[Pi...] Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 I have had several episodes of anxiety and panic since I was a teenager 20 years ago. Last year, in the midst of family stress and my own medical problems, my anxiety came back full force. I started taking ativan and before I knew it, it was becoming a daily thing. The .25 or .50 ativan made me somewhat functional, but never made anything better. I'm trying to get off benzos now by tapering Valium. I just now started crossing over. I still experience extreme panic in traffic, at stores, or crowded places, so it's like the same as it was before I took any benzos. How will I cope with withdrawal and my panic? I've already missed out on so much this past year. I feel terrible my kids lost their fun mommy that liked to take them places. I can barely leave the house. Is there any chance my anxiety will improve when I'm off valium? I tried Paxil and it was the absolute worst nightmare ever and sent me straight to the ER with excessive paranoid thoughts which I have never had. I'm in therapy but it honestly makes me feel terrible because I sit and discuss all the awful problems I have. I'm at a loss. I went to the store tonight and after 10 minutes, i got the familiar headache that comes right before I go in full panic mode. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[Da...] Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 I am kind of wondering the same thing you are. I have been off Xanax CT now since November. Before when I was taking it and I felt anxious I would just pop one and everything would be alright. Now I am in this major slump wondering if the anxiety and depression are here to say. My psychiatrist who is also a reformed heroine use and now doctor specializing in addiction, says he treats many patients withdrawing from benzos and that they symptoms will go away. I hope he is right and the two of us feel better soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[Ju...] Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 Do the easy stuff first (to decrease anxiety), like give up or cut way down on coffee, cafeinated tea, and then learn the 'mindful way to break the cycle of panic' , fear feeds panic, cause more fear, which causes more panic and it goes on in an ever increasing circle. . . but you can stop it. It's a skill you must learn , just like typing or whatever. The first step is to control your breathing, slow and easy, recognize the cycle is happening, Say outloud, "Less fear, Less panic" , then think about something else, sing a song, say a prayer, anything to help your mind get out of the fear cycle. It get EASIER every time you do it, until the brain learns over time that it is POINTLESS to give you panic attacks, because you have no fear. Good luck, J-man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[Pi...] Posted June 20, 2016 Author Share Posted June 20, 2016 Thanks for the replies! I have noticed that I take comfort in things from my childhood. Like 80's songs. I like to sing culture club songs in my head when I fet ancy. I also listen to anxiety videos on YouTube. I guess I need to learn to let go. I have control issues from an unstable environment growing up. My parents were unconventional. I appreciate some of it like a healthy level of wanting freedom and a love of art and music, but we lived in chaos and didn't have money sometimes for clothes and food. I don't talk about it much. Most people don't understand. I never had friends because I was embarrassed of my house. Ive carried that with me and I really dont know how to make friends and keep them. I just started discussing all this with my therapist. I know no one escapes childhood unscathed. Right now, my guilt I feel that I'm not fully there for my kids is making me depressed. I will say that the valium is so so much better than the ativan. I have no interdose withdrawal so far which is encouraging. I didn't even feel I needed my evening dose but I'm sticking with my schedule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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