How to I overcome extreme anxiety without medication? [closed]

Question

I'm a mother of toddlers. I'm incredibly overwhelmed with stress. I am very anxious about the world around me and I fear their safety. I don't have enough control of my emotions and I believe I overact with them. I cherish their innocence but I feel I'm the very person polluting it with my anger and fear.

I don't know how to come up for air while still being practical and realistic about their safety. I feel like I'm drowning. Is there a way to normalize without medication. If so, how can I do it?

Answer 1

Stress- relief techniques can help manage anxiety... specific ones to incorporate based on anxiety are...

Mindful meditation as shown by the study in this article... http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/abs/10.1176/ajp.149.7.936 Meditation can be performed in the morning before the toddlers awake, or after they go to bed. Even 5 minutes consistently done on a daily basis can help you to focus and reduce anxiety throughout the day.

Yoga may be effective based on this article, although I know it can be difficult to do with toddlers, but if you have the time before they wake up, or during nap time. http://www.biomedsearch.com/article/effects-yoga-anxiety-stress/286390903.html

Deep breathing can also reduce anxiety, during an episode of anxiety http://www.anxieties.com/57/panic-step4#.WY9xmlGGOUk Basically when someone is anxious their breathing and heart rate go up, which affects other things as well. By controlling your breathing, your heart rate can go down, and help regulate the other symptoms of anxiety. This can be done at any time anywhere.

Also don't stress if you can't do the above consistently... Stressing over not using stress relief techniques in counter productive. Also, depending on your situation you could ask for help from family and friends. I think sometimes us Moms think we have to do everything ourselves, when we don't.

Answer 2

I recommend seeing a counselor/therapist/psychologist ASAP to help you with this. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is one of many approaches to anxiety. But a professional can help identify what you need to focus on. They are the branch of healthcare that manages mental health with behavioral interventions rather than medications (or in addition to medications from an MD in some cases, as they don't prescribe meds)

Answer 3

If this level of anxiety kicked in after having children it may qualify as PPA - post partum anxiety. People often think of depression, but anxiety is also incredibly common. There are varying degrees you can experience such things and sometimes it might be a good idea to consider medication while making lifestyle changes to assist you.

As a mother to young kids myself, I know that I am prone to anxiety. What I didn't know initially was that I am also prone to developing something called post partum hyper-thyroiditis. So this was doubly awful. I was loosing weight like crazy, unable to sleep, and having all sorts of symptoms due to my thyroid which also increases anxiety for some, and having anxiety with the two together had me convinced for a while that I had to have cancer or some awful thing happening, because of all my strange symptoms (especially excess weight loss). I tell you that because pregnancy also puts a strain & sometimes that means it can change our health. It is always advisable to talk to the doctor about any symptoms you are having, even anxiety, simply because there can be a biological component to it. I could have never yoga-d my way into a healthy thyroid. That wasn't going to work, right? So a check up & talk with the doctor is seldom a bad idea. If they advise a medication you prefer not to take, you don't have to take it, but it's still worth looking at all options and ensuring you don't have anything else causing you to have more intense anxiety.

That said, the rest of what I do. I have recently started a supplement called L Theanine. It's an extract found in tea. It simply helps me feel more calm & focused. The strength I take is about what you get in 2 cups of tea, so not much, and it's not magical, but it helps a little.

Avoiding caffeine helps me as well. That was one my doctor advised right off. I again, can't say it magic, but also better.

CBT is one that is commonly used clinically. I was already versed in meditation, so for me I've just reapplied myself to that, which in many ways is not too terribly far removed from the techniques of CBT, such that now there is MCBT that is a marriage of the two. http://www.harleytherapy.co.uk/counselling/cbt-mbct-difference.htm