Sisters should be there for each other? getting WORSE, and meds

I'm pretty sure i need to get medication because I had a grand total of SIX panic attacks last week. I'm getting worse and I need to make it stop. Stuff isn't fun anymore. I was at the mall last week and I had a panic attack and I couldn't enjoy myself - and that's saying something, because I LOVE shopping. I just can't seem to shake this panic and it's not due to anything around me specifically, but there are some things that make it worse - preparing for someone close to me leaving to the military, dealing with family drama (my sister talking about me behind my back), and missing out on some pretty big opportunities. But that would make sense to be upset about, right? But it's not what my anxiety is about. My anxiety is about everything and nothing and that makes it worse because I don't understand it entirely. I just want it to stop.

[BonnieSue]

I'm sorry to hear about all of your panic attacks. I'm sure that one leads to another and if you get on a medication and break the sequence you can later get off of the medication. At least, that's would be my hope if I were you. I'm a different kind of case so you can't go by me. (I tend to have one big panic attack for weeks on end ***sheer torture***until I'm on a mild tranquilizer for long enough to quiet the whole anxiety business...which means a couple of weeks. I've gone from 4 mgs of clonazepam 1 yr. ago to 0.25 mg today. I'll drop the 0.25 mg in a few weeks because 0.25 mg is pretty much the same as zero. They don't even make pills that small. I have to cut bigger pills up which doesn't work so well.)

Even if you only reduce your medicine that is a victory as long as you have the panic attacks under control. You need your life back!! When your anxiety seems to be about nothing, I propose that you really don't know that that is true. You can be reacting to someone leaving for the military, as an example, many weeks before or after the actual leaving.....your mind still has that knowledge about the leave-taking and the loss of a friend or family member in any of those weeks and a reminder of that loss can rear it's head any of those weeks, do you see what I'm saying? And the same is true about a family drama or a big opportunity and other things that can affect your life in many ways and have repercussions that have reminders at the least expected moments. You just can't be sure that your mind isn't unconsciously thinking about one of these incidents, or being reminded in some way.

These are my thoughts on this for you to think about. I hope you do consider talking to your doctor about medicine to see if it's a good option for you. Take care.

[Hidden in reply to BonnieSue]

Thank you, I do understand what you are saying and this is excellent advice! Best wishes dealing with your anxiety.