The evening hours

[Greenmama]

Hey everyone...

When evening hits, around the four oclock hour, I start getting shakey and anxious. I get irritable and snappish and I end up taking xanax. I hate the thought of taking xanax everyday, is it really bad to do? It is a small dose, only .25 but I feel like I need to.

Why the evening hours? Im not sure what triggers it. Maybe its because I have all three children in the evening alone for a few hours. Maybe because it's almost dark - which is scary for me.

Who knows...any words of wisdom?

jo

[Zahra]

Same thing with me, I just end up drinking a bottle of wine. Xanax is probably cheaper, if you have insurance. And medically supervised, I assume, so you could do worse.

[Lindamomof7]

Hi Greenmama

That has been happening to me and I have been going for an ativan. But, My pdoc says to watch out for my sugar. It seems low sugar can give us similar symptons as anxiety. So that is what I am doing now, being consious of the sugar level in the afternoon. Now if I can just get my chest pains to cooperate, I can see if it is a sugar problem. Off to the cardiologist this morning!!

[Aaron.X.C]

I tend to get "shaky" and paranoid at 7:30ish PM and it just gets worse as the night goes on. Keep a weapon by you, you'll feel better to know your safe, in a place where your children don't know, and then by you when they head out. I as a 17 yr old, I just keep a knife with me.

[Guest ASchwartz]

Greenmomma, Aaron and All,

It is not that Zanax is "bad" it is that people become physically dependent on it, in other words, addicted. The idea is to speak to your doctor about it. Do you have a psychiatrist and are you in psychotherapy? There are ways that you can learn to reduce anxiety by using such things as meditation, exercise, deep breathing and exercise. Yes, it does seem that, when you are alone with the children in the evening you experience increased stress resulting in increased anxiety and that is in the evening. That is a time when many people feel worse: for some people its the AM.

Aaron, I do not recommend that you hide a knife. You really need to get yourself into psychotherapy. Having a weapon is not a healthy way to handle problems.

The same for drinking: it does no good and can cause more problems.

What does everyone think?

Allan:)

[Aaron.X.C]

My parent have never let me go into therapy even after I saw my next door neighbors, who were friends, dead because they committed suicide, they all hanged themselves. I'd have to wait till I get out of high school my parents aren't going to let me. :EDIT: Yes I guess having a stockpile of knives and other weapons is not a good thing. I'm trained in weaponry, my parents got me into weapons training, as well as karate(Ex-Brown belt) taught me how to use a knife, as well as some other weapons. What exactly is psychotherapy anyways in your own words?

[Greenmama]

Allen...

I do have a therapist and a nurse practitioner who is my medication manager, I think she calls herself a psychopharmacologist or something like that???

I do have made scattered throughout because I am paranoid, and I have a dog who is protective but still, even if I am out of the house it happens.

Today, for instance, I was picking up my daughter about 3:45 and I got shakey, my hands were literally shaking, my stomach started to hurt, my heart pounding out of my chest, I was getting dizzy, I felt so sick I just wanted to be home, in bed reading my book. Which I was, within a half hour. Still, I wasn't feeling great, even in my "safe place."

I did not take a xanax tonight, and I am proud of that. I do NOT want to become dependant on any drug. I also think the amitriptylin is attributting to the shakiness and heart racing. I am seeing my nurse prac this coming week to switch meds.

I have so much anxiety, and I know the deep breathing and all that, but in the midst of it all, I just think of how much I want to be normal, not have these mental problems, I get more anxious and it gets worse. So sad.