Published on 12, July, 2020
I know there are loads of posts on these forums about medication for anxiety, but the vast majority seem to focus on regular treatment i.e. daily medication, or segway into other topics. What I'm interested to learn is if anyone takes anything for ad hoc episodes, what it is you take, how quickly it works/wears off etc. please.
Most of the time I'm fine and able to control my environment, plans and activities sufficiently well so I do not experience significant daily anxiety. However, sometimes people just unexpectedly appear and/or do things that completely overload my senses or utterly rattle me, and then I'm left on edge for several hours, followed by exhaustion for several days. I don't have panic attacks—this is purely an autistic response to people. I'm seeing my GP on Friday to discuss medication and I'm wondering if there's something effective she can prescribe for ad hoc use to take the edge off the occasional NT-ND culture clash when it happens.
To be clear, I'm not interested in any daily meds, CBT, counselling or anything else. I'm assuming people who smoke would just go have a cigarette in these situations, and I want to know what the prescription equivalent is. I'm also quite stressed about finding a solution to this so not looking for any sarky comments either. :) Thanks.
Not quite medication, but there are breathing exercises you can do. When I get stressed I often do some heavy, controlled breathing until I feel a bit light headed, and it helps relieve it. It works beforehand too. Experiment with what works for you, but I find changing your breathing deliberately changes things rapidly.
Some folk swear by Rescue Remedy, it does nothing for me. Also Kalms. Some others say camomile tea helps.
I stopped drinking caffeinated tea and coffee and that helped. Coffee is really bad for anxiety.