i need help with my…"addiction"
Question:
Hi Andrew, I had the same problem when I was taking Xanax. And when the anxiety came back, I had to keep taking MORE to get relief. I slept all the time and gained 40 lbs. I got great relief from my OCD by taking Anafranil, I’m now on a low maintenance dose. For Bipolar I am taking the Omega-3. It’s not a miracle solution, but it seems to take away the intensity of the mania and depression. Exercise has also helped me a lot. Hobie
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – i seem to have quite a bit of a problem with my automatic need for my anti-anexity pills (i think its atarax or something). as soon as i start to feel on the downward spiral of depression or anexity, i automaticly pop several 25mg pills to knock me out. i have tried to overcome the depression and anexity but the only other short term fix is self mutilation (cutting). last night i knocked myself out and i woke up today feeling oh-so-drugged. the people at my school (i go to out-patient care school) were a little suspicious of my mood and alerted my social worker. I just do not know what to tell him, the fact that i have been abusing my pills. Can anyone here provide some insight for other healthy ways of coping with my moods without cutting or taking pills. i just don’t know what to do andrew
Response:
i seem to have quite a bit of a problem with my automatic need for my anti-anexity pills (i think its atarax or something). as soon as i start to feel on the downward spiral of depression or anexity, i automaticly pop several 25mg pills to knock me out. i have tried to overcome the depression and anexity but the only other short term fix is self mutilation (cutting). last night i knocked myself out and i woke up today feeling oh-so-drugged. the people at my school (i go to out-patient care school) were a little suspicious of my mood and alerted my social worker. I just do not know what to tell him, the fact that i have been abusing my pills. Can anyone here provide some insight for other healthy ways of coping with my moods without cutting or taking pills. i just don’t know what to do andrew
Response:
12 step groups are excellent for addictions and/or problems such as you describe in your post. If you’ve not given them a try, make it to a meeting as soon as possible. Find someone there and tell them what’s been going on with you. There are also internet resources available, I’ve listed some links below. There are also NA help lines, I think there is an 800 line now. You may or may not be addicted, who knows. The things discussed and learned in these meetings will help you a great deal. -Johann NA meeting locator: http://portaltools.na.org/portaltools/MeetingLoc NA basic text online: http://www.syix.com/mleahey/Meeting/lit/text.htm Other NA recovery sites: http://www.netmegs.com/na-nbg/linkother.html
Response:
etched permanently into the ether: – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -i seem to have quite a bit of a problem with my automatic need for my anti-anexity pills (i think its atarax or something). as soon as i start to feel on the downward spiral of depression or anexity, i automaticly pop several 25mg pills to knock me out. i have tried to overcome the depression and anexity but the only other short term fix is self mutilation (cutting). last night i knocked myself out and i woke up today feeling oh-so-drugged. the people at my school (i go to out-patient care school) were a little suspicious of my mood and alerted my social worker. I just do not know what to tell him, the fact that i have been abusing my pills. Can anyone here provide some insight for other healthy ways of coping with my moods without cutting or taking pills. i just don’t know what to do andrew
What you describe is pretty classic for addiction. You need to seek help. Who prescribed them for you? At what dose? Most medications for bipolar are NOT addicting. Ativan is for anxiety, not for mood stabilization. Seek help from your doctor, social worker, anyone you trust to help you. You need help tapering off the Ativan and changing to more appropriate medications. JMO, Nancy
Response:
You probably need medical help to taper off the meds, but you also need to learn to deal with anxiety with less drugs. Counseling can help. I’ve gotten some great tips from my therapist. Some of them are just cliches – but they seem to mean more coming at just the right moment from someone I respect. There is also a book that has helped me a lot, called "The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook". It teaches multiple techniques for dealing with anxiety, and with it I’ve been able to reduce my klonapin usage so that it is primarily a sleep aid. When I have anxiety, I use deep breathing, self-talk, and meditation to reduce it without drugs. Diaphramic breathing is an absolute lifesaver. I can use it anytime I start to feel anxious, and it seriously reduces anxiety levels. Meditations is a terrific way of reducing long-term tension as well as short-term anxiety. BTW, it sounds as if you know this, but using anti-anxiety meds for depression is dangerous. I know how hard it is to deal with depression, but there are better options for dealing with it than avoiding it using anti-anxiety drugs. Knocking yourself out to avoid feelings is not only drug abuse – it’s dangerous. I had a friend die because he took a few too many pills. His death was ruled a suicide, but most people who knew him thought that he didn’t plan on dying, he just succumbed to the temptation of escaping his problems with drugs one too many times. Cutting isn’t a "way of coping with moods", it’s a sickness in and of itself. It sounds as if you are getting medical treatment. Hiding the extent of the problem will only make that treatment less effective. You have to judge whether it’s worse to admit the problem to your social worker and get help, or try to live with it. I sounds to me as if you’re on a dangerous path, and need help. Diane
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – i seem to have quite a bit of a problem with my automatic need for my anti-anexity pills (i think its atarax or something). as soon as i start to feel on the downward spiral of depression or anexity, i automaticly pop several 25mg pills to knock me out. i have tried to overcome the depression and anexity but the only other short term fix is self mutilation (cutting). last night i knocked myself out and i woke up today feeling oh-so-drugged. the people at my school (i go to out-patient care school) were a little suspicious of my mood and alerted my social worker. I just do not know what to tell him, the fact that i have been abusing my pills. Can anyone here provide some insight for other healthy ways of coping with my moods without cutting or taking pills. i just don’t know what to do andrew
