Stress and anxiety are my biggest triggers which leads to sleep deprevation/disturbance, my second biggest one. Meds aside, I need ideas for stress and anxiety control. I am trying to eat better, hot baths, breathing, (would do meditation but have no clue how), trying to get to the gym for exercise but hard to do when everyday is migraine day. It’s a vicious cycle for me. My mind races ALL the time too which causes me grief. Ideas???
exercise helps me but i know what you mean i can’t always do it either.
I’m reading a good book now - haven’t gotten too far into it but it’s really good so far - it has exercises in it to do and i’m supposed to set aside time each day for the “mindfulness” work.
The Mindfulness Solution: Everyday Practices for Everyday Problems by Ronald D. Siegel
then there’s always the valium 
chris
I try and avoid stressful situations where possible. Exercise is good - especially I find walking near the ocean both relaxing and invigorating. Massage is wonderful. I’m quite good at doing nothing - I find I need to do nothing fairly regularly. Best of all for me is laughing. Always makes me feel good.
Also where needed - Valium. 
I would second Chris’s recommendation on “mindfulness” and mindfulness meditation. I did a course on this last year and it was great and is evidence based. Other things to consider if you cannot stop daily anxiety is to look at a medication to break the cycle. It may only take 3-6 months on an SSRI or you could use valium when you need a helping hand.
I used Cipramil initially to break the cycle 7 years ago and now rely on Valium here and there when migraine sends me into a bad state of acute anxiety or affects my sleep.
Scott
— Begin quote from “Victoria”
Also where needed - Valium.
— End quote
Vic - you take valium?!..you never mentioned it before :lol:
— Begin quote from “lorcalon”
— Begin quote from “Victoria”
Also where needed - Valium.
— End quote
Vic - you take valium?!..you never mentioned it before :lol:
— End quote
You’re a cheeky chops! :lol:
Tamsha, have you ever been able to identify what causes your mind to race? Do random events cause anxiety or is it things you can identify; family, money, work, etc?
I’m not a psychologist or anything but I do know that it is important to identify the things in your life that trigger anxiety and try to come up with a game plan for each. Hot baths, diet, and exercise can help, but they won’t resolve the issues.
I think the reason most people feel anxiety is because they experience a loss of control. Take this forum for example. People are here because they are suffering with symptoms that are hard to control. Isn’t that what we all want? And it really doesn’t matter how well off you are. People with unfathomable health problems often have less anxiety than perfectly healthy people with minor symptoms. (ever hear someone bitch endlessly about having a simple cold?) Rich people who lose money and are still rich (stock market for example) have more anxiety than poor people who never had money it to begin with. Why? The loss of control over their money. Spouses, parents, children; often cause the most anxiety in our lives. You expect things from your significant other, kids, family, and friends. When you don’t get what you feel that you need, anxiety hits. Again, another loss of control. (if my wife just did what I wanted all the time LOL I wouldn’t have anxiety!!! jk)
Don’t get me wrong. I haven’t defeated anxiety. I suffer greatly. But consciously reminding myself that I don’t have to have control, helps. Like right now. I’m dizzy. I don’t want to be dizzy. I want to have control of my balance. But I might have to let that go. I might be dizzy the rest of the my life. Constantly being worked up about it isn’t going to give me back my balance. It’s reprogramming my mind to accept that loss of control.
Like I said. I’m not a master at letting things go. If I were, I probably wouldn’t be here right now. I do think control (or the loss thereof) is the main ingredient for anxiety though.
Just something to think about…
Thank you for your post. It was well worded and made me think a lot about everything in my life. I have been a control freak most of my life and when things this past year or so got really out of hand and stressful, I still couldnt seem to give up control or ask anyone to help me out. My body hit a wall in November, that’s when the MAV started. Now I’m getting anxiety attacks daily along with daily migraines and getting frustrated on how to control it all. UGH!!
good post deepsix
i think ive always wanted to be in control my whole life too this is very hard. I think that’s why i have so much anxiety - i never know when the dizziness will hit - it scares me because of that. i’m always worried when it will hit esp when i know i’m going into a bad season because of pollen. i need to learn to let go and deal with it but its been 30 years and i can’t ever seem to get used to this because it’ is so unpredictable. never found any meds to help me either and im a wuss at trying new meds!!!
CHRIS
I know a lot of Eastern philosophies focus on the idea of letting go. The perfect mental state would be one in which you could give up anything and accept it. We’re all dependent on our health, people, and material things. Those dependencies lead to anxiety and heartbreak. I’m not saying we should sever relationships and walk around alone as vagrants. But the idea that we don’t really own anything; that everything in our world can be taken from us in an instant, and trying to accept that reality, prevents us from hitting the panic button (at least a little).
Most people take things for granted. The idea that I DESERVE to have my health, family, money, etc. causes anxiety when it’s taken away. (and with age, it all goes)
Buddhists practice thoughts of nothingness. People assume this means annihilation, but it’s actually the “release from suffering, desire, and the finite state of self.” In Buddhism, heaven is Nirvana, the ultimate state of nothingness. It’s all about finding inner peace. The key is to give up control and learn to let go.
I’m not a practicing Buddhist or anything, but the concepts are appealing to me. If I could just learn to rewire my brain to give up control and let things go, I would be much happier. I’m trying, but it’s hard.