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EDIT: Thanks for all of the suggestions folks, they're greatly appreciated.
I'm worried I may have some kind of anxiety disorder. For the last few months I've found it very hard to relax, and almost always feel tense and on edge. I don't (or rather, can't) enjoy most of the things I used to enjoy. Even when I'm spending time with my friends or a girl I'm dating, I feel tense and can't let myself relax. I don't look forward to anything. When I'm in work I'm bored out of my mind, when I get home I do nothing to pass the time. My sex drive is virtually nonexistent.
What I've tried so far:
Cutting out caffeine: I didn't drink any caffeine for an entire month. Now I'm back on it but drinking less than I was before I cut it out completely.
Reducing alcohol intake: I was probably drinking too much during Covid. For the last few months I've been trying to keep my non-social drinking to a minimum and not to overdo it when I drink socially
Meditation: I've been doing guided meditation once a day for the last two weeks, using www.tarabrach.com as a resource
Talk therapy: I was seeing a therapist once a week from July until two weeks ago (I had to pause the sessions as I changed jobs which meant a change in insurance provider). The therapy wasn't specifically about this issue, but the issue did come up in the sessions
Exercise: I got into running during Covid and still run once or twice a week. I cycle to work every day (provided it's not raining).
Leisure activities: I try to read from a corporeal book every day.
None of the above seems to have helped much, if at all. Maybe once every two weeks I'll experience a day where I'm able to just completely relax and unwind - but there doesn't seem to be any obvious rhyme, reason, or pattern to when these days strike, at least as far as I can see.
Any suggestions for how to deal with this are welcome. Ideally I would prefer not to resort to psychopharmaceuticals, as I've been prescribed antidepressants and antipsychotics in the past, and found the gains rather meagre compared to the brutality of the side effects.
How’s your digestion? Any IBS symptoms? Sometimes our micro biome influences our emotions and mood and we don’t even recognize it. You could try eating more probiotic foods like kefir.
Exercise 1-2 times a week isn’t a very high “dose” for anxiety. You need to up that to 5 times a week, for at least 40 minutes of moderate (HR 130 or greater) intensity.
Is this a mood thing as well? You say you don’t oook forward to anything: could this be related to the seasons? Maybe get a SAD lamp.
, try some breathing exercises. Box breathing is pretty good. See if that helps.
Take magnesium and vitamin D. Most people are deficient and magnesium has definite anxiolytic effects .
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