I think i’m an insomniac. I can’t fall asleep until 4 am each night. I always get super anxious at night. Is this something worth going to the doctor over? Do i have insomnia?

Chosen Answer:

You may take a trip to the doctor but pre-diagnosing yourself may be part of the problem. Only a doctor can actually tell you what the problem is. Try getting ready for bed earlier, cut off the tv an hour before you intend to fall asleep. I usually get a book and read until I get sleepy.

Eating before can also cause you to lose sleep.

The less thoughts you have running through your mind the better your body starts to relax. Try that first and if that doesn’t count then you should see a doctor.
by:
on: 24th July 11

I am a financially stable 20 year old. A little over a month ago, I had an unexplained miscarriage when I was 7 weeks pregnant. My fiance and I want to try and conceive again, but I am scared I will not be able to deal with the constant panic and anxiety. I feel like everytime I go to the bathroom I will be expecting to see blood.

Chosen Answer:

Sorry about your loss. I am sure it is devastating.

If pregnant again, you will most certainly check for blood everytime you go to the washroom, at least for the first trimester. There is no doubt about that (after one miscarriage, my pregnant wife still does even though last pregnancy was a success). After that you can relax. There is nothing that you can do to get around this – still need to be mentally prepare to accept that miscarriage can happen and do everything in your power to reduce risks.

Good luck.
by: Face T
on: 23rd July 09

I notice that I have insomnia which is something that I have never dealt with before and it is making it hard for me to go to sleep. I have heard that Sleeping pills are bad because they make the body dependent on them later on but I feel like I have a hard time going to sleep.

Chosen Answer:

benadryl (diphenhydramine) is a great drug to help you sleep. It is sold over the counter (OTC) in most pharmacies. The best part is that it is non-habit forming, so your body will not get dependent on it.

Another drug to try is melatonin. Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone in the body. Taking it medicinally can help with insomnia. Do not take melatonin if you have high blood pressure (can raise BP), diabetes (can raise blood sugar), depression (can make symptoms worse), or a seizure disorder (can potentiate seizures)

One more option could be Valerian root extract. This has been shown to help treat insomnia. Do not drink alcohol with this drug, or other CNS depressants because they could increase each others effect in the body
by:
on: 24th October 11

I have Social anxiety. My doctor prescribed Zoloft which is a depression medicine. I am just curious, how does the same medicine also treats social anxiety???

Chosen Answer:

They go hand in hand. You get anxious about something and after some time it becomes depressed over that same thing. In both cases, when the nerve ends send messages to the next nerve thru a gap, these messages don’t get there, they sort of bounce back to their origin. This is what’s called a chemical imbalance in the brain. These messages are sent via chemicals ‘jumping’ from one nerve end to the other. If they don’t get ‘absorbed’ by the second nerve, we become depressed and probably more anxious about more things in life.
by: FlowersYes
on: 11th December 09

I’ve been clinically depressed and stricken with associated insomnia for over 10 years. I’ve tried a lot of different medications, yet nothing seems to work consistently (or the side effects are too severe). I can’t financially afford any type of therapy.

What else can I try at this point?
I do run about an hour a day, yet it has no effect at all.

Chosen Answer:

Try Effexor XR; it is the best antidepressant medication out there to date. I am on a low dose and feel great.
If you don’t like this or a lot of other medications then try Vitamin therapy. Nutrients linked to cure depression are:
All B vitamins, especially B 6.
Folic Acid (also found in dark, leafy greens)
Vitamin C paired with Calcium
Taurine (slows down racing thoughts associated with some depression sufferers)

Edit: Running, walking, or any kind of exercise has no effect on people with clinical depression.
by:
on: 28th November 11

I’ve had an anxiety disorder for as long as I can remember. But it is gradually getting worse, to the point where the simplest things will cause me to have a panic attack. It’s taking over my life. Every therapist I’ve ever tried seeing has always just given me prescription after prescription. I want to know if any of you have this problem- if so, how do you deal with it? How do you calm yourself down? How do you cope with it?

Chosen Answer:

Ive had an anxiety disorder for a while as well, and I deal with it without prescription drugs.

Basically, to deal with my panic attacks and general anxiety I will do one of 3 things.

1. If possible, I will take some time to sit alone and meditate, it really helps to clear your mind. I cannot suggest this technique more – it takes a while to get to the point where you can meditate easily, but it works better than any medication I’ve ever taken.

2. Write/Talk out my fears at that time. I will write down or say out loud what is causing my anxiety, and the more I read or say them, the stupider they seem.

3. Talk to someone about it. In the past I used to talk to my therapist about my issues, and it did really help, but now that I don’t have health insurance, I talk to my girlfriend about it, and it really helps me out.

I hope these techniques can help you, they really help me.

I really dislike prescriptions and medications in general, I believe they cause more problems than they fix.
by: googlegot
on: 1st November 09

I have to rely on taking 2 pills a day to keep my anxiety under control and it’s starting to pi55 me off! I really want to get better naturally, but i am finding it hard. If i don’t take the pills i end up getting anxiety symptoms again and again, so please tell me how i control anxiety naturally? I hate the symptoms of anxiety as well and it’s horrible that i have to suffer with this.

Chosen Answer:

You can control anxiety attacks without drugs. Try the simple 4 step (Observe, Label, Watch and Move On) method. Watch the video in the source box below to see how it is applied.
by: Chiam
on: 3rd July 10

I am a 25 year old female. I have not been to a doctor so I have no been diagnosed with depression, but I know I have it. I have been dealing with low self esteem, weight problems which all led to my depression. I am quite frankly still a student and cannot afford the expensive therapy sessions. What are some ways I can do to get over my depression without taking medicine?

Chosen Answer:

Just know that on the basis of all depression is a FEAR of something. You probably have something in your mind like – ‘i will go crazy’, or ‘i will fail’ or ‘die’ or smth like that. Just know that because u feel depressed, it is normal to be pessimistic, in fact all your fears will NOT materialize.

Don’t pay too much attention to your mood, all people have bad moods, just know that it is impossible to feel good all the time, just like feeling bad all the time, u will come out of it, but not at once.

Take a step at a time, 2 hours of good mood per day, 3 hours, 4, 5, …one week of good mood, etc. Dont expect that one day you will wake up and it will disappear, it will take time and its normal. There is not magic pill from depression, but still, 8 in 10 people get out of it forever, and WHY NOT YOU. You need to convince yourself.

U see depression is like a circle, you ‘FEEL BAD because U ARE FEELING BAD’, get out of that circle, just say to yourself, I feel bad by i will do something to feel better (go for a walk, talk to friends, wathc movie, etc.), just like other people do, they feel bad and they do something to feel batter. dont get stuck ok.
by: PAMIRtheROOF
on: 21st October 10

I’m just wondering whether pundits and economists called it a “recession” or a “downturn” or other such euphemisms until long after it was over, when it was finally acknowledged to be a depression, or whether they called it a global depression right from the start.

Chosen Answer:

The Oxford Dictionary of 20th Century words says the term ‘depression’ for a severe slump in economic activity was first used in 1934. The term ‘depression’ was first used in 1793 in an economic sense, but it was not used alone, instead it was used in expressions such as “depression of trade.” Not sure when the the adjective “great” was added to describe the 1930′s depression, but I would guess it was probably added years after it had ended. The word depression is an old word, dating back to the 14th century.
by: JR
on: 18th December 08

I have done some research and have discovered that, when taken over a short period of time, Ritalin has depression as a “less common” side effect but, when taken over a longer period of time, depression is a more common side effect. The person who is currently using Ritalin is a boy so his mood swings are not the effect of PMS. What is the likelihood that depression and mood swings are the result of taking Ritalin? Is it rational to connect the two?

Chosen Answer:

by:
on: 1st January 70