Need Advice on My Anxiety

[Phoebe13]

Been having anxiety on and off for 7 years now and I'm 19 years old. I've been counselling for it, distracted myself during the day with going to places, being around people or watching videos, art and any other hobbies but, I've recently started having another episode since Sunday where I never really get panic attacks but I've had two in one day that day. this is probably the 4th or 5th episode I've had within my 7 years.

I'm struggling socially at work and when I'm here it feels like the hours are really long and unbearable. The only time I feel improvement is when I focus hard, don't talk or and take no breaks until I leave. It feels crippling, half the time I cant stop crying for a reason or no reason at all. I'm unsure and a little bit frighted to try medication as I've gone this far already with out them and how they effect certain people into making them like zombies or addicted to them.

I've overcome my anxiety through my past episodes but now my situations has changed and my emotional are pretty much all over the place. I hate waiting to get over my anxiety naturally and i want the process to go faster which worries me more. I'm scared of myself and the world around me and I'm not sure what to do anymore. If anybody has any advice please feel free to leave a comment, thankyou.

[Blue_81]

Hello Phoebe,

I feel the same way. The only time my anxiety goes away is when I'm really concentrated at work. Otherwise just being at work it's very tough. What has worked is going for a hike, it leaves me with a few hours of feeling good. Too bad I can't do it all the time due to work and other duties. Anti-anxiety medicine such as Lorazepam takes the edge off and reduces my anxiety attacks. I'm going on Prozac now see if that has a longer effect, at least to have a break. Take care.

[Phoebe13 in reply to Blue_81]

A while ago I used to walk home from school which took me 40 mins and then dance for half an hour a day, that was before I meet my boyfriend so I've slowed my activities down a lot and I've gained nearly 3 stone in almost 3 years of our relationship. He suffers from anxiety and depression just like me.

We're going on holiday in 11 days where we are going to do some hiking, walking and swimming (maybe surfing). A colleague said I should try Lorazepam as she said to me its not addictive and I could have a low dose, but I think I might try and face this on my own for the time being but I'm considering it if all gets serve.

[Hidden]

When i had panic attacks theyd get so bad that id feel as if u were dying. One night about 2 am my vision started going dark and things didnt look real. My heart was pounding and it was hard to breathe. I thought i was having some kind of heart attack. Splashing cold water on ny facr didnt seem to help and u really considered calling 911. But instead i called my mother, waking her up. I explained and she said babe its just a panic attack. Lay down and shut your eyes let the darkness take you while you try to focus on just breathing. I told her.. mom.. im afraid im dying.. what if i dont wake up? And she said.. so what if you dont? If you were to never wake back up know that youre in the lords hands and think about the good moments youve had in life. I know youll wake feeling ok soon but if you are dying then know that i love you and that youll soon be with god. So i laid on the couch with the darkness creeping around my eyes. I can only explain it as like tunnel vision and i thought abour how grateful i am that my life is what it is and not worse like it could be. I slowly shut my eyes almost content i may never open them again and woke up a few hours later completely ok. Nevet knew why it came on but i hope my story helps you some

[Phoebe13 in reply to Hidden]

I get same where it feels like your going to die right there and then. It's really horrible feeling which makes the panic attack worse. I get IBS during panic attacks where I find myself needing the toilet extremely bad.

What I do during panic attacks is that I open a window and stick my head through the window and breath in as much as I can hold and then breath out until I can't no more. At the same time I grab my phone and look at positive images that I'm interested in such a "hippie styled gardens" or research the most random facts and repeat them to yourself in your head or out loud.

[Kobojunkie]

The medications don't make people into zombies. Nor does it make people into addicts. The ZOMBIE feeling is simply an indication that one needs to get the doctor to change the dosage on the medications.

Some people life to suffer needlessly so they don't alert the doctor and continue taking the meds as-is. I have even seen folks who get annoying side-effects and don't even bother to go demand the doctor make changes immediately. One dude kept drooling from the side of his mouth(a side-effect), and he told me it was a side-effect as if that was enough of a reason to have to walk around with a hankie to wipe his mouth every minute or so.

I am usually in contact with my doctor via email and report issues immediately so I can get an appt to come in asap. That is how it ought to be.

[Phoebe13 in reply to Kobojunkie]

Its just the fact that in my eyes that look just as scary as anxiety itself sometimes. My aunt suffers from anxiety really bad and shes been on her medication for like a good 10 years or so and shes been through so much its understandable why she takes them.

When I look at her sometimes and she struggles to sleep and shes awake all night it troubles me. I don't want to be like her but at the same time medication will effect us all differently. My boyfriend took them and said he felt really numb and horrible, like he had no emotions. It's a hard choose to make considering the fact that I'm also to anxious to try anti-anxiety tablets. A vicious cycle if you ask me.

[Kobojunkie in reply to Phoebe13]

Well, your aunt may be one of those who didn't realise that she had to tell her doctor about the problems she was still dealing with so that the doctor can help change her dosage or help her get other meds.

That is one of the major issues doctors have had with their patients for a long time now. So much so that the American Psychiatric Association in 2015, adopted what is called a patient-centered approach to treatment which involves patients in the decision-making process when it comes to their care. The hope is that this will encourage more patients to inform their doctors of their treatment process, issues they still have and also of side-effects of medications.

Evidence shows that a key advantage of patient-centred

care is that it promotes patients’ sense of responsibility for their own particular health status, and this approach increases the likelihood that patients will safeguard their health and make the necessary health-related lifestyle changes to do so.

Don't blame the medication when a patient does not do what ought to be done. The patient is responsible for their health status and care.

Gone are the years when doctors paid home visits to check patient status. It is the patient that ought to inform the doctor of issues - some can even do it via email or through some reporting site.

[Phoebe13 in reply to Kobojunkie]

I live in the UK so things might be a little different as we have the NHS and different opportunity's. But it is a patients responsibility to seek help and inform their doctor of any medical issue to do with their medication. It's just that I'm not feeling up to it at the moment and haven't came to a full decision on what to do with my mental health or maybe don't know to much on anti-anxiety tablets which could make me fear them.

[Kobojunkie in reply to Phoebe13]

In this case, things aren't different at all. The patient-centered approach to care is a worldwide push and has been getting more attention in the UK. Many of the research papers I have read on it were authored in the UK.

I can share one with you that really got me wondering what is going on down there. It is a 14-page research on measuring the quality of life of mental health sufferers, and this includes the responses from mental health sufferers out there with you in the UK and what their life is like.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

I hope you take the time to read it to realise what quality of life for many who let the disease take control of them really is like.