anxiety disorder
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Dirty_Jeeper
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I always get the whole anxiety thing going each time I set out. Usually when a big city and crowds are involved. I can't do the city thing. Gotta have the calm and quiet of the less traveled spaces. Seems to be my only solution for it. Try a less crowded and calmer setting to get started and ease your way in. Spent most of my life in and around Los Angeles. I think it's my minds way of saying enough is enough.Some take naturally to the city, but not me. Los Angeles was a temporary stop in 1975 for one year. I finally left for good the beginning of this year! That was a long year!<div><br></div><div>I can usually be found where the pavement ends and the true solitude begins!</div>
We're not stealthy but we park for the night in all kinds of places (right now we're in a forest hunt camp) and we did experience some anxiety when we first started this wandering life. After a while with nothing bad ever happening we stopped worrying. Now we sleep good no matter where we are - city street ,truck stop ,rest area ,Walmart ,deep in the woods , pull out along the road. You'll be fine.<br>
cyndi
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<P>I, too, suffer from anxiety and panic attacks. I work my way through them with deep breathing excersizes and positive self-talk. Ha! I pretend I am talking to my dog...that's better, right? </P><P>Like Dirty Jeeper, i avoid cities and crowded place, when possible.<BR><BR>I can't remember if you have a dog or other type a pet, but they can be a HUGE help when refocusing when one feels anxiety. That's above and beyond the sense of security I feel knowing that if my dog isn't alarmed, I have no need to be.<BR></P>
twokniveskatie
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hey, Templedog-<div><br></div><div>i have an anxiety disorder that, at one time in my life, prevented me from going anywhere unfamiliar, if not impossible to leave my home at all. eyebrows everywhere around here hovered at the hairline when i first announced i was heading cross-country with the dog. in a van. with virtually no money 
</div><div><br></div><div>i was anxious and uncertain and found great comfort in the friends and support group i found through Vandwellers and groups like this. i had also learned to face my fears by going right through them....that intense brief discomfort was highly preferrable to long-term ongoing anxiety.</div><div><br></div><div>my therapist was the first person to recommend "road therapy". it turns out that i have much less anxiety when i am on the road, and am happiest in my van....my small, secure nest, where i feel safer than anywhere else in the world. </div><div><br></div><div>i still have anxiety at times....not often, and more likely to be related to sleeping in a house than being on the road. there is nothing out there that can defeat me any worse than my fears </div><div><br></div><div>kate</div>
</div><div><br></div><div>i was anxious and uncertain and found great comfort in the friends and support group i found through Vandwellers and groups like this. i had also learned to face my fears by going right through them....that intense brief discomfort was highly preferrable to long-term ongoing anxiety.</div><div><br></div><div>my therapist was the first person to recommend "road therapy". it turns out that i have much less anxiety when i am on the road, and am happiest in my van....my small, secure nest, where i feel safer than anywhere else in the world. </div><div><br></div><div>i still have anxiety at times....not often, and more likely to be related to sleeping in a house than being on the road. there is nothing out there that can defeat me any worse than my fears </div><div><br></div><div>kate</div>
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<P>wow you have hit the nail on the head with me,, i to have anxiety disorder's. but i have came a long way since we started rving, mostly local but we have a goal to hit the hy way and by ways. thx for posting your inter thoughts on how you cope with anxiety's.</P>
WanderingRonin
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Thanks for sharing. I too know my limits. I don't want to venture out far without being surrounded by familiar things in my vehicle. Thus, I don't really want to leave the city yet until I have a full setup and it is fully tested and vetted. That's my comfort level right now. I am sure I will get there eventually so I am not rushing through it. Right now, I am still half and half... half living in my van and half living in my office cubicle (cooking and eating there). Once I have more knowledge and better understanding of what I can and cannot cook on the road with limited resources, I may venture out farther.<img border="0" align="absmiddle" src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/sleep.gif">
G
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Temple Dog, stuff is only scary, 'hard' or intimidating.... until you do it. Once you've done <i>anything</i> a bunch of times, it turns into "same old, same old" or "same crap, different pile".<br><br>Stun guns - Electricity loves a path. If the person you're zapping has/gets a hold on you, you can get zapped, too. Taser guns are as expensive as hand guns, so maybe some Bear Spray (also expensive) or a can of Wasp Killer (cheap and legal).<br><br>Many states have "stand your ground" laws (the right to use deadly force) which include in & around your vehicle. A variation of the castle law.<br><br>Cyndi - "pretend" to talk to the dog? LOL, riiiight. <br><br>
karl
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There are flower essences that can aid in getting through those times....yes, personal experience....<br>Bachs is one- their product that helps in times of high stress is called Rescue Remedy. <br>Bachs is preserved with alchohol, there are other brands for those of us who totally abstain (there is only a small amount- a few drops at a time in water or under the tongue) that are preserved in vinegar. I have a friend who markets her own plant essences using vinegar . <br>check it out....<br>YMMV<br><br>
dragonflyinthesky
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<P>karl, no link came thru</P>
They sell Rescue remedy for pets. They sell it here at all the pet stores. I know it works because I had a customer whose dog was stressed out when anyone left the house. The owner was bitten 3 times cause the dog would go crazy if you left. They started Rescue remedy and the dog calmed down so much!! Its amazing.</div>
karl
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dragonflyinthesky said:
<p style="margin: 0px;"><font size="3" face="Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Bach Rescue remedy also available in non-alcohol Rescue Pastilles...not exactly a lozenge...more ***** bear consistancy. </font></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font size="3" face="Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The yellow tin they come in caused me a bit of agrivation til I read the open/close instructions on the back! couldn't get the little bugger to stay closed.</font></p>
MaximumRide
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I have despression and anexty, i have found meds clear up both. but there are a lot of natural remidies too.<br>
G
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I suffer from bipolar and a pretty severe anxiety disorder with a mix of PTSD and borderline personality disorder. It took me 17 years of being off all drugs and alcohol...zero... not a little toke or a little sleeping pill or the occasional beer or glass of wine....zero drugs or alcohol and working a 12 step program to get to the point where it could be accurately diagnosed and now a small daily dose of a med has leveled the playing field for me and I believe I experience life fairly realistically.<br><br>I can still feel fear or sadness or joy or anger, etc. but it is almost always in proportion to what is happening around me. If I feel something that is way out of line with the present circumstance, I know what to do...it is usually something I have not dealt with in my own psyche and I need to uncover it and look at it and let it go.<br><br>Along the way, a presence....call it the Tao or Source...has been shown me and I remind myself many times a day to ask it for help and mercy and I give thanks to it continously. It has never let me down...<br><br>Once I was able to love the dragon, I find I became sensitive to much more and to not get sidetracked but what is not true. In my mind as well as around me. It is a daily practice though and some days go much better than others.<br><br>Living in the old me, I was totally incapable of travelling outside the US.....Fear kept me trapped in my own inner drama...I carried a weapon at all times, I never sat in a restaurant with my back to the door. Now all of that is absurd to me and I am able to freely go anywhere, any time I want to...to me, that is true freedom...! I am so grateful....<br>Bri<br><br>
