Why the Anxiety . . . . . . . ?
Question by Mark Kollra: Why the anxiety . . . . . . . ?
My wife and I Status: 1). Happily Married.
2). Making good money. 3). Not much dept. 4). Nice 2004 house. 5) We live outside of Tucson, AZ in the desert. 6).Lovely large dogs w/ 24hr doggy door. 7) New 4×4 large Ford pickem up truck. 8) Got free medical care at VA Hospital, among other hospitals.
9) Have a couple of nice hobbies. 10) Watch TV a lot though. 11) Non-drinkers. 12).We r smokers though. 13) Inside of r house, is about 77% clean. 14) Wife just made it to senior citizen age. 15) Me, (the husband), in lower 50’s. 16) We both have good phones,
computers, & high tech stuff. Whoopi. 17).Very few lite arguments from time to time.
18) We r most certainly NOT perfect people. 19) Both of us have done things in our past that we r not very proud of. 20) Like most of you, we hate child abuse and animal abuse. 21) We don’t deny that we r sinners. 22) We have scrupulosity disorder. (Who doesn’t). 23) We both r well educated & we know that life is hard and is a one chance lesson. 24) We believe in God & fear God. 25) Fading out of sex, but we r fine w/ that. 26) However, my wife and I were both emotionally abused & abused with the belt too often as children. 27) We met in a bar in 1997 & never went back to that bar & got Married in 2002. 28). We do gossip about other people.
Ok. That’s good enough about our status I guess. We both have been seeing psychiatrists. Her, for the last two years. Me, most of my life to this day.
I’m retired military, (US Army). We visit the psychiatrists at the VA Hospital about something that’s been bothering us, and it’s been going on now for the past 5 to 6 years. Thus, it’s not getting any better. WE BOTH WAKE UP IN THE MORNING WITH SERIOUS “ANXIETY”. This happens everyday. Why? Why does this happen? We’re only being treated for the symptoms with benzodiazepine meds, and can’t find the route source of this problem. Please help us with your suggestions, and educated guesses & answers. Thank you dearly. M & D.
Best answer:
Answer by Odette
Likely generalized anxiety disorder, which doesn’t necessarily have a specific trigger.
I highly recommend attending an anxiety clinic (your doctor can recommend one) on an outpatient basis and engaging in cognitive behavioural therapy.
You’ve had traumatic pasts and this often precedes mental unwellness.
Smoking can increase your anxiety and decrease your physical health. This decrease in physical health consequently increases the anxiety some more.
You state you watch TV a lot. Is this indicative of a more sedentary lifestyle? Exercise is one of the most underprescribed antidepressants and antianxiety agents out there. A half hour walk every day may do more for you than an Ativan would.
Benzos are a slippery slope with tolerance and addiction. Weaning off them is a nasty and difficult process unless your doctor tapers your dose slowly. For some people, the fact that they take benzos for anxiety can actually cause they guilt and anxiety (talk about a vicious circle).
And….lastly….treating anxiety with drugs alone will never identify a trigger or create strategies for coping. You’ll just be dependent on pills for the rest of your life. Combine exercise, adequate nutrition (there’s a strong link between diet and mental health), and cognitive behavioural therapy (which you will learn through counselling). Attending an anxiety clinic will provide you with access to all the tools you need to be successful.
Right now you’re putting a bandaid solution (pills) on a bigger problem.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
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