I'm new. Harsh anxiety suddenly hit me about a week and a half ago.

[KB17]

A very long time ago, I was diagnosed with anxiety caused by depression. Recently, though, in the midst of a stressful time(paycheck to paycheck money, sick pets, and other things), I've been left almost incapacitated by anxiety. Doing anything makes me feel sick. My neck and jaw get tense, my acid reflex jumps through the roof, I get nauseous, afraid, my chest hurts, my heart rate shoots through the roof, and it gets extremely hard to breathe.

It got so bad that I went to the hospital, had several tests done, and was told that I was perfectly healthy. They dropped some medicine on me. 50mg of Hydroxyzine 4 times a day and I took it regularly for a few days, but it only made me sleepy. I've been trying very hard to get back to my regular state of mind, but it seems like every night, it comes back, sometimes a lot worse.

This is terrifying, which makes me get even more panicked. It's a snowball effect of bad feelings and my usual methods of coping seem to make it worse (music, tv, distractions basically). I'm very worried. Because of the acid reflux and heartburn, I've been struggling to eat, struggling to feel any sort of normal. I don't know what to do. I can't avoid stress and de-stressing doesn't seem to help.

[Bluebaja]

I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety a long, long time ago too. Somehow, I managed to successfully navigate and excel in a high stress career. My mood issues were up and down, sometimes way down over the course of the last 25 years. Raised two kids, stayed married by the grace of God. And here I am.

I have been in CBT, group therapy, bio feedback, different med rcombos’s, etc. Anxiety still comes slamming into my life sometimes and it it lasts long enough turns to depression. I too use the term snowball effect - feeling bad can snowball into feeling terrible.

My best success for progress has been group therapy. It takes courage to sit in a small room and talk about yourself so openly, honestly and painfully. But there is a “magic” in the process. You bond with those who listen. You can find great healing and strength in that way.

Next is meds. I am a strong believer that in my case so much of my challenge is chemically induced and so I believe medicine can help me. I make darn sure I see a Psychiatrist regularly so my meds checks are up to date and tweaks are made as needed. I was very recently very down with anxiety, almost frozen by it. Suicidal thoughts even. I got back in to see my Doctor, we tried some new meds and am back to near normal. Gabapentin is the new med I take and it has been like a miracle for me. Not in the benzodiazepines family - but works like one and is non addicting.