I learned a lesson about when to take my 'as needed' anxiety medication.

[Siwsan]

Yesterday morning I had one of those 'out of the blue' anxiety attacks, probably triggered by something in my subconscious. I took 1/2 a tablet of my anti anxiety medication which generally relaxes me in to a short nap. All went as it should.

Last night there was still a shadow of anxiety but I didn't think it was enough to warrant taking the other half of the tablet. I was wrong. I woke up after just 3 hours of sleep and had a hard time falling back to sleep. When I finally did I had a horrible nightmare. This is just the 2nd one I've had since starting on this regime of medication. I woke up absolutely soaked in sweat.

Lesson learned. I dealt with my anxiety, unaided, for years. During that time I barely slept and suffered from pretty close to nightly nightmares. I have to be careful to not fall back in to that pattern, especially during this holiday season. I'm not someone who looks forward to Christmas but I do have my family over for Christmas Eve dinner. Hopefully they won't give me a hard time about my preferring to spend the next day with my kid cats, watching anything but Christmas movies.

[Dennis Donovan]

1. I take Ativan (which is prescribed "as-needed" ) on a regimen of 4 a day

I can't say our issues with anxiety are similar, but I've found if I take Ativan 4x a day, I don't have panic attacks as much, and they're more manageable when they do happen. My Dr said it was ok to use it as a maintenance med.

Of course, if your anxiety med makes you sleep, I guess you can't take them 4 times a day.

Anyhow, I feel for ya - fellow sufferer here.

[Hope22]

2. Be easy with yourself.

Don’t give up spending Christmas Day the way you want to. My sweet neighbor always said she wanted to be alone Christmas Day and we would try and talk her out of it. In her last years we gave up the fight and she was as happy a a cozy kitten to stay at home! Your peeps may never understand but I do. Enjoy the quiet day!💗💗🫣🙏🏼

[multigraincracker]

3. This has helped me.

Google Fu*k that Sh*t meditation.
I think we are all anxious now so don’t feel alone.

[Schlocko]

4. Do Whatever You Need to Survive

Don’t know the medicine you’re on or the potential side effects, but I always double-pump the Sertreline when I feel myself coming apart. And yes, it helps. Of late I switched my dose from evening to morning because I was drifting off to sweet dreams and waking up to thoughts of death and decay. That helped, too. And don’t try to muscle through the holidays, they can be brutal. As you seem to have realized, mandatory merriment makes everything worse. Hang in there.