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Originally Posted by Eurydice
Honestly, I've found I use food as a way to avoid the near-constant worrying I have when at school, or whatever. It feels like my one reprieve sometimes. Recently, CBT has been helping in some more mild situations. Meditation has helped a lot in the past--the trick is to convince myself to stop aimlessly worrying and sit down and not think for a length of time. It's like I think that my anxiety is somehow helping the situation and I'm worried about letting it go.
This is SO me. I'm almost 40, and I've had anxiety off and on for years. I had some success back in the 90s with Paxil, then I'd go into "remission" for awhile, I guess you'd call it. When I started this lifestyle change back in May, gradually I was right back to my MOST anxious frame of mind within a couple months. I really have come to understand that I have used food as a coping mechanism for it, probably forever. A few weeks ago I had a major, expensive plumbing emergency, but I had to wait till after the holiday weekend (3 days) to find out from the city if it was going to cost me $1,500 or $6,000 and all the while water was coming out of the ground between my house and my neighbor's. I was literally a wreck. I was actually able to imagine the numb/calm that would have come over me if I ate 2 Big Macs. I didn't do it, but it left me so aware of the fact that food, my MAIN coping mechanism, has been taken away and now I'm pretty much flapping in the breeze.
When the anxiety first started creeping back in, I talked to my doctor about possibly starting back up on some Paxil or something else. She said she prescribes it every day and has nothing against it, but since I was doing so well losing weight and Paxil can cause gains, she suggested I tried this 6 week cognitive behavioral therapy boot camp thing. I have learned about conscious relaxation and some techniques like masking, etc, and I think if I continue with it it will be of some help. But I haven't taken meds off the table, I'll know when and if it's time.
Best wishes to everyone who goes through this, it really pretty much just sucks. But I haven't given up on searching out different coping skills (I'm really ramping up the exercise routine and it seems to be helping) and am hopeful that I will be able to keep it under control for now.
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