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...
Suffered with some amount of anxiety for years. 20 years ago was prescribed Ativan and I have been on it every since. Now physically and emotionally dependent on it. Need to taper, but have not had success on my own and the doctors in my little town suck. Going to have to wait for COVID to end to really tackle that.
I get anxiety attacks over just about anything--going to work, being at work. Conflicts at home, mostly over how I am unable to control this anxiety at all. Once I swallow one of my pills it gets better but other then that meditation, breathing exercises, etc. do very little.
Try to exercise a lot and eat well. I also have develped crippling insomnia which is only relieved a little by drugs.
I see a therapist online but it is very wandering and we have identified some things causing the anxiety, but no real solutions in how to handle the symptoms.
Anyway, just venting for now. Even that helps some and I hope to get to know some of you as time goes on.
Dan
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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...
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I've been feeling like I don't matter my wife the other day instead of telling me she was having a pain day when I went to have sex with her she tell me afterwards that she having pain day due to her fribromyalgia and making feel like shit afterward saying she has a list of things from past 9 years of thing for me to do and is always adding more and more to this list and talk...
Don't underestimate the value of venting. In my own anxiety management, venting goes beyond simple cathartic release. Once I have achieved that cathartic release, allowing myself to continue venting often leads to surprising and effective solutions. I am frequently amazed at how much more I can see without those repressed emotions blocking my vision.
Welcome aboard. Vent freely. Vent often.
She told me buy a couple of nice nature photos, and look at them. Get a few and change them around.
I brought four of them on Amazon, and it really. made a difference. When I'm down, anxious, whatever, I look at the picture and it makes me smile. P.S. I was taking Atavan too, no more.
You've taken the important first step in writing it out!
Because of Covid, there is a lot more telemedicine out there, and more widely available.
Since you said there are no good doctors in your town, can you look for a doctor in another city near you, because I think you could schedule a telehealth appointment with them. Check with your insurance about that.
You could also get a different psychologist for therapy if you feel the one you have is not helping enough.
Sometimes taking Ativan alone is not enough help. Ativan is a benzo drug which only lasts for about 4 hours each time you take it (according to my psychiatrist). Taking an additional medication daily, called an SSRI, could give you continuous anxiety relief for 24 hours a day. Might be something to look into. Seeing a psychiatrist for that kind of medication would probably be a better choice than exploring this with a regular general practitioner doctor.
I know it's frustrating and tiring to find help for anxiety. I get that. But we have to keep trying things. Hopefully one will work for you.
I can relate to the side effects of the SSRIs. What I found helped was to start them on a very, very low dose. I am talking teeny tiny dose to start (I used a pill cutter), It also takes at least 4 weeks to start feeling the benefits of the SSRIs. Sometimes 6 weeks. It's hard to wait that long... but we've waited this long with anxiety, too.
It's just a thought. To ask your psychiatrist about trying one of the new ones out there. At least it will stay in your system longer than the 4 hour Ativan.
I take a benzo every day as well. Almost 25 years now. I don't want to go off it any time soon. I didn't know that I *shouldn't* take it every day, no one told me that back then. So yeah, I take a small dose, once per daytime, to get through the daytime anxiety. Then an SSRI at night.
May I ask why you want to go off yours? Maybe you could work down to take "as needed"?