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How to Help Myself with Depression, Anxiety and Panic Attacks
I have had depression most my life. I have took medication for it but I do not stay on it long because of being scared of the side effects or the withdraws from coming off of it. I do not want to become addicted to medication. I have never been addicted to anything so not sure why I feel that way. I have my ups and downs like most people do with mental health I guess. Its hard to talk about it to doctors because I do not trust them either. So how do I get help for myself. I always feel alone even though I am not. I was blessed raising my granddaughter 3 years ago which has helped me stay focused off of me and on her but I constantly feel alone. I live with my ex husband because he helps me with my granddaughter both raising and supporting her. I never want to go anywhere. I have no friends. I have siblings but they have their own life. I do go out once in a great while just to get out and I do enjoy it when I am out but then I come home and right back not wanting to go anywhere. I feel guilty all the time about my life for one reason or another. I have panic attacks, anxiety, along with the depression. I have tried talking to doctors that just want to talk it out but I don't stay long with that because I feel guilty talking about me and my problems and my past. So can someone tell me what they do for this that works if anything? Thanks for letting me vent this.
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@climbingmountains81
Thanks I need
All the prayers
I can get! Where did you see that about sensitivity to restarting a med and did they find another drug that helped. Scared nothing will work again maybe that my anxiety talking
@climbingmountains81
I stopped the tryptophan when I went on lexapro and taking cortisol manager at night 2 nights not helping. Took a trazadone last night. Makes me feel scared to rely on. Have done sleep restriction in past helped a bit. Not so much these days.
@ancl123 it’s called “kindling” and I’m reading about it on StoppingAntidepressants.org
“ Hypersensitivity and Kindling
What causes hypersensitivity?
Some people may experience minor difficulty in stopping a psychiatric drug one time, but the next time they start, startup symptoms are much worse, and the next time they stop, the withdrawal symptoms are worse. The nervous system can become destablilzed or sensitized from repeated adverse drug effects and withdrawal events.
If someone goes on and off multiple psychiatric drugs, they may be in a state of overlapping withdrawal reactions and often a persistent hypersensitivity.”
“ What is kindling?
Kindling is a neurological reaction that comes about after repeated withdrawal or adverse drug reactions cause hypersensitivity. When the same drug or a different drug is introduced, there is a hyper-reaction. That is the kindling response: An exaggerated adverse reaction to exposure to a drug, due to pre-established hypersensitive.
You may be vulnerable to kindling if you have a history of repeated rapid taper or cold turkey withdrawal and / or a history of heavy or chronic alcohol use, especially binge drinking -- in effect, going on and off the drug, with hyper-reaction when the drug is taken again.
Generally, kindling is an activation reaction -- a sense of overstimulation, which may be an inner electrical feeling, anxiety, nervousness, panic, or at the extreme, akathisia, which includes an urge to move to relieve intense inner agitation.
Here is an excellent explanation on the Benzodiazepine International Coalition website: Benzo Kindling.
While the exact mechanism of kindling is unknown, some of the details on kindling have been written about in papers on alcohol withdrawal, which like benzodiazepines, affects GABA (here is one such paper - Kindling in Alcohol Withdrawal).
While this phenomenon has been documented in the scientific literature for benzodiazepines for a long time, any drug that effects the nervous system and causes dependency can have a traumatic impact on the nervous system when changes are made often and abruptly. Research is now also pointing to kindling in antidepressant use.”
@ancl123
I’m wondering if your symptoms might stabilize if you stay on the same dosage and take the Trazodone just now for sleep? Or try the Ashwagandha for sleep? Then wondering if our systems would stabilize again on the Lexapro if we’re not changing around doses?
@climbingmountains81
Just spoke with psychiatrist and her approach a bit different from nurse practioner. Should would of upped lexapro to 20. Now she said stick to one sleep aid and try cymbalta or Prozac
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1 Reaction@ancl123 so she’s suggesting to try a different med altogether and stay off the Lexapro and stay on sleep aid?
Yes nurse practitioner more thinking it wasn’t working not to up to 20. Psychiatrist said otherwise. Ugh wish I got second option a month ago. Who knows last time I took it four weeks in I saw improvements this time nothing after 8 plus weeks
Well I hope that works for you! Please keep me posted on how that goes!
I will but so much conflicting information from even drs
@ancl123 how are things going for you now? Which sleep aid did you end up using?