How do you deal with Anxiety/stress?

My Anxiety continues to raise its ugly head. Whenever I feel a Heart "skip" or start over thinking my problems, My chest tightens up. I am tired of being handicapped. The weather is cold, rainy etc.

I take Ativan for Anxiety. The winter months are always bad months for me; Dreary, Cold wet; stuck inside.

Anyway just ramblin to unclutter my mind about my Heart condition. Its amazing the negative thoughts one can have.

Any coping skills besides Benzos for Anxiety would be appreciated. I am home alone M-F from 6-6 which makes it worse IMO.

Sent you a PM.

I wish someone had the answer for that..I have a couple other problems also, and I really haven't a clue how to stop the Anxiety/stress..I get weak just thinking about it...I take about a 2 mg. Valuim, helps some..
.I'm alone most of the time also..and that's when it's the worst..this rainy weather staying inside sure doesn't help....Nel

I am searching for something that I can take for stress that will not interfere with Warfarin. I have sold my house moving in three weeks and last week I was told the flat I hoped to buy has been taken off the market. Great --so now my furniture is to go in store and I am going to move to my daughter and son in law's house until I find something else. Still have loads of packing to do and the A.F. episodes have increased along with the stress levels. I am trying to stay calm but not succeeding!!

Stress is one thing which we can't often avoid, excess worry and mental gymnastics over things in life is most often optional. It's certainly understandable when health problems cause anxiety and the very nature of AFIB is anxiety stimulating inherently, for sure, we've all experienced that to one degree or another, but its that little voice sitting on your shoulder constantly whispering 'what's next' and 'what if' that causes us far more trepidation than the actually reality usually calls for and adds excess worry on top of rational awareness and concern for whatever is happening in our lives.

Truly groking or understanding that intuitively can be a huge help for preventing, or at least minimizing, the mind's tendency to run away with itself with so much unnecessary and unhandy anxiety or panic producing projections, whatever the actual objective circumstance might be.

It's sort of related to the old FDR homily 'there is nothing to fear but fear itself' which does have a modicum of truth to it no matter how hard it might be to realize that in the moment when a wave of impending doom seems to wash over us.

Medication can help for awhile and on occasion, but relied on too often usually winds up just reinforcing the sense of anxiety and makes it even easier to feel antsy or even trigger into full blown panic.

L Theanine can help as can Pharma-GABA taken a couple times a day which can slow down the catecholamine response too without developing a lot of tolerance.

Often times when a person is over the top anxious it also has a core biochemical driver with lack of anabolic hormones such as unhealthy levels of endogenous growth hormone, testosterone, DHEA and estradiol (in women)... Too high a thyroid and/or major excesses or deficiencies in cortisol can also make a person feel fundamentally less solid and connected to terra firma in their own skin, and such people almost ALWAYS are easily driven to anxiety and panic and generally feel the world is just too much to handle ...plug in whatever scenario that might be going on at the moment. Restoration of a healthy balance of said anabolic hormones can do wonders for feeling and restoring a sense of solidity and grounded-ness along with an innate ability to better roll with the punches and take things in stride.

Almost invariably, when we see folks with significant anxiety issues you find an impaired adrenal response leading to excess adrenaline release under stress instead of resorting to cortisol, as nature intended, and which is so often in short supply when needed in an overly-stressed and anxiety-ridden person, and that's a sure ticket to driving you batty with worry and anxiety feeling like you are going to jump out of your skin. That excess adrenaline response is one reason both benzodiazepines and beta blockers can often temporarily reduce the anxiety so effectively by blocking much of the adrenaline surge caused by too little endogenous cortisol on hand when you need it.

Also, learning a simple meditation technique, yogic breathing exercises, Thai chi or Chi Gung and taking good long walks can also be key things that help you get on top of run away anxiety. The important thing with these highly effective stress reducing practices is that you must practice them religiously. It won't help if you just try to meditate once in a blue moon or just when you feel a wave of anxiety, or your mind is racing away with you, unless you have already made finding that easy calm space a steady habit. You can't learn a meditation technique one day and then expect it to keep anxiety at bay the next time it arises if you rarely meditate or practice Thai Chi or even a good regular exercise program or at least take long walks regularly.

And few things help deal with the very real AFIB anxiety better than getting AFIB itself under control and more or less out of your life with a good combination of a solid ablation process and/or with the compliment of a full nutritional/dietary modification that truly keeps the beast at bay.

Shannon



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 02/07/2014 12:01PM by Shannon.

I admit my Anxiety is driven by Health issues. I actually thought I had this AFIB "BEATEN" after 18 months of NSR.

After 1 year, I was off Pradaxa and Amiodarone doing great! I had a perfect stress test and I felt great. Then in Sept. last year this monster came from no where again. I went back on Pradaxa and Multaq and 1 month later my electrical cardioversion worked with one "pop". It lasted 1 month and I went back into AFIB. I was shocked again into NSR with only one hit.

Now, In the last 2 weeks, I started having Heart Palpitations. I am still in NSR but...... I know Anxiety is driving these Palpitations but.....

I have my Ablation in less than 3 weeks; It does scare the Heck out of me. I just want to get back to a normal life; I am tired of fear.

A couple of thoughts from a long term anxiety sufferer, long before I developed afib. I wonder if the anxiety over the years didn't have something to do with the afib developing.

1. I found that benzo's in general, and I've tried most of them over the years, don't solve anything. What they do is allow your mind to become calm enough to be receptive and rational enough to accept training and education to relieve anxiety in other ways; in my case, the Chi Kung and Tai Chi. Of course I live in San Francisco and it's very easy to find groups of people doing that regularly and to get training for good breathing and meditation.

2. Here's link to an easy way to learn belly breathing: [idiotsguides.com] It must be practiced enough that it becomes the norm rather than the old style breathing by expanding the chest.

3. Regular exercise, outdoors if at all possible, is essential to keep all the body fluids and, "chi" moving, and the mind still. Even 20 minutes of walking/day at a 3 mph rate is relaxing. There is a chi kung walk that goes with the breathing.

4. I was on and off benzo's for 40 years, usually on for a couple of years at a time followed by several years of quiet. I found that the shorter acting benzo's like Xanax and Ativan didn't work well for me as I could feel them swoosh in then swoosh out about 4 hours later so I wanted another one then. The longer half life Valium or Klonopin benzo's worked better because the onset and leaving wasn't particularly noticable so I didn't feel I needed another so soon. I'm sure you've noted that physicians like the shorter acting drugs because they are more controllable and the longer acting ones are used by street people to extend the effects of heroin so they're more strictly regulated.

5. I did, as others here have noted, find that when in the middle of an afib episode, a benzo frequently stopped it, and I learned later that chi kung breathing did that, also. They both slow down the adrenaline release. I haven't had to take a benzo for several years now but I'm sure a good part of the reason for that is Dr. Natale's good work in doing my ablation.

6. Acupuncture can also help with anxiety but I didn't find it did much for my afib.

Gordon

There aren't too many conditions out there where there is such an intimate relationship between anxiety and the condition. Afib is a very stressful disorder leading to anxiety which in turn can exacerbate the afib. And both anxiety and afib involve autonomic issues and imbalances (such as too much adrenalin as Shannon noted). Anxiety has both a physiological and a cognitive (worry) component.

To manage anxiety problems in general, the literature is clear that the best outcomes come from a combination of medication and cognitive therapy (improving cognitive coping skills), which is more effective than either alone. If you are taking a benzodiazapine (such as Xanax, Paxal, Ativan, Valium) and feeling you need more relief, it may be a good time to add in some cognitive coping skills (and the reverse might also hold true). (A footnote on the benzos: typically they're most helpful for a short period of time, or when a quick response is needed. For longer-term pharmacological management of anxiety, people are often switched to an SSRI such as Prozac or Zoloft; may or may not be right for you, just giving as an example.)

There is nothing wrong, indeed everything right, about seeing a psychologist who can provide some cognitive therapy to help you manage the debilitating chronic condition of afib. This would be especially something to consider if you are already taking some medication for anxiety but not getting enough relief. You would want to see a psychologist whose orientation is cognitive-behavioral and/or who state a background or expertise in cognitive therapy for anxiety disorders. For those disinclined to see a professional psychologist, there are some good self-help books out there that focus on cognitive self-therapy. Cognitive techniques for managing anxiety are skills you learn and, once honed, can be very powerful and effective.

Good points Gordon and Randy,

There are plenty of great tools out there for getting on top of anxiety, and yet the very best step for dealing with AFIB related anxiety and stress, as noted, is getting rid of the AFIB! If you catch it early and can put the genie back in the bottle effectively with The Strategy and good meditation, Chi Kung, breathing techniques, a benzo pill , when and if needed, and maintenace with nutritional means like magnesium, Theanine, GABA, Holy Basil, etc etc, that is all well and good and those things will definitely come in handy even after an ablation for all the other stresses life brings our way.

And a god cognitive therapist is certainly an important piece of the puzzle for those whose unrelenting stress has gotten the better of them in spite of all the biochemical protocols used to quell it. Also dont overlook the hormonal aspect which can be so important on a fundamental level for folks our age whose global hormonal milieu is almsot always in sharp decline by this perioi of life when, not surprisingly, the wheels start to come off the wagon more readily.

And stress is a direct contributor to the onset of AFIB as well, kind of a chicken and egg thing, for sure.

But Smackman, take heart now you are on the home stretch and can look forward too now to better days ahead as the light is definitely shining brightly at the end of your tunnel now. At the very least you are very shortly to make the biggest single step yet toward getting your life back in a big way, even it there is a more minor touch up step left to come down the road, this ablation is the big step toward relative freedom from the beast and so much of the anxiety that comes with having this awful condition breathing down your neck 24/7 not knowing when its going to pounce once again!

We all know that terrible feeling very well indeed and you are not alone at all in this.

Best wishes,
Shannon



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/07/2014 12:15PM by Shannon.

My nutritionist had me do genetic testing through 23andme.com as I had so many health issues (afib, poor digestion, chronic insomnia) that he just couldn't get to the bottom of. We'd try to detox for fluoride or aluminum, and my health would get worse and we'd have to stop. It turns out that I have over a dozen methylation gene polymorphisms that are causing most of these health issues, including a SNP that doesn't allow my serotonin to turn into melatonin and another SNP that causes high adrenaline. I also have a blocked phrase II liver conjugation pathway, so no wonder I can't detox!

If you explore genetic testing, you may get down to the bottom of why some of these health problems are happening. Unfortunately, knowing what to do about these SNPs is a new field that few doctors understand. My nutritionist is using a book by Dr. Yasko (who works with autistic children and their genetic mutations) to try to find answers, but he is just learning, so the process is slow. Thus, I have decided to also have ablation surgery by Dr. Hongo (trained by Dr. Natale) on Feb. 27 as I can't continue to live my life with afib popping up at any hour.

Many blessings to you,

Nancy M.

Smackman,

I don't know if you work at home or if you are just alone because your spouse works, etc. If you have that much time alone (not working) just to "think," I can see where the anxiety would build. Do you read? It is a great, relaxing escape and I strongly recommend, during this cold dreary weather, reading "The Power of Now," by Eckhart Tolle. It is exactly about how non-stop thinking makes us all a little insane. It's a book I refer to regularly to calm myself.

Louise

You have an appropriate "handle" as I am male and I simply SMACK anyone that disagrees with me, causes me anxiety or just gets in my way. Don't know if it helps my anxiety much but it sure makes life worth living.
Murray



smackman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My Anxiety continues to raise its ugly head.
> Whenever I feel a Heart "skip" or start over
> thinking my problems, My chest tightens up. I am
> tired of being handicapped. The weather is cold,
> rainy etc.
>
> I take Ativan for Anxiety. The winter months are
> always bad months for me; Dreary, Cold wet; stuck
> inside.
>
> Anyway just ramblin to unclutter my mind about my
> Heart condition. Its amazing the negative thoughts
> one can have.
>
> Any coping skills besides Benzos for Anxiety would
> be appreciated. I am home alone M-F from 6-6 which
> makes it worse IMO.

Murray L

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tikosyn uptake Dec 2011 500ug b.i.d. NSR since!
Herein lies opinion, not professional advice, which all are well advised to seek.

From my last post on this topic, please do not get the idea that I smack everyone.... that would be crazy. I just smack everyone that bugs me. (Just kidding of course)

When I left the hospital after my uptake of Tikosyn in December 2011 I sat with a nurse practitioner in the cardiac arrhythmia wing and the words still ring in my ears "Avoid stress and anxiety at all costs. You MUST let things roll off your back that did not before today." I take the odd clonazepam during rough times of which I have no control over (i.e. my wife spent a week in the cardiac wing recently as a result of a silent heart attack and we have little in the way of answers). I have plenty of examples, believe me.

Anything that I have control over I eliminate. Friends that caused anxiety are still friends but not seen very often; on the other hand, we are members of The Order of The Eastern Star, Freemasonry, Shriners, etc., and the modus operandi in these 'fraternal organizations' is NO STRESS.. it is to be avoided at all costs. So far so good. We love it. Make plenty of friends. Have plenty of social interaction. And have lots of plain old fun, while bettering ourselves (I believe) and helping others.

We avoid strife at all costs to the extent of even avoiding family that are prone to squabbles or creating stress. JUST avoid it.

There are, of course, lots of things that one cannot avoid. LOTS. Daughter totaled her car a few weeks ago but she was okay and just bruised up. Daughter and son are both away at University and we used to worry about grades, about them getting into trouble, about their situations, etc., but now realize there is a point where one needs to let go. #1 son is in 3rd. year Engineering at a tough school and is struggling through but we know that he will make it through. It is an "honours" degree program and it seems to me that anyone making it into third year pretty much graduates. Daughter has just started her "Masters of Science" degree program and has another 4 semesters in a row to go to receive her masters degree... then on to a PhD or medicine. Whatever she does or achieves at this point is fine. She will have done her best. They love her at her university.

You MUST learn to let the stress roll off your back, even if it means having to take therapy sessions from a good practitioner in that field. Even if it means cutting ties with people that CAUSE stress. Even if it means changing lifestyle. Personally, we have also taken up hobbies that are stress reducing. We travel, we fish, we do photography, and we are gun collectors and competitors (this seems to have a HUGE stress reducing factor for some reason). Lots of other activities and hobbies that DO NOT DEMAND from us - but permit us to participate at our own pace.

We have learned to say NO. Or NO THANK YOU. Often asked to take office in organizations and things like that.... where we really don't have to but always used to say YES and then get stressed over the time commitments. No longer. We will volunteer and participate, but on OUR schedule.

As you can see, there is no SIMPLE answer to relief of stress and anxiety. I would heartily recommend seeing a professional that specializes in that field. The reduction in stress will be felt within the first few days of your first meeting. Much of it is a matter of learning.

And where you simply cannot avoid or deal with the stress (the funeral of a loved one, the illness of a loved one, etc.) you have Ativan or whatever to help you over the hump. Works for us.

Winter blahs: I find that taking a copious quantitiy of various vitamins, especially Vit D, helps. So does getting out and about regardless of weather. We sometimes warm up the car in -20 C weather until it is toasty warm, then drive to somewhere with underground parking (make a list!). Heck, even our local library has underground parking. Nice and toasty. We have, in Toronto, THE PATH which allows us to walk several miles underground through shopping concourses all the way. Wonderful. When not so terribly cold (I can't take the cold air) we bundle up very well and get out for a walk or snowblow the driveway. There is much to be said for getting out and about. I have an aunt approaching 70 that gets out daily regardless of the weather... rain, snow, sleet, extreme heat, whatever; she is outside every day. She looks and feels like she is 40.

There is no simple, magical answer. A guide is a good thing to have. Google "stress" and "anxiety" online for tons of information and know that you are NOT alone. Get active to whatever extent you can. Speak to a professional about stress and anxiety. The Ativan and Clonazepan is a temporary, 'finger in the dyke', solution. The real solution sits between your ears for the most part.

From someone who have been there, done that, has the T shirt and knows exactly what you are talking about.

Heck, when I'm all wound up, I get on the phone to a friend and go out for a coffee or a hot dog. Even that helps immensely (low salt hot dogs mind you).

Good luck. You can lick it.




smackman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My Anxiety continues to raise its ugly head.
> Whenever I feel a Heart "skip" or start over
> thinking my problems, My chest tightens up. I am
> tired of being handicapped. The weather is cold,
> rainy etc.
>
> I take Ativan for Anxiety. The winter months are
> always bad months for me; Dreary, Cold wet; stuck
> inside.
>
> Anyway just ramblin to unclutter my mind about my
> Heart condition. Its amazing the negative thoughts
> one can have.
>
> Any coping skills besides Benzos for Anxiety would
> be appreciated. I am home alone M-F from 6-6 which
> makes it worse IMO.

Murray L

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tikosyn uptake Dec 2011 500ug b.i.d. NSR since!
Herein lies opinion, not professional advice, which all are well advised to seek.

ggheld, Very good breathing exercise.

Murray L Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> From my last post on this topic, please do not get
> the idea that I smack everyone.... that would be
> crazy. I just smack everyone that bugs me. (Just
> kidding of course)
>
> When I left the hospital after my uptake of
> Tikosyn in December 2011 I sat with a nurse
> practitioner in the cardiac arrhythmia wing and
> the words still ring in my ears "Avoid stress and
> anxiety at all costs. You MUST let things roll
> off your back that did not before today." I take
> the odd clonazepam during rough times of which I
> have no control over (i.e. my wife spent a week in
> the cardiac wing recently as a result of a silent
> heart attack and we have little in the way of
> answers). I have plenty of examples, believe me.
>
> Anything that I have control over I eliminate.
> Friends that caused anxiety are still friends but
> not seen very often; on the other hand, we are
> members of The Order of The Eastern Star,
> Freemasonry, Shriners, etc., and the modus
> operandi in these 'fraternal organizations' is NO
> STRESS.. it is to be avoided at all costs. So far
> so good. We love it. Make plenty of friends. Have
> plenty of social interaction. And have lots of
> plain old fun, while bettering ourselves (I
> believe) and helping others.
>
> We avoid strife at all costs to the extent of even
> avoiding family that are prone to squabbles or
> creating stress. JUST avoid it.
>
> There are, of course, lots of things that one
> cannot avoid. LOTS. Daughter totaled her car a
> few weeks ago but she was okay and just bruised
> up. Daughter and son are both away at University
> and we used to worry about grades, about them
> getting into trouble, about their situations,
> etc., but now realize there is a point where one
> needs to let go. #1 son is in 3rd. year
> Engineering at a tough school and is struggling
> through but we know that he will make it through.
> It is an "honours" degree program and it seems to
> me that anyone making it into third year pretty
> much graduates. Daughter has just started her
> "Masters of Science" degree program and has
> another 4 semesters in a row to go to receive her
> masters degree... then on to a PhD or medicine.
> Whatever she does or achieves at this point is
> fine. She will have done her best. They love her
> at her university.
>
> You MUST learn to let the stress roll off your
> back, even if it means having to take therapy
> sessions from a good practitioner in that field.
> Even if it means cutting ties with people that
> CAUSE stress. Even if it means changing
> lifestyle. Personally, we have also taken up
> hobbies that are stress reducing. We travel, we
> fish, we do photography, and we are gun collectors
> and competitors (this seems to have a HUGE stress
> reducing factor for some reason). Lots of other
> activities and hobbies that DO NOT DEMAND from us
> - but permit us to participate at our own pace.
>
> We have learned to say NO. Or NO THANK YOU.
> Often asked to take office in organizations and
> things like that.... where we really don't have to
> but always used to say YES and then get stressed
> over the time commitments. No longer. We will
> volunteer and participate, but on OUR schedule.
>
> As you can see, there is no SIMPLE answer to
> relief of stress and anxiety. I would heartily
> recommend seeing a professional that specializes
> in that field. The reduction in stress will be
> felt within the first few days of your first
> meeting. Much of it is a matter of learning.
>
> And where you simply cannot avoid or deal with the
> stress (the funeral of a loved one, the illness of
> a loved one, etc.) you have Ativan or whatever to
> help you over the hump. Works for us.
>
> Winter blahs: I find that taking a copious
> quantitiy of various vitamins, especially Vit D,
> helps. So does getting out and about regardless
> of weather. We sometimes warm up the car in -20 C
> weather until it is toasty warm, then drive to
> somewhere with underground parking (make a list!).
> Heck, even our local library has underground
> parking. Nice and toasty. We have, in Toronto,
> THE PATH which allows us to walk several miles
> underground through shopping concourses all the
> way. Wonderful. When not so terribly cold (I
> can't take the cold air) we bundle up very well
> and get out for a walk or snowblow the driveway.
> There is much to be said for getting out and
> about. I have an aunt approaching 70 that gets out
> daily regardless of the weather... rain, snow,
> sleet, extreme heat, whatever; she is outside
> every day. She looks and feels like she is 40.
>
> There is no simple, magical answer. A guide is a
> good thing to have. Google "stress" and "anxiety"
> online for tons of information and know that you
> are NOT alone. Get active to whatever extent you
> can. Speak to a professional about stress and
> anxiety. The Ativan and Clonazepan is a
> temporary, 'finger in the dyke', solution. The
> real solution sits between your ears for the most
> part.
>
> From someone who have been there, done that, has
> the T shirt and knows exactly what you are talking
> about.
>
> Heck, when I'm all wound up, I get on the phone to
> a friend and go out for a coffee or a hot dog.
> Even that helps immensely (low salt hot dogs mind
> you).
>
> Good luck. You can lick it.
>
>
>
>
> smackman Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > My Anxiety continues to raise its ugly head.
> > Whenever I feel a Heart "skip" or start over
> > thinking my problems, My chest tightens up. I
> am
> > tired of being handicapped. The weather is
> cold,
> > rainy etc.
> >
> > I take Ativan for Anxiety. The winter months
> are
> > always bad months for me; Dreary, Cold wet;
> stuck
> > inside.
> >
> > Anyway just ramblin to unclutter my mind about
> my
> > Heart condition. Its amazing the negative
> thoughts
> > one can have.
> >
> > Any coping skills besides Benzos for Anxiety
> would
> > be appreciated. I am home alone M-F from 6-6
> which
> > makes it worse IMO.

So mote it be Brother. I am glad to see you are a traveling man. I have not been attending the Lodge lately; I am also a Shriner but just recently. I have been through part of the chairs at the lodge; I was JW in 2011. I love the Fraternity. I just need to get involved again.
Thanks for the encouragement and words of advice.

Wht is ggheld?

Sam

Please ignore my post! When I read Dee's post I thought she was saying ggheld was a type of breathing exercise. (I wasn't feeling very well that day so I'll blame that - though it could just be my age - sigh.

Sam