http://www.anxietysucks.com/2007/08/24/i-am-having-a-challenging-day/ A personal blog about my recovery from anxiety disorders including panic attacks, agoraphobia and depression. Learn how I controlled my anxiety and took control of my life! Learn ways to cope with stress and daily life to get a grip on anxiety. Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:03:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 http://www.anxietysucks.com/2007/08/24/i-am-having-a-challenging-day/#comment-978 Steve Harold Fri, 07 Dec 2007 15:35:59 +0000 http://blog.anxietysucks.com/?p=149#comment-978 The idea of writing what we think and how we feel I understand is a way of getting it out of us as opposed to bottling it up. Then looking back at our journal or a blog it can also help when we notice that we are making progress. A great blog. The idea of writing what we think and how we feel I understand is a way of getting it out of us as opposed to bottling it up. Then looking back at our journal or a blog it can also help when we notice that we are making progress. A great blog.

]]> http://www.anxietysucks.com/2007/08/24/i-am-having-a-challenging-day/#comment-784 Jane Wed, 29 Aug 2007 21:31:00 +0000 http://blog.anxietysucks.com/?p=149#comment-784 Hi Michelle Read about your struggle with panic disorder. I am 73 years old and developed panic disorder at age 19. There were no medications then, so I tried every form of therapy known at the time. For years I spent nearly every penny I earned (as a registered nurse) on these therapies. Sometime in the 1970s I first encountered valium. My anxiety melted away like a miracle. Since then I have been under good control, first with Xanax, and then with Klonopin (clonazepam.) These medications are habituating, and some docs are reluctant to prescribe them long term. They also interfere with sexual functioning, which can be managed by taking a "drug holiday" to lower the medication level in the blood temporarily. I have had no other side effects from taking valium-related drugs (benzodiazepines) for 40 years. It makes me angry to think so many people are suffering from these conditions and are being discouraged from using the only effective route to relief. And made to feel that they are weak or crazy as they struggle to function. This is a brain chemistry condition, and the chemistry must be addressed. No one today would tell an insulin-dependent diabetic that willpower or herbal supplements could help them avoid medication. I am in full sympathy with your suffering, and hope you can work through to relief. No one without this condition can know how bad it is. Good luck Jane Hi Michelle
Read about your struggle with panic disorder. I am 73 years old and developed panic disorder at age 19. There were no medications then, so I tried every form of therapy known at the time. For years I spent nearly every penny I earned (as a registered nurse) on these therapies. Sometime in the 1970s I first encountered valium. My anxiety melted away like a miracle. Since then I have been under good control, first with Xanax, and then with Klonopin (clonazepam.) These medications are habituating, and some docs are reluctant to prescribe them long term. They also interfere with sexual functioning, which can be managed by taking a “drug holiday” to lower the medication level in the blood temporarily. I have had no other side effects from taking valium-related drugs (benzodiazepines) for 40 years.
It makes me angry to think so many people are suffering from these conditions and are being discouraged from using the only effective route to relief. And made to feel that they are weak or crazy as they struggle to function. This is a brain chemistry condition, and the chemistry must be addressed. No one today would tell an insulin-dependent diabetic that willpower or herbal supplements could help them avoid medication. I am in full sympathy with your suffering, and hope you can work through to relief. No one without this condition can know how bad it is.
Good luck
Jane

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