18 - 30 Month Plus Group

[[dr...]]

TM-Progressive Muscle Relaxation is very popular and proven to work as being a stress/anxiety reducer.  The only thing is it takes work.  It is where you use a guided meditation(can find them almost anywhere if you google or go to itunes) to clench and tighten your different muscle groups for a few seconds and then release them.  the whole thing takes about 15 minutes.  I trained in it many years ago but it didn't help because unbeknownst to me I was in tolerance withdrawal at the time.  It can be painful and slightly anxiety provoking until you get used to how your body tenses up and finally relaxes.  You have to stick with it.

 

I have done it 2x a day for the last two days and I have cut off several headaches before they got to the bad stage.  I also did it before my shopping and it was a much better trip.  I do not think it is a cure but it is definitely helping me lower my stress level from being a continuous drain on me.  It also most importantly gets your brain to realize that you are tightening up muscles 24/7 without you even knowing.  I have noticed in the last two days how much my shoulders are riding up and my forehead is tight.  This helps immensely. 

 

I think this is a great practice for anyone whether benzo or not.  I will keep you all posted but I am cautiously optimistic I found something drug free to help me short curcuit the torturous process a bit. 

[[Mi...]]

Drew 28    Yes Yes Yes!  I completely forgot about this!  I was guided through this in the beginning by a dear friend and I remember how much it had helped but completely didn't know the name of it ect....      Thank you for the wonderful post! I did this last night while laying in bed really helped ALOT with the muscles!  Have you tried peppermint oil for your headaches?  I can't recommend it enough   I have a phobia of any pill that has to be swallowed and Tylenol reeks havoc on my stomach!  The peppermint has 99% cleared my headaches!  Thanks Again for the post.  I have to say this is a horrible process but I have found the kindest souls on this site!  Sending peace to all :smitten:

[[...]]

Marj-

I'm sorry. I'm struggling to push through at work through. For me, it's the constant dr. Very hard to focus with these symptoms.

 

Hoping things ease up and we both get through this day with a little bit of grace.

Peace2

 

Anyone else have constant dr? It ebbs and flows but is always present.

 

 

Peace, it comes and goes like everything else.  It's nearly the end of the day for me and I've noticed I'm starting to get really bad headaches and like Drew, I know they are coming from muscle tension which has been really bad this week. I'm feeling quite nauseous from them too. This happened yesterday too and i really thought I was going to throw up or i was coming down with some bug. DR is starting to set in because I'm panicking about how I feel, worrying that it's getting worse. I'm so grateful for Jenny posting about this time being really difficult before we heal. Bristol again said that most people heal between 18 - 24 months and it can get really bad and then get better.

 

Feel better Peace, this is so tough. 

[[be...]]

TM-Progressive Muscle Relaxation is very popular and proven to work as being a stress/anxiety reducer.  The only thing is it takes work.  It is where you use a guided meditation(can find them almost anywhere if you google or go to itunes) to clench and tighten your different muscle groups for a few seconds and then release them.  the whole thing takes about 15 minutes.  I trained in it many years ago but it didn't help because unbeknownst to me I was in tolerance withdrawal at the time.  It can be painful and slightly anxiety provoking until you get used to how your body tenses up and finally relaxes.  You have to stick with it.

 

I have done it 2x a day for the last two days and I have cut off several headaches before they got to the bad stage.  I also did it before my shopping and it was a much better trip.  I do not think it is a cure but it is definitely helping me lower my stress level from being a continuous drain on me.  It also most importantly gets your brain to realize that you are tightening up muscles 24/7 without you even knowing.  I have noticed in the last two days how much my shoulders are riding up and my forehead is tight.  This helps immensely. 

 

I think this is a great practice for anyone whether benzo or not.  I will keep you all posted but I am cautiously optimistic I found something drug free to help me short curcuit the torturous process a bit.

 

Hey drew, I do this with my tight abdominal muscles..it does seem to help. I also do it with my tight shoulders, I just hunch my shoulders up tight..hold for a few seconds and release. I do the neck rolls for my neck..it pops and grinds..lol.

Now, none of this stuff helped me early out, but the further out I get I'm leaning on these techniques for tight muscle release.

Hope this continues to help you..and others.

[[dr...]]

Drew 28    Yes Yes Yes!  I completely forgot about this!  I was guided through this in the beginning by a dear friend and I remember how much it had helped but completely didn't know the name of it ect....      Thank you for the wonderful post! I did this last night while laying in bed really helped ALOT with the muscles!  Have you tried peppermint oil for your headaches?  I can't recommend it enough   I have a phobia of any pill that has to be swallowed and Tylenol reeks havoc on my stomach!  The peppermint has 99% cleared my headaches!  Thanks Again for the post.  I have to say this is a horrible process but I have found the kindest souls on this site!  Sending peace to all :smitten:

 

I have tried peppermint oil and the other oils...not much of a difference but I usually applied it too late. 

 

I totally forgot about this practice and like Beulah said it may be working better now since I am not in a "storm" all day.  I am doing it midday at the gym and then again at bedtime.  In addition I do two other meditations for relief of stress and pressure upon waking and mid afternoon.  It seems to arrest my stress/anxiety each time.  fingers crossed.   

[[Mi...]]

Marj-

I'm sorry. I'm struggling to push through at work through. For me, it's the constant dr. Very hard to focus with these symptoms.

 

Hoping things ease up and we both get through this day with a little bit of grace.

Peace2

 

Anyone else have constant dr? It ebbs and flows but is always present.

 

 

Peace, it comes and goes like everything else.  It's nearly the end of the day for me and I've noticed I'm starting to get really bad headaches and like Drew, I know they are coming from muscle tension which has been really bad this week. I'm feeling quite nauseous from them too. This happened yesterday too and i really thought I was going to throw up or i was coming down with some bug. DR is starting to set in because I'm panicking about how I feel, worrying that it's getting worse. I'm so grateful for Jenny posting about this time being really difficult before we heal. Bristol again said that most people heal between 18 - 24 months and it can get really bad and then get better.

 

Feel better Peace, this is so tough. 

 

 

 

 

 

I haven't heard that but wow does it give me much needed hope!  Do most people really heal btwn 18-24 months???    I thought I was doing so well at about 16 months then 17-19.5 have been a nightmare so happy to read this!  Is this pretty accurate in which people have been saying and experiencing?. 

[[Mi...]]

Marg, who is Bristol? May I ask.?  That was very encouraging? 

[[...]]

Hi Jen,  its the Bristol Tranquilizer Project here in the UK.  I will post more wben I can as I am just going to bed.  I feel shocking right now, maybe something other than WD. We will all get better

[[Mi...]]

Thanks Marj  . Get some sleep, hope your feeling better after rest       The UK huh?  I am from the US, Minnesota.  That must be why the time stamp on all of these posts don't go with my actual time lol

[[do...]]

Drew recommended I come over here.

 

Hi,

 

I'm entering month 15. I don't have much to say as I am barely able to write. I think most of you know me. Maybe yes. Maybe no. In short I experience the severe mental torment all at the same time. Severe depression, anxiety, DR/DP, psychosis, and a slew of other stuff. I have had no breaks. Ideation comes. And goes.

 

To be blunt my options are as follows:

 

1) Check out (not an option)

2) Go back to a doctor ( No way - too scared of more poison and how could they possibly diagnose what is going on, much less my ability to describe to the doctor what it is I am experiencing!)

3) Continue on - Even though I have zero hope for recovery.

 

I wish I had more positive things to say to everyone. I really do. But I don't.

 

I send you all of my best. I hope all  of you recover.

 

[[No...]]

Good Morning ... took a day "off" yesterday ... found myself in a grumpy sort of place ... that happens once in a while so I sit on my balcony and "grump" ...

 

I suspect the sleep thing was getting me a bit down ... oh well ... slept well last night ... so I guess the "grump" therapy was effective ...

 

It is Thursday ... I wonder where Tuesday and Wednesday went ... 

 

Have a good one ... 

[[No...]]

Regarding the progressive muscle relaxing and acupuncture ... and other forms of body work ...

 

Thank you all for this discussion ... I think it is important ... I have been reflecting on this for some time and this discussion has kicked started me in trying to string something together regarding this ...

 

When, and if, I get it completed I will post it ... 

[[No...]]

Dolphin ... your telling your story and your posting is positive ... for yourself and for all of us ...

 

For some of us, hope may get lost for a while in this process ... and our sense of hope will gradually return ...

 

We are giving ourselves a gift ... the gift of the possibility of a drug free life ... I cannot imagine a more compassionate, a more kind, a more generous thing we can do for ourselves ... and in extension, for our families and communities ...

 

And ... this gift contains our resilience, our open-heatedness, our preciousness ... and the literal shout that "I matter" ... we all matter ...

 

These are the lights we see at the end of the tunnel of this journey ...

 

Yes, there are dark days, and sometimes the feeling of being overwhelmed, and the sense of utter confusion ... and ... all we need to do is keep going, doing the best we can each day ... as so many have done before us ... perhaps that is where our hope lies during this process ... there is always that sometimes very small flicker of light during these storms ... that is our light of hope ...

[[...]]

Nova,

 

Good to see you, I’ve missed you    I’m having a bit of trouble adapting to the new group tbh.  Maybe that’s as I’m going through an intense period of healing. The one where it feels worse than ever. Sorry about your grumpy day, I think our emotions are so hyped up and we notice every little thing and every little thought. Just wish this would calm down.

 

[[Si...]]

Nova Sorry you had a grumpy day. Maybe today will be better with the sleep you got.

 

I think acupuncture helped me. The big issue with that sort of thing is the person you go to. I first went to a Chinese woman that inherited her dad's very highly regarded practice. She was not good at all. Then months down the road I went to a Korean guy that really knew what he was doing. Sometimes you just have to find someone that is good at their job. I'd definetly like to hear your thoughts on it whenever you get a chance to piece them together.

[[No...]]

Marj and Siggy ... for me, grump is like anything else ... when it shows up I just let it be there ... perhaps like a little fever ... it always runs its course ...

 

Like lemons, when you get 'em, you make lemonade ... when I get the grumps I get a day off and get to sit on the balcony in the sunshine and talk to blue jays and listen to the city ...

[[No...]]

Marj ... yep ... the intense stuff can bring on a little hyper ... that hyper-vigilance sort of thing ... the sense of things just churning and churning ...

 

And it will pass in time ... you are doing fine ... it just doesn't feel like most of the time right now ... most of us go through a period like this ... we feel this is never going to end ... it will just go on and on forever ... and it will get better ... I promise ..

 

How do you mean, having a little trouble adapting to the new group? ...

 

[[...]]

Nova, Ok, I will try your approach. Today I have massive anxiety, I will 'try' to just let it be there 

[[No...]]

Marj ... I ain't easy ... it is much easier to get tangled up in this stuff ... it feels so big and pervasive ... and as with most things, a little practice goes a long way ...

 

This doesn't fix anything ... it can just make the passing of time a little softer ...

 

Have a good afternoon ... 

[[...]]

Nova

 

I mean it felt new and I think I was missing my old buddies. I'm just in a bad wave really

[[No...]]

Marj ... ahhh ... as Zorba says ... "the full catastrophe" ... 

[[pe...]]

It is kind of quiet over here. I've got not much to report, just still fighting the fight. I know I get to feeling like there isn't anything new to say this far out, though the encouragement certainly goes a long way when I need it. I'm kind of in the 'things are better, but maybe this is just me' camp.

 

It'll get better Marj. Is there one little thing that helps you feel the least bit better?

 

Peace2

[[No...]]

Hi Peace ... yep ... sometimes it feels like there is nothing new to add ... and ... it may be a bit like going to your favourite place ... and just catching up with your friends ... over and over again ...

 

Or maybe a bit like going to church and saying the prayers again and again ...

 

For me, it sometimes soothes and calms ...

 

Good to hear you are recognizing that things are better ... 

[[pe...]]

Hi Nova,

Friends at church. A place for sharing faith. Yes. That this gets better. I agree. And it does soothe and calm.

 

I am struggling much with dr. It is my strongest side effect and seems to be holding on with claws. It is always there, though ebbs and flows. Very hard to function! I am to do a full day of work and then drive thirty minutes to pick my children up from school, feed them, being them thirty minutes home and I'm not sure how. Bit by bit I guess. I want this to be effortless. But not yet.

 

I hope you're having a better day than yesterday.

Peace2

[[Mi...]]

Hello Everyone!  I have been hit hard this wk!  And I just told my hubby last week how I had an amazing week and how my stomach was better than its been in a year!    WOW, did I speak to soon       I ofcourse now have had some of the worse physical symptoms I have ever had in intensity!!  I have had this burping, bloating, burning, vice gripping pain in my stomach and a new symptom for me horrible nausea!  And the what ifs are killing me!  I know better but it got the better of me! Yep WEB MD!!!  I so don't recommend it to anyone lol...  I was absolutely positive last night I had stomach cancer, an ulcer that ofcourse was going to rupture or tear and kill me in my sleep :'(. And something to do with esophagus disease from all the reflux and about ten other things I can't pronounce let alone spell!!!      And yes I know I sound crazy but when we have these physical flare ups and asked to deal with them with a half assed nervous system well it gets the best of me, it's damn near impossible!  So I sit here laughing at myself through tears of worry and pain!  And yes I did go to the actually doctor last year!  I checked out after she said something about a sedative and some tube down my throat into my stomach!  I know I am a baby but have huge problems in a medical setting after all this trauma! I was like thinking, HELL NO!  I had to self talk breathe into a paper bag just to be able to explain these symptoms and you want me to do WHAT???  Like what ever happened to a X-ray or some kinda picture?    Sorry for the rant I am just tired and mostly scared!  My stomach feels like I have really angry aliens in it lol and I am so bloated I look pregnant and everything hurts!  I also have this wierd hotness and rash that comes from it all over my body but mostly face!  Most mental stuff other than heightened anxiety due to pure pain is and has been done with but this physical stuff........    ??