Hi all, I've just joined here to see can I find people with similar experiences as mine and maybe help others too.
I'm 42 and a single mum of 4 kids 3 of which are still young. I've suffered anxiety and panic attacks from as young as 6 and was sexually abused as a child when my parents used to leave me being minded for weeks in the summer with my grandparents.
I spend a few years dealing with all this in my 20s and thought I had put it behind me but it keeps coming back and now I find it hard with my own children to not worry over them and leaving them gives me awful anxiety.
My youngest daughter is 8 and gets nose bleeds and has fainted a few times if she hasnt drank or eaten and I've got her checked out and all seems fine but I can't seem to stop stressing and worrying all the time.
I have anxiety symptoms like the usual ones feel dizzy, heart palpitations, feel like I can't breathe right, derealisation where things feel alien and I feel I'm going crazy.
I really want to be able to live a happy life, to do fun things and enjoy my kids without always worrying but I find it so hard planning trips or travelling and have little to none support with them and find it hard the thoughts of meeting someone new or trusting anyone after being treated badly and cheated on with the kids dad.
Sorry long first post, I hope to get to know some of you here and find stuff in common. Sometimes I feel so alone with all the constant inner battles in my head and self talk that I do to keep me steady!
I currently take no tablets, I had been on lexapro which did help but I went off them after 6 months as I felt depressed and other side effects. My doctor reluctantly gave me 12 xanax a month ago which I take on bad days but I doubt she will give me more as she is against them even though I find they help a lot.
Has anyone had any success with st johns wort or other natural remedies? I take iodine, b complex and magnesium. Thanks for listening if you got this far xx