Mental Health

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Dealing with anxiety without meds (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Hello,

I know there are tons of articles and videos about this topic on the internet. But I think I need to interact with real people with similar struggles (feel free to share articles and videos that have helped you, though).

I've always had anxiety problems, even as a kid. I got diagnosed late (at 30) with ADHD, depression and social anxiety, and I started taking meds for those. The meds helped, but after a year or so I stopped taking them, mainly because I was feeling better and they were too expensive. Unfortunately the cheaper options gave me too many side effects.

I can function without the meds. But this year is being really hard on me and my wife, and my anxiety is starting to get out of control again. I'm getting some panic attacks and they make me feel like shit.

Can you share some tips on what works for you when you are feeling anxious?

Thanks a lot and wish you the best.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

I've made a lot of lifestyle changes to help my anxiety. Here's most to least helpful for me:

Good sleep habits (7-8 hrs, bed early, restful habits 1 hr before bedtime with low screentime)
Consistent exercise. This doesn't have to be intense but it does have to be consistent. Even a 5min walk.
Lower caffeine use.
Bring alcohol use as low as possible.
Solid anxiety attack techniques - grounding and holy basil extract works for me.
Doom scrolling awareness and limitation.
Eating healthy which is unfortunate cause I love me some junk food.

Therapy is a great one too but that's for overall mental health.

When I'm in a high anxiety period I do a status check - have I been keeping up with my routines, do I need a nap/food/shower/hug? Personifying my anxiety helps too cause then I can treat it like a toddler. What is anxiety toddler scared about today and how do I feed it good things to ease or distract?

Hope these help. Best of luck, friend.