These things work!

[[go...]]

Hello fellow warriors! I just passed the three year mark and I am doing great! I suffered so much the first two years. I had horrendous anxiety, loss of appetite (Lost 40 pounds), horrible OCD, fear of leaving the house or driving, became an introvert when i was a very extroverted and nothing brought me joy. I want to share with you what has helped me.

 

1. Daily exercise. Start with a light walk. If you can only do 5 minutes that is ok. Eventually work up to 30 minutes or more a day. This will help greatly with insomnia, depression and anxiety.

 

2. YOGA- This is really my #1. If you don't have an energy, you tube search Restorative Yoga. It is relaxing stretches and breathing. After a couple weeks of not missing yoga, I feel better than I ever did on Klonopin. Keep in mind it will take a few weeks of the exercise and yoga to start noticing a change.

 

3. BREATHE- You may think that something so simple cannot help you but this is so far from the truth. Breathe in through your nose and fill your belly up. Then release from your mouth and blow it all out. This is calming your central nervous system. Also, when you are breathing you're brain is focused on only that. It can't be racing on those other unkind thoughts that are running through your head.  If you start breathing more throughout the day, think of all of the millions of bad thoughts you can miss.

 

4. Get help! Talk to a professional. I found an amazing psychiatrist that has helped me greatly. If you live in a small town look for one that you can skype with. So worth it.

 

5. Take up a hobby. If you cant get off the couch, try knitting, making jewelry or anything else. One that is great for me is gardening. Watering everyday in this Texas heat, pruning everyday and seeing the new blooms. When I am gardening my mind is totally focused on that.

 

6. When I went through the roughest stages I avoided caffeine and ate very clean. As time goes on you can add more to your diet.

 

7. Stay away from negative people, television or anything else that stresses you. Focus on things that make you happy. For me it's my dogs.

 

I am not going to lie to you. I am never going to be 100%. I still struggle with some OCD and anxiety. It is the reason I got on benzos to begin with. If I stick with the top 5 things I told you about, it is very minimal.

 

Just know that you will get though this. Try to find the positive and not focus on the negative. I know this sounds impossible but just keep trying. Keep fighting because you are worth it! It's a very tough and ugly battle but you will win! Love to all!

 

 

[[Ar...]]

Thank you sharing.  The success stories continue to give me hope that one day I will be healed.  Best wishes for your continued healing and joy in your life. 

[[...]]

I'm so pleased for you    We used to chat.... remember. We all will arrive eventually, it just takes so much time. Great news!

[[Co...]]

Such wise advice, and wonderful to hear that you've healed from benzos.  I see that you were floxed early one too. How sad- when will our doctors learn?

 

When did you begin to feel healed?  Did you suffer much with depression and the other mental symptoms in addition to anxiety? 

 

Well done. I wish you the very best in life. 

[[Fe...]]

Thank you for your story, I needed this today!!  How far out were you when you turned a major corner? I'm 16mo out & am still miserable.. Thank you & congrats!

[[He...]]

Nice to hear

 

Thank you for hope

 

What are the topics of your OCD?

[[go...]]

Thanks to all for your response.

 

@arkansas1122 Thank you for your kind words. You have reason to have hope because you will get better!

 

@marj I remember you! You are actually the first person I thought of when I logged on yesterday. I hate that you are still struggling but your day is coming soon!

 

@cominghome Thank you! It was a slow process. I was able to go back to work at month 9. It was still a struggle due to social anxiety. I did suffer horrible depression in the beginning. I hate to say but I was wishing death on myself. What we go through I would not wish on anyone. The yoga and exercise were crucial for me to feel closer to "normal".

 

@Feather333 No thank you! I would say I truly started to feel better at month 25 when I started the yoga and meditation. I wish I had started that sooner. I hate that you are feeling miserable. Do everything you can to fight it.

 

@healthfirst You are so welcome! The worst thing for me was heath anxiety. I would google search and diagnose myself with every cancer known to man. It didn't help that 6 months out I had something show up on a mammogram. It took two months of sonograms and biopsies to determine it wasn't cancer. It was a horrible nightmare.

 

One thing I forgot to mention was all of the gas, bloating and noises coming from my gut. I also had pelvic, vaginal and other odd pains. This all turned out to be withdrawal symptoms.

 

I hope all of you can make the most of today. Get some sunshine and think of memories that make you laugh. One day you will look back on all of this and you will be so proud of yourself for making it through this. You are all so very strong.

 

 

[[To...]]

goldilox26, thank you for your post and mostly for the constructive list of tips for getting through. I love to read the success stories section for positive balance. Best wishes!

[[Tr...]]

Hello fellow warriors! I just passed the three year mark and I am doing great! I suffered so much the first two years. I had horrendous anxiety, loss of appetite (Lost 40 pounds), horrible OCD, fear of leaving the house or driving, became an introvert when i was a very extroverted and nothing brought me joy. I want to share with you what has helped me.

 

1. Daily exercise. Start with a light walk. If you can only do 5 minutes that is ok. Eventually work up to 30 minutes or more a day. This will help greatly with insomnia, depression and anxiety.

 

2. YOGA- This is really my #1. If you don't have an energy, you tube search Restorative Yoga. It is relaxing stretches and breathing. After a couple weeks of not missing yoga, I feel better than I ever did on Klonopin. Keep in mind it will take a few weeks of the exercise and yoga to start noticing a change.

 

3. BREATHE- You may think that something so simple cannot help you but this is so far from the truth. Breathe in through your nose and fill your belly up. Then release from your mouth and blow it all out. This is calming your central nervous system. Also, when you are breathing you're brain is focused on only that. It can't be racing on those other unkind thoughts that are running through your head.  If you start breathing more throughout the day, think of all of the millions of bad thoughts you can miss.

 

4. Get help! Talk to a professional. I found an amazing psychiatrist that has helped me greatly. If you live in a small town look for one that you can skype with. So worth it.

 

5. Take up a hobby. If you cant get off the couch, try knitting, making jewelry or anything else. One that is great for me is gardening. Watering everyday in this Texas heat, pruning everyday and seeing the new blooms. When I am gardening my mind is totally focused on that.

 

6. When I went through the roughest stages I avoided caffeine and ate very clean. As time goes on you can add more to your diet.

 

7. Stay away from negative people, television or anything else that stresses you. Focus on things that make you happy. For me it's my dogs.

 

I am not going to lie to you. I am never going to be 100%. I still struggle with some OCD and anxiety. It is the reason I got on benzos to begin with. If I stick with the top 5 things I told you about, it is very minimal.

 

Just know that you will get though this. Try to find the positive and not focus on the negative. I know this sounds impossible but just keep trying. Keep fighting because you are worth it! It's a very tough and ugly battle but you will win! Love to all!

 

Hi goldilox,

 

What an amazing post!  I can't agree with you more on the suggestions you listed.  For me exercise has kept me sane.  A lot of what you listed continues to help me too.  I'm 9 months free and hoped to be healed one day.  My worse symptom of s derealization..like a weird visual sense of detachment.  Like living in a haze.  Anyway, thanks so much for writing such a thoughtful post

[[fi...]]

Thanks for your post.  I wish you the best!

[[Ca...]]

Dear Goldilox,

I found such comfort in your success story. Your list of coping strategies is inspirational. Yoga has been very important to me too. On days I could not  practice I would lay on my mat and imagine doing so. My dog and I have logged a million miles walking since this started. I'm so pleased that you are doing well.

When you are two years off it is easy to believe this is permanent. Reading about the healing you accomplished between two and three years has given me strength...thank you so much Goldilox.

 

With admiration and appreciation,

 

Carita

[[Li...]]

Struggling today and decided to read a Success Story to see if it would help give me a boost! This really did- thank you for sharing. I am heading to Yoga shortly!

[[go...]]

Thanks to everyone for your kinds words! Just keep breathing and never give up! I also wanted to mention an app called CALM. It's available on iPhone and android. It is guided meditation and there are also new sleep stories every night. I love it and have had it for a year now. They give you a free 7 day meditation program and then you can decide if you want to buy it. It is a huge comfort and part of my every day like. I hope you all feel better soon! 

[[Ma...]]

This brought me a lot of hope: I, too, suffer from horrible OCD and anxiety. They feel relentless and permanent right now. You're post gave me some courage and hope.

 

Best,

Mark

[[Su...]]

Everything you have said is so true - I used all your methods for my own healing.  Congratulations on your success and your future happiness 

 

Susie

[[Fa...]]

Congratulations Goldilox on this amazing journey to freedom! Thank you for sharing.

I just wanted to ask what are your remaining sxs?

Could you resume working?

 

I wish you the most happy and healthy life ever...