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How to Beat Stress and Anxiety

prashants.in

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Re: How to Beat Stress and Anxiety

#91

Post by arboles »

loeg wrote: post #40
arboles wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of these isn't as wholesome as the others

Benadryl (diphenhydramine)? It probably shouldn't be used for prolonged periods of time (associated with cognitive decline and dementia among the elderly).

Yeah the anticholinergic action has some association with dementia. Lots of medications have some kind of "Anticholinergic burden", drugs that cause low-level cognitive impairment, there's a list.

But I'm almost sure Benadryl isn't good for stress management on the simple basis that functioning cholinergic signaling is the inhibitory agent of the sympathetic nervous system. On any degree of anticholinergic effect you're more of in a flight-or-flight humor. This is apparent on acute effect (overdose,) the anticholinergic toxidrome symptomatology mnemonic goes like this: red as a beet, blind as a bat, mad as hatter, hot as a hare, dry as a bone - all something you could get with amphetamine (a dominant sympathetic nervous system). Do you reckon amphetamine relaxing?

Re: How to Beat Stress and Anxiety

#92

Post by watwut »

now__what wrote: post #51
prashantsengar wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am an introvert myself and practiced a new habit of calling one person each day in the lockdown. Has helped me in forming deep friendships, make new friends, and overcoming my shyness. Recommend 10/10 Here is a short essay I wrote recently. Will probably write a blog post soon too. https://twitter.com/prashanttgs/status/1616815440667480071

As a fellow introvert, this sounds insurmountably painful. How did you have something to talk about every night? How did you even find that many people to fit into a rotation like that without feeling like you were annoying them? I have so many questions. If you do write that blog post, I'd love to read it. Especially the "how."

Introversion and social anxiety are two different things. I securities about how people see you are third. The original person was introvert.

People talk every day with their spouses and kids. They talk everyday with their collegues or schoolmates. They talk every day with peer group in hobby or sport if they have involved one.

My point here is not that you have to do it or everyone have to do it. But the more you are with people who communicate, the easier it is to find topics. Because it is skill learned by observation and by practicing.

Re: How to Beat Stress and Anxiety

#93

Post by OokeyPookey »

Frankly exercise doensn't help, although Stress helps me exercise harder.

I saw a comment about being honest with ones' self.

The best thing for me?

Gin. Lots of it.

And then lots of dancing around the flat to whatever music I have on shuffle.

Re: How to Beat Stress and Anxiety

#94

Post by wruza »

lukem567 wrote: post #21

I highly recommend the book 'Dare to Stop Anxiety and Panic Attacks' ( https://www.amazon.com/Dare-Anxiety-Stop-Panic-Attacks/dp/09... ). It emphasizes accepting and allowing feelings of anxiety instead of actively resisting them, breaking the cycle in which worry about worsening anxiety only leads to its intensification.

To add to that, if you have developed panic attacks, sometimes (e.g. at 7/10 anxiety) it’s easier to just escalate it so all the pressure explodes rather than hissing indefinitely.

Re: How to Beat Stress and Anxiety

#95

Post by mrburkins »

cmgbhm wrote: post #50
pokler wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To point 1, this almost feels like catch-22. While sleep may be a way to recover from stress, stress is probably the single thing that impacts my sleep the most (aside from alcohol consumption, which is much easier to control). Does anyone have any help or tips here?

Exercise and make it easy to do. I got a peloton bike and just made it a habit in the morning. I then eased into yoga at night. When Covid hit, 4 kids home/remote job/divorce all hit at once. I have to do something hard enough that my brain can shut off worrying about the thing. Lizard brain has to be active enough to think threat is gone and shut off. The hardest days for me are intentional rest days/weeks where I h…

Each one of those could be an insurmountable challenge for most people. I’m glad you were (seemingly) able to pull through.

Re: How to Beat Stress and Anxiety

#97

Post by naasking »

focusedone wrote: post #26
pokler wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To point 1, this almost feels like catch-22. While sleep may be a way to recover from stress, stress is probably the single thing that impacts my sleep the most (aside from alcohol consumption, which is much easier to control). Does anyone have any help or tips here?

I had a year-long stretch averaging 4 hours of sleep daily that was extremely difficult. Tried all of the regular remedies: diet, exercise, reading, prayer, habit changes. My doctor prescribed a medicine to help me calm down at night. That was the first thing that actually helped. That kept going until I left a very stressful job and landed in a healthy environment with a different employer. I was able to stop the me…

I was going to suggest that sleeping pills are a good way to re-establish good sleeping patterns. Set a strict sleep schedule, and then take the pills for a few days to a week in that schedule. Once you manage to sleep on this strict schedule for a few days your body's rhythms typically realign so you get sleepy on that schedule. Don't use the pills for extended periods though.

Re: How to Beat Stress and Anxiety

#98

Post by naasking »

hydraxis wrote: post #49
lofaszvanitt wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you do hard physical exercise (weight lifting, forget running), until you are dead tired, and stop drinking stimulants (coffee et al) then you will have good sleep. So simple.

It was like that for me, until it wasn't. I am still weight lifting but my sleep is much worse if I push too much. Sleep issues are simple only until you have them.

Weight lifting in the evenings can do that because you're increasing stress hormone output. Try switching to morning or afternoon workouts.

Re: How to Beat Stress and Anxiety

#99

Post by naasking »

loeg wrote: post #40
arboles wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of these isn't as wholesome as the others

Benadryl (diphenhydramine)? It probably shouldn't be used for prolonged periods of time (associated with cognitive decline and dementia among the elderly).

Associated with cognitive decline could just indicate that the people using it are more sickly or have more trouble sleeping, both of which are more strongly correlated with cognitive decline.

Re: How to Beat Stress and Anxiety

#100

Post by bradlys »

focusedone wrote: post #26
pokler wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To point 1, this almost feels like catch-22. While sleep may be a way to recover from stress, stress is probably the single thing that impacts my sleep the most (aside from alcohol consumption, which is much easier to control). Does anyone have any help or tips here?

I had a year-long stretch averaging 4 hours of sleep daily that was extremely difficult. Tried all of the regular remedies: diet, exercise, reading, prayer, habit changes. My doctor prescribed a medicine to help me calm down at night. That was the first thing that actually helped. That kept going until I left a very stressful job and landed in a healthy environment with a different employer. I was able to stop the me…

tl;dr - no, there are no solutions. If you cannot fix the source of stress then you’re fucked.

I also agree with the sentiment. Anytime my stress levels rise - my sleep goes back to shit. Is there a solution? Nope!

If you cannot fix the source of stress then you need to learn to embrace the madness. Learn to just accept you’re not getting more than 5 hours of sleep a night and you’ll be better off for it - instead of sitting in bed for 8-10 hours everyday and majority of it wishing you were asleep. Embrace the 2am fall asleep crash and the 6am wake up hustle.

Truly is a nightmare to live through but that’s life.

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