Im doing pretty good. I have bad days, but the good ones are amazing compared to how I felt. I have been journaling, breathing, & tapping. Anything to not take the meds. I know if it comes back I can handle it, I work with them.. Not against. :)

I'm going through the same thing. It has been 4 years since a bad episode like I'm going through now. I got off my meds over a year ago. I don't want to go back on them. Like Cassii, I am working with them, not against them. The more you try to run from them, the more power they have.

When I feel one coming on I tell it to come on. Then I tell it that it has 20 seconds and that's it. I count backward from 20 and it actually has worked for me. I have done a lot of reading over the past month because I don't want to go on meds and these are a few of the things that I here over and over. So I tried them and they work. You can get out of this without meds. Good luck and if you need some websites to visit, let me know. You can do this.

I see you're in Tacoma, I'm in Renton. This gray rainy weather we have had for so long is probably not helping. I know it is not helping me.

Work is so stressful, doing good professionally, but everything has a price I guess . . .my doctor is putting me on meds this week, my work involves interaction with a lot of government officios which more often than not may bring any person down. Doing exercises from swimming, archery, hiking. Hope everyone does not lose hope sometimes like I do, not a good disposition to be in. Thank you.

I was successful for many years keeping the anxiety down to a manageable level.
Journaling, breathing, tapping are all effective, and also understanding how anxiety physical symptoms are temporary can help you ride the wave to calmness.

I have suffered with anxiety for most of my life; for over 30 years. My anxiety got worse the longer it went on. I was on medication for over 6 years. But what is did not realize was that anxiety meds are meant to help you bring you anxiety down to a level you can learn to control. If you dont address the source of your anxiety the meds will quit helping and you will need a larger dose to maintain. You should not be on these meds for more than a year to a year and a half. 6 months ago I found the skills I needed to learn to manage my anxiety-- I has changed my life for ever. www.stresscenter.com this works, this is truth. I lived the pain anxiety causes and I would not share this if it did not help me.

For me I use to be dibilitated by panic/anxiety/depression. Which came first the depression/anxiety/panic? who knows. . When I first was diagnosed I was on antivan, zoloft, tegretol. With therapy and meds the depression is gone, the panic is gone but I still get bouts of anxiety. Not as bad but still there.

You can do it! Have faith. You've done it before, you can do it again.

(But at the same time, if it gets really bad, there's no shame in going on meds. Do what you have to do and take care of you!)

I'm doing pretty good--haven't had a panic attack for awhile, and have only had a few days of depression.

I'm trying to use cognitive therapy to manage my thinking--create different pathways for my brain. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. One day I had what my therapist calls "stinkin thinkin" I didn't care and wouldn't do what I shouldn't to get rid of it--but some days are like that.

Overall, I'm doing good--Hoping things keep going going that way--just know that each day is so different.

Good luck to all of you!

I am a life-long anxiety sufferer. For the most part, I manage very well now, but it has been a long road. What has worked for me is complete surrender and acceptance - not just of anxiety symptoms, but everything good and bad that comes my way. Emotional Freedom Technique (tapping) helps me to accomplish this on a level that no other approach has. I practise daily and it has made the world of difference for me.

I gotta learn what this "tapping" is! When I first read "tapping" on here I thought it meant fidgeting and tapping an object like your leg or the steering wheel like I do when I'm really anxious! LOL!

Something positive I can say about my lfe with anxiety and depression is that I ALWAYS feel better eventually. If I wait I will feel better. Sometimes it's a longer wait than others. I have gone through bad episodes of anxiety where it lasted months (at the very extreme end) and times when it lasted a few days or a week. Right now it's about 2 weeks and I am very much looking forward to feeling better. When I'm down, it's hard to remember what it's even like to feel good and the opposite is also true. When I feel good I don't want to remember how it feels to feel that bad!