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[Bracken willowshimmer]

Has anyone got any tips with dealing with anxiety?   I have been suffering with it for the past fifteen months and when it's at its worst it is so horrible.

I am on low dose ad, don't really want to increase it.  Also take magnesium, evening primrose oil, a castus and fish oil.  Drs won't prescribe hrt because of migraines with aura. 

Just wondered if anyone has any strategies to deal with it?  Or any natural/herbal remedies that work

I am in perimenopause, exercise frequently, try to eat well, no alcohol, limit caffeine but sometimes feels like nothing works.

Look forward to hearing from you.

S xx

[Taz2]

Hi sarahm - I just wondered why your doc wont prescribe HRT. Migraine with aura is not a reason to be denied it. In some cases it can cause the migraine or aura to worsen but a change in the delivery i.e. from pill to patch often sorts that out. It used to be thought that prescribing HRT to migraine sufferers increased the risk of stroke but this is no longer the case. It seems a shame for you to feel so dreadful if there is no need to. You might like to copy this and let your doc read it http://www.migrainetrust.org/factsheet-menopause-midlife-and-migraine-10906

Taz x

[Rowan]

Bach Flower Remedies may help, the drops or lozenges, even chewing gum really hard will take your mind off the way you are feeling.

I say to myself when floating anxiety and symptoms start, that I have felt like this before, had the same symptoms before, and nothing happened and I am still here, so it can't be serious.

Don't try to fight it just go with it, don't give it any power and the symptoms will start  to abate, concentrate on doing something else, because it is you promoting the symptoms, no one else.

It does work.

[honeybun]

That's exactly how I try and deal with anxiety. It's not easy but I have been "fighting" with no success for far too long.
Nothing bad has happened to me, I have not passed out in a shop or restaurant. I have not had the screaming ab dabs in the street, I have not crashed the car.

Now I think.....right this is the way it is.....come and get me. I try and accept and then float myself through these feelings.
It's not perfect but it is starting to help a little bit.
I have finally identified what my form my anxiety takes. It's health anxiety....Not just mine but hubby too. I now accept I am being unrealistic to expect perfect health and not to cope with up and downs. I am married to a type 1 diabetic and that brings its challenges....he has also had a heart attack. I am trying to not watch him every minute of every day and concentrate on the good things in life. He copes better with his health than I do 

Dont give up....it will get better.

Honeyb
x

[Bracken willowshimmer]

Thanks ladies for your lovely posts.

Taz2 drs are adament no hrt, I have seen most drs at my clinic.  They are saying I am high risk of stroke.  Beginning to thnk they are just trying to save money!  The lady dr at my surgery says I am too go back when periods finish and then maybe they will consider it!

Silverlady and honeybun, lovely posts.  Honeybun I like your attitude with the anxiety, will definitely give it a try.

Xx

[honeybun]

I have read a lot of self help books but the one that resonated with me was quite an old fashioned one by Claire Weekes. I think it's called Self Help for your nerves.
It has helped me deal with how I feel.
Fighting anxiety just does not work. It wins every time. Accepting....and thinking have these feelings ever caused you physical harm....if not then just accept and try and relax through it.
Every morning for the past two years I have wakened up with a feeling of dread and my stomach in knots. Now I float about the kitchen thinking....so what...this will pass and not harm me. I can actually feel the knots starting to loosen. I look out the window and try to appreciate what I see. It might just be a bird on the feeder but I concentrate on that rather than than the internal feelings. It's not easy but it's a work in progress. One day at a time.

You will get there....and so will I.


Honeyb
x

[CLKD]

Sadly Claire Weekes never did it for me, nor the 'float through the anxiety' nor the 'it didn't hurt you last time' - that was then, I'm dealing with anxiety now ........  one therapist said 'remember how you felt when you were OK' - that doesn't work for me, because I'm in the 'now' - and when anxiety hits it takes over, totally.

Beta blockas have helped; deep breathing; relaxation therapy; emergency Valium or other such medications ..........

[honeybun]

We all have to find our own ways of dealing with things.
It is very difficult to think that things do not harm you when you are in the middle of an anxiety attack.
I do struggle with it but as fighting it does nothing I thought I may as well try something else.

Honeyb
x

[Bracken willowshimmer]

Thank you ladies, some very helpful posts.

Honeybun, I like how you deal with your anxiety.  I think when the feeling of anxiety is there, I am panicking and making it worse.  When it is at its worst, it's all I can think about.  Will definitely try your way of thinking.

Can I ask how old you are?  What stage of menopause are you at?  Do you think the anxiety will go once we are through menopause? 

Thanks again s xx

[honeybun]

I am 53 and I started meno symptoms at about 47 ish. I am on HRT which really does nothing for my anxiety which started about two years ago.
Yes I do think it will go. My mother who is now 91 had an early meno and struggled with what she called her nerves for many years and it did eventually stop and she was fine.

It's not easy to accept the feeling but fighting them all the time is so tiring so my mantra is now accept and float through the feelings. If nothing else it gives me something positive to concentrate on and the panic attacks that make me want to run are far less often and less severe.
It's a work in progress.

Honeyb
x

[kerrieann]

honeybun, its interesting to me that you wake feeling anxious and all knotted up inside, i have had this for about 4 years now and i hate it, i wake and feel that i must get up quick and get dressed and ready for the day and i have no idea why as i dont go out to work, my children are no longer at home so i should be really relaxed and get up at my own pace but this anxiety stops me from doing this.
I have been reading ruby wax's book and when i can concentrate (another problem lol) i have found it very useful she explains mindfulness and i think i have grasped that by doing as you say just being aware of whats around us, such as you say watching a bird in the garden anything that takes your mind off the anxiety you are feeling.
It is early days but iam giving it a good go, it's just these early morning feelings that get me before iam properly awake.

[CLKD]

Early morning anxiety can be caused by low blood sugar.  One can have low blood sugar without relevance to diabetes ….. i.e. when cycling, jogging, running and by not eating correctly.  There's a lot about this in the various cycling magazines as we come into Spring cycling regimes.

I used to wake deeply afraid.  Prehistorically afraid.  I was unable to eat, drink, function  ……… gradually I got to eating properly and these feelings dispersed, however, if I have busy dreams I can wake anxious  - no amount of being able to take my mind off anxiety, once the physicality hits then only medication will ease the symptoms.

[kerrieann]

clkd, quick question, about the time this morning anxiety started, i felt the need to take a glass of squash to bed for when i wake in the night, which is usually around 3 times, previously i took water, but seemed to need something sweet ?? is that low blood sugar ?
I have heard of taking a biscuit to bed, or even a banana  to eat if you wake ?
Any thoughts please,  more than 1 question i know  but i really would like to wake, feeling a little less anxious

[Dandelion]

Morning dread is what I call the anxiety that appears on a morning.

You wake up with butterflies in your stomach and everything seems worse than it really is.

Mine's not so bad at the moment, thankfully, but my heart goes out to all those women who get 'morning dread'

It's different from normal psychological anxiety, as in, the sort you get when you have something anxiety provoking on your mind.
It's there whether or not you have any thing on your mind, and it makes you take minor worries out of proportion.

[WendyL]

I saw an Ayurvedic Doctor who helped me more than my GP.
I also found taking Testogel - which I bought myself sorted my head. I have put on weight though.
Good luck x