Hello JaMom. Welcome to DS. Sorry for what brings you here, but glad you are here.

My efforts to control my anxiety ended in disaster. Well. . . More than one disaster since I was so convinced that anxiety *could* be controlled that I kept trying after quite a few disasters. I was living proof of the definition of insanity being doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results. I am still digging out the splinters from pulling the stick out of my ass.

Anxiety management is working much better for me. This very forum is one of my anxiety management tools. Support from people with similar needs has worked miracles for me. Hope it helps you, as well.

Welcome aboard.

Thanks so much. I hope this can help since I’ve been kind of isolated for a while now. I resonate with the term of anxiety management rather than control. I think I’ll definitely research that and reframe my terminology.
Thanks for welcoming me.

Hey. First off it’s hard for someone who doesn’t have anxiety to understand what it’s like. I didn’t have my first panic attack till I was 38. So I am that person who would of said your being over dramatic, so don’t get too upset over that. I get bad acid reflux when I’m stressed and I’ve taken almost everything in CVS or Walgreens. So you should definitely try and see a doctor about that cause they all have the same basic stuff in them. You would want to know what exactly you had the reaction to. It could of been a dye or something used to bind the pull together, and you would only need to avoid that thing and take something else without it.

Can you take your child to library activities for toddlers? Is there a playgroup near you? You would be around other mother's and be less isolated. Some
anxiety management tools I use are meditation, listening to soothing music,

I hope that you can find medicine for your acid reflux that you can tolerate. Have you researched gastritis yet? Try to avoid foods that produce more acid in your stomach. What works for my anxiety is getting involved in craft projects. It gets my mind active with the task at hand.

hello jamom. thank you for deciding to reach out to people on the site. I'm sorry that you are having a difficult time with acid reflux. I have it too. I have noticed for myself when I eat spicy foods or get nervous about something it tends to flare up. I take an anti acid pill. at first I took it twice daily, now I just do it as needed. Try not to eat food or especially spicy food 2 hours before going to bed. never lie down after eating. you need to allow at least 30 - 45 minutes for proper digestion. try sleeping with your head propped up higher than your chest. also, have you figured out the trigger/cause and when it happens. pinning these things down will help you understand how to control it better. Hope this helps you and I'm here if you wish to talk more. Sending encouragement and support. hugs my friend :)

@Tired I didn’t think about taking him to the library. I’m going to try that this week. I’ve been using the Pacifica app to guide me through meditation and I don’t know why I was surprised that it helped, but it did. @Cielo77 thanks for all of those suggestions. They really helped and I am actively trying to figure pin down the triggers and causes. I had to give up my grapefruit juice in the morning and started drinking aloe. Thanks everyone for all of the suggestions, and more so the support. I’m really glad I’m here. I don’t know how to explain it, but I just feel a little more out of my head and present with others.