Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi, I was talking to a lovely member yesterday about anxiety and I realised that I literally have no coping tactics for my anxiety and it's getting worse. I'm not sure how it is for everyone else, but for me it is terrible. Feel drained when I'm anxious, I'm tired all the time. I get the shakes in my hands. Upset stomach. Feel sick. And I become so jumpy and on edge. Like if the doorbell rings I become so scared and panicky that I have a panic attack, it's that bad. If I go out I'm the exact same and if I see more than one person the exact same thing happens. I have passed out before which makes it so much worse and embarrassing for me. I hardly go out now, if I do I avoid really busy places but I don't like to be alone either in case I'm attacked by someone. I have my dog who is also my best friend but she's not very protective so doesn't help this. I'm on edge and anxious now just writing this so I'm going to stop now. It's getting worse and I don't know what to do to make it better. There's always the doctor but that thought makes the anxiety even worse. I could call my old hospital but I don't know if they'll help me with anxiety and also talking on the phone is a trigger for me.
I'd be really interested to know what you do to cope with your anxiety, if you struggle with it as well.
I've read all the replies with great interest and really hope everyone can find their own little bit of peace somehow. I can't add much other than mentioning that Promethazine (which is just an over the counter med usually used as an anti-histamine) has been a bit of a life saver for my daughter during her most anxious times. She gets so anxious that she hallucinates really badly and can get into quite a dangerous state where she is capable of doing all sorts of things. If she takes 25mg of Promethazine if she feels she is likely to go into one of those states, it really helps and I would say it has actually prevented many trips to A&E. It does act as a sedative, so isn't ideal if you need to drive, but she does sometimes take 10mg before school if she feels she needs to (although I think this dose has more of a placebo effect). It takes an hour or so to kick in so you need to be pro-active and aware of when you might need it, but I would really recommend having some in the house/your bag for those really difficult times.
I’m glad that your daughter is being helped by that medication, sounds like it’s been something of a game changer. It’s interesting you should mention antihistamines as I’ve been finding that Loratadine - which I take for hay fever anyway- seems to take the edge off just a little bit. I have to ration my remaining diazepam carefully, so having a plan B that’s over the counter offers a bit of an alternative coping strategy. Even the ‘non drowsy’ ones do make me quite tired, but I’d rather that than the alternative.