Newbie with overwhelming anxiety

[crazydaisy]

I have overwhelming anxiety at work. I even obsess about work when not at work. My confidence is lacking due to 15 years of abuse. I just want to be able to trust again and my life would be easier. Any ideas on how to gain this trust and confidence back...want to love me again. I also have PTSD ...coping tips appreciated.

[BonnieSue]

Hi Daisy,

You have some challenging problems to conquer, including OCD and considerable anxiety. IMHO you need to see a psychiatrist and be put on an antidepressant to keep your anxiety and OCD down so you can function fairly normally. You also need a good counselor for many meetings to help you recover from the years of abuse. This won't be easy or fast but it will be worth it's weight in gold and it will set you free in many ways.

Being on the antidepressant will also be freeing because it will bring the OCD and anxiety down to levels that you can now control any remaining anxiety or OCD. If that hasn't happened at the 6 week mark of taking the drug your doctor puts you on, simply tell him or her what you're feeling and he'll decide whether to increase the drug or to change drugs. You can look up dosages of many drugs at drugs.com to see upper limits of drugs.

The counseling is key to loving yourself and getting your trust and confidence back. I can't say when those things will happen, either. They could easily take time, a lot of time. It's a big unknown. But entirely worth the effort as I'm quite sure you will reach your goal as long as you have confidence in your counselor.

You can look your counselor over if they have a photo on the site called Psychology Today where you'll also find their education, philosophy, specialties, charges, insurance accepted and so on. Best wishes to you!!