Has anyone been prescribed anything besides Benzo’s that helped with severe anxiety? What about activities that help? My 22 year old son gets really, really anxious. He self medicates with medical marijuana, cigarettes, beer, over eating. But luckily last night came to the conclusion that these things aren’t really helping.
He is on Olanzapine and Clonazepam (and Temazepaml to sleep). I try to get him to exercise or go for a walk with me when he is anxious but that only lasts 5 or 10 minutes. Has anyone tried biofeedback?
Remind your son that self-medicating worsens anxiety in the long run. Has he tried an SSRI? SSRI’s are anti-depressants that work on anxiety as well. For example, Lexapro is used to treat major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, etc. There are others like Prozac, Zoloft, Effexor, and more. Maybe his doctor might want to look into an SSRI.
Busparone
Gabapentin
Pregabalin (haven’t tried this med but I have heard of it being used for anxiety)
As far as these meds go I hear that they do not cause physical addiction like benzodiazepines. This is just from my own experience - you would really need to talk to a doctor before prescribing them.
I did the Heartmath HRV biofeedback for 4 months. It’s a biofeedback device based on slow deep breathing, and I did the deep breathing for 20 minutes (in a single sitting) per day for 4 months. That’s enough to give a large permanent effect after which the person should be able to stop. I think this level of practice (20 mins for 4 months) permanetly changes the brain and the person can then quit the deep breathing for good.
Beta blockers help. They have a history in being used to prevent stage fright and chocking (freezing out of fear) on stage. They work fairly well for anxiety and are also used to combat high blood pressure.
Thanks that might be a good place to start. Right now I don’t see him having the concentration to stay with deep breathing for more than 5 minutes or so.
I’m starting a new training looking at pics of angry faces. It’s a type of exposure therapy similar to arachnophobes looking at pictures of spiders. Supposed to be a good treatment for generalised anxiety disorder according to recent research. Need to look at the angry face for half an hour a day for a month or so, and works best when it’s a different face each session.
I’m in the same boat. I have developed a whole series of rituals that calm me down. I always have a device with headphones handy and I’m the type who is never far from a kettle and a teapot. A hot cuppa (herbal berry blend) with some soothing music does wonders for me. I sit back, relax, and just concentrate on nothing but the smell of my tea and the beauty of the music. More often than not this takes the edge off me for the moment. I’m not sure if this would help with extreme anxiety, but in my case it prevents my anxiety from becoming extreme.
Very interesting. had heard about this, but this is the first time I’ve encountered anyone who’s actually doing it. I hope that you will keep us all posted on this method and how it works for you.
Whatever works for each individual. I used MBSR for a long time. Then DBT’s distress tolerance and emotion regulation skills. Then **MBBT’**s mind-body bridging. And now I use the 10 StEPs.
Thanks notmoses, I have a feeling you are not in your early twenties because you have the maturity, motivation and discipline to use DBT, MBSR etc. I want my 22 year old son to be able to develop skills besides just taking meds. And even if he doesn’t recognize that pot, cigs and beer isn’t the answer, I know that these are not working. He is just not mature enough to do the work. But also it is hard for him to concentrate. So frustrating…
The best plan the profession has at this time is to medicate carefully – meaning insightfully and experimentally – to get his autonomic nervous system stabilized at a more moderate emotional set point and lower threshold of stimulation (see the thread I stared on the dangers of drugs for bipolars; see Recreational Drug Use is Dangerously Different in the Bipolar Brain).
Once that is accomplished – and it may take a while – he can be introduced to the mindfulness-based cognitive therapies (see two posts above). If he is compliance-resistant, however, you will need to get with experts you can probably reach through his Rx’r to get that handled. Unfortunately, the laws in most states require a parent to get a conservatorship on an adult child to enforce medicinal compliance. It takes a while, but it’s often worth the effort when the adult child is out of control.
But we do have Invega paliperidone and other long-acting anti-Ps now. If you can get him on one of them, you may see some progress.
I know I seem to be flipping back and forth here, but I have to add that many sz pts are so paranoid, they see IV administration as an intolerable threat. Good luck. And get help.