Things to help ward off Anxiety

I have been experiencing anxiety and panic attacks for about 15 years now. They started when my son was around 2 years old. My panic attacks just came out of the blue. I could be standing in a grocery store lineup or having lunch with friends at a restaurant. I did not know what they were at first so it frightened me so badly. I thought I was going crazy and there was one point where I ended up in the hospital emergency positively sure I was dying. The doctor in emergency gave me a pill and I calmed down. There was a point where it was totally debilitating and I could not even handle watching television and didn't want to leave the house. I went to my family doctor and she prescribed me an anti-depressant. I didn't really know anything about anti-depressants at the time. I was put on Zoloft. It seemed to help curb the attacks but did not cure me of them. I was on Zoloft for a couple of years and then switched to the generic brand of it. I gained weight which doesn't help with anxiety and depression by the way. I stayed on anti-depressants for about 6 years give or take a few months. I decided to come off them on my own. It wasn't easy, it was in fact nightmarish. I had tons of withdrawal symptoms, shaking, nightmares, mood-swings you name it. It took me approximately 8 weeks to get off of them. Since then I have looked into many alternative methods to help with anxiety and even to this day it's an ongoing process. I have just recently had to take a step back and reevaluate my life, work and living situation. These are things I'm doing to help myself at this time: 1.) Writing a blog;o) 2.) Meditation/Deep breathing 3.) Exercise 4.) Doing the things I love more often including watching lots of comedies because laughter is very healing. Focusing on things that I have always wanted to learn. I am learning French and guitar and I find when I focus on either of these things I don't feel anxious. I'm going to start learning Qigong as well because I've heard of all its health benefits. Also, listening to relaxation music or music that is upbeat and positive is very helpful when going through a tough time. 5.) Healthy eating and cutting down on caffeine. 6.) EFT- Emotional Freedom Technique and Touch for Health. These 2 methods of getting the body and mind back into balance have been tremendously helpful for me. These are just some things that are helpful in curbing panic and anxiety without the use of conventional anti-depressants, there are many more and I'm always open to suggestions and learning new techniques. Well, now it's time to go and practice some French. ;o)