Hi JulieRN,
I've been thinking about you and your situation. Im praying for you and I know it will all work out. I hope you can begin to trust that is the case so your anxiety will be reduced.
I realize you work in Western Medicine and are frustrated you're not taking any medications, but have you considered taking supplements to help you?
I wasn't able to work or drive for over a year and I'm in a bad financial place as a result of it too - so I understand how scary it can be.
But I'm sure you know that experts say anxiety can increase the symptoms and it might help you to try something rather than wait for a bureaucracy to give you the assistance that we all know you deserve. We all know that the red tape can be exceedingly frustrating!! I became very angry because I wasn't able to even read or do any kind of paperwork and because of the brain injury the amount of important paperwork I needed to fill out increased and I had no one to help me with it after the first couple of months. I think it is a catch 22 - it makes me feel like the system is broken. Why do they insist that ill people do more work when it's harder for them to do so? But I digress...
Some supplements that might help you to reduce the anxiety are:
-St John's Wort
-Passionflower
-Kava Kava
-Gaba
-HTP-5
-Valerian
I am not sure at what level your functioning is, but during my recovery I have not been able to do a lot of things I used to do due to the injury, so these next few things are catch as catch can:
-Tai Chi
-Yoga (relaxing forms of it like Iyangar)
-Meditation
-Taking a hot bath in silence with a relaxing aromatherapy candle
-Coloring or another form of art therapy, anything that will get your mind in a zen state and away from focusing on what's going on with you that you're worried about
-Taking walks or exercising
-Enjoying a quiet park or nature around your house or yard
Try to be grateful for what you *can* do and try not to focus on what your impairments are.
We all know you're not lazy or trying not to work!
Please take care!