Dear Shae03,

I suffered from anxiety in the past, it got so bad that I developed strong stomach aches. But circumstances changed and nowadays the stomach aches are gone, so I’m here to say that yes, it can get better again. My circumstances may change again in the future and stress might return for me, still I wanted to write to you what helped me so far.

It’s a step by step process. Don’t expect for things to get better over night (especially the antidepressants need time before they start making a difference, but your doctor probably told you that). Small steps are the key. Your therapist and the antidepressants are part of these steps. What also helped me in the past was „autogenic training“. It’s a relaxation technique. If you can find a course where they offer autogenic training, maybe try it out. I found that it helped my brain to switch off for at least a short while from the permanent state of alarm that it was in. Otherwise I think you already found a lot of good ideas yourself. I would only add „get enough rest“, „do things for myself“ and „be patient with myself“ to the list.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 1 month ago by Peppermint.