[Sad&Bipolar]

Why does anxiety accompany depression? Isn't the pain of depression enough? I hurt so much and the anxiety makes it 10 times worse.

I am on vacation very far from home. We have done a lot car traveling, and the anxiety makes me feel like I want to crawl out of my skin. It is so hard to sit in the car for the long rides.

I keep saying to myself, "Hurry, hurry, I need to get home NOW!" But the car keeps going and going, the driver taking the scenic routes and giving us so information about the history of New York. I beg him to take the fastest route home instead.

Night traveling, he does take the shorter routes, but we are usually in the car for over an hour. I feel like I will die before we reach our destination. On Friday night, we took a long trip from Long Beach, NY to Lake Ronkonkoma on Long Island to see my very dear cousins. The weather was dreary, and extremely windy on the way there.

The long ride home was in torrential rain. The driver could barely see out the windshield, and the wipers were on full speed. Under those conditions, the anxiety is understandable.

It is when the weather is gorgeous, no wind, no rain, blue skies, sun, that the anxiety does not make sense. Yet it will not leave me alone. I hate these feelings. They are with me day and night. Even when we are in the apartment relaxing, the anxiety level is very high. And the coping skills my T teaches me just don't work~the feelings will not subside.

Anyone else have anxiety problems? Any hints on overcoming them? I am so concerned about these feelings raging on Tuesday when we have a 5 hour plane ride back to California. How will I not go absolutely crazy on the plane?

Any suggestions will be most welcome. Thank you to all who are on this site and take the time to read this. Bless everyone on PC.

[shabur]

I really understand what you are feeling. When I was first diagnosed it was depression and anxiety/panic disorder. I feel completely hopeless, helpless, unable to sleep, unable to eat, unable to concentrate, ...

I had gallstones, which I am told is more painful than childbirth. I told my tdoc I would rather go through that pain again than the pain I feel from my depression and anxiety. I think what makes it so tough is you can't point to a place and say it hurts here, you can't have surgery to remove it and it can take several starts and stops, and combinations of medications to find the right medication and then there is the wait for that medication to take effect. I started to cut believing that if I bled the pain would bleed out of me. Obviously, it didn't.

When I was first diagnosed I was traveling a lot for business. It got so bad I lost it one day at work and ended up taking a leave of absence. Fortunately I was in the office that day. When I returned I asked my pdoc to put me on a no overnight travel restriction because I was so fearful of having an anxiety/panic attack while away from home. It wasn't that I didn't have attacks while at home, but I at least knew my surroundings and that did give me some comfort versus being alone in a hotel room.

I later learned some techniques to help. Here are a few I've used - all include closing my eyes.

* Close your eyes, picture your perfect place and just breathe. My perfect place is standing on a beach on a warm summer morning. I feel the warmth of a slight breeze as I watch the sunrise, and I feel light - my mental health intact. And I just breathe fresh air.

* With your eyes closed, count up to and down from 100 using different numbers.

* With my eyes closed I picture a flickering candle flame as I work to control my breath. There are phone apps for candle flames and fireplaces.

* Can you have a conversation with your friend who's driving about something you enjoy?

When worse comes to worse, I have Xanax that I take regularly, but can also take on an as needed basis every 4 hours.

There is a therapy - Dialectical Behavioral Therapy - that teaches you how to manage these times. You can get the workbook online and/or find a group that focuses on this therapy. I found it to be very helpful.

Good luck.

[Thunder Bow]

The trip was not what you liked, thus it is no wonder you had anxiety. You were only wanting to be at home, which is only natural in this case. Thus your anxiety was perfectly normal. Next time do your own vacation, do it they way you like it.

[monkeybrains21]

Hi friend, I know how it feels to use to fly like that. I've had flights totaling 13hrs with 3 Landings and 3takeoffs. What I did wasn't right nor would I ever dream of doing it today. But now a days I take either valerian root or Passion flower. They completely calm me and allow me to just sit there and listen to music or read. I know u leave NY tonight. I wish u safe travel and message me when u get in.

It will be ok. Ur husband is with u and try and keep ur mind on something else. Maybe u have a fundraiser event coming up. Or maybe there's a special restaurant or meal u like. Or maybe a museum a park anything to keep ur mind off the plane. I
My anxiety is awful when I'm not in control. I have to drive and plan and decide route. If I don't it gets bad.

I await ur message. I hope all works out.

[Sad&Bipolar]

Thank you all for your replies.

The list of coping skills is great.

The vacation was actually quite wonderful. I have come to the conclusion that the anxiety is a side-affect of Latuda because the anxiety began after I increased to the dosage. This is a new med for me. It still did not make it any easier to bear. It had no relation to the vacation was one of my best experiences. I was with my daughter who has lived in New York since 2008. It was comforting to spend 12 days with her and her fiance. Her fiance was the driver, by the way, and he is actually an excellent driver.

The plane ride there was during the time when almost all states were having terrible storms, and the plane went through constant turbulance. It was a difficult flight. The flight back home was smooth sailing, and we even landed 20 minutes early. However, early the next morning after landing, I ended up in the ER and was admitted to a psych unit because the anxiety and depression got so bad. Today, I got out of the hospital and have to find a way to address the anxiety. My Pdoc is on vacation so it is going to be hard to get an Rx for Lorazapam, which I need badly. To make it worse, this is a 3day holiday weekend, so I cannot even contact my regular MD until Tuesday (it is now Saturday night).

Your very wonderful and thoughtful replies mean a lot to me. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Viv.