For me Xanax is used only for "those situations". If you use it daily... it's a bitch to ween off as well as the others.Xanax works wonders for me
Remember, attacks of anxiety or panic won't kill you. I strongly recommend seeing a psychiatrist about it, or at least a psychologist who works in the same office as your medical doctor. The therapist can help you learn how to deal with it when it happens, and they can prescribe the proper medication if you need it. It took me a while to figure out, with my doctors' help, which medication worked best for me. The process is worth it.The first time I had an anxiety attack was like some nightmare..
I still deal with it, like last night. I had to go to the ER and for those prone to anxiety and depression, that is a brutal situation.
True, I have a therapist that has been very helpful. We currently dont have sessions because she had to have.. heart surgery, oy!!! Dealing with other people takes a toll..Remember, attacks of anxiety or panic won't kill you. I strongly recommend seeing a psychiatrist about it, or at least a psychologist who works in the same office as your medical doctor. The therapist can help you learn how to deal with it when it happens, and they can prescribe the proper medication if you need it. It took me a while to figure out, with my doctors' help, which medication worked best for me. The process is worth it.
Man, I try to avoid caffeine as much as possible now. I like my coffee, and decaf really hasn't been that bad. I just have one cup a day anyway. If I want soda I always try to get caffeine free/zero calorie. What sucks about that is a lot of restaurants and things don't offer caffeine free so I have to just settle on water.I dealt with moderate anxiety for many years and in 2018 went on a trial of anti-anxiety medication. I stopped after 3 weeks because, while it reduced my anxiety, it also made me lazy and killed by libido.
As an alternative I started going to the gym immediately afterward - partly since my friends had just started going, but mostly in an attempt to reduce anxiety without medication (I was 32 at the time, 38 now). It ended up working really well, and got even better when I got into cycling in 2020. Since then, stressful situations might cause me a bit of depression, but not nearly the same level of anxiety as before. For me at least, the lesson was that exercise was more important than any changes in my diet, medication or other habits.
However, I did make 2 recent diet discoveries. Having recently started crossfit classes, I started supplementing on zinc - thinking it would be beneficial with the added intense exercise. Big mistake - I apparently don't have a deficiency, so even 25 mg of zinc a day caused me to feel completely wired with an obviously elevated heart rate, including the highest I'd seen (in my 30s at least) during cardio. I rapidly stopped that experiment and within a few days was back to normal.
I also recently I reduced my coffee consumption, from about 3 mugs to 1 mug a day, and having more tea instead. That further reduced the slightly buzzy sensation that hovered in the background a lot of the time (not quite anxiety but close).