How do you know when anxiety is getting the best of you?

[Tammy]

I'm not exactly sure how to word this, but just wondering from those who've had issues with either anxiety or depression (are these closely related?) how did you recognize you were at the point where you needed help? Whether it was in the form of medication or someone to talk to or just life changes?

[maestramommy]

I have had anxious phases in my life, nothing serious, but enough to notice. When I know things are getting bad is when an endless loop of the same thoughts keep playing in my head, making it difficult to think of other things, or counter thoughts. I had already seen a therapist before for PPD, so I went back to her and explained what was happening. She was able to offer a very reasonable chemical explanation of what was happening as well as a lot of empathy for why it was happening. She then suggested a number of mental relaxation techniques that still work well. She is what I would call a low intervention specialist, meaning she rec's meds only when all other avenues have been exhausted, and she is careful to point out that meds stop the symptoms, but unless you take care of the root cause the symptoms will only return once you stop the meds.

If you or your Dh has a wellness benefit from work, I would check there for a referral.

And yes, depression and anxiety can go together.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

for me it was when i couldn't handle the basic tasks of every day life. Sure, i was not spending all day in bed or anything, but i was getting headaches every day, crying multiple times a day, and found no joy in doing anything basically. I also had horrible insomnia which of course made everything worse. it was bad. i tried exercise, i tried eating better, i tried meditation but nothing really helped until i talked to my dr. and she gave me an Rx for Lexapro (which is for anxiety and depression). A month into it i was like an entirely different person. It was amazing. Now I am exercising 3-4x a week and doing meditations everyday, try to do yoga 1x a week which help too but i think I really needed the meds to get out of this hole i was in. for me things my depression/anxiety was partially triggered by weaning my DD...my hormones were going crazy. i had my dc's back to back so it was the first time in like 3 years that i was not pregnant and/or nursing, and i think it took my body a while to get used to that.

[Jupiter]

If you are thinking there is a problem go get help. My suggestion would be to talk to a therapist first. I have suffered from depression and anxiety for years, feel free to pm me if you have questions.

[Melaine]

For me it was when the health issues piled up and in getting treated for something unrelated the GP found my pulse to be super high with high BP. Went to the cardiologist and the whole testing hoopla to be told I have GAD.

Sorry you are dealing with it. It's the worst.

[Katigre]

When you feel it is impacting your quality of life. Medication, diet, supplements, exercise, adequate sleep, self-care, cognitive-behavioral therapy (and doing the exercises for them at home!) are all components of managing anxiety - some people need only on or two of those things, others need all of them. The more holistically you can approach and treat it, the better IMO.

[hellokitty]

I would say that it must be affecting your life if you are questioning that you may have anxiety/depression. I commend you on it, I think you should seek help, rather than wait to see what happens or if it goes away. I would start with getting a regular medical eval to rule out anything health related like thyroid/hormone issues, etc.. And as Maestra said, most work places do offer mental wellness benefits, so you can start from there and get referrals on where to go from there.

I occasionally get into a funk where I feel more anxious/depressed than usual. A lot of times, it's due to something going on and/or I am not getting enough exercise, eating horribly, not enough me time, etc.. I also see how others are affected around me. Also, if your spouse and children are seeing the affects, then you need to get help. My mil, IMO has severe anxiety/depression. Her pcp has tried to put her on something to help her, but she took it once and refused to take anything else, saying that the medication gave her dry mouth (which I told her, the doctor could try something else, but she refused to listen to me). In her case, she makes everyone who she comes into contact with, absolutely crazy. Like, I feel like I need to take something so *I* can stay sane when I am around her, since she refuses to get treatment for herself. I'm not saying that this is your situation, but I think that with anxiety/depression, ppl don't often think about the negative consequences that family can suffer from when a family member, esp one of the parents is suffering with this. I look back now and also recognize that both of my parents probably have anxiety and depression too and it probably explains a lot about a lot of the dysfunction going on. So, I think it's a good step that you have recognized that this may be an issue, the next step is to seek help.

[catsnkid]

Let's see, you can't get anything done, shaking, racing thoughts, poor appetite.. went through a bad episode recently finally went to ER.