Anxiety Disorder anyone? What do you do

  • Thread starter Thread starter ballyglunin
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
B

ballyglunin

Guest
In order to try to lessen the daily stress on your mind and body?
I don’t take meds and, as a lifelong Catholic, I’ve found that simply saying the name of Jesus over and over has a calming affect on my busy brain.
At the same time I try to visualize Christ in the Garden of Olives, praying for consulation and courage HImself
Thanks for any advice as to things that help you.

God bless!
 
Last edited:
ballyglunin said:
I don’t take meds
Click to expand...
Will you take meds if prescribed by a doctor? There are many good treatments out there in the health and mental health communities. My general physician referred me to a hypnotherapist for sleeplessness due to anxiety. I was skeptical at first, but it worked.
 
The best thing that has helped me daily is saying the Rosary. I never did as a youth and I think it would have helped me when I was anxious with navigating life.

If you tend toward OCD you must be careful with prayers. (I have a family member that suffers.)
 
I find that progressive muscle relaxation exercises work. It’s the nearest your brain has to a reset button. There are plenty of web sites telling you how to go about it although they all seem to have pictures of smug-looking women. Once you’re fully relaxed, you’re ready for meditative prayer.
 
You need to talk to a qualified mental health professional.

We cannot give medical or mental health advice here.

If you have anxiety you need to be under a doctor’s care.
 
Ike, with all due respect I think your answer was very hurtful and harsh.
I said I went to a “professional” therapist and he wanted to put me on lifetime drugs. I don’t want that.
As this is a religious forum I was seeking advice from other Catholics who may have an anxiety problem to inquire what strategies they use to help them on their daily journey.
 
An excellent idea - I was thinking about hypnosis. As this is a llifelong problem for me, I’ve tried just about every natural thing I can think of.
I just refuse to get on the drug thing. My personal opinion.
Thanks for your helpful response1
 
Yes, I have gotten out of the habit of saying the Rosary. I run a 5k everyday with my husband and I used to say one then…or part of one at least!
I try to say one before I go to sleep if I don’t complete the running one.
Thanks for the reminder!
 
Hey,

Depending on the type of anxiety, meds can be quite helpful. But it’s your call if you want to take them or not.

Ike is right, we shouldnt be giving you medical advice on the forums. As we don’t know neither the severity of your anxiety nor the type that you suffer from, I’m afraid we are quite incapable of providing you with a helpful answer. We might even end up hurting you.

It’s good that you take recourse to Jesus in this. But please, if your doctor says so, take the pills. Medication is not shameful.
 
Last edited:
For me:
Exercise helps direct agency, or the ability to act freely and with the potency proper to my circumstances in life. The opposite of this is the feeling of helplessness and ineffectiveness that leads to depression, which leads to anxiety about unchangeable circumstances, which leads to depression. You get the idea.
In my personal experience, much of depression and anxiety stems from sloth, or a sadness and torpor at the action required for “life’s movements”.

Prayer. In prayer, any suffering I have can be united to Christ, and to the welfare of others. If I am going to suffer, I can accept the suffering instead of denying and running from it… and then offer it for someone’s healing.

In my experience, anxiety and trials are very bearable until we start talking about sleep loss. When insomnia strikes, my car is headed for the ditch. And insomnia is also a time for prayer. A rosary will frequently lead to sleep before completion.

I have taken medication very sparingly when some circumstance has made anxiety unbearable.

If your life is off track to the point where you are not performing basic functions continually?
Sleeping
Eating
Working
Relationships suffering,
See a doctor and don’t put if off.

Two books for the anxious:
Roman Guardini “Learning The Virtues…”
Blum and Hochschild " A Mind at Peace: Reclaiming an Ordered Soul…"
Excellent books.
 
Last edited:
Thanks, JIm. Don’t those phony photos attached to good articles drive you crazy? And as you said it, everyone looks slim and beautiful - usually someone we could never identify with in a million years.
I run and do yoga (heaven forbid!) for flexibility but its the beginning of the day that is the hardest for many anxiety sufferers.
 
I agree say in something holy like the name “Jesus” over and over again like a mantra does work. In my personal experience, it could be because demons cause the anxiety and they don’t like it when you say those things so they go away. Also learning to live in the present moment has helped me. Realizing that the past and the future are constructs of the mind and that the only true moment is the present is very helpful. Lastly, there are some natural supplements that help me: Magnesium, holy basil, and chamomile really calm me.
 
Last edited:
The Lord also created the doctor and pharmacist. Have a read of Sirach 38.

Having said that, the gold standard in anxiety/OCD/scrupulosity treatment is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

It is drug free and is practiced by Catholic counselor Dr. Gregory Popcak among many others.

As you are well aware, the Lord greatly desires that you live in peace.
 
You know I recall I saw a lecture by a Jesuit on a similar topic (Creighton University ministry series) and that is what he says. The devil loves us to be miserable and is the cause of all the angst in the world.
I swear its something unusual as as soon as I say the name of Jesus just a few times I begin to feel more calm - which wouldn’t be the case if I said "coffee table’ or “ottoman”…for example.
Amen to the magnesium - I take two tablets a day. I will have to check out the holy basil.
Thanks so much for the good advice!
 
I do take the meds perscribed by my physician, and thank God that I still have health insurance that provides this treatment.

Also important is getting good sleep, going to bed at the right time and getting up at the same time every day.

Knitting/crocheting help me relieve anxiety while staying busy.
 
There is a book I would recommend with many techniques that can help. It is called “When Panic Attacks” and is about anxiety. I would not recommend medication at least not until trying other methods such as CBT which often can be done without the need for a therapist. Medication has side effects and often does not treat the root of the problem or solve it in the long run. There is also not a lot of good research on whether it is really much more effective than a placebo
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top