Quote From: david80127You mentioned that you are anxious and have panic attacks. I associate this with fear. Is that too simple or is it accurate? Do you know what you are fearful of? When I was having my manic episodes, I have had four major ones in the past three years resulting in hospitalizations, my first one or two episodes had intense anxiety/pyschosis associated with it. My fear was of dying. Episode three and four did not have anxiety or psychosis, as I learned not to be fearful of death, that I have eternal life, thanks be to God. Yes, my spiritual faith has deepened and grown to a point which helps me manage my BP, but I still HAVE to take my meds
Staying on your meds is the most important part of phych treatment. Mental illness is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Medications help to get the balance of chemicals back to where it should be. If you go off of your meds when you feel better, you are just asking for trouble.
I suffer from panic attacks...stemming from childhood abuse...fear of running short of money before running short of bills...fear of the death of a family member...bad dreams...many causes. I have a box that I keep by my bed...it's my "worry box". When I start having racing thoughts, I write down what the worry is on a small piece of paper...just a few words about it. Then, I slip the paper into the box and let the worry go. When I have time to deal with the worries the next day, I pray to God for His wisdom and guidance, then I open the box and deal rationally with each worry and try to find solutions, or decide that I wasted a worry on something not that important, or that some things are out of my control, and I just have to trust in God to lead me on the right path and to be there when I need somebody to lean on.
I also take meds at bedtime that calm anxiety and help me to sleep. A well-rested mind is more likely to be able to deal with daily stressors. I take a combination of meds for the bipolar disorder too. Without the meds...I'd be off the deep end in a heartbeat. Been there, done that.
