Generalised Anxiety Disorder

[lady_p_gold]

Does anyone have any experience of this or anything that has helped? I have a close relative that is having major problems and nothing seems to help and they are reluctant to start taking drugs on which they could become dependent on.

[PhilBy]

Ask your friend to have a word with their GP to see if Amitriptyline would suit them. (Apparentley non addictive/dependent)?

[malaise]

I've been on many forms of medication for anxiety, and none have been addiction forming. From memory, they were all anti-depressants and tend to be administered in low doses for anxiety. I can understand not wanting to go on medication, though.

I used to attend a psychiatric day unit, and I can only advise your relative not to do this. Unless listening to "relaxation" (ahem) CDs and writing on flipcharts about situations that make you anxious seems like fun for them...

Seeing a psychiatrist might help (note that if referred to a psychiatric ward, you usually see the charge nurse, junior doctors, or anyone else who happens to be available, so do push to see a consultant!), as I know it helped me a teeny eeny wee bit. Counselling also helped me, and I was referred to a great charity body who run counselling sessions for free (basically operating like a private clinic) - they did more for me than the psychiatric or medical profession, so they'd be my first port of call.

[~Wingnut~]

Hi Lady!

I was diagnosed with Anxiety last year, it's awful. A lot of it was because of my neighbours.. but that's a different story lol.

I was put on a low dosage of anti-depressent and it just took the edge off enough for me to learn to deal and cope with what was happening to me. My hubby became ill earlier this year and I forgot to take my tablets for a few days what with one thing and another, I discovered that I didn't feel like I needed them and haven't taken any since.
I understand that your relative sounds like they are worse than what I was but there are some practical exercises they could try to help them deal with this. The doctor should have a help sheet which teaches you to look at the way your thinking differently. Also seeing a councillor may be of benefit as talking thru the way you feel about things to a stranger can sometimes help you to look at situations differently.
All the best, I know it isn't easy to watch a loved one be in distress like this because it is hard to understand how someone can think such things so unrationally. God the way I used to worry over such stupid, stupid things and make myself ill over it! I can't believe I used to be like that!

[WendyS]

Cognitive Behavioural theraphy with a counsellor might help. Basically it's a common sense approach which helps the individual analyse the specific anxiety and the possibillity of it actually happening. i.e.

Fear: I'm worried I'll be run over if I cross the road outside my house.
Analysis: How long have your lived in your house? How many times have you been run over in the last 5 years? None. How many times have your neighbours been run over in the same period? None. How many cats have been run over? None. How many cars pass your house every hour? Ten, So why should I be so fearful when all the evidence points against the possibility of this happening.

This is a very, very simplified explanation of the approach but it's a process which helps the sufferer work through their fears in a step by step analytical way.

There are different forms of counselling - Person Centred, Existential, Cognative Behavioural etc. which all go down slightly different paths. It sounds as if your relative might benefit from Cognative Behavioural if she doesn't want to go down the drugs route. Also going to her library first and getting some books on this type of approach will help her understand her fears and possibly enable her to try the self-help route.

[chazza]

You can get herbal anti depressants such as 5-htp and st johns wort in Holland and Barratt.

Also Relora is supposed to be good for anxiety

[lady_p_gold]

Thank you all for your help, I will pass on all your information, yes it is distressing and it seems that unlike a visible illness it is much harder to get people to understand.

[Rubyrose]

I was signed off work with Anxiety and I refused pills from the GP aswell as they only mask the problem and don't get to the source of it. It would be like stickin an elastoplast on a broken arm! I got my GP to refer me to a hypnotherapist or an EMDR therapist. They did some great work and then I paid for some private treatment and within a month my attacks stopped. I recommend hypnotherapy to anyone. :o)