For anyone with anxiety issues. And for those that don't, an

brittanyjeanxo

I've heard from a lot of people that anxiety isn't a "real" issue, or that it's not a physical issue, only a psychiatric one. While technically it is true that it's not purely physical, it can damn sure cause a lot of physical problems. I personally suffer from very severe anxiety, and for a long time it stopped me from doing things because I couldn't. For almost the entire month of July starting July 1st, of this year, I couldn't even go to work, walk up stairs to my apartment, or go to class without nearly passing out. I was hospitalized for 4 days because of it after I fainted at work, and it started to effect the way my heart was functioning (it was beating erratically, and going from dangerously low heart rate, to dangerously high--just when I was sleeping!) I now take Paxil every day(yes, I am aware of the controversy about it, but I am happy with it) and I feel so much better. I am finally able to do things I wasn't able to do for a while. Does anyone else suffer from anxiety, medicated or not? Has anyone ever told you it's not a "real" problem? This is just kind of a support group for the ones of us that have to deal with it, and if anyone that doesn't have a problem with it, feel free to comment anyway

HotMamaByVday

I have a self diagnosed anxiety problem. I check locks and anything that can produce fire repititively when I feel anxious or stressed. I have sent my kids back in the house to double check things and have doubled my driving time returning home to check the front door lock. It is real. My compulsion to check and double check can be the source of many giggles and eye rolls from my children and hubby. I am reading a book called "How to Train Wild Elephants." It has helped me stay in the moment and be present in life. I would reccemmend it. My other advice is that since I have been exercising regularly I am less stressed and less anxious.

moushtie

I had anxiety issues last year. Ended up pulling a muscle in my back through being tense so much with panic attacks... It felt like a physical issue to me, I would tell people it was like someone had injected adrenaline in my arm in a huge dose.

little_wolfie

Oh my do I belong here. I have severe social anxiety. I am currently working with my doctor to find the right medication - for 2 years I took a prescription painkiller for pain issues that knocked my anxiety off, but I just had surgery in May and the pain is gone so I'm quitting the painkiller and am reminded of how bad my anxiety truly is!

I once saw a billboard that says "You wouldn't say 'it's just cancer, get over it.' Depression is real." I think anxiety is the same way.

lindalou0703

Anxiety issues here as well. I did not wake up one day and say "wow I want this" lol..... I believe it is a physical problem.

aworkma6

I have anxiety issues too. It's good to know that I'm not alone.
I recently decided I no longer wanted to take prescription meds, and am pursuing a more herbal/natural route.

Becky1971

I'm glad paxil is helping you and you can live a normal life. that's what meds are for to help people live normal lives who otherwise cant. I haven't been on meds for five years now, and it's working for me. I have to stay on top of eating healthy and workingout in order to be successful with out meds. Anxiety is very real! But I know it's hard for some people to understand it. Course everyone experiences anxiety at different levels. When it keeps you from doing what you want to do, and being who you really are, it's very frustrating.

Nerdy_Rose

I was already messaging the topic poster about this, but I have anxiety attacks sometimes as well. They have been less frequent for me recently, but I also triple check door locks and stuff, and I need medication to stop an attack before I get physically sick. Hi everyone :-)

hm_day

I have moderate anxiety and I am medicated with the generic version of Celexa. It's definitely psychological, but it can obviously cause physical problems, just like depression can. I have primarily social anxiety and a crowd phobia. Crowds, even small ones, make me hyperventilate. I have to hold on to someone to make it through a crowd, and I'm 19 years old, so I'm sure it looks amusing to other people to see me holding onto my mother/father/boyfriend/etc's hand or shirt just to make it through the smallest crowds. But it's because I'm genuinely petrified. I got anxiety just TALKING to my doctor about me possibly having anxiety! And yes, I've heard people say that it's all in my head. But it's not.

brittanyjeanxo

Oh my do I belong here. I have severe social anxiety. I am currently working with my doctor to find the right medication - for 2 years I took a prescription painkiller for pain issues that knocked my anxiety off, but I just had surgery in May and the pain is gone so I'm quitting the painkiller and am reminded of how bad my anxiety truly is!

I once saw a billboard that says "You wouldn't say 'it's just cancer, get over it.' Depression is real." I think anxiety is the same way.

Exactly! I have anxiety issues in general. I would recommend Paxil, but it depends on you and what you're comfortable with.
And d12brown, I feel you. I didn't have a problem with a compulsive need for anything, but I would literally lay awake all night and think about silly things like what would happen if my ceiling caved in, or how would I get out if the first floor caught fire, since I live on the third, worrying about my small puppy somehow managing to climb up to a window, magically open it, fall out and die. Things like that. So I totally can empathize with you in the worrying aspect. I would definitely see a doctor if it doesn't totally go away, as much as I'm against being medicated for every little thing. Sometimes in the case of an attack it can help.

sassyN1989

I have severe social anxiety. I have recently started meds. I can't go work out in gyms because i am scared of the people. I get so annoyed with it. I broke down today because I have a free hair appointment and I didn't want to schedule it. Praying I can go tomorrow without losing it. Once again it is so annoying to have this problem.

hm_day

I have anxiety issues too. It's good to know that I'm not alone.
I recently decided I no longer wanted to take prescription meds, and am pursuing a more herbal/natural route.

Have you tried St. John's Wort? I used to take it before bed to curb nightmares.

Nerdy_Rose

@BJ -- I make contingency plans for stuff like that all the time. I never realized it was part of my anxiety problem... I'm always thinking about stuff like that.

futurekilousky

I struggle with anxiety and it is a very real and physical illness. I have Bipolar disorder and have constantly struggled with the stigma and avoidance if mental illness. Part of the reason I am so overweight is from bouncing on and off many psychiatric meds. Most of which have "weight gain" as a main side effect.

I am not taking medication right now but take B vitamins and fish oil which I have found has helped my mood swings and anxiety. I also struggle with insomnia from time to time.

For some reason, people would rather view people with mental illnesses as weak for "not being able to
Cope", or " being overly sensitive". Honesty, dealing with anxiety makes you more intuitive and stronger in my opinion

veganbaum

I have a self diagnosed anxiety problem. I check locks and anything that can produce fire repititively when I feel anxious or stressed. I have sent my kids back in the house to double check things and have doubled my driving time returning home to check the front door lock. It is real. My compulsion to check and double check can be the source of many giggles and eye rolls from my children and hubby. I am reading a book called "How to Train Wild Elephants." It has helped me stay in the moment and be present in life. I would reccemmend it. My other advice is that since I have been exercising regularly I am less stressed and less anxious.

Sounds like you may have a case of OCD. Most of the time, my OCD is under control, but when I have heightened stress - there it is, I do/check things in four by fours. Particularly if you have a set number of times you check things, it may be OCD. I don't take medication for it (though there were times when it was a great hindrance to me) but there are definitely some out there. Sounds like that book is helping you, though, which is awesome. I'll have to take a look at it. If I actually become conscious of mine creeping back up, I know I have to attend to the stress in my life before it gets worse. 'Course, you can never know for sure unless you are professionally diagnosed. I have personally found that eating well and exercising go a long way in helping me, but that is definitely not the solution for everyone.

HotMamaByVday

@BJ - Thanks, but we (as a family) attempt to avoid medicating unless absolutely necessary. I should be clearer. I have the compulsion when I am unable to control my anxiety which is most often when I am stressed. Now that I am learning to be mindful of the moment and exercising daily, I have fewer and fewer "episodes." I am not against people taking medications, I am sure you need it. I am against it being our first and/or only line of defense. I believe we, as a society and culture, are too quick to jump to non natural ways of coping and healing.

Chunkabutt83

ive struggled with anxiety for a long time now, mine i believe is due to my weight, i always think people are looking at me and talking about me and laughing at me, its gotten pretty bad now, i generally dont go many places, especially with just me and my daughter, if i go for walks, i only go to the park and only if my mom or hubby will go with me. I hate calling businesses for some reason too, if i didnt have to talk to them, i will always try to get someone else to do it. I used to not even go check the mail without full makeup, but its gotten a bit better since i had my daughter, my give a damn is broken

HotMamaByVday

I have a self diagnosed anxiety problem. I check locks and anything that can produce fire repititively when I feel anxious or stressed. I have sent my kids back in the house to double check things and have doubled my driving time returning home to check the front door lock. It is real. My compulsion to check and double check can be the source of many giggles and eye rolls from my children and hubby. I am reading a book called "How to Train Wild Elephants." It has helped me stay in the moment and be present in life. I would reccemmend it. My other advice is that since I have been exercising regularly I am less stressed and less anxious.

Sounds like you may have a case of OCD. Most of the time, my OCD is under control, but when I have heightened stress - there it is, I do/check things in four by fours. Particularly if you have a set number of times you check things, it may be OCD. I don't take medication for it (though there were times when it was a great hindrance to me) but there are definitely some out there. Sounds like that book is helping you, though, which is awesome. I'll have to take a look at it. If I actually become conscious of mine creeping back up, I know I have to attend to the stress in my life before it gets worse. 'Course, you can never know for sure unless you are professionally diagnosed. I have personally found that eating well and exercising go a long way in helping me, but that is definitely not the solution for everyone.

Thanks, I do see a few other OCD tendencies in my behaviors, but none are debilitating. As I said, I can even manage to send others to check things for me and trust them. Even diagnosed, I would avoid medication, as I said in my other posts. I agree exercise and diet has helped me tremendously, not just with anxiety, but I have yet to get sick since changing my lifestyle.

veganbaum

@BJ - Thanks, but we (as a family) attempt to avoid medicating unless absolutely necessary. I should be clearer. I have the compulsion when I am unable to control my anxiety which is most often when I am stressed. Now that I am learning to be mindful of the moment and exercising daily, I have fewer and fewer "episodes." I am not against people taking medications, I am sure you need it. I am against it being our first and/or only line of defense. I believe we, as a society and culture, are too quick to jump to non natural ways of coping and healing.

I hadn't read this before my other post, but I totally agree with you. I try at all costs to avoid medication when possible. I do get debilitating migraines. I have adjusted my diet in all sorts of ways to try and decrease them and have been somewhat successful, but still cannot avoid one during my cycle. I have an abortive medication I take for that, otherwise I would be unable to do anything for a minimum of two days (which unfortunately doesn't work in the real world), not to mention the extreme physical pain. But I used to get really frustrated with the first doctor I worked on them with because she just wanted to prescribe me all these meds - and they just made me sick anyway. I had to educate myself about them and how to try and decrease them. My last doctor was much more willing to work with me in that way. Like you, I don't think think that meds should always be the first line of defense, but also like you I recognize there are those who really cannot function without preventative medications.

leynak

Wow, it is kind of a relief to see so many others with these types of problems. A lot of the time I feel like I'm the only one. I have Social Anxiety. I don't take any meds for it because I hate taking meds. I hate the feelings I gets sometimes.

I was going to volunteer at my daughter's preschool once & thought I was going to die. & not like I'm scared I think I'm going to "die". I had such a feeling of dread & felt like there was no possible way I would be able to get through it. & that was being around kids, adults are even worse. I'm a stay at home mom right now because I don't think I could handle a job. I had one in 2008 & after my 2nd day I came home hyperventilating & crying & never went back.

It sucks:frown:

vaughny

i have some of these feelings as well. St. John's wort is a great supplement but it also metabolizes a lot of other medications causing it to cancel out birth control pills for example. Some other great ones are 5htp, Valerian root, and passion flower.

daybyday

I've heard from a lot of people that anxiety isn't a "real" issue, or that it's not a physical issue, only a psychiatric one. While technically it is true that it's not purely physical, it can damn sure cause a lot of physical problems. I personally suffer from very severe anxiety, and for a long time it stopped me from doing things because I couldn't. For almost the entire month of July starting July 1st, of this year, I couldn't even go to work, walk up stairs to my apartment, or go to class without nearly passing out. I was hospitalized for 4 days because of it after I fainted at work, and it started to effect the way my heart was functioning (it was beating erratically, and going from dangerously low heart rate, to dangerously high--just when I was sleeping!) I now take Paxil every day(yes, I am aware of the controversy about it, but I am happy with it) and I feel so much better. I am finally able to do things I wasn't able to do for a while. Does anyone else suffer from anxiety, medicated or not? Has anyone ever told you it's not a "real" problem? This is just kind of a support group for the ones of us that have to deal with it, and if anyone that doesn't have a problem with it, feel free to comment anyway

I was diagnosed with anxiety 9 years ago and have probably suffered from it for most of my life. It very much is a "real" issue. I was also hospitalized because of it for nearly 2 weeks. I take clonazepam and it is pretty well controlled most of the time except when I am really stressed. Sometimes it is hard to be in large crowds, sometimes just walking into Walmart. My physical symptoms can range from tense muscles to heart palpitations to stomach problems, etc. I don't tell most people that I meet about it so I've never had anyone tell me it's not a "real" problem. To help me calm down I find deep breathing, listening to music (especially ocean/trickling water sounds), going outside and walking to be very helpful. If you are starting up a support group I would love to be part of it!!

I also have a fear of throwing up. I have a drawerful of antibacterial stuff!!

StormChaser217

Yes I have anxiety and panic attacks . I also suffer from depression and ocd .
I have to try and stay busy to help me with the depression . I am agoraphobic ( don't like to be very far from home or not go out at all ) . I do take medicines for this at this time I am taking 2 different antidepressants and two antianxiety drugs . ( Wellbutrin , Lexapro , Buspar , Gabipentin . They help , but I have had medicines to wear off after a while and then you have to have them adjusted or changed . I have been in the hospital for this before . I am not ashame to say that I have these problems .
I read books about this , I am reading one right now about ocd . I see a councilor and doctor about this .
I even stopped driving for a long time . I drive now , but cannot drive out of town .

LovingMe19

I have severe anxiety issues, am manic depressive and suffer from bipolar disorder, all of which I was diagnosed with when I was 8. I too was put on paxil and was on it for about 6 years until I decided to stop taking it. I suffered such horrible withdrawl symptoms I actually won a lawsuit against the company. Be careful with that one. It works amazingly but its hard to quit. I am no longer taking any medication for my "issues" although I do believe I should be on something for my anxiety. It seems to have gotten really bad lately. Anxiety is definitely a physical issue. I've suffered from it for most of my life. From having panic attacks over what seems to be nothing, to getting F's in school because I was too freaked out to give presentations or book reports. People who think its not a physical condition, ovbiously don't suffer from it. Idiots!

routerguy666

I let the docs play pharmaceutical roulette with me, spent a year living like a zombie and two weeks of absolute mental armageddon kicking the meds.

Panic attacks are the worst, but I'm mostly clear of them. What worked for me was a book, and while I felt like a complete loser wandering through the self-help aisle to pick it up, I'd recommend the book Don't Panic to anyone going through this.

It takes a lot of retraining your mind, consciously talking to yourself in your head and nipping the panic feelings in the bud when they hit, but eventually you can get through it and back to 'normal'. Check the book out, it can't hurt.

katloaf

I have an anxiety disorder - diagnosed 9 months ago.

I can't go to a bank, use a credit card, go to a customer service desk, hairdresser, dentist...anything. I won't talk on the phone. I have no real friends, and haven't done since I was 15 because I freak out at social interaction. I've never been invited to parties or out with friends since I was a teenager. I can't drive because I get panic attacks at just the thought of being behind the wheel.

Physically, my heart races really fast, and I get very nauseous and dizzy with hot flushes. Right now, I'm sitting at my desk, with a new bicycle I want to ride - but I'm terrified of riding outside. I'm convinced everyone is going to stop and laugh at me. I wish I could just snap out of it. I did manage one ride this week, but I was so paranoid that I hated every minute of it.

daybyday

I let the docs play pharmaceutical roulette with me, spent a year living like a zombie and two weeks of absolute mental armageddon kicking the meds.

Panic attacks are the worst, but I'm mostly clear of them. What worked for me was a book, and while I felt like a complete loser wandering through the self-help aisle to pick it up, I'd recommend the book Don't Panic to anyone going through this.

It takes a lot of retraining your mind, consciously talking to yourself in your head and nipping the panic feelings in the bud when they hit, but eventually you can get through it and back to 'normal'. Check the book out, it can't hurt.

Thanks for the book recommendation. I just ordered from paperbackswap.com

RhonndaJ

Diagnosed with anxiety and depression, medicated, years of musical meds until we finally found something that works for me and stays working. These days my major attacks are phobia related, but I do get minor attacks still on a weekly basis, but those I simply work through. I've never been hospitalised for either anxiety or depression, but I have had two breakdowns that kept me homebound for weeks.

Skimming the reading, I noticed someone suggesting St. John's Wort. There's a possible side effect with SJW that I think is worth noting. Usually it's listed a 'vivid dreams'. Of people I've spoken to who've experienced this side effect, and my psych, they should add in the word 'violent'.

LorinaLynn

I have depression & anxiety, but both tend to manifest themselves as extreme irritability in me. I'm much more likely to be angry and easily flustered than actually SAD. And possibly a mild case of PTSD. There's things that trigger anxiety attacks in me, and hospital noises (beeping of machines) is a big one. Any kind of alarm - car alarm, security alarms in stores - sets me on edge.

Recognizing an attack for what it is helps a lot. I can somehow separate myself from the condition and talk myself down. It sounds really silly, but telling myself, "Don't panic, it's just your anxiety," calms me.

Maybe it's similar to how, as an allergy sufferer, I learned to tell the difference between the sneezing and runny nose of allergies vs that of a cold. I've learned to tell the difference between something that triggered my "fight or flight" feeling, vs a real and present need to fight or flee.

I've been able to stop taking my antidepressant, but I still take Xanax. But if I don't get enough physical activity in, I get edgy. Any more than two days without a big workout, and I'm a basket case.

Sharont213

I was diagnosed with panic disorder about 12 years or so ago.. it's actually very common in premenopausal women - especially if there is any history (personal or family) of depression or other mental diseases. I used to worry about having a heart attack and when I should have it so I could be sure someone would find me - or how to make sure that if I had a heart attack while I was driving could I get to side of road safely.. very real fears.. very extreme. I kept all these emotions to myself until one day I was convinced I was having a heart attachk and convinced my hubby to take me to dr office (without telling him why - just said I wasn't feeling well). The minute I saw my doctor I started crying and said I am having a heart attack and I wasn't sure what to do.. he was great.. he just looked at me, listened to me and smiled.. described panic disorder and said that is what I had.. it has become a standing joke now at my physical every year- he says "ready to come off the Paxil" and I say "nope, too scared".. we aren't really going to take me off yet anyway though.. in fact, after several years of downgrading the dose, we just increased because it turns out Paxil is also effective against hot flashes/night sweats.. yep, got those too..

brittanyjeanxo

Wow, it's so comforting to know this is so common! I can't really relate to a lot of you in the specific type of anxiety, except maybe the panic disorder thing. When my attacks became constant and more severe, there really was nothing I could possibly think of as to why they were happening. I was always aware of what I had been thinking of before they happened, and it was never anything stressful or anything. They are seemingly random. But like I said, I'm on Paxil now and my irrational fears have mostly gone
(though I still fear bees) and I rarely get attacks. When I do I just take a 0.5 mg lorazepam (Ativan) and I'm better. I'm usually not so open to taking such heavy meds, but this is so severe there really is no other option. The physical symptoms were literally crippling, I could not do anything but sit on my couch, and STILL got attacks then. And it is likely I will just have to be medicated all my life, because my father has had severe anxiety since he was in his 20s, and he's 46 now. He takes alprazolam, I think. Anyway, it's comforting to know I'm not the only one out there with this problem. I'm glad that most everyone has it under control, too. :-)