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@MamaBear87: Me! I don't have situational anxiety or panic attacks (maybe like 3x in my life?) but I have general anxiety. It ebbs and flows-- I have times when it's near nonexistent and other times when it's particularly palpable. I take Zoloft and have for over 10 years. I try to remember that anxiety is a normal physiological response to stress (in an effort to normalize it). I also try to remember that anxiety is a feeling and that it can and will pass just like all other feelings. For me, reframing my anxiety into something more manageable, normal, and taking the "monster" out of it is HUGE.
I hope your anxiety mellows out very very soon.

Sort of. From time to time and it's most likely hormonal... birth control, breastfeeding, etc.. have been when I notice it, and postpartum with my first kid was the worst followed by recently with my third as I weaned from the pump over a couple weeks, but I could recognize it by then. I read The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck and found that useful, actually. Just a different way of thinking about problems..and always remembering that you only have a limited amount of f*cks to give and knowing that my problems really are not unique honestly helps me. When I have a particularly bad night I have some wine and watch reruns of favorite shows. (But like I said, the times I've dealt with anxiety have all been hormone-related, so I can recognize it and so far overall in my life it isn't the norm for me, so it's not like I'm just getting drunk every night in front of the tv! I wouldn't recommend for someone who is having severe anxiety.)

I also am an online shopper, or online window shopper?

And once I just decided that a few hours or so of missed sleep just didn't matter, and I stopped tracking when I was sleeping or not or worrying what time it was in the middle of the night.. I was able to let go of a lot of my middle of the night panic. That feeling is the worst for me! I definitely have been there with wondering if I'd get through the night, and not even knowing what would happen, just having a sense of impending doom I guess.

Anyway I hope you've already worked this out but if not, the night will pass, your dh will come home, and you aren't alone in this!

I have anxiety.

Try doing some exercise. Like running or something cardio to loud kick ass music and kick it in the nuts. It will give you something to channel the anxiety into. I like to visualize the anxiety leaving my body through the sweat.

Electrolyte imbalance makes my anxiety a lot worse. You can take magnesium and potassium supplements and add some extra salt to your diet. I also like a product called Natural Calm taken before bed and it’s largely magnesium and it helps me sleep. I also take 3mg of melatonin before bed and I sleep way better.

Blood sugar instability also made my anxiety worse. I don’t deal with it as much bc I’m on a ketogenic diet, but what helped when I ate carbs was eating something heavy in fat and protein before bed like a big spoon of peanut butter. It also helped me settle and wind down for sleep.

I have occasional bouts of anxiety and panic disorder, but both have been getting better lately. I have Xanax to take if i need it, but I’ve only taken it once. Usually I just deal with it. I find distraction to be the best thing for me, especially reading. Guided meditation can also help, just look it up on YouTube, there are tons. You can do something as short as 5-10 minutes. I hope you are feeling better soon!

@MamaBear87: I didnt - I started about 2 months ago and DS is almost 2.5 I know a lot of people who did though, and it was just fine. I asked my primary care doctor. No psychologist was involved (at least not yet).

@MamaBear87: Aw, I am sorry. That's hard, mama. I didnt really have "this is never going to end" feelings but I definitely felt overwhelmed and anxious and stressed and hyper and YES the 10 mg helped so much. Those feelings are totally gone. I am better at my job. I am more patient. I will say the one drawback is that the medicine does have sexual side effects But it works so well I am scared to try a new one right now!

I have anxiety. Honestly, going to a councillor on a regular basis helps me the most. I also find yoga before bed helps me relax. I am also on cipralex which has helped sooo much with my general anxiety. My biggest hurdle lately is health anxiety, especially while TTC.

@MamaBear87: glad you've found the cause and can make it go away! I hope the procedure goes smoothly.

@MamaBear87: I am a high strung neurotic person, worrying about TTC made me a mess of obsessive focus on temping and tracking. I was anxious 24/7, I finally gave up and talked to my OB (who I wish could be my GP) and I went back on Zoloft (had PPA/PPD). It has helped tremendously, I still have days where I consider I might need to up my dose, but they're a rarity.

@MamaBear87: I get that. I'm not one that is comfortable with therapy; but I know other friends that did therapy only or therapy and meds and it worked out for them. I hope you figure something out.

@MamaBear87: I bet that some kind of cognitive-behavioral therapy will help a lot. As someone who also had SVT episodes, I have to be really aware of not being *too* aware of my heart rate and anxiety level, if that makes sense. The more I focus on it, the more I'm likely to have a panic attack. I use a lot of distraction and relaxing breathing/progressive muscle relaxation.
Also, whenever I did have an SVT episode, I would use a lot of cognitive coping techniques like reminding myself that it had happened before and had just been SVT that would last like 10 minutes or so (the worst of it - it usually took like 30 minutes to feel normal again), not that I was suddenly dying or having something more serious going on. That I had survived it before by staying as calm as possible and breathing as slowly as is possible when your heart rate is like 200. I hope you find a therapist who is a good fit!

@MamaBear87: That makes sense. I was thinking more about how having SVT makes me way more sensitive to anytime my heart rate goes up a little bit, even if I haven't had an episode in years. And, also, some of the same coping techniques can help manage or prevent panic attacks, too.

@MamaBear87: That sounds really hard. I'm sure that even just talking to a therapist about your anxiety will help.