Posted by Prefect on December 4, 2012, at 20:59:40
In reply to Re: Poll: anxiety meds, posted by jono_in_adelaide on December 4, 2012, at 19:27:56
I've yet to find a medication to better deal with a panic attack than a panic attack itself. I've been using doses of Luvox that are considered subtheraputic to take some of the edge off, but I put up with a heck of a lot of anxiety everyday during my relapses without trying to get rid of it. I may be wrong, but I think there's something to be said about desensitizing youself to the anxiety itself. I think anxiety can "poop out" the way meds do when you take it long enough without trying to mask it with benzos.
Sometimes I intentionally induce panic when I'm driving to work and feel it coming. Don't get me wrong, I don't invite anxiety when it's not there, because I don't want to unneccessarily sensitize my brain. But when I do have some anxiety I don't even try to belly breath to get rid of it, because I find fighting it makes it worse. I might even let myself have catastorphic thoughts to get some good palpitations going, and once it all rushes through me...I feel calm and a little stronger.
Nothing scares me more than running away from the angst. I suppose CBT specialists would be horrified to find out I do this, and it may sound a little unorthodox, but it worked for me before and I had a 7 year remission on only 50 mg Luvox. But I was willing to let myself feel a lot of horror and pain before it got better.
poster:Prefect
thread:1032446
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20121130/msgs/1032480.html