My husband struggles with Anxiety

[AmyNC88]

I am new here, my husband has struggled with Anxiety and Panic attacks for 10+ years. However, in the last 5-6 months, he has been experiencing Depersonalisation and Derealization, along with some OCD, obsessing over symptoms and finding treatments. He has been on Celexa for a few years but has weaned him self off. I am looking for advice on how to support him and what I can do to make this easier for him. Nothing hurts worse than watching someone you live go through this knowing, there isn't much you can do to help.

[Stay_strong85]

The best thing I can tell you to do is...listen. I am a sufferer like your husband, and the only thing I truly need when I am going throught the heaviest of it...is I simply need someone to just listen. Hugs help a ton also. Just make sure he knows you are there for him but don't pressure him. We tend to make people think we are upset or mad at them but really we are scared, overwhelmed, feeling so alone and misunderstood in our fears and inner battles. Love and prayer does wonders. Best of luck. ☺

[Gambit62]

just wanted to ask if your husband's B12 levels have ever been checked. I had 40+ years of problems with anxiety which went when I actually started to get the amounts of B12 that I really needed. The most common cause is an absorption problem and it can literally take decades to develop into a full blown deficiency - derealisation and depersonalisation were among the last of the psychological problems to develop for me - though the diagnosis came as the result of a blood test whilst I was in hospital with a broken ankle.

Symptoms of B12 deficiency are very varied but GPs often don't consider it unless there is a specific form of anaemia present (macrocytosis) but lots of people have other symptoms without macrocytosis.

This is a checklist of symptoms

pernicious-anaemia-society....

if other things ring bells then I'd advise joining the PAS forum on health unlocked as getting a diagnosis and then getting proper treatment can be very difficult.

Realise that you may not want to look into it given the OCD problems that you mention so hope you don't mind me mentioning.

Otherwise I'd go with Stay_strong85's advice

[AmyNC88 in reply to Gambit62]

He has never had them checked but he is taking a B complex every day, along with fish oil, turmeric, magnesium, L-Theanine and sometimes Melatonin at night.

[Gambit62 in reply to AmyNC88]

B12 deficiency is usually the result of an absorption issue - and the amounts of B12 in the average B complex - is unlikely to make any difference as the effect is to reduce your ability to absorb B12 to 1% at best - so you'd need something with at least 100x RDA to have a chance of getting enough - and even then oral doesn't work for everyone.

Hope you find an answer.

[stde]

I have suffered these things in the past, now I do not because I learned to open up and talk to people I could trust, you may think the silliest things, then you realise so do others...

Now I try to help others, best wishes....never be afraid to open your heart, you may find an angel...

[Agora1 in reply to stde]

How true stde, Angels come at the most unexpected times.

[Stay_strong85 in reply to stde]

Talking about it to someone who is willing to listen to me, in person, helps me a lot.