General anxiety tip

Hello All ,

 

I am 25 years old now , approximately when I was 10-12 years old I have social phobia , called Paruresis (Shy bladder syndrome) basically I was not able to urinate in public places .

I did all medical check in the years there is no underlying medical condition behind it .  I used to manage it somehow , but obviously it during the years it developed me pretty high levels of anxiety in my body an brain . 3 and half years ago I had a breakdown , got prescribed to Klonopin , which gave me a new life . I have got a new job , I was confident , got a GF , life seemed to be good .

But its time to get off klonopin now , since it doesnt as efffective as it was before , and more side affects are popping up . Also its getting hard to get it nowadays . My doc is quite good , doesnt want to force me , but I want to get off .

 

As klonopin made my phobia much better and managable , but havent vanished completly . So even If I get off klonopin I need some support ways to manage my anxiety .

I try to be mindfull , but we dont live in a perfect word so I cant keep on meditating all day  .

 

Usually what I have : Morning diarrhea , stiff muscles , concious focus on breathing , loss of apetite , lack of focus , too intense reaction to stress , irrational fear .

 

What supplements have helped you to ease anxiety ?

 

 

Nicotine - any smokers here who started to pick up this habit when starting benzo withdraw ? Does it help  ? I am considering some E-cigs as safer way .

Even if its not the healtiest way , would do it rather than taking some pills.

 

 

 

Any other supplement recommendations ?

 

I take :

 

Vitamin C 1000 mg daily - I think it should reduce cortisol levels , so lessens anxiety , personally I can reccommend it .

Magnesium citrate 100 mg  - ocassionally , it does seem to help with muscle stiffnes .

 

Green tea - ?

Vitamin D - ?

B complex - ?

Pure Whey isolate - ?

 

 

On the other hand I try to live healthy with balanced diet , but this anxiety is  in brain for so long and deep it takes a longer time ,

I try to exercise as much as I can , but usually I get tired pretty fast and my muscles star to have a burning sensation . I think becouse of being in flight or fight mode all the time .

So my recovery time is much longer . I also practice deep breathing regularly .

 

Regards ,

Potzz (25/M)

 

 

I have several things to share with you.

 

First of all, I also struggled with Paruresis.  You might want to google the International Paruresis Association to get some help. 

 

Here is what helps me.  I use what is called the breath holding technique.  It took me a few years to get it working well.  Here are the steps I take when needing to use a public urinal:

(1)    Breath normal before starting (not big gulp of air – just breath normal as you walk up to the urinal)

(2)    When you get to the urinal, exhale 75%, of your air

(3)    After 45sec, you will start to feel temporarily incontinency (like you might just pee weather you want to or not)

(4)    Remember, you will get control of your urine stream by “waiting until just before you start gasping for air and then start pushing the urine out”

 

You also mention diarrhea - might that be due to taking Magnesium citrate?  I understand Magnesium Glycinate does not do this.

 

I take L'Theanine for anxiety and listen to youtube meditation, hypnosis, and calm affirmations.

 

See my signature for other supplements for sleep.

 

Hello Bob ,

 

I am glad that breaht holding worked for you , I have also tried it before I was on Klonopin , but havent had much success with it .

 

I dont have L'Theanine now , but as far as I know green tea contains some of it . I will try to drink green tea regulalry again , and will order that supplement later on to give it a try .

 

Going to check the International Paruresis Association right now .

Thank you !

 

So breath hold technique completly cured your Paruresis ?

 

Yes, I can now depend on it to use the bathroom when the need happens.

 

I mean, I still use avoidance when possible.  If I am out with friends, I am still aware of "planning" when I go so I don't have to stand right next to a buddy. 

 

In fact, I only need to use the breath holding technique if it is a problem situation.  For example, if I am in a public place but I am the only person in the bathroom, there is no need for the breath holding business.

 

But I am healed in the sense of, in the worst case (standing right next to someone at a urinal, even someone I know), I can depend on the breath holding technique to be able to go.

I also had Paruresis. In fact, I still have it, and I'm 67! I didn't even know the name of it. Although I can use a public restroom now, it takes me forever to relax enough to urinate. And if I knew the person in the next stall (as in a work situation), forget it. Nothing came out. I was always so envious of people who had no problem in this area. So I can sympathize with both of you!

 

 

Thanks Terry.

You know, it seems related to anxiety in general.  Cannot pee due anxiety of people near by.  Took benzos for anxiety. 

I would never ever recommend nicotine for anyone as I am a fiend for it. But I began smoking again right before I went into W/D. I use e-cigs. It’s definitely more benign than taking more pills and if you ever want to quit nicotine after you’re done and fully recovered from benzos, quitting it and its subsequent W/D will be like a walk in the fucking park.

 

Do whatever you need to do. I’m assuming you’re familiar with nic, and if so, you know that the W/D’s are extremely mild.

 

That being said, nic helped me a lot. And more than anything, it gave me a purpose. When I woke up from a terrible, insomnia-filled sleep during acute W/D, the only thing that got me out of bed was a smoke break. And boom, I was out of bed for the day.

If you are 25 y/old, quitting benzos now is the best choice you could ever go for, straight up. As far as anything for anxiety, short of proper breathing techniques, and other natural tool-box options, there's little out there. I've tried EVERYTHING vit & supp wise; most made it all worse. The only one that maybe psychologically could have made a difference was CBD and frankincense essential oil.. oh, and ginger pills (an anti-inflammatory good for the brain et al). I'm sure if there's something else out there, buddies will surely chime in with healthy advice.

Thank you for the feedback guys !

Yeah breathing techniques , I did so many , that I always conciuous about my breathing which  I dont rly like , feels like a forgot how to breathe naturally .

 

Everywhere you see deep abdominal breathing , but this one usually makes me so dizyy , and induce some bowel movements ,

Mid - upper chest breathing seems to be much better but often then I have too tense muscles .. Airways gets tight in the nose ,

 

I have a sitting job , only i have fat around my stomach area , can it be that my ab muscles are just too weak for belly breathing  ?

 

This is so flustrating that you always in control , any tips to change it back to automatic mode ? 

When you are sitting/standing in position, do some multiplication in your head.  After a couple seconds, you will be able to go freely.  Keep doing the multiplication until you finish.  Once I learned about this technique, I never had another problem again.  It is important to do multiplication that isn't too easy.  Do 11 x 12 and 23 x 9 instead of 2x2 or 3x5 etc. 

I have several things to share with you.

 

First of all, I also struggled with Paruresis.  You might want to google the International Paruresis Association to get some help. 

 

Here is what helps me.  I use what is called the breath holding technique.  It took me a few years to get it working well.  Here are the steps I take when needing to use a public urinal:

(1)    Breath normal before starting (not big gulp of air – just breath normal as you walk up to the urinal)

(2)    When you get to the urinal, exhale 75%, of your air

(3)    After 45sec, you will start to feel temporarily incontinency (like you might just pee weather you want to or not)

(4)    Remember, you will get control of your urine stream by “waiting until just before you start gasping for air and then start pushing the urine out”

 

You also mention diarrhea - might that be due to taking Magnesium citrate?  I understand Magnesium Glycinate does not do this.

 

I take L'Theanine for anxiety and listen to youtube meditation, hypnosis, and calm affirmations.

 

See my signature for other supplements for sleep.

 

Just so you guys know..Mag glycinate causes loose bowels too bc it draws water from your system. At least it did for me....

Hello All ,

 

I am 25 years old now , approximately when I was 10-12 years old I have social phobia , called Paruresis (Shy bladder syndrome) basically I was not able to urinate in public places .

I did all medical check in the years there is no underlying medical condition behind it .  I used to manage it somehow , but obviously it during the years it developed me pretty high levels of anxiety in my body an brain . 3 and half years ago I had a breakdown , got prescribed to Klonopin , which gave me a new life . I have got a new job , I was confident , got a GF , life seemed to be good .

But its time to get off klonopin now , since it doesnt as efffective as it was before , and more side affects are popping up . Also its getting hard to get it nowadays . My doc is quite good , doesnt want to force me , but I want to get off .

 

As klonopin made my phobia much better and managable , but havent vanished completly . So even If I get off klonopin I need some support ways to manage my anxiety .

I try to be mindfull , but we dont live in a perfect word so I cant keep on meditating all day  .

 

Usually what I have : Morning diarrhea , stiff muscles , concious focus on breathing , loss of apetite , lack of focus , too intense reaction to stress , irrational fear .

 

What supplements have helped you to ease anxiety ?

 

 

Nicotine - any smokers here who started to pick up this habit when starting benzo withdraw ? Does it help  ? I am considering some E-cigs as safer way .

Even if its not the healtiest way , would do it rather than taking some pills.

 

 

 

Any other supplement recommendations ?

 

I take :

 

Vitamin C 1000 mg daily - I think it should reduce cortisol levels , so lessens anxiety , personally I can reccommend it .

Magnesium citrate 100 mg  - ocassionally , it does seem to help with muscle stiffnes .

 

Green tea - ?

Vitamin D - ?

B complex - ?

Pure Whey isolate - ?

 

 

On the other hand I try to live healthy with balanced diet , but this anxiety is  in brain for so long and deep it takes a longer time ,

I try to exercise as much as I can , but usually I get tired pretty fast and my muscles star to have a burning sensation . I think becouse of being in flight or fight mode all the time .

So my recovery time is much longer . I also practice deep breathing regularly .

 

Regards ,

Potzz (25/M)

Your current symptoms seem like you are developing tolerance to your medication. You might need to increase or taper but they most likely get worse if nothing is done.

As for fear from using public restroom, inability to pee. I have the same issues, especially in new places or when someone is also in a nearby stall, or on an airplane etc. When I was a kid we often did cross country driving but often no bathrooms along the road. So we picked the woods, or meadow with tall grass a nice nature scenery... Anyways, when I feel I cannot go I just imagine myself back to the meadow, sunshine, warm, peace and I usually manage after a while. I would say think about the comfort of your home or whatever comforts, relaxes you, that might help.