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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Guy on August 14, 2007, at 15:01:21
It is so frustrating to have phobia (of insomnia), panic (when I don't sleep) and generalized anxiety (from having all those stress hormones racing around my body all day long.) The bottom line is that if I knew how to relax, I would be off my meds within a few weeks and live happily ever after. As it is, I have to sedate myself constantly just to get the sleep I need to function. Even with the doxepin and clonazepam, I am alway keyed up. I try to practice the relax response (RR) by meditating etc., but I never seem to be able to reach a state of deep relaxation. No calm moments for me--just a constant knot in my stomach and a persistent headache. I think part of the problem is that the benzo blocks stage 4 sleep, which is the most important for a calm nervous system. Yet without some anti-panic med I'm a total basket case. I'm wondering if anyone has ever found a really effective way to achieve deep relaxation. The books I've read make it sound so easy, but I just can't seem to get there.
Posted by ClearSkies on August 14, 2007, at 15:48:39
In reply to How do you relax?, posted by Guy on August 14, 2007, at 15:01:21
Hi there, Guy, I don't think we've met before. Anxiety and panic are part of my daily life (as is depression), and there are a variety of things I do to remind myself to relax.
Soothing music - for some people, this means ambient, new age sounds. I find noises to be really distracting; our home is being remodeled and the constant din, for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, sets my teeth on edge, to the point where I can't even comfortably read a book at the moment. But I try to keep the noise counter balanced by having soothing music playing and wearing noise canceling headphones - it brings my anxiety down by a couple of notches just doing this.
I take a chelated magnesium supplement, and a B12/folic acid supplement. While they seem to have minimal benefits, whenever I think that they don't seem to be doing much and stop taking them, I find that my general state of anxiety increases. So I take them (what's a few more pills in my day, right?)
I pet my cat regularly.
I take a walk, no matter how short, every day.
I try to meditate - this is my biggest challenge of all. The mental chatter that anxiety creates makes it so hard to find peace that some days I close my eyes and just amaze myself that my head just won't slow down, much less stop. When it's this bad, I try just to watch what's happening in my head, and not comment on it. A busy mind is still worth contemplating, and perhaps marveling at.
The books make it sound so easy, don't they? "Just sit down and relax." Yeah, right. I think we each need to find the right things that help us to relax.
ClearSkies
Posted by Phillipa on August 14, 2007, at 22:16:10
In reply to Re: How do you relax? » Guy, posted by ClearSkies on August 14, 2007, at 15:48:39
Going out and talking to real people in real life is what helps me relax as I forget myself while involved with someone else. And a massage helps also. Although lately haven't had one. But I do require a benzo at bedtime. We also have our own internet business and shop a lot for that. Then when home ride
my bike even if I don't want to in the heat up and down large hills for 7.5miles as I have one of those things that clocks my speed and mileage. Good to meet you too. Anxiety is horrible. Love Phillipa
Posted by blueboy on August 18, 2007, at 8:52:03
In reply to How do you relax?, posted by Guy on August 14, 2007, at 15:01:21
Sometimes the only thing that helps me is 3mg of clonozepam. I do this once or twice a week sometimes. It seems to kill some sort of "cycle" of anxiety.
If you still have symptoms after taking it, you might try talking to your doc about trying this, i.e. upping the dosage until it is effective but only using it infrequently. It's a fairly safe drug if you up the dosage in .5mg increments and don't take other depressants. To me, habituation is a much bigger hazard than short-term oversedation, so I have an absolute hard limit of twice a week maximum (and rarely use it that often).
My pdoc was a bit taken aback when I did this. I mean, it wasn't working, so I just took more until it did, LOL, and then told him about it at the next appointment. (I am not recommending this; I would have talked to him about it first if I knew then what I know now.)
He was used to prescribing it as an ongoing daily medication; however, he went along with it, especially because I average significantly less than the 30mg per month he had prescribed.
Posted by jhj on August 19, 2007, at 1:38:57
In reply to Re: How do you relax?, posted by blueboy on August 18, 2007, at 8:52:03
Hi blueboy,
I have taken more then 3 mg per day clonazepam for around one and half years for my GAD and SP.Neither i became habituated nor it improved my symtoms of anxiety even by one percent.If clonazepam starts working in severe social phobia and severe GAD for everybody,then i would be the happiest person in the world.My conclusion is that neither it is habit forming nor it is more effective then any other anxiety drugs.
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