Overwhelming anxiety

I am nearing the end of my verrrry slow taper off (at most another 6 months to go) and I am overwhelmed with anxiety all the time (which is why I took lorazepam in the first place). My brain is @ me all the time. Is there any chance this may subside when I'm all the way off? Thank you. (Also, please only share if it's hopeful, no stories that will make it worse, thanks.)

Most days lately I just spend in the same spot, scared.

twitch, my anxiety and panic were over the top on my taper. IMO the stress of tapering, and the fear of what the heck would happen when this was all over made me as loony as a bedbug. I had panic attacks in my car when I never had anything like them before.  I will say that once my taper was finished, my anxiety calmed down to what I would call "normal" life anxiety (which is not altogether a bad thing). During my taper I had to learn ways of helping myself --  I learned to meditate (well, sorta) and I learned how to not freak out when driving -- I chose a phrase and repeated it to myself like a mantra ("I can do this" or "No problem here" or "It'll be all right"), interspersed with "square breathing". I do a lot of driving for work and when I came to an accident on the highway or a place where I was held up by construction, initially I freaked out. But I learned how to control that.

I also read a great book, recommended by my therapist, written by an old-time psychiatrist who never used drugs in his practice. It's called FEELINGS by Willard Gaylin and has a wonderful chapter on Anxiety. It's not a self-help book, but it helped me understand, and therefore deal with, anxiety.

I would say that now life's anxieties really don't faze me. Nor do accidents on the highway.

Hope this helps you,

Katz

Thank you a million times for your thoughtful answer!! 

twitch, my anxiety and panic were over the top on my taper. IMO the stress of tapering, and the fear of what the heck would happen when this was all over made me as loony as a bedbug. I had panic attacks in my car when I never had anything like them before.  I will say that once my taper was finished, my anxiety calmed down to what I would call "normal" life anxiety (which is not altogether a bad thing). During my taper I had to learn ways of helping myself --  I learned to meditate (well, sorta) and I learned how to not freak out when driving -- I chose a phrase and repeated it to myself like a mantra ("I can do this" or "No problem here" or "It'll be all right"), interspersed with "square breathing". I do a lot of driving for work and when I came to an accident on the highway or a place where I was held up by construction, initially I freaked out. But I learned how to control that.

 

I also read a great book, recommended by my therapist, written by an old-time psychiatrist who never used drugs in his practice. It's called FEELINGS by Willard Gaylin and has a wonderful chapter on Anxiety. It's not a self-help book, but it helped me understand, and therefore deal with, anxiety.

 

I would say that now life's anxieties really don't faze me. Nor do accidents on the highway.

 

Hope this helps you,

 

 

Katz