This... although I haven't done Yoga.

I've been walking almost every day for over 5 years and it's certainly helped with stress and anxiety.

Well if you truley believe that you're done...

Control freak here, never get stressed as long as I'm in control so i try to keep it that way. Being in control can be real or an attitude. either way I highly recommend it.


Worst week of my life was on a cruise where I couldn't steer or decide where to go or what to do. Never again.

I dump when and where I want mister!

But you can't control what I'm going to type next ;)

One of the best examples I found to explain how I feel when I'm on stress is that it's like on one minute everything is ok and then I realize I am on a scene of "A Nightmare on Elm Street", where everything is a threat and MY mind is Freddy Krueger.

Exercise, a fine wine and a competent therapist. In that order.

So, what does one do when all the good suggestions of exercise, yoga, therapy, meditation do not work? This is where I have been for a while now.

I have "learned" that during a panic attack I am not having a heart attack and going to die, but it is scary.

I've had trouble with going out of my comfort zone , especially if not accompanied by someone. Even today driving in to work I felt the tunnel vision coming on, panic starting to creep in, but I did remember that there was nothing wrong and was able to get through it.

There are and have been times when the anxiety just decides to show up, an out of the blue panic attack. That's when I use Klonopin and it works, I use it on an "as needed basis".

No suggestions from me but wanted to chime in and say I too have learned that stress isn't something you can just say 'I won't have it'. it can be sneaky and most certainly does manifest as higher bp, etc.

Having dealt with this for close to 25 years now, I'd be happy to share what I've learned (all of this is just from my experiences in learning about this)

Just like most things, there are varying levels of anxiety and varying causes, and thus varying therapys/treatments.

General anxiety (kinda jacked up all the time), social anxiety (nervous around people), situational anxiety (in church/restaurants/haircuts/etc.) phobias, panic attacks, etc.

For some, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be successful (sorta the things you mentioned), and having a med (klonopin) as a backup for those rare times that CBT doesn't do the trick.

But for some, like me, that didn't work...every day was a struggle, waiting and wondering and worrying about when the beast would raise its head...and then having to "give in" and take the stupid pill.

I spent a year like that, and said "f**k it, I'm not going to live like this"...which led me to see a psychiatrist (pdoc in the vernacular :)). And, let me tell you....that was one tough decision for this hard-headed guy to make... "I must be a p***sy if I cant deal with this", or better yet, "I must be crazy if I need to see a shrink."

Most general practitioners (GPs) don't go any farther than a scrip for some sort of benzodiazapine (b-pine).

Many folks will scream "you don't need meds!!!", but I disagree....some do (not saying you do, of course). For me, my noggin' was great at eating up seratonin, so I needed something to slow that down.

It gave me my life back....I was truly fighting anxiety 24 hrs a day (dreams/nightmares), all day at work, etc.

PM me if you'd like...it can really be a nasty thing.

Look into EMDR therapy
EMDR Institute, Inc. - What is EMDR?

I hit a bad patch in my late 30's dealing with some PTSD stemming from some childhood traumas. My therapist and EMDR saved my life, no doubt. Find a provider in your area that practices it. It is rooted in science and deals with re-processing traumas in a way that will allow you to live with the anxiety.

I keep a xanax for emergency panic attacks that I can't stay on top of, but like was posted above, I can keep a 30 day supply for 3 years.

Good luck and PM me if you need more info on EMDR.

Sean

Have lots of sex. With yourself if you want...maybe not at work though....or on a bus...

Five years ago when I was walking back from my office space which I was giving up (25 minute walk) I was about a block away from home when I found that I just could not take another step. It was like gravity became 10X's stronger and my strongest impulse was to keep moving because I didn't want to die on the sidewalk, I would rather die at home.

It felt like a heart attack (chest, arm...), but I'm sure it was one of those anxiety attacks we are talking about. My point is that walking and stress release sometimes just shoot past each other with no effect.

I had another less dramatic incident last fall, again walking in the morning, this time a few laps around a field near my home. I get this cell phone call which is a project related crisis and results in a large dumping of my enthusiasm, like my soul just a puddled on the ground in front of me.

Exercise is great and all, but sometimes the stress bullet makes it's way through anyway.

The self-defense mechanism of turning yourself off and not giving a darn anymore is perhaps the greatest threat to health both physical and mental. I'm digging myself out of that one, but spring cannot come too soon for me.

This hard winter which has had me locked up in the house has seasonal disorder written all over it despite the frequent sunshine.

The lack of exercise is a factor for me, but I'm not convinced that exercise is a panacea alone.

No drugs for me, maybe an occasional glass of wine or a cigar. I will not take drugs if that were the answer, as I believe they typically do more harm than good.

How do you deal with the physical manifestations of stress? Each person is different.

I like to get out and walk or ride. Sometimes a good book is relaxing. Other times a few rounds of Halo or Modern Warfare multi-player does the trick.

The key is to not second guess your decisions and leave your job at the office and enjoy life. I don't personally like the medication route but each person is different and if it works it works. It sounds like the op has other issues in his past he has not dealt with which are affecting him now. Seeing a psychiatrist or a psychologist and talking through your issues sometimes will identify this source issue and solve the problem.

I read recently that listening to music is good therapy for lowering stress levels.

I guess it would depend on the music, right?

What I want to know is how the heck did we become this way?

For me it was extreme pressure at work, dealing with my mom's cancer and death and my own close call, post surgical pulmonary emboli. Every little strange feeling made me think it was a heart attack. The palpitations were almost constant. I was checked into the hospital in '03 for chest pains. They ran every cardiac test the could find. I insisted that there was something wrong and even went through demanding a angiogram to definitely rule out any heart problem. Guess what, the docs were right it was all stress induced.

Now how to learn to cope? Not an easy task but it has gotten better, a lot better. In the past few years I saw a psychologist and he was able to let me see that there ain't a damn thing you can do about it, if your gonna die it's gonna happen and it has helped immensely. I've seen a p-doc for the last 10 years and it's now basically a check in, get my script sort of thing. It has taken me a long time to come to grips with this problem, to accept this as part of me and not that I am fuched up. I hardly get palpitations, only when I am extremely angry or feel very threatened or trapped. I couldn't go to the dentist or have a procedure done. It took 4mg of Klonpoin to get me into the MRI for my knee surgery.

The point is we are all individual. For me I operate at 10/10 all of the time and it ain't where I want to be. Using meds has changed my life and allowed me to think clearer about my anxiety and that has in turn made it easier to deal with.

Kach, this is not meant as a dig towards you at all :), but some of these anxiety issues can be likened to a diabetic that requires insulin....(imvho, of course)

Personally, I believe a good number of folks that deal with chronic anxiety are improperly medicated via b-pines...the meds may help with an acute episode, but not address what may be an underlying cause.

I cannot describe to you the elation I felt when leaving after my first visit with the pdoc when I realized "something can really be done to fix this!!!"

Years ago missed a month of work due to PTSD.
(the air traffic controller next to me lost separation between a couple of 737s)
Recovered and was back to work in 30 days without using meds.
The Dr I saw used hypnosis, it worked.
I would of never believed it as I am more a science guy.

In reading your post above mine, it seems like you have more going on then just regular stress and anxiety. I understand that you are against meds but you may want to go over these symptoms with a doctor (if you haven't already.) Possible heart attack like symptoms are nothing to take too lightly.

Meds. Benzos can treat symptoms and are useful but carry a risk of addiction. They work on the alcohol center of the brain so they tend to be effective. Using low dosages are key and ideally you want to avoid regular/long-term use. There are more systemic choices like wellbutrin or various SSRIs, but there is no single answer. Often you'll need to work with the psych to get the right med.

Everybody is wired a bit differently, and some people respond to meds well. Others not so much.

Ted, I'm sure you've seen the movie "Pushing Tin"...the scene where the fella is trying to return to the job and gets out of the car saying "it's a great big sky...big sky...", while his co-workers are betting on how far he will get from his car...well, that was me with regard to work as well:)

not ATC, but I felt the same way :cool:

Things I've done since 2008, cut way way down on caffeine, it was making my heart go pitter patter.

For the last 1-1/2 year I've gone gluten free (minor cheating) which has done a lot to level out my blood sugar levels.

No white potatoes, low sugar intake, staying away from most processed products (soy) and so forth.

Work wise I'm just sick of doing what I'm doing or more like how I'm doing it, and currently making plans to change all that.

A man without hope, without a dream is no man at all.....................or so I've heard.

A BJ is better than Yoga for stress relief!

I just designed a yoga studio (under construction), going to have to check it out once it opens.

There was an well services company around here called BJ Services. I always laughed when I saw one of their trucks on the road.

BJ Services Company - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dealing with anxiety symptoms
 

Everybody is different. And different at different points of our lives. A night out with friends, a BJ, a drunken night, working out hard for a weekend may have been enough when we were young but may not be a enough now. For me, it is the opposite. I had a lot of stress and anxiety when I was younger and those things didn't work. Now, I am much more relaxed and although I get stressed, it doesn't take much to get me back to normal.

All the advice here is good. It is important to note that stress and anxiety is not totally avoidable. It is part of life. It is part of being human. Once there is some of that acceptance, it makes it easier to deal with. At least for me. When I was younger, I expected everything to be perfect. Known. Organized. Predictable. And when it wasn't, I fell apart. Now, I accept that life is ALWAYS going to have strife, sadness, stress. It sounds weird but to have that expectation that something wrong is going to happen brings a level of peace. When the "bad" thing comes, I almost say, "oh, there it is".

The next step is to always have perspective. When you stop, take a deep breath, you realize 95% of what we stress about really isn't that important in the big scheme of things. I find it useful to go back to basics. Go to nature. No phones, internet, etc. Realize even if I lost my job, I could make enough to have a roof over my head. Food on the table and honestly, the simple life seems pretty good sometimes. Sometimes I think with the more "comforts" we accumulate, the more stress we accumulate as well.

Now your past trauma is no light matter. I agree that although your life may be normal now, it is amazing how past demons can affect your current life without you even knowing it. Therapy may be beneficial and it certainly wouldn't hurt.

Meds. Don't be scared to take them. I am not saying become dependent on them but even healthy people have to take antibiotics to give them a boost during a downtime. You may have to take them to help you get through this until you figure out the right balance of exercise, therapy, yoga, BJs, etc.

Finally, it isn't a stagnant process. Like I said, our life changes. Our support changes. Our job changes. Our stressors change. Constantly. Just because you figure out how to balance your life today, doesn't mean it will work tomorrow. It's like eating right, exercising, marriage. It is a constant work in progress. Improving. Figuring out new ways. But don't look at it as daunting and an exercise in the futile. Look at it as an adventure, learning, growing, an opportunity to find out cool stuff that you can do and learn. For me, I have figured out it is all about perspective. And I struggle with it every day. But every day I get a little better at it. You can't figure out how to get up correctly if you never fall.

Agreed, the constant flux of life changes one's perspective. I never had a problem as a young man. The last 20 years have been tough. Now, I work hard at acceptance. Accepting what comes along makes it easier to take and deal with. We're all different and see the world from different viewpoints.