First time to this

[dayeonaira]

This is my first time using a forum. i am not sure of how it works exactly.
I have been suffering with GAD for 7 years and only in the last 4 years has it spun out of control.
Not only do i have GAD but i have Panic anxiety, social anxiety, hypochondria and OCD.
I currently don't take anything for my anxiety other that homeopathic remedies since i am a nursing mom.

I guess i am hoping that there are people out there with a severe case of anxiety like me that can suggest some way to get it under control.

any help would be great.

thanks for reading.

[Xalatimo]

Hi dayeonaira,

I recommend CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) if you haven't tried it already.  Since you have a wide variety of anxiety disorders it is important to understand one thing is common in all of them.  Fear.  Fear of panic, fear of disease, fear of thoughts.  All I can say is that if you understand how to combat fear then you also understand how to combat your anxiety.  It just comes down to if you are willing to take the risk (perceived) involved in doing so.  Or are you going to stay in your own comfort zone and continue to give in to your anxiety?  Tackle the issues head on and don't avoid them.  Intrusive thoughts are nothing more than that, just thoughts.  Do not fear them, let them sit harmlessly in your mind and you will see that they will decrease.  Do not fear the panic attack as it is nothing more than your body preparing you for danger.  When you interpret panic as something deadly then it is very hard to overcome this.  A lot of it is just how we interpret everything.  The "all or nothing" thinking.  A bodily symptom is either anxiety or something deadly, nothing in between.  It just takes time to realize where the faulty thinking is and be able to eventually correct it.

[dayeonaira]

Thank you. the panic attacks are less often. I read on a website somewhere "to accept the feelings and fear" that come with the attack. To tell myself that is it just fear and nothing else. that if i fight it, it will only make it worse. I do that as often as i can. I find that i am gaining strength in this battle. But there are some days where i wake up fearing that today will be one of those days where i cancel plans and stay a recluse in my home. Those are the toughest for me and my family. I push myself as much as possible on those days but end up giving in because it is easier.

When your fighting with so many disorders at once is it exhausting. I get no break from it. If that is not bad enough my anxiety stems of from fear in myself to fear for those i love.
It terrifies me when my husband leaves to go to the store with my daughter. that one question constantly in the front of my mind "what if something happens" what if they don't come back".

I know it is fear and as my doctor told me" Everyone has anxiety" if it measured up in the part of the brain that causes it, everyone with normal anxiety sizes up to about the size of a pea. my anxiety would be sized to a pringle lol.


all these disorders stemmed from a small panic attack 7 years ago.

i have tried CBT and need to once again, thanks for the response.

[Xalatimo]

It terrifies me when my husband leaves to go to the store with my daughter. that one question constantly in the front of my mind "what if something happens" what if they don't come back".

I used to be this way -- to the point where I pretended that every time someone left the house it was my final time seeing them.  So I said my goodbyes to prepare for that.  Eventually you realize that these "what ifs?" do nothing but confirm your worst fears.  For you, it might be fear of death, fear of being diseased, or a fear of being lonely.  Notice how it is extremely unlikely for anything to happen when your husband and daughter leave but your anxiety still fixates on it.  Also note how you live with constant uncertainty without even realizing it sometimes.  You do know that at any second your own life can be taken away from you.  Just as you step outside and leave to work, a drunk driver could crash into you.  On the way back from work a giant tree could fall on your car.  While sitting in your living room you could be struck by lightning.  As you can see, we take all of this for granted because we consider the odds, and somehow our anxiety does not fixate on it.  So we live with constant uncertainty and once we accept that I think a lot of times we become less anxious and less controlling.  Don't focus on the "what ifs?" try to focus on what you have or the "what is."  I know easier said than done, but that's what CBT attempts to do.  The goal is to replace irrational anxiety-driven thoughts with more realistic and comforting ones.

[chinacat]

I just wanted to talk a bit about anxiety and nursing.  I recently stopped nursing my daughter.  We stopped at 8 mo. and she is now 10 mo.  It was hard to stop.  I loved that quiet time with her.  Something only I could give her.  I knew I needed to stop because my doctors kept saying they could help me more if I wasn't nursing but that the choice was undoubtedly mine.  I finally stopped not due to anxiety - but because of additional medical concerns found (I won't go into it now). 

While I was nursing however, they said there was only one drug that I could take.  I could take 10 mg of Paxil.  It was safe enough for me and baby and did take the edge off some.  I was still a bit anxious and fixated on things, but not as severe.  Now that I have stopped nursing my dose has been increased.  Helps more - but still the anxiety is there. 

Many mothers I talk to say that anxiety is worse when nursing because your hormones are still raging.  When pregnant you worry less about yourself naturally and all the little pains you feel you attribute to pregnancy.  But once that baby is out, you go back to thinking it is YOU!  The fear comes back just like riding a bike.  I would never tell anyone to stop nursing.  I LOVED IT!  And when I have another, medical issues or not, I'm doing it.  But keep in mind that some of your issues could be linked.  It isn't just one thing causing your fear. 

If you are anything like me, you worry about that baby all the time.  Mine is sound asleep right now and I am fighting myself from going to the monitor to sit and listen and watch (our monitor has night vision).  But I know it isn't healthy for me to do it.  I need down time too.  There is nothing wrong with worry, just try to reason with yourself when these worries come up.  You are going through a lot right now.  Whether the baby is 2 weeks old or over 1 year!  It's a lot to take.  Try to step back every now and again and enjoy these moments.  I sat and watched my daughter sleep today for about 2 minutes.  It made everything else just go away.  We also sat in grass for a while and she picked a dandelion and hugged it.  How priceless is that?  Enjoy and keep on keepin' on! 

[dayeonaira]

Thank you.

I felt normal for the first time after i had my baby. it lasted about a month, personally i think it was the pain meds (i had a csection), then all of a sudden it smacked me in the face and i was back to the same place i was before pregnancy, actually it is worse now, one more person to worry for and about.

I have tried paxil in the past and had a horrible side effect. Day 2 of taking it i got a headache, it felt as though my eyes were being crushed in there sockets. I went to the ER and they ended up curing it with morphine. Not touched it since. i don't want to stop BF since i do enjoy it and so does my baby. This is why i have been taking a homeopathic anxiety remedy. I spoke with a natureopathic doctor before doing so. it helps sometimes, sometimes i feel as tho it is a placebo.

it is so nice to hear that there are people with alot of the worries i have. although i am sorry other go through it. i would never wish this on anyone.

[hopelessromantic]

I would get so mad if my family was late coming home, or didn't call, because I would always visualize this scenario - - - the cop car pulling into the driveway, and I see it and think, "OK, she's dead and they've come to break it to me"...so I would think about this scene so that if it ever worked out that way, I would be "mentally ready" for it....I guess that originated after my mom died, I wasn't "ready" for it, so my anxiety wants to make sure that I am "prepared" for the next fatality in the family.......

[rpatter76]

i've also had gad for many years, but NEVER like after my first baby!  whoa!!!!!!  the post pardem anxiety and OCD was SOOOO bad due to hormones.  is there any other med you can try besides paxil right now?  maybe another safe one for nursing moms?

[dayeonaira]

Believe it or not, in the last 5 years i have tried, zoloft, welbutran, lexipro, paxil and prosac. These have either made me depressed, had no effect...even with higher doses or have give me terrible side effects that don't go away.
the only thing that has helped is xanex. i have never been on a daily dose. I take it at the onset of a panic attack. i know it is highly addictive, so i use it sparingly. but since i am breastfeeding i can't take it. it is a class D med which means it passes to the baby through the milk and can cause effects in the baby.

At this point in time i feel like a lost cause.

[rpatter76]

well, if it IS due to post pardem, which is very possible, there is great light at the end of the tunnel.  although you may have had anxiety in the past, nothing will bring it on stonger than post pardem.  have you ever thought about constant therapy right now, proper exercise, and proper diet?  i know that may be hard with a little one around, but you wouldn't BELIEVE the difference those can make.  i started walking 3 miles a day, and eating well, and WOW.  the difference in my anxiety was AMAZING!!!  can you continue extensive therapy until you are able to try meds again?  who knows...maybe by that time, you won't even have to try them.  :)  that's the only good thing about anxiety.  it DOES seem to eventually subside....especially when your hormones balance out again.  what do you think?  are you doing okay today?

:)

rachel

[groovy]

hey dayeonaira,

 
welcome to this forum. theres a lot of wonderful people here who can help you out. i dont have a child so i really can't say much about dealing with anxiety while nursing.

I guess i am hoping that there are people out there with a severe case of anxiety like me that can suggest some way to get it under control


the word severe is totally subjective. i could tell you right now 3 weeks ago i thought i have a severe case of anxiety like i experienced depersonalization and tremor 24/7 but a person who thinks who fear death of a love would say that as well, even without physical symptoms. i totally understand how you feel, but the point is whether you have a "severe" or "mild" case of anxiety, the method of getting it under control is the same. You are right... accept the thought and consider them just as anxiety and fighting them would make it worse. but recognizing the thought is jusy anxiety is not enough, you need to react the opposite of what your anxiety wants you to react. i get soo many "what if" thoughts and i tell you, they drive me crazy. i feel awfully overload afterwards because i react to these "what if" thoughts, each one of them. you might be thinking "are you sure that what if thoughts are caused by anxiety and not my own thinking?" my answer is yes. thinking IS reacting to a thought, you are processing a thought, and for us anxiety sufferers we react negatively to it rather than ignore which is the positive reaction to it. we have racy thoughts because we are scared, but if you just let these thoughts pop in your head WITHOUT any reaction, before you knew it, they're gone. its not gonna be magically gone, they might come later on, and just do the same thing. eventually they will leave cause they have no meaning to it. when you react on a thought then you are putting meaning to it.

don't be afraid with your thoughts. they just random fluffy white clouds that just passed by. if you are afraid of a thought, its ok to be afraid at times. but thinking/reacting too much to it will lead you to thinking about it 24/7, but you have the ability to get rid of you fear if you know how to face them.