Mental health: How do you deal with anxiety?

[hopeful_hiker]

If I feel a bit better for more than a few days I automatically become more and more scared. I obviously don’t want to go back to the bad days and progressively get more anxious.

Also, if some kind of a new acute symptom (pain or discomfort) starts and I don’t know why, I also get very anxious. This anxiety continues for days and weeks after the episode.

When I say I am anxious, I mean VERY anxious. Like the next day you have a surgery and an exam and a job interview and have to face a phobia. This level of anxiety.

I started seeing a therapist again but it takes a long time to find a good one.

I do try to take it one day at a time but it does not work a lot of the times.

Any ideas/techniques that work for you?

[farmgirl]

Sorry hopeful_ hiker I can't offer you any advice, I guess I just feel lucky that I've always been the kind of person that figures meh I'll deal with it when it happens and more often than not it doesn't happen. If it does I deal with it.
I just find worrying to be a very non-productive emotion. I hope you find someone that can help you

[hopeful_hiker]

farmgirl thank you for your response! Unfortunately, the emotional trauma I’ve suffered this spring/summer is too great for me to be able to cope through reason. So far the counseling is not really helpful. I don’t think that particular person understands the magnitude of what happened.

Would love to hear more suggestions from the rest of the forum.

[ebi1368]

I am also suffering from sever anxiety since my dry eye started. Some part of it is because I believe my life might be like this. I can not sleep at night and this does not help my dry eye. I am going to ask my doctor to prescribe me Ativan (Lorazepam). I heard it does not cause dry eye. Anybody have any experience?

[hopeful_hiker]

ebi1368 Ativan is for panic attacks. It is not a long term solution. I’ve used it for that purpose at the start of my dry eye and stopped as soon as I could. I found meditation to help with anxiety. However, right now it is not so much about anxiety for me but rather fear of the recent past.

Why can’t you sleep at night?

[ebi1368]

Unfortunately I get anxiety attack.

Do you know if these kind of medicines dry my eyes further?

[ebi1368]

Do you know what is going to happen if I take it for few months?

[MGD1701]

I dont have much anxiety, probably by nature I am positive and determined. Just do my utmost by learning/exploring new things - daily and press ahead until get results. Now I have started to accept it and live with it. My eyes have finally been managable for about 1 year (did LipiFlow 2 years ago). Sometimes grittiness and dryness - Maybe reduce oils/nuts or serum could help.

When condition becomes bad, I try to figure out triggers then solve them - one day my eyes suddently tearing and it disappeared in about 15 min. This helped me detect that I have an allergy to grasses. so, next time when in a garden, I should bring moisture chamber glasses.

Just sad, hard to work again - since I have stopped working for some years - maybe still could find something related to dry eye - my new passion.

Sleeping problem: yoga/meditation maybe better than medication

[ebi1368]

I know but it is really hard at this stage for me. Dry eye, visual distortion and being away from family

i hope i will get better soon

[hopeful_hiker]

ebi1368 Ativan helped me, yes. When feeling its effects I would attempt to make a plan for the future. At the time my mind was very dark and I could not be helpful to myself. On Ativan I felt very grounded and it helped me see a way out.

However, I was well aware of its addictive properties so I used it no more than 1-2 a week for about a 1.5 months. I tried antidepressants but they either dried my eyes and mouth or they made me feel lethargic so I could not go through with them.

[ebi1368]

ebi1368 Ativan helped me, yes. When feeling its effects I would attempt to make a plan for the future. At the time my mind was very dark and I could not be helpful to myself. On Ativan I felt very grounded and it helped me see a way out.

However, I was well aware of its addictive properties so I used it no more than 1-2 a week for about a 1.5 months. I tried antidepressants but they either dried my eyes and mouth or they made me feel lethargic so I could not go through with them.

thanks for the feedback

[diydry]

I understand the anxiety issue to a point. For me, if I have a job interview the following morning, there's a 50% chance or greater than I can't fall asleep until 4am or later.

Ebi1368, have you tried a beta blocker like inderal/propranolol? My family doc recommends this for general anxiety and panic attacks. I actually was prescribed it originally for migraines/headaches and noticed it calmed me down at night too, although I've been off for a year. Fairly low-risk, ask your doctor...

Meditation has helped me. Try to meditate every day (easier said than done). Therapy has helped me. Art/poetry helps too, if you're into that sort of thing. Prayer, if you're into that.

Dr. Sandra Lora Cremers has blogged about the link between anxiety and dry eye. She writes that anxiety and other psychological illness are risk factors for developing dry eye and MGD, and she has advised people with anxiety to avoid lasik surgery http://eyedoc2020.blogspot.com/2018/...html?q=anxiety

I think there is a weird "chicken or the egg problem" where people with anxiety may be more likely to develop dry eye, but people with dry eye are more likely to get anxiety. My point is that it's complicated and we would all benefit from working on improving our mental and emotional health just as much as our physical health.

[hopeful_hiker]

MGD1701 thank you for sharing! What about coping with bad memories? You’ve mentioned RCE before. I imagine it was not easy. Do you get flashbacks? Or do you worry about things getting worse? These type of thoughts haunt me.

ebi1368 I agree with MGD1701, meditation can help with sleep issues. I had insomnia for 2 weeks and it helped. I did have to take zopiclone several times. Hope you feel better soon. Perhaps, somehow being close to the family is a good idea now, if possible.

[MGD1701]

Bad memories/flashbacks? I dont think about bad things long, maybe just 1 day. What is the point, what is done is done.
Focuse on finding solutions is more practical.

RCE was really bad. No more pain, 2-3 months after LipiFlow. If one of 8 doctors had told me at least lid hygiene, warm compress I should have had more glands alive and were able to work - have paid a huge price. To be honest, still angry with all these doctors but why I was so stupid to trust them??

After LipiFlow I improved about 65% and after NatraSan pure HOCL I have found and GLA, about 12% more. Can not complain. Sometimes eyes are not great but it is normal. But I finally figure out what make my eyes unhappy - pollen, wind, dry air, dusts etc. and I have managed to get a better well-protected glasses. Recently I was in the bus strangly, eyes started tearing just in about 5 min then I looked around and found the fan right on the top of my head. then I turned it off, my eyes were pretty ok. I did LipiFlow 2 years ago, time to do something, I guess.

All medication has side-effect so better try nature way. Maybe listen to music with nature bird, water sound before bed help.

[Guest]

Do you know what is going to happen if I take it for few months?

I took Xanax for 8 months. The doctors kept upping my script cause I was suicidal. Worst thing that’s ever happened to me. Started at 1.5mg a day and was prescribed 4.5mg before I quit. The reason I quit was because I couldn’t talk to people without forgetting things mid sentence. My brain was mush. So I tried cutting from 4.5mg to 3mg and I ended up in the ER. My blood pressure was 200/100, ears ringing like mad, feeling of impending death, heart palpitation, muscle contractions everywhere...then the ER doc said, you are in Xanax withdrawal, you have to come down very slowly or you could die.

If you can avoid these drugs, do so at all costs. It’s taken me 4 months to go from 4.5mg to .5mg...and I’m lucky. Go to benzobuddies and read some stories . Some people on my dose are tapering for two years.

if you need a benzo, use it. But do not take it daily. ONLY us it as a rescue, on days you feel like you’re going mad. You should be safe. But even then, you could get addicted. Tread lightly please.

Would i I use it again, yes. I was suicidal, I may have killed my self. However, knowing what I know now, I never would have went up.come off 1.5mg would have been challenging enough.