Alternatives to Anti-depressants

[gmichael66]

Hi all,
Still having my breathing issues and am trying real hard to be strong. Medication-wise I take a Xanax daily in the am .25
My therapist put me om Cymbalta in March, I hated the side effects and really would like to not have to be on an antidepressant.
Busparone before that in Feb gave me really bad hallucinations and terrible thoughts I couldnt get out of my head.
I dont feel I am "depresed" I only get sad and upset when I cant consistently take a deep breath and fear my life is over and will never be normal "normal" again.

Does anyone have any suggestions for alternatives for meds ??
Any and all input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Geoffrey

[Paxiled]

Again, I strongly urge you learn breathing techniques.  You can learn them from therapists, you can learn them from yoga teachers, you can learn them from Buddhist practitioners, but learn them.  

[gmichael66]

Thanks guys.
I recently came across the term" cronic hyperventilation" I checked it out and although I dont get the tingling and/or any other side effects, I noticed that when I hold of talking that deep breath for a few seconds, I get the result I want, at work today, I actually had just about no problem at all and it seems if I miss it, I yawn and it comes, Then this afternoon, I seemed to have lost it a bit..Im so confused bur I know I will find a way to beat this.....

Thanks again
Geoffrey

[cj29]

I wholeheartedly agree with Paxiled in that physical activity can do wonders for anxiety/depression.  Regular exercise has played an integral part in my dealing with anxiety.  Furthermore, counseling is essential in my opinion...gaining the long term knowledge is extremely important in confronting it and thriving with it...keep us posted!

[Paxiled]

From your prior posts, it seems you're getting progressively better with what you're already doing.  That suggests your weight has become a problem.  I assume you've had your heart checked out and all that.  My opinion, and it's only that, is to avoid the antidepressants, as they all have side effects and problems getting off them, so if you are finding improvement already without them that's best.  Keep them as a last resort.  I would personally try meditation and acupuncture; as for the chiropractor, they find subluxations in everyone everywhere, that doesn't necessarily mean anything.  It might, it might not.  Acupuncture, on the other hand, will try to regulate your whole system, and meditation is all about regularizing breathing.  But it sounds like your main problem is letting yourself get quite out of shape, so diet and a slowly increasing exercise program combined with breathing exercises sound like a better option for you than very strong drugs not designed to treat breathing problems.