Birth Control Causing Anxiety? Posted: 04-01-04 11:27am
I've noticed that my severe panic and
anxiety attacks return once I go back on
birth control pills. Has anyone else had
this experience? My doctor told me it
was unlikely but the correlation is too
much for me to pass off as nothing. Does
anyone know about this as I can't find any
literature on the subject! Thanks!
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Haley
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 23 Feb 2004 Posts: 122
Posted: 04-03-04 06:03am
I think it is probably just coincidental
and you may just be looking for a
connection as panic is caused by your
thoughts and it is natural to look for
things when you are stuck in that mode.
I'm going into the 11th week of my 12-week
cbt group and weaning off drugs and
feeling great. The two books we are using
in my group are really good and I would
recommend them both highly: been there,
done that? Do this! By sam obitz and
mastery of your anxiety and panic-third
edition by michelle craske and david
barlow. Cbt is amazing and the best cure
for panic disorder.
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sora
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Apr 2004 Posts: 4
Posted: 04-03-04 08:49am
Thanks haley, I think you're right. I do
think my mood becomes slightly more
depressed when i'm on the pill, which
generates my panic attacks. I just saw a
new therapist the other day and we're
going to work with the anxiety and phobia
workbook and cognitive behavior therapy.
I've been doing tons of research because
i've tried the pills, etc. But nothing
works permanently. This seems to be the
best route so i'm glad to hear that it's
really working for other people! I've
also just begun meditating (which is
difficult) but i'm gonna keep giving it a
try. Thanks!
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qt3
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 14 Nov 2003 Posts: 264
Posted: 04-03-04 14:55pm
sora
wrote:
thanks haley, I think you're
right. I do think my mood becomes
slightly more depressed when i'm on the
pill, which generates my panic attacks.
I just saw a new therapist the other day
and we're going to work with the anxiety
and phobia workbook and cognitive behavior
therapy. I've been doing tons of
research because i've tried the pills,
etc. But nothing works permanently.
This seems to be the best route so i'm
glad to hear that it's really working for
other people! I've also just begun
meditating (which is difficult) but i'm
gonna keep giving it a try.
Thanks!
hi sora-
good for you getting involved in cbt :d
it changed my life after years of
struggling with meds and therapists in a
remarkably short period of time and my
life just keeps getting better and better.
I didn't use the workbook haley mentioned
but I have heard it is good and I loved
the obitz book and recommend it to people
all the time as it really breaks cbt down
and gets you motivated. Remeber the more
you apply yourself to the tools the faster
and deeper the relief you will achieve
with cbt! I still do the tea form
exercise several times a week to this day
take care!
Q
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sora
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Apr 2004 Posts: 4
Posted: 04-04-04 01:15am
Thank you. Do you have any helpful tips
for me to use? I've just seen my new
therapist that i'm going to work with this
week but I need some sort of self-saving
exercise to get through the week. I'm
only 22 and am graduating from college in
two months. All of a sudden my attacks
have come back in full force and I need to
get through school first. Thanks for
your help!
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Haley
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 23 Feb 2004 Posts: 122
Posted: 04-06-04 10:12am
Hi sora, i'm glad you are trying cbt, yea!
If you work at the tools you will be glad
you did. Did you read the sam obitz book
yet? I would focus on the tools in the
middle section of it and on trying to
catch the thinking errors you are making
and then putting them in a tea form and
trying to counter them. Even if you can
just begin to catch the thoughts and
identify the errors that would be really
good at this point
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2ferano
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 23 Dec 2003 Posts: 3717
Posted: 04-07-04 15:33pm
You may want to look into changing birth
control pills. The hormonal levels in
the pill you are currently taking could be
causing or worsening your anxiety. It
would be worth a shot.
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qt3
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 14 Nov 2003 Posts: 264
Posted: 04-11-04 04:09am
sora
wrote:
thank you. Do you have
any helpful tips for me to use? I've
just seen my new therapist that i'm going
to work with this week but I need some
sort of self-saving exercise to get
through the week. I'm only 22 and am
graduating from college in two months.
All of a sudden my attacks have come back
in full force and I need to get through
school first. Thanks for your
help!
you're welcome :d as for helpful hints.
Be on the lookout for thinking errors you
are making the more you catch the more you
can counter and the quicker you will
achieve your desired results. The tea
form was the most important exercise for
me in my recovery and I still do it
several times a week to this day and
whenever I am stressing about anything.
It is an exercise that all you need to do
it are a piece of paper and a pen. You
draw two lines down the middle of the page
and label the one on the left thoughts,
the one in the middle errors and the final
column answer. Then you write the
thoughts that you catch that are keeping
you down in the first column, identify the
thinking errors you are making in the
second column and then answer them with a
more objective thought in the final
column. It's not easy at first but you'll
get it and it will pay didvidends for the
rest of your life once you do
let me know if I can be of any further
help?
