[dilanium]

So our flight leaves in less than a week. I've been having problems with anxiety for about 2 months now. I keep waking up in the middle of the night. Also, the doctor attributes the amount of stress that I'm under for part of the reason that I've caught an infection.

Anyone have any tips for how to deal with this? Due to my infection I'm not allowed to have caffeine or Alcohol, so I can't just drink my worries away. I even went out for a facial and massage yesterday but couldn't sleep through the night last night.

At least tell me I'm not completely insane for this.

[Mels]

pm'ed you

[bilbo baggins]

Hope it all passes soon and anything relaxing has got to be beneficial. The only thing that works for me when I am stressed is exercise! Boring suggestion I know but once you have done it you just feel so much better.
Pity about the lack of alchohol but in the end that is just a temporary solution!

Biblo

[icemaiden]

I was coming home tonight and switched on the radio where Chris Evans had just started his show on BBC Radio 2. He always dedicates it to someone or something. Tonight it was to remembering that "it's where you eventually end up, not how long it takes you to get there". For me, that couldn't be more apt at present, and I get the feeling it might apply to you too. Just think, in a month, you'll be in NZ and will already have been there three weeks.

What a wonderful new chapter in your life ...

[thewoodies]

As ive said on other theads
st johns wort (herbal in boots and health shops)
helps me - im suffering wih stress too - my sympathies - it will be worth it when we get there:D:nice1

[dusk]

i think it's probablyu a good idea to stay off the caffeine and alcohol in any case if you're sufferring from stress, anxiety and having disturbed slkeep patterns the last thing you need is stim,ulants :)

any method you can find to relax - exercise, tv, reading etc may help.
try not to worry too much about waking up in the night as longas you are not staying awake for hours on end, the importnat thing is to get several decent hours sleep in total :)

[Andy&Carol]

Hi Dilanium, not sure if this will help at your stage of the process, but I find a really good song and dance session is a great stress reliever. I can't sing or dance, but hey...

Icemaiden, I heard Chris Evans too, and I had exactly the same thought as you!

Best of luck, C x

[victoria24]

I had my first ever panic attack the other night and can confirm its a vicious mental circle. I find playing guitar works for me when I begin the anxiety stage. am actively seeking a heroin habit also :-)

[ellenmelon]

two pieces of advice i got yesterday when i was having a wee stress:
*breathe
*keep it simple! (harder to put into practice i know)

you're not insane, you're moving halfway across the world! some stress is inevitable.
take care of yourself! :)

[Hejwitch_uk]

Hi there, have posted this before, but Bach Flower Remedies do a 'rescue remedy' that is fantastic for stress/anxiety. Boots do it, as well as Holland and Barratt and many health food shops. It comes in tincture, spray and pastille form and works almost immediately. I recently saw (but haven't tried) a nightime rescue remedy which may be worth a look. It's the only thing that can get me on a plane or through an interview!!!

[marcia]

What it is - your mind is already in NZ - so working on NZ time zone! :D

Joking! Just wanted to say good luck - and hope to see you soon - did you get sorted with a rental?

[JandM]

Liz, sorry to hear you're suffering.

You've sort of got a right to be keyed up. You're doing something really big in your life, which is moving you into the unknown. But you don't need to swallow the experience all in one gulp. Try not to think yourself into the future with all the 'what might happens' and 'what I might do about x'. Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof. We're all only capable of living THIS minute, right NOW, and you know you can deal with what's happening in the present - you're doing it - so concentrate on that. One step at a time is what gets you where you need to go.

As for not sleeping, I'd guess you know some relaxation or meditation techniques. If you don't, now's a good time to learn some, and use those while you lie in bed. The worst thing is to worry and blame yourself for not sleeping: relaxing is nearly as good for you as actual sleep. And when you're really tired, you WILL sleep, even if it's in little snatched naps in the daytime. When you find you're wide awake at night, you can get some relief from the thoughts that chase around only in the small hours by getting up, going into another room and doing something totally different, either a hobby, something useful, or even listing the things that are biting at you. For this last, there's sometimes a feeling that that's them, dealt with, because they're listed. Or else they can show themselves up as totally ridiculous when once they're down in black and white.

All good wishes for feeling lots better soon. (((((())))))

[dilanium]

Thanks everyone. Due to my infection I am hesitant to try any herbal stress remedies as they may aggravate it (it's in a really unfortunate place).

I don't have a rental sorted yet, but do have a place to stay for a few weeks while we work that out. I have set up several appointments to see certain places if they're still available.

Sent out the electronics in the mail today. Things are looking up they really are.

Again thanks everyone for the advice.

[Sam B]

I can remember really well how stressed I was for the last 2 or 3 months before we flew. Churning tummy, brain racing, headaches, and sleep disturbance like I've never experienced before - difficulties getting to sleep, and then waking at 2,3,4am with brain racing and lists shooting around in my head, with no hope of going back to sleep until JUST before the alarm went off for work.

To be honest, nothing really worked that well to calm me down, but it did all stop almost immediately after we arrived - well I started sleeping again at any rate. I did find to-do lists (I had a giant wall chart) helped me, plus it also helped me to be hyper-organised and spend a lot of time in the day ticking off things, packing way too early etc. I needed somewhere to channel all my manic energy.

How can anyone do something as enormous as this and not be stressed? I don't know how I did it now that I look back!

[benhila]

As ive said on other theads
st johns wort (herbal in boots and health shops)
helps me - im suffering wih stress too - my sympathies - it will be worth it when we get there:D:nice1


Just a word of caution, I used St Johns Wort a couple of years ago (I quit smoking at the time, nothing to do with NZ :yes) and after about 6 weeks developed an itchy alergy to it. Also if I recall correctly, it can't be taken along with contraception pills and there may be some other restrictions too.

I had a long period of sleeplessness around our move; I found that rather than fight it relaxing with a book in the small hours can be quite enjoyable.

Hila

[ers99w]

I'm leaving my parent's home in 3 days...but i'm going to stop in Hawaii to visit friends before making the last leg of my journey. I'm extremely stressed right now--it's just caught up to me, and I think I'm coming down with a cold or something like it.

I've started chucking things out of my pre-packed suitcase, and buying other things that I think I'll need down there. It's like I think I'm not going to be able to buy things once I leave the States. My family and friends all want to see me before I go, but there's just not enough time or money...it doesn't help that my family doesn't get along, so they each have to come visit me separately, we can't do a big party and 'get it over with.'

Anyway, I'm just allowing myself to be a little stressed right now--three days isn't a big deal, and hopefully I will have the fore-thought to get things that I'll need. But, after I leave on Saturday for Hawaii, I'm letting my prepping go. NO MORE after that!

As for tips...

--keep a pen and pad on your nightstand so when you wake up thinking of something you can write it down. just let yourself be awake if you need to be.

--give yourself a few set hours to stress and plan, and the rest of the time, do something to distract yourself--watch a movie with friends, go running, whatever. It's important to take time out. it's hard...i know.

that's all i got, but I can commiserate. moving, i think, is supposed to be the number one stress-maker.

[thewoodies]

I have used rescue remedy as well , i had forgotten i had it its good, Just going off to hunt for it:exit

[Kirst&Kev]

[QUOTE=ers99w;220347]

As for tips...

--keep a pen and pad on your nightstand so when you wake up thinking of something you can write it down. just let yourself be awake if you need to be.

--give yourself a few set hours to stress and plan, and the rest of the time, do something to distract yourself--watch a movie with friends, go running, whatever. It's important to take time out. it's hard...i know.

QUOTE]

I fully agree with these tips. I scribble in the dark, and then try to decipher it the following morning! :laugh

I have lists for everything, every aspect of the move has a list/action plan to follow and that helps ease my worries, because then I know I am doing what I can, when I can. Having control over the bits you can control will enable you to feel in control (hope that makes sense!) And then 'let go' the bits you can't.

Having someone to talk to is important. If your friends/family are sick to death of hearing you talk about the move, why not seek a professional? We all need to offload sometimes.

Have you thought about a course of reflexology? Or getting regular massages and not just one-offs?

Best of luck...and please let me know if you find something that works! :yes

Kirstie

[Grey Granite]

Is your mind whizzing round like an olde-fashioned 8-track cassette, never ending, going over and over the same stuff, and you cant 'step out' of your mind-state?

You need 2 things: a pen and a notebook. This works for me every time!

Write down whatever it is that is keeping you awake. The thing that is keeping you awake is the WORRY of forgetting about what you were thinking about.

Initially I just wrote lists, and gradually everything came together on a big spreadsheet. I cribbed the basic sheet from another thread on here, and adapted it to suit Mr Granite and myself.

He doesn't like the list thing - it scares him when he sees so much 'to do'. I love the lists because it means I haven't forgotten anything, and you can tick things off, price things, note websites, bla bla, and its all together!

voila!

See how you get on!

Mr and Mrs Granite (waiting for our medical results and hope to get the LOI returned this week)

[dilanium]

I was fine with getting everything done. I didn't have a long to do list. It was the emotional stress I was having problems with. I has been staying with my mother who was being very passive aggressive because she was so upset and I realised it wasn't helping. My mother and I ended up having a huge fight which eventually brought out why she's so upset (she fears she'll never see me again), and a load of insults.

So I've stayed with my brother for the past two nights and I feel much better.

Still stressed and excited, but doing much better. Thank you everyone for the tips!

[JandM]

So glad you're feeling better, even if you had to go through a bad time to get to that point. Hold onto the good stuff.:yes