An Anxious Morning

Anxiety is a strange thing. When you haven't felt it in awhile, you tend to forget about it. Life is happy.  At least that's how it is for me.

After an episode of anxiety, normality can feel like bliss.

Yesterday, I woke up feeling like something was wrong.  I continued to feel anxious, for no reason at all.  It was hard to do work.  Time went by slower, because I just wasn't feeling right.  I kept looking at the clock. I just couldn't get into that moment of "flow" that I usually had.

Two things finally helped.  I talked to my love about how I was feeling.  That always helps.  It also reassured me that nothing really was wrong. That it was just an erroneous feeling.

I also finally took something. I have a variety of pills that I've gathered over time that help with anxiety: Magnesium, 5-HTP, Chlortab, SAM-E, and Phenibut were the choices I had. (All are supplements or over-the-counter.)  I chose 5-HTP.  I thought it would make me sleepy, but it didn't. It just relieved my anxiety.  What a relief, too!

It's interesting to note that anti-anxiety medications tend to work differently in the presence of anxiety (or not).
No Anxiety --> Take Pill --> Get Sleepy
Anxiety --> Take Pill --> Anxiety Goes Away
This is just an easy example to show that the result of the medication is dependent on the initial mindset.  Sure, sometimes anti-anxiety pills can make the anxiety go away and  cause sleepiness, but that depends a lot on the medication, strength and cause of the anxiety, and the person.

I am a believer in rotation of medicines, especially for anxiety.  Take the same thing every time and it may become less effective and you may need a higher dose of it.  However, this is not medical advise, just an opinion.  Stopping an anti-anxiety drug can actually cause the anxiety to come back even stronger than ever, so I don't recommend that either.  Always consult your doctor first.

The prescription medication for anxiety is usually a benzodiazepine, which is a type of medication. Examples are Klonopin and Xanax.  Anti-depressants are also sometimes prescribed.

Anxiety is a common symptom that people with Bipolar Disorder experience.  It's a difficult feeling... I hope that if you are having anxiety, that it goes away soon!  It's nice to be feeling normal!