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How to help a friend with anxiety disorder?

My friend has been suffering from anxiety disorder for several years now. He has been given meds to control it but sometimes it doesn't help him. I want to help him whenever he has an attack but I don't know how or what to tell him. All I have been doing is change the topic from his anxiety attack to another interesting topic so hopefully he would forget about it. It works sometimes but other times it doesn't work because he can't listen to me and he thinks that all people are bad or something really bad will happen. I want to help him get through this disorder but I don't know how. Thanks for anyone who'll give me an advice.

He's seeing a neurologist and they don't talk about the cause of his anxiety. The neurologist said he got his anxiety from his Dad.

What I do when he's having an attack is ask him how he's feeling and tell him to pray to God, then I ask him other questions so his mind will be changed to another topic.

Posted 10 months ago

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Other 10 Answers to How to help a friend with anxiety disorder?

underconstruction	Posted Jan 1st, 2009 at 1:14AM I think the best thing you can do is to think before you speak. Only a person who has truly walked on those shoes understand that feeling, and sometimes the comments of well intentioned friends hurt more and cause more anxiety than relief. Telling a person he/she should get over that quickly , or putting another person as an example of how to do it, only increases the hopelessness and anxiety at times. Getting the sufferer to admit he suffers from it and accept that there is nothing wrong with it, will send the person in a path of self discovery and hopefully treatment that will make his life livable again. Rated: +2Vote for this!
dancer2011	Posted Feb 5th, 2009 at 5:58PM As a fellow anxiety sufferer, I think the best thing you can do is be there for him and listen. I know I can get that way because I feel that I have no one who will listen to me. Tell him that you are always there for him no matter what and continue being the great friend to him that I know you are. Marriedyetalone-I really like your advice. I will try that the next time I feel a panic attack coming on. Rated: +1Vote for this!
wakeupkaren	Posted Feb 5th, 2009 at 5:58PM just want to back up marriedyetalone's advice... i try the breathing exercise whenever i begin to get stressed out or have anxiety myself. i attempt to do this at the onset of anxiety, rather than waiting for it to propel and worsen. as soon as my thoughts start racing, or i'm over stimulated with thoughts that could cause an on set, i mentally force myself to focus on my breathing. i don't even bother with counts. my only thoughts are "breathe in....... breathe out..... breathe in..... breathe out...." until my mind is cleared and i feel calm. :) i repeat as necessary. ;) Rated: +1Vote for this!
lovingangel	Posted Feb 5th, 2009 at 5:58PM That is the perfect answer. I certainly should work, it's the only definite way I know. Rated: +1Vote for this!
flourlady111	Posted Feb 5th, 2009 at 5:58PM i think just be his true friend. therapy would be nice also. i have a friend who gets them all the time. just be there for him. also have the dr. see if he might need other meds. if they are not working. Rated: +1Vote for this!
Duana	Posted Feb 5th, 2009 at 5:58PM I don't know about your friend, but the reason anxiety is hard for me is because I believe the anxious thoughts and interpretations of reality that my anxiety feeds me. If this is the same for your friend, the best thing you can do is be a stable force for him. Don't ignore it or try to change the topic- find out what is bothering him, and give him a more stable picture. After his anxiety attack he will thank you. Right now there is probably a part of him that doesn't believe these are anxiety attacks. He may believe that the way he sees the world during these attacks is real. It will take him time to realize that they are just attacks, and that he is safe. Rated: +1Vote for this!
beanette	Posted Feb 5th, 2009 at 5:58PM Well, as a person who suffered from "anxiety" as well, people here gave you some good advice. I want to add to that. I read an interesting book a few months ago called "Don't Drink your Milk" and in the book they began finding that people with supposed anxiety/depression problems really had underlying food allergies/sensitivities that would clear up after removing these food items. Maybe you could help your friend out by telling them this? Doing some research about alternative health could be a wonderful thing for your friend. I only wish I could've had friends who knew about these things because it could've saved me some years of suffering. Rated: +1Vote for this!
evelynesimon	Posted Feb 5th, 2009 at 5:58PM Trying to ignore the anxiety and the reasons behind them will only make them last another few years. My anxiety attacks stopped after I alllowed the initial feelings (prior to the attack) to surface as what they were: I ended upwith an unexpected feeling that I had never felt before, a very precise mixture of anger and dissapointment that I had been repressing for one reason or the other. Once I let those feelings surface, (let myself feel them), the attacks left. Rated: +1Vote for this!
Jeffc	Posted Jan 2nd, 2009 at 11:51PM Due to my stressful situations and anxiety. I read up on this topic also. They say if you inhale oranges or Peppermint They say it stimulates the chemicals in Youre Brain try it. Rated: +1Vote for this!
Carlucybug	Posted Feb 5th, 2009 at 5:58PM I suffer from anxiety and have had anxiety related seizures. I know the best thing anyone can do for me is give me my space and not get to huggy or anything. Also talking about something totally out of left field, like funny or crazy makes me go what? then I can get my focus off of the anxiety attack and start to recover. He may also want to check into changing meds or upping his dosage maybe he is becoming resistant to his meds. Rated: +1Vote for this!

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