Why I am here

[ReemL]

Hi. My name is Reem. I suffer from severe generalized anxiety disorder as well as social anxiety and depression. I just turned 25 years old and have been struggling with these issues constantly for almost 4 years now. I keep thinking to will get better on it own, that I will wake up feeling "normal" one day, but that just doesn't seem to be happening. So I am trying to take some steps to make it happen for myself. I would love to be able to talk with others who suffer from similar disorders and hopefully we can all learn from each other and help each other. Thanks!

[Dogs123]

I too have anxiety and depression, plus PTSD. We need to reach out, I am so happy you joined the group! First I want to say the "normal" is an illusion. We all have our normals, mine isn't yours etc...Go to Therapist and get ahold of what is making you feel this way. You are young. I wasted a lot of years hiding, ignoring, and putting a bandage on my issues. Im taking my mental health seriously now and making being healthy a priority. Let me know how you come out!

[BonnieSue]

Hi Reem,

You sound good, but you do need professionals to help you so you can feel as good as possible and lead a happy, peaceful life to the best of your abilities. I have GAD, depression and had PTSD that seems to have mostly been resolved with treatment. IMHO you need a psychiatrist for accurate diagnosing and a counselor to help you deal with these illnesses. And of course you can always come here and find people who understand you! Going without treatment isn't a wise choice as you might develop more phobias and let the depression and PTSD get worse. Once you have help you'll wonder what took you so long to get it.

Blessings...

[ReemL in reply to BonnieSue]

Hi Sue. I am actually doing pretty bad lately. Feeling at the end of my rope to be honest. I would love help. But the problem is that I do not have medical insurance right now and I cannot afford to pay out of pocket for any treatment as I am unemployed due to how disabiling my anxiety disorder is. Do you have any suggestions about free help I could get? I am in the Kissimmee FL area. If you know of anything, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you for your response.

[mjlitl13 in reply to ReemL]

Hi Reem,

Have you tried looking for a Self-Help group? Most are free, just asking for a small donation if you can afford it.

In addition, have you looked into Family Therapy Centers or something like that, that will take whatever you can afford without having to deal with insurance?

Maybe, if you can find a Self-Help group, someone there can point you in the right direction in finding medical/psychological help.

There are many groups out there. Some are 12 Step group's and some aren't. I just found a group near me through meetup.com. You might want to check that out.

Keep coming back here too. We're always here for you.

Good luck,

MJ

[BonnieSue in reply to ReemL]

I'm sorry to hear that you aren't doing so well. Your county may have a free/cheap access to mental health Docs and meds, call information about that. It's not as good as private practice help, but it's better than nothing. Your local mental hospital may have some free outpatient group meetings for counseling and learning more about your illness and how to cope. They can have small numbers of people so you do get attention in them and they know about other resources in your county. For 1-on-1 counseling there are often counselors working under the umbrella of local churches that charge you based on your ability to pay. Church membership and believing in God aren't required or pushed. Ask around and get your GP or other Dr. to recommend a counselor that they know to you.

Have you looked into trying to get disability checks? It helps if you have a Dr. who can write up your condition and problems to back up your claim. This might cost you a fee for forms filled out by your Dr. but is worth it to get the disability income. Maybe you can loan some money for these fees? You may even want the help of a lawyer who specializes in disability claims. I had one once who got immediate approval for me after I was going to lose my disability checks. His fee was $125.00 and well worth it to keep the checks coming.

Here are self help avenues that other people here on this site have said are working for them. They cost nothing or a little bit of money but are worth it:

1-- David D. Burns' "Feeling Good" and "When Panic Attacks" can be very helpful.

2--"I am working through the anxiety work book by Dr David Carbonell and it has helped immensely!!! "

3--"Go on the psychology today site and look for a therapist that specializes in anxiety. "

4--"TRE (Trauma releasing exercises) is something you can learn in a class but you don't have to talk about your problems and once you have learned the technique you can use it at home."

5-- The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook

Practical DBT Exercises for Learning Mindfulness, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Emotion Regulation, and Distress Tolerance

By: Matthew McKay PhD, Jeffrey Wood PsyD, Jeffrey Brantley MD

A Clear and Effective Approach to Learning DBT Skills

First developed for treating borderline personality disorder, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) has proven effective as treatment for a range of other mental health problems, especially for those characterized by overwhelming emotions. Research shows that DBT can improve your ability to handle distress without losing control and acting destructively. In order to make use of these techniques, you need to build skills in four key areas-distress tolerance, mindfulness, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.

Source: NewHarbingerPublications

6--"A good book that I came across recently is "The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook, 6th Edition" by Edmund J. Bourne, PhD. You might find this book to be of some help to you, although communicating your thoughts and feelings in a group setting is enormously helpful as well.

"

7--"For anxiety: Claire Weekes audio books and YouTube videos by THAT ANXIETY GUY" helps with anxiety re: depersonalization/ de-realization states.

-explains how GAD is minor: when depersonalization/ de-realization happens it’s only a symptom of anxiety, nothing more and no psychosis or other more scary things will happen to you despite what you may google and read. (my summary)

I hope there will be something helpful here for you.

Blessings...