The following are just ideas that some members have found to be especially helpful in dealing with the problems encountered in withdrawal.
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"Adding structure -- a backbone -- to my days has helped immensely with my anxiety symptoms. Toward the end of my taper, working a bit from home, but mostly not working, I found myself waking to a formless hell, one that only temporarily resolved when I'd leave the house to walk the dog or keep an appointment.
After I CTed, I realized this could not continue, because the minute I'd sit still, the anxiety would be on me. I crept back to working, starting by doing some work from home, then taking a part-time construction job, then moving back into a full-time office job. Having somewhere to be -- and things to do -- during the day has kept the focus off my symptoms.
As one friend put it, "I had to be somewhere," referring to the early morning terror to which she'd awaken after her final CT. She took a 5 am shift at a bakery so she could get out of the house during those awful months.
If you're not able to work, you can do other things:
 | Arrange to meet with friends or have them visit you at home |
| Force yourself to take three walks a day at fixed hours, as a way to break up the dead space |
| Set a specific time each day to do moderate exercise |
| Set aside time to watch your favorite TV shows (knowing that South Park came on nightly at 10:30 p.m. got me through the early months) |
| Set aside time to work on specific anxiety-reduction skills once you feel you're ready. I try to meditate every morning and evening, for instance. |
| Prepare and cook each meal |
| Volunteer" |
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