Anxiety Support Group
Anxiety is a physical condition marked by intense and persistent feelings of distress, fear, angst or dread. General anxiety caused by routine day-to-day stresses usually passes quickly and is experienced by almost everyone at one time or another. However, such feelings that linger over time and are very difficult to cope with, and which lack a clear cause, may indicate...
Hello to all out there who are also searching for support for their anxiety. I just joined DS today and from reading other posts, am glad I did. I already feel the love out there. I've had anxiety issues off and on for about 23 years. (I'm 45 and first remember feeling anxious leaving college going to look at my first apartment). It's come and gone and I'm pretty sure it stems from my upbringing and just from my overall journey in life.
Anyway, I was prompted to join this group because recently it has gotten pretty intense. I'm hoping that it's a passing dark cloud as life has been pretty tough lately, but I still wanted to reach out and communicate. Just feels right. Being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes 5 years ago I'm sure hasn't helped.
I was diagnosed Hydroxyzine (10mg) which I take as needed. What are other people's experiences with Hydroxyzine? And I also drink occasionally (whiskey primarily) which also helps A-LOT, though I try not to become dependent on it. Lastly, because my anxiety has intensified lately, my doc prescrobed 25 mg tablets of Zoloft but I haven't taken it yet. Wanted to get people's feedback on that drug as well.
Thank you in advance.
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I was listening to George Birge radio on Pandora in my car yesterday. It sounded good but the lyrics are so limited with country music. I just couldn't hear another song about whiskey. Now I'm listening to Tori Amos. She is my female Elton John. I love their lyrics!
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When i was in the ER February 16th 2025, i was being admitted to ICU where i was for 3 weeks, then had to relearn to walk for 3 weeks in another hospital rehab floor, the nurse told me something that made me feel for over 18 months now that i was finally *safe*. She told me that the guy who raped and beat me 21 years ago now almost 20 years at that time, was in prison as of a month before that...
We're glad you joined this site. Lots of nice, supportive people with lots of good information on dealing with anxiety, as well as other issues.
I am a 20+ year sufferer of anxiety myself.
The only thing I wanted to point out is to just make sure your prescribing physician (hopefully it's a psychiatrist, as they are well versed on treating anxiety issues) knows how much alcohol you are drinking a day. You do need to be careful about mixing alcohol with certain medications. I would encourage you to ask them about that, as it can be dangerous in some cases. I can't drink alcohol at all, due to my taking anxiety medications. My psychiatrist says that drinking is a common way to self medicate anxiety, but drinking could also cause other heath problems. As well as contraindications with certain medications. Not trying to lecture you! Just making sure that you know the risks and to check in with your doctor about this.
Have you tried any kind of therapy? Anxiety can respond well to therapy.
Other things that help are journaling, regular exercise, and getting outside and in the sun. These three things will help you feel better overall too.
Okay, lectures over :) Hope you find support and helpful ideas here!
Vent, question and sort freely.
You've taken the important first step in writing it out.
I have taken zoloft and kept a daily journal to help me figure out what works best when. Make sure to stay hydrated, You'll feel better even when your anxiety is raised.
Also write out feelings, emotions, thoughts, words, and this will help sort through the patterns and you then can distract from the ones that are not helping you to use your anxiety as a helper.
Best wishes as you find your better balance.
I don't have any significant experience with medications. I was having trouble with Insomnia and got treatment for sleep combined with CBT stuff. From my limited internet research, there doesn't seem to be many treatments out there for anxiety that are more successful than CBT. Do check it out.
Godspeed
I haven't had much luck with medications for anxiety and depression.I seem to be sensitive to side effects. Everyone's different when it comes to meds.I think hydroxyzine make me tired and didn't do much else.I don't drink anymore,I haven't for many years but I guess it helped me with social anxiety when I did.I just needed to stop for so many reasons.Welcome!