Anxiety question

[Guest guest]

My psychiatrist is slowly increasing my Lexapro to combat anxiety and

depression and I'm wondering if anyone has actually experienced it

helping with anxiety?

I also take 100mg of Welbutrin which we are happy with but battling

the anxiety and stessed out feelings of dread with Ativan. For the

last year, I've been takin 1/2 mg of Ativan each day but lately I've

been taking 2 - 3 mg per day and even 4 on really horrible days.

If anyone has dealt with powerful anxiety, would you say Lexapro is

the right drug or are there others to consider?

Thanks,

Tom

[Guest guest]

Try and turn it into a fun thing... ok - babies crying is a harder one, but

say like when the power goes out, make it a mini party. Say every time the

power goes out you guys do something very special that you don't normally

do. In our house- we pull out the sleeping bags and all the flashlights

camp out in the family room - smores over candle light- read stories till

they pass out :-) -Yes sometimes we get through 10-15 stories - but it turns

it into quality fun time where they kind of look forward to power outages.

Does he have a Nintendo or some other battery powered game he really likes.

He could play that while the power is out. You could go in the back yard

and stargaze as most of the lights around you should be out and can really

see them. Explain that years ago - there was no electricity and people had

to use candles and lanterns at night. There were no light switches- no

tv's, no computers, etc etc. Pretend you went back in time to before

electricity...

Thunderstorms - at night we sit with our flashlights on the back porch

(flashlights off- just there for " support " or sometimes they try to " catch "

the lightning with the flashlight beam.) and count the lightning flashes.

If we have power we pop popcorn or if they have been really good - have a

bowl of ice cream, etc. Car washes used to be a huge deal too. So for the

first few we did m & m's and picked all their favorite music on the mp3 and

crank it up - sang and danced around in the car... they are allowed to take

seatbelts off and just be silly while we go through.

Make a " special time box " that has things in it you can pull out during these

times. Let him pick a really cool flashlight at the store to stash in.

Then maybe add a favorite blanket, favorite book, bag of jelly beans,

(whatever he thinks is special) or maybe pick up a special surprise for him

and stash it until the next " event " If he really likes soccer, maybe a

little soccer ball or a magazine on soccer or if he likes to draw some new

art supplies etc....

Just do something totally different that you usually don't have time for or

put off, and make a point to do those things during these times. Make

chocolate chip cookies. Play a game. Turn it into a positive memory for him,

and then even far into the future - he will be able to take these positive

memories and associate them with times he may be afraid and you are not

there.

For transitions, try to explain what is going to happen " to the best of your

knowledge " ahead of time. Get into great detail if you can. Be very

positive about everything and try to show excitement rather than

nervousness. You may be rubbing off on him too if you are expecting it to be

difficult, he may be picking up on that. Even if it is a not so positive

thing... Like going to the doctor to have blood drawn or worse... with

Linsey I explain everything that is going to happen, (the doctors think I am

nuts until they see how well she does :-) and even tell her if it might be a

little " uncomfortable' Like if she is getting blood drawn I tell her it

will be a little pinch and you have to hold REALLLLLLLY still. And I will

give her a little pinch in the arm where they draw the blood and say - see -

that wasn't so bad - you are so tough. (I usually don't say brave as that

seems to put in their mind that there is something to be afraid of to begin

with for many kids, unless it was a situation that was really brave.) Then

tell her what her reward will be for doing a good job... Watch a movie, get

ice cream, computer time on a school night - wii game - etc...

For the baby crying - try to build on his empathy. Ask him in a very matter

of fact way - Boy- that baby is CRANKY.... why do you think he is crying?

Give him some ideas if he doesn't know - hungry - teething - stinky diaper -

make up crazy reasons.. ask him if he remembers being that little etc etc...

Hope this helps a little.

Re: Anxiety Question

All kids go through this. It's up to the parent to be calm and rational and

try not to pass on our own fears to our children. For example, as a child

and adult, I was deathly afraid of snakes and spiders. When my eldest son

was born, I knew I had to get over such irrational fears if I were going to

rear a courageous son. It was hard work, but I did it. I also explained to

my children what to do during blackouts and thunderstorms. They always had a

flashlight by their beds, which helped.

granny

On Thu, Apr 7, 2011 at 9:42 AM, blaise_25053 <blaise_25053@...> wrote:

>

>

> Mostly a lurker here. My son, , is 18. Last night the electric was

> off due to a tree falling on the line and didn't come on until 10 this

> morning. lost it. Non-stop talking, couldn't come down from his

> anxiety. Was up at 2am til exhaustion set it at 5am. Then up at 7am and

been

> up since, still talking. I've noticed anxiety levels are elevated in other

> situations also, eg: thunderstorms, unknown transitions, crying babies,

etc.

> It's taking it's toll on the family. We have a doctor appointment today.

> Gonna mention it. Just wondering if anybody else has this problems.

> Barb (

>

>

>

--

*Not for ourselves, but for the world were we born.*

[Guest guest]

Forgot to add… for some things too, like the baby crying, for some kids it is

more sensory noise issue. Carry around a pair – or several :0) of those foam

ear plugs, then if you are in that situation, you can still talk about it,

obviously a little more closely so he can hear you, but at least he will be able

to think about what you are talking about instead of “just make the noise

stop!!†- Which I can totally empathize with right now having a sick and

teething 6 month old. ;-) But this will help too if you find yourself at a

really noisy restaurant or somewhere with unexpected noise issues… like

outside the airport – loud jets… or even a lot of these events that groups

host for special needs often have loud music – dj- pa system that is just a

bit overwhelming…

From: B. [mailto:bonniand@...]

Sent: Saturday, April 09, 2011 1:12 AM

; e Baranowski

Subject: SPAM-LOW: Re: FW: Anxiety Question

So many great ideas! Thank you!

--- El sáb 9-abr-11, e Baranowski <krisib@...>

escribió:

De: e Baranowski <krisib@...>

Asunto: FW: Anxiety Question

A:

Fecha: sábado, 9 de abril de 2011, 1:20

Try and turn it into a fun thing... ok - babies crying is a harder one, but

say like when the power goes out, make it a mini party. Say every time the

power goes out you guys do something very special that you don't normally

do. In our house- we pull out the sleeping bags and all the flashlights

camp out in the family room - smores over candle light- read stories till

they pass out :-) -Yes sometimes we get through 10-15 stories - but it turns

it into quality fun time where they kind of look forward to power outages.

Does he have a Nintendo or some other battery powered game he really likes.

He could play that while the power is out. You could go in the back yard

and stargaze as most of the lights around you should be out and can really

see them. Explain that years ago - there was no electricity and people had

to use candles and lanterns at night. There were no light switches- no

tv's, no computers, etc etc. Pretend you went back in time to before

electricity...

Thunderstorms - at night we sit with our flashlights on the back porch

(flashlights off- just there for " support " or sometimes they try to " catch "

the lightning with the flashlight beam.) and count the lightning flashes.

If we have power we pop popcorn or if they have been really good - have a

bowl of ice cream, etc. Car washes used to be a huge deal too. So for the

first few we did m & m's and picked all their favorite music on the mp3 and

crank it up - sang and danced around in the car... they are allowed to take

seatbelts off and just be silly while we go through.

Make a " special time box " that has things in it you can pull out during these

times. Let him pick a really cool flashlight at the store to stash in.

Then maybe add a favorite blanket, favorite book, bag of jelly beans,

(whatever he thinks is special) or maybe pick up a special surprise for him

and stash it until the next " event " If he really likes soccer, maybe a

little soccer ball or a magazine on soccer or if he likes to draw some new

art supplies etc....

Just do something totally different that you usually don't have time for or

put off, and make a point to do those things during these times. Make

chocolate chip cookies. Play a game. Turn it into a positive memory for him,

and then even far into the future - he will be able to take these positive

memories and associate them with times he may be afraid and you are not

there.

For transitions, try to explain what is going to happen " to the best of your

knowledge " ahead of time. Get into great detail if you can. Be very

positive about everything and try to show excitement rather than

nervousness. You may be rubbing off on him too if you are expecting it to be

difficult, he may be picking up on that. Even if it is a not so positive

thing... Like going to the doctor to have blood drawn or worse... with

Linsey I explain everything that is going to happen, (the doctors think I am

nuts until they see how well she does :-) and even tell her if it might be a

little " uncomfortable' Like if she is getting blood drawn I tell her it

will be a little pinch and you have to hold REALLLLLLLY still. And I will

give her a little pinch in the arm where they draw the blood and say - see -

that wasn't so bad - you are so tough. (I usually don't say brave as that

seems to put in their mind that there is something to be afraid of to begin

with for many kids, unless it was a situation that was really brave.) Then

tell her what her reward will be for doing a good job... Watch a movie, get

ice cream, computer time on a school night - wii game - etc...

For the baby crying - try to build on his empathy. Ask him in a very matter

of fact way - Boy- that baby is CRANKY.... why do you think he is crying?

Give him some ideas if he doesn't know - hungry - teething - stinky diaper -

make up crazy reasons.. ask him if he remembers being that little etc etc...

Hope this helps a little.

Re: Anxiety Question

All kids go through this. It's up to the parent to be calm and rational and

try not to pass on our own fears to our children. For example, as a child

and adult, I was deathly afraid of snakes and spiders. When my eldest son

was born, I knew I had to get over such irrational fears if I were going to

rear a courageous son. It was hard work, but I did it. I also explained to

my children what to do during blackouts and thunderstorms. They always had a

flashlight by their beds, which helped.

granny

On Thu, Apr 7, 2011 at 9:42 AM, blaise_25053 <blaise_25053@...> wrote:

>

>

> Mostly a lurker here. My son, , is 18. Last night the electric was

> off due to a tree falling on the line and didn't come on until 10 this

> morning. lost it. Non-stop talking, couldn't come down from his

> anxiety. Was up at 2am til exhaustion set it at 5am. Then up at 7am and

been

> up since, still talking. I've noticed anxiety levels are elevated in other

> situations also, eg: thunderstorms, unknown transitions, crying babies,

etc.

> It's taking it's toll on the family. We have a doctor appointment today.

> Gonna mention it. Just wondering if anybody else has this problems.

> Barb (

>

>

>

--

*Not for ourselves, but for the world were we born.*