every two weeks for grocery shopping.

When I lived in town with people I had hobbies such as airsoft but you cant play that by yourself. Up until the day before yesterday the Aspen was keeping me sane. Driving would always calm me down and for the 2 years I wasnt allowed to drive legally I was on edge. Usually when I feel like this I'll jump in my car and just take off down the road for 15 or 20 minutes and start to feel better.

[Orange_Crush]

Do you drink coffee?

[Goodz]

I find that hitting things works for me.  Not people, just things (i.e. punching bag, walls, playing drums, etc).  This helps me get out aggression that you cant get out at work (they usually frown upon cursing out the occasional client.  LOL)

Hope this helps you.

[SFRT]

I get hyper and anxious I find repetitve physical activities calm me down. doesnt have to be 'exercise'...stuff like woodcarving, sanding,painting so on. walking is good too. long walks.

[Drache]

Do you drink coffee?

I do not

I find that hitting things works for me.  Not people, just things (i.e. punching bag, walls, playing drums, etc).  This helps me get out aggression that you cant get out at work (they usually frown upon cursing out the occasional client.  LOL)

Hope this helps you.

That usually helps. When I was studying martial arts like Karate and Gung Fu, they taught me to relax my body, and Krav Maga allowed me to actually hit things.

[Brock Samson]

 Everywhere Chat - where our dysfunctional chatroom is located has a Anxiety/Depression chat room, that usually has at least a half dozen folks in it,.. I went there when my job was screwin with me/us last year, there's lots of folks discussing their various circumstances and therapies including their specific stresses and medications. I suggest you try it the folks are quite compassionate and knowlagable.
  looking at your diet incl. your caffine, sugar and any "self medicating" you may be doing is a positive step, and as noted by others,excercise is a great way to dispel tension.
BTW: over 300 folks have left my job in the past two years, of which i was one.
Good luck Drache I feel ya'. 

[dodgecharger-fan]

Check in to your health - in terms of chemical balance. Vitamins are great, but not if you're taking the wrong ones or too many.

When I was taking a mix of the various vitamin B's, I'd rip your head off for saying, "Hi." but have absolutely no reason for it and I'd buy you a beer a minute later.

Like a lot of things in life, it's all about balance.

[Silver R/T]

I do get anxious from time to time, best thing for me is to go out and do some yard work or whatever. I seem to get anxious/depressed if I just sit around doing nothing thinking about what to do...

[ITSA426]

Sometimes reading helps, as do exercise and newly discovered yoga.  Sometimes just being outside helps.  Sometimes I count my blessisngs but I have so much to be grateful for that I lose count.  The Chargers are therapy for a midlife crisis. 

- and sometimes it's just "better living through chemistry"

[The Kid]

If I'm feeling stressted or anxious, I just try and emmerse myself in something. Lately with school, it seems like every other day I think about all the homework I have to do (including studying for the biggest test of the year) and just get overwhelmed and stressed to the max. Usually I will work on some pidley little project in the garage; last thing I fabbed up was some Nascar style exhaust tips. Working out is also a great thing to take you mind off stuff.

Since your obviously a car guy, and since you can't drive, maybe you could buy a cheapo dirt bike (depending upon your yard area/areas to ride). It doesn't matter if I'm out crusing, or tearing through the woods on a dirt bike, it definitely puts me at ease.

Good luck Drache! I don't think I can neccesarily say I know what your going through, but I definitely have an idea.

[Brock Samson]

they say the two biggist stressors are finances and relationships not in that order either.. 

[moparstuart]

they say the two biggist stressors are finances and relationships not in that order either.. 

most cases they go hand and hand ( women like to spend your money )   

[Drache]

Since your obviously a car guy, and since you can't drive, maybe you could buy a cheapo dirt bike (depending upon your yard area/areas to ride). It doesn't matter if I'm out crusing, or tearing through the woods on a dirt bike, it definitely puts me at ease.

Who says I cant drive? 

I just need to two new front tires on the Aspen and Im good to go!