I have anxiety and panic disorder and have been taking paxil and xanax. The Drs have told me to completely stop all meds. Has this ever happened to anyone else and how did you handle the panic attacks? I’m kinda freaking out here. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks
I have pretty bad anxiety to the extent that I am considering medication once the pregnancy is over with. I have been on both medications that you have spoken of before but quit them due to just my dislike of how I felt on the medications. Prior to becoming pregnant I relied on lots of Valerian Root and herbal teas to help my anxiety which, completely dominated my life on most nights. When I became pregnant I had to stop with all of these and have done pretty well (until the last week or so as I draw near my due date). I will offer you some suggestions in hopes that they will help you remain calm and relaxed during your pregnancy for your sake and your baby’s.
1.) Exercise – This will not only prepare you for birth, keep you healthy throughout the pregnancy, and keep your mood up, it helps to vent out feelings of anxiety and does really make you feel good. Just make sure to talk to your doctor first to get the ok. I did low-impact cardio and then light strength training every other day 6 days a week up until about a little over a month ago where I just focused on low-impact cardio 5 days a week.
2.) Yoga – I know it is considered a form of exercise but I am giving it it’s own section since it really is helpful in getting one to relax by doing the stretches and focusing on your breathing. Prenatal yoga is very helpful in preparing one’s body for labor too.
3.) Meditation – Just spend as little as 10 minutes a day trying to decompress and just focusing on your breath can be a life-saver. If you need help getting started there are a bunch of guided meditations and relaxation music on Youtube that can help. I also found good meditations on a site called – www.dailymeds.net and http://www.chopra.com/library.
4.) Therapy – I started to see a therapist during my pregnancy and it has been really helpful in my dealing with my anxieties and also putting things into perspective. Try to look for someone who specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). This type of therapy works to help you rationalize your fears and worries and take action so that your thoughts and anxieties no longer debilitate you so that you can move on and live your life without so much anxiety and worry.
5.) Writing – or any form of expressive art can be helpful. I find writing out my feelings helps me get the anxieties out and also helps me to center myself and realize that things aren’t so bad.
6.) Positive Affirmations – This helps to retrain your thoughts to be more positive and when dealing with anxiety trying to keep yourself looking at the bright side of things rather than looking at the worst-case scenario of a situation that is usually what causes anxiety and panic or when dealing with it makes it worse. Again, you can find some videos on YouTube that are pretty helpful.
7.) Believe it or not, Yahoo Answers has helped me out quite a bit. When I have anxiety, I come on here and just start answering other people’s questions. I guess it is the distraction of it all that helps since if I am not focused on my anxiety or panic, then my thoughts can’t feed into it and hence the anxiety diminishes.
8.) Read up on anxiety and panic attacks. There is a wealth of helpful information online, at your library, and at the bookstore. Many books offer valuable tools to help you manage.
9.) Join an online support group or a real one for that matter. Being able to have people around you who know where you are coming from because they have experienced it for themselves can offer some relief as well as tips to how to manage. Yahoo has some groups.
10.) Eat healthy and drink lots of water. Avoid all caffeine and try to limit sugar (alcohol and nicotine too but I am sure that isn’t even a concern right now since you are pregnant) as all of these can worsen anxiety.
Good luck to you and I hope some of these will help you like they have helped me and congratulations with your pregnancy 
Take care
I have anxiety and panic disorder and have been taking paxil and xanax. The Drs have told me to completely stop all meds. Has this ever happened to anyone else and how did you handle the panic attacks? I’m kinda freaking out here. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks
I have pretty bad anxiety to the extent that I am considering medication once the pregnancy is over with. I have been on both medications that you have spoken of before but quit them due to just my dislike of how I felt on the medications. Prior to becoming pregnant I relied on lots of Valerian Root and herbal teas to help my anxiety which, completely dominated my life on most nights. When I became pregnant I had to stop with all of these and have done pretty well (until the last week or so as I draw near my due date). I will offer you some suggestions in hopes that they will help you remain calm and relaxed during your pregnancy for your sake and your baby’s.
1.) Exercise – This will not only prepare you for birth, keep you healthy throughout the pregnancy, and keep your mood up, it helps to vent out feelings of anxiety and does really make you feel good. Just make sure to talk to your doctor first to get the ok. I did low-impact cardio and then light strength training every other day 6 days a week up until about a little over a month ago where I just focused on low-impact cardio 5 days a week.
2.) Yoga – I know it is considered a form of exercise but I am giving it it’s own section since it really is helpful in getting one to relax by doing the stretches and focusing on your breathing. Prenatal yoga is very helpful in preparing one’s body for labor too.
3.) Meditation – Just spend as little as 10 minutes a day trying to decompress and just focusing on your breath can be a life-saver. If you need help getting started there are a bunch of guided meditations and relaxation music on Youtube that can help. I also found good meditations on a site called – www.dailymeds.net and http://www.chopra.com/library.
4.) Therapy – I started to see a therapist during my pregnancy and it has been really helpful in my dealing with my anxieties and also putting things into perspective. Try to look for someone who specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). This type of therapy works to help you rationalize your fears and worries and take action so that your thoughts and anxieties no longer debilitate you so that you can move on and live your life without so much anxiety and worry.
5.) Writing – or any form of expressive art can be helpful. I find writing out my feelings helps me get the anxieties out and also helps me to center myself and realize that things aren’t so bad.
6.) Positive Affirmations – This helps to retrain your thoughts to be more positive and when dealing with anxiety trying to keep yourself looking at the bright side of things rather than looking at the worst-case scenario of a situation that is usually what causes anxiety and panic or when dealing with it makes it worse. Again, you can find some videos on YouTube that are pretty helpful.
7.) Believe it or not, Yahoo Answers has helped me out quite a bit. When I have anxiety, I come on here and just start answering other people’s questions. I guess it is the distraction of it all that helps since if I am not focused on my anxiety or panic, then my thoughts can’t feed into it and hence the anxiety diminishes.
8.) Read up on anxiety and panic attacks. There is a wealth of helpful information online, at your library, and at the bookstore. Many books offer valuable tools to help you manage.
9.) Join an online support group or a real one for that matter. Being able to have people around you who know where you are coming from because they have experienced it for themselves can offer some relief as well as tips to how to manage. Yahoo has some groups.
10.) Eat healthy and drink lots of water. Avoid all caffeine and try to limit sugar (alcohol and nicotine too but I am sure that isn’t even a concern right now since you are pregnant) as all of these can worsen anxiety.
Good luck to you and I hope some of these will help you like they have helped me and congratulations with your pregnancy
Take care