Autism, anxiety & medication

Although only just received my diagnosis I have been taking atenonol (also a beta-blocker) for at least 26 years. This was for anxiety and I found it really helped me. It is hard to explain the impact but it smoother out the peaks and troughs of my anxiety. I do agree with the anxiety mode becoming stuck.
The following helps me defocus and/or it also helps me get to sleep. So, 5 seconds breathing in slowly and evenly,  5 seconds holding the breathe,  and 5 seconds letting the breathe slowly and evenly out. It is probably supposed to be more than 5 seconds but that's what I can manage. I am sure there are a lot of people here who know a lot about it than me!

Hope it works for you too.

Oscar 

I have had anxiety my whole life, I can’t remember a time without it. I have been in sertraline for anxiety and depression for a number of years now, I dont think I was depressed, I think I was burnt out. Recently I stopped taking it and the anxiety went through the roof again. It does make me numb and unable to feel certain feelings but it stops me from completely falling apart. 

Journaling can help. Turning negative thoughts into positive ones in written form can be very therapeutic and it’s also a calming thing to do.

Yes - as you say - not a quick fix, but I think we get into these patterns of thinking over many many years - and it takes time to change them. I also think for autistic people we find even harder sometimes to change what is habitual in our lives. But I think it’s worth it - because the benefits are lifelong. My best sources of help have been (initially) Eckhart Tolle, and Thich Nhat Hanh - there is a great podcast called ‘The Way out is In’, and a YouTube channel called Plum Village. Loads of free stuff online. Lots of great audiobooks too by Thich Nhat Hanh. I was over 50 years old when I came to learning this approach- so my anxiety was very longstanding and ingrained. But over time this has made a huge difference to me. It’s even helped me find more peace about my difficult upbringing and childhood. Buddhism didn’t start as a ‘religion’ in the conventional sense - it started with one man simply trying to find ways to reduce human suffering. A lot of our suffering is a result of our state of mind, and the way we think. The way we think comes from both our personal experiences- and also the collective: the influence of the society we grow up in. Western societies do a lot of stuff that makes people very unhappy (eg. Competitive environments, materialistic mindsets, individualism etc etc.). Often we can think ‘I’m broken’ - but our suffering is comes from multiple sources - both inside us, and around us. It’s really fascinating and I found studying all of this really interesting as well as healing. I wish you luck - and am sending solidarity- because it really is hard to live with persistent anxiety that feels overwhelming at times. But things really can improve, there’s a lot we can do. 

Hi Kate, thanks! Yes I agree it can help with the physical symptoms which I am glad about - but the mental part is the hardest for me. I think understanding the root cause like you have may really help, thanks for your recommendation. Definitely not a quick fix but seems like over time it can really help

I think that activities that really require our full focus (like the things you mention such as rock climbing ) are very much like Mindfulness techniques- in that they bring us really into the present moment and stop us ruminating on the past or worrying about the future. ‘Flow state’ - that is just the best feeling. I think it’s also helpful to be aware that what we don’t want to do is try to ‘fight’ and push away anxiety - because that often makes it worse. It’s much better to just gently turn our focus to something we enjoy or some activity that really interests us - and give our attention to that in a positive way - rather than ‘running away’ from our anxious thoughts. Anxiety is a vital part of being human - it’s there to protect us - and I think we have to sort of ‘make friends’ with the idea that it’s there., we actually need our capacity to be anxious. It gets ‘out of control’ when we start to freak out about the way being anxious ‘feels’ - I start to fight it, or run away from it. It’s a vicious circle. But we can learn to change how we react to it. It takes time though - but it’s definitely achievable. 

Hi. I’ve spent the vast majority of my life struggling with anxiety. I think the root causes of this stem from a few things in my formative years - such as spending three months in hospital as a toddler, having parents who were dysfunctional and not very loving, and having lots of autistic straits that made many aspects of life very challenging. I was once prescribed propranolol because my GP had prescribed an anti-depressant to help me with my anxiety and I had a very bad reaction to the medication (becoming hugely more anxious and extremely freaked out and suicidal) and the GP gave me a benzodiazepine and propanol to ‘bring me down’ from the side effects of the SSRI. I found it helpful for a while. I remember going to the dentist and realising that while I was mentally anxious in the dentist chair my actual body was actually relatively relaxed. I only took it for about 3 months though. 
I also had PTSD after a serious illness a few years ago - and my anxiety got extremely severe around that time - and I thought: I’ve really got to deal with this because it’s become completely overwhelming. I had therapy for the PTSD and that helped - but the general anxiety remained.

As I couldn’t tolerate Anti depressants I looked at trying to really understand the things that were driving my anxiety. I tried to understand the root causes (as mentioned above) and then to understand how the anxiety arises in me day to day. I read and listened to a lot of Eckhart Tolle and he is great at explaining how we get into these mental states, and how to gradually become better at managing our own reactions to the things life throws at us. I had to give a lot of time to learning about this but it was really fascinating and I really started to get better at noticing what I was ‘doing’ that was making me react so anxiously to life events. For example: realising that dwelling on the past and looking ahead to what MIGHT happen is a cause of a lot of unhappiness- and if you try more to ‘live in the now’ - that really helps reduce anxiety. 
From Eckhart Tolle and moved onto to studying Buddhism and that really delves into what are the causes of human suffering and gives lots of ideas about how to reduce it. Lots of Mindfulness techniques, and understanding about how attachment and aversion cause suffering etc etc. I listened to to loads of Thich Nhat Hanh talks and found these made Buddhist philosophy very accessible. This greater awareness and understanding has really reduced my anxiety. I still struggle with anxiety but it’s much less severe - because now I can understand it and realise what’s happening - and somehow that alone makes it easier to manage, because it makes it less overwhelming- and I have some ‘tools’ to help me to deal with it when it happens. For example if I become aware of myself worrying about something in the future I think to myself: right now you can’t do anything about that, come back to the present and focus instead on what you are doing today. Stop projecting into the future and worrying about that because it might not happen at all in the way you are worrying that it will. Let go of thinking about a future you cannot control. Come back to now. Over time you get better and better at becoming aware of the patterns of thinking that drive your anxiety- and ways of looking at things differently and in a way that reduces your anxiety. Buddhist teachings are very like CBT - but ( in my view) much better! 

I’ve really learnt so much, and although it’s been about three years of learning about these things the ‘results’ are really long lasting. I’m definitely a happier person for it, and when I get anxious I manage it much better, and it improves much more quickly. So I always say to anyone who struggles with anxiety: take a bit of time to understand the roots of your anxiety (which are normally formed in childhood) - but most of all try to understand how the way we think is the fundamental driver of heightened anxiety. We can change how we think and react to things, it takes time but we really can change our habitual ways of responding to life. 

Hi everyone, 

Just a quick reminder of:
Rule 6: No medical or legal advice
Do not offer medical or legal advice. Always seek professional help for these matters.

Thank you,

Olivia Mod

I don't take propranolol, but I do struggle with anxiety and emetophobia (which has caused anxiety attacks for me). It sounds cliché, but listening to soothing nature audios on YouTube can be helpful for me. More so at night If I feel nauseous and experience stomach distress. I'm reading a book about emetophobia specifically, but the author also has resources on general anxiety. His name is Ken Goodman LCSW, and the section on mindfulness is here: https://www.kengoodmantherapy.com/guide-mindfulness/. A breathing technique I use called three by three relaxation has helped ease me up. 

When your not anxious, practice the breathing and mindfulness so you feel familiar with it, and you know what to do when are anxious. You can take in your surroundings and focus on what you can see, hear, taste. smell and touch. You can repeat positive affirmations like "I am safe and secure here".  "I know my environment"  "I know my family, they can be loud sometimes, but that's okay". I'm not a doctor so this may not work for you, but it's something that I think could be beneficial to you. 

Here is another resource that I think will be helpful for you https://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/self-care-tools/. 

Hi, I also have been prescribed propranolol. It is a drug for heart palpitations which can help reduce physical symptoms of anxiety. I find it helps on days when my heart is racing. It doesn't help with mental symptoms of anxiety such as worrying or over-thinking.  

I wish I had more answers on how to reduce anxiety - sometimes stimming or movement can help. I also try journalling techniques such as writing a list of the good and bad things that happened every day.

Never had propranol. My GP years ago gave me prescribed promethazine for my anxiety attacks (Phernegen) but all that did was knock me out and make me sleep for hours.

I can identify with many of your feelings regarding the anxiety, and like you it seems to get worse with age. I have tried so many meds in the vane hope of controlling the anxiety, most have been ineffective at best, some have actually made things worse and the few that have taken the edge of the anxiety make me feel fuzzy headed.

I find the most effective solution for myself is to do some activity that I like that requires real focus. For me it's either riding my mountain bike or rock climbing. I seem to get into a "flow state" where my entire focus is on the activity I'm doing. I'm not sure that it's an answer or just an avoidance tactic but I know if I don't do those activities my anxiety goes into that run away state and it's super difficult to get out of it.

Not sure that helps you, but it's my only relief from the constant fight or flight feeling.

Hello femininecomplz,

I'm sorry to hear that your anxiety has got worse. If you're struggling with high levels of anxiety, please check out our support page on it. Here is the link: https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/mental-health/anxiety

Also, if you type 'anxiety' in the NAS website search box, you'll find many helpful articles on the theme.

All the best,

Karin Mod