It’s usually very tough for me to share this kind of personal stuff with others but it has been helping me out a lot most recently so here goes.
I suffer from an anxiety disorder and have been on medication for it for about 21 years now. I’ve been interested in trying to come off of the medication for quite some time. Over the past several months I have tried weening myself off of it very slowly. Things seemed to have been going pretty well. The first month and a half being off the medication wasn’t too bad but several weeks ago I could feel the anxiety coming back and knew I had to get back on it again. Have been back on it for almost two weeks and it has quite literally been hell with my anxiety this past couple of weeks as the medication does it’s thing and gets me back to where I was before.
The good news is that I am really starting to feel like I’m getting there finally. Probably going to take another couple of weeks to fully get there but I’m definitely better off today then I was previously. Am definitely working with my doctor through all this and talking with a bunch of people around me has helped tremendously well also. Just wanted to share with all of you because I consider you all friends.
Anyway thanks for taking to read this, if you did, and always take care of yourselves.
ugh. I can't stand a productive brain.Also, if you solve 2 major problems per night, your concept of what constitutes a major problem is way off.
In general sometimes it’ll take me a bit of time to fall asleep and other times I can fall asleep relatively quickly. Usually it’s just random inconsequential thoughts that’ll keep me awake.
I used to struggle enormously going to bed at night as a child due to existential dread. I primarily managed it by reading Garfield comics. I don't know if this is useful feedback.
I was going to ask what the source of your anxiety was, but you said medical problems.
I suffered from bad anxiety for probably as long as you have. What changed for me were 3 things, getting older helps, you just get more comfortable in your own skin. Travelling also helped, I know its an expensive option but getting out of your bubble and seeing the way different people around the world live, changes your perspective on life, and meeting and mixing with different people. And also the very act of travelling to distant locations around the world made me realise that the world is so huge and you tend to just focus and obsess over the very small bubble of your life. When you see people drying cow shit on a wicker roof in the Indian countryside, for fuel, it makes you reconsider if the things that bother you are so important.
But the biggest thing was that argument with my brother years ago, we are talking now but it was a pivotal moment for me. Because it flipped a switch, I just gave up caring. And I think that's something that a lot of people with anxiety need. Narciscistic people (spelling wrong?) are happier than most because they love themselves and don't care about other people as much. Yes they are douchebags but they are happier. When I gave up caring what other people think of me and adopted a fuck everything point of view - up to a point (i'm not some total douche) it just let me become a lot calmer and happier. So I don't know what kind of medical problems you have, I had a cancer scare a couple of years back which dominated my life for a few months. I just gave up caring. If you can just say to yourself, whatever happens, happens. You can go with the flow and just accept it. Its easier to say, than to actually do and its not something you can just decide, for me it was a gradual process that just led up to this point where I just thought, fuck it. Whatever.
I sleep badly due to back pain. Used to be things on my mind + back pain. Now just back or joint pain. I'd recomend asking your doctor for amitriptiline, take a small dose around 7:30pm, its very mild but will help you drift asleep but importantly helps you fall back to sleep if you should wake up.
My sister has horrible anxiety and is claustrophobic. She will take the stairs instead of an elevator and someone has to hold the door open because she is worried that she will be stuck in the stairwell. Her son wants to take a trip to Pennsylvania and to NYC next summer. We would visit Hershey Park then spend a few days checking out New York. We are currently planning a trip for both of our families and intend to rent a van for all of us. The only problem is her anxiety is taking over. She wants to stay in a campground two hours away from NYC and drive there everyday. That's kind of a no go for me since it adds unnecessary expenses on my part. She's afraid of heights but I see staying in NY as a way of overcoming some of these issues...slowly. We are going to work with her without adding a lot of unnecessary expenses. Im going to try to find a hotel in Manhattan with a room on the first floor to see if that helps. If she is inflexible and prices us out of a vacation, then I may need to plan an alternative one for just the four of us where we fly to NYC and stay a few days. Obviously, I'd prefer the original plan but can't afford to add about another thousand on our trip.
Nice! How is Hershey Park? That's where we will spend a day.