Antidepressants

At first I was thinking I should talk about antidepressants in my previous blog entry ("Sedatives", which was supposed to be called differently), but than I realized that I should divide the subject of medication help into two. Than I realized that not only pills help with sedation or depression. So the first division talks about sedatives - means to calm down and help stave off and moderate the attacks, the second division is about antidepressants, and this group doesn't include only pills either.

When suffering from panic attacks and anxiety, bad mood is one of those side effects, which isn't very important when the illness begins, but becomes an issue when it progresses. The main reason is that the attacks themselves are less and less frightening, the feelings are more and more subdued, as we adapt to our new condition, try to cope, live with it and accept it. Those are very right things to happen, as the less we are sensitized about the anxiety and panic attack, the more we avoid acute ones, and the more we are giving our nerves a chance to rest and recuperate. The depression snicks in during minutes of despair, during hours of dwelling, during endless research of the condition and sad realization that there is some hidden power in our body preventing us from living our normal life, from being happy, content and hopeful. It's especially bad after setbacks, when we think that the attacks left for good just to strike with new vengeance and ruthlessness. Some of the attacks may be brought by extremely depressive thoughts, since being tired and sensitized we tend to get upset much easier than before.

Doctors like to prescribe antidepressants, especially the group responsible for regulating serotonin intake by the brain. There were some studies showing those pills are helpful and they indeed are. Not for everybody, some people, like me have resistance to them. In my case I could not tolerate antidepressant drug, I felt so much worse taking it, when I stopped, I was able to look at my condition with new eyes. I realized that it wasn't so bad after all, and that I was able to cope better in an absence of those pills. So in a ironic way antidepressants helped me to progress by actually making me feel worse. Apart from expected side effects like increased anxiety and agitation, I felt some of the symptoms listed in drug pamphlet as dangerous and requiring immediate attention. From what I understood I may have suffered from serotonin syndrome, but my doctor never told me it was that, anyways, I felt like losing my concentration, I struggled with simple tasks (sorting socks in laundry basket seemed like solving complex differential equations), and being generally quite smart with quick reaction and sharp thinking I was overwhelmed. On top of it, the agitation was too much, I got tremors, sweating and couldn't sleep at all. As a sleep aid my doctor gave me another antidepressant, from different group in a dosage when it's considered sedative, and I could sleep no more than 2-3 hours in a row experiencing heat waves at night and grogginess in the morning. I was dehydrated and drank so much water my lips cracked (it was during winter). I had to stop both pills and it took me about two weeks to return to the way I felt before starting them.

Antidepressant pills are very complicated synthetic formulas, they intended to affect the brain, one of the least understood and the most complex organ in our bodies. There are much more simple and safe ways to improve your mood and I should talk about them too. You'll have to realize that those ways require more effort from you than just popping the pill out of bottle and taking it with a gulp of water. It is proven by scientific research that aerobic activity may very well substitute the drugs. It is advised to have such uncompetitive activity for at least 10 minutes a day. The simplest form is running or walking fast, but anything that increases the pulse to about 120-130 beats per minutes should do. To help you with that try exercising on a tread mill, some of them can measure your pulse and you'll know how you are supposed to feel during such exercise. Doing it regularly you'll notice that the mood improves dramatically, but one caution should  be taken anyway. One of my triggers for anxiety attack was the chocking, I would feel like I cannot breath and fear I'll stop breathing. So when the heart rate increases and I start breathing more frequently this feeling is right there. So for me it was always a hard time to relax after such exercise, but after my breath normalized I would feel much better. If you think there is no time for fast pace walking or running, think again. If you have to commute to work, walk fast to your train or bus, walk instead of taking a subway. For example you can always get off the bus one stop or two before you normally do and walk the rest. You'll see that it's easy to include such exercise into your daily routine. If you commute by car, leave your car two or three blocks away, walk or run on your lunch break. I've noticed that bike commuters generally are more upbeat at work than driving colleagues, it must be an exercise improving their mood, making them happier people.

Yoga is one of the best exercises, and it is a great way to improve your mood. It is also may become your new way of life, interesting and rewarding hobby, your friend and companion. Doing yoga in group may help to make new friends, and many people come to yoga because they had various health issues, so there is a good chance you can meet people who once suffered from anxiety and panic attacks. Apart from being a key component in relaxation and mindfulness technique, it is very rewarding activity. Notice how better you can stretch each time, how better becomes your control over breathing, how more resilient your mind becomes while coping with comfortable discomfort of your yoga routine. Yoga allows you to massage your internal organs, back bends and twists are especially good at that. As a matter of fact you can emphasize poses which work on kidney's a area of your body which basically helps to normalize the functioning of adrenal glands, which are partly responsible for excessive adrenalin in your body. Other poses help with lightheadedness and other symptoms. Do yoga in group, under supervision of experienced yoga trainer, the benefits are endless, and enjoyment is guaranteed.

Laughter is another great way to improve mood, but admittedly its very hard to laugh when sad thoughts are overwhelming. One other problem is when our nerves are extremely sensitized it is very hard to cope under even slight stimulation such as an episode of favorite comedy show. Give it a try, it's best to watch your absolutely favorite comedy, something that always made you laugh, something with good association. From my experience I found that American shows work better, as they are usually very up-beat, not complicated, light and easily digestible. British shows are not exactly helpful, while they are usually wittier, sharper and more rich compared with their American counterparts, the subjects they use may be disturbing, the scenes are long and require thought and concentration (two things which are penalizing our tired brain) and sets sometimes claustrophobic. So put away your favorite copy of Holy Grail, watch a teen comedy, you'll be able to enjoy IT Crowd and even Mighty Boosh when you feel better.