Hello! here i am

[cac17]

Hello everyone,

I'm Carlos, 23 years old.

I think it's great to find places as this one. I usually don't speak about my this problem to the people i'm surrounded by.

Short story, i don't want to give details that will get you guys bored. ;)

This nervousness, now called by psychiatric classifications, Generalized Anxiety disorder, started when i was a kid. I always was the scared-kind of kid who avoided any situation that could be dangerous or could exert some kind of fear.
So yes, i avoided almost everything a regular kid would consider fun.

However, it got worse when i was in the middle of college, around 3 years ago, when stress and the need to be focused, and to do practices and stuff, started. The anxiety symptoms got really bad, at the point where i didn't want to come out from my room, i was in a point where the 'safest place' i could find was my bed, under sheets.

I got medicated, got better, i dropped it, relapsed, got auto-medicated again, and the cycle went on 3 times.

Right now i'm not having any pharmacological medication, i've been trying to cope with this by myself. However, it is not easy, at all.
I just felt i didn't want to be attached to a pill, and also i hated all the side-effects of it. So i definitely need to learn how to deal with it by myself.

My intention here is to try to meet people who are related to me in this way. It is a big relief to be aware that we're not the only ones in this road.

I hope to hear from you guys soon!

[Lexie1425]

Hi Carlos,
I feel that my story is very similar to yours. I've been on medicine two times now over the last 5 years, and am off again. I don't want to go back on medicine either but I'm having a very hard time dealing with it on my own. I'm not sure what the answer is. I've found posts on here to be very helpful. It's comforting to hear people who have gotten better from their anxiety and can share helpful tips but also helpful to talk to others who are experiencing similar things. I'm sorry I don't have much advice, I've had some really bad weeks where I have some good days and bad, but lately it's been just bad. I'm hoping to as well talk to others and hopefully find a way to kick this anxiety.

Lexie

[cac17]

Hi Lexie,

i've been having bad days lately too. As you said, there are good and there are bad days.

Getting pharmaceutical help is a very personal decision. I'm not against it, i was taking Sertraline, and i can tell it helped me a lot. It kind of created an equilibrium, it made me feel better but not good. But without it i'm sure it would have been worse to cope with the situation.

However, i'm aware this is not a 1 month situation, but it is going to be there for years, it's a chronic condition, so i need to be prepared and learn how to deal with it and to gain control to avoid it to have control over me.

I've not found the best answer to cope with this problem after i dropped the pills, but trying to define the situation and to deconstruct the moments when i feel anxious, has helped. I kind of have more control over it than before, when i was experiencing many bad things and didn't know if it was that real or if it was me that was making it that bad.

In part, for me coming to this community is to see how other people who's having a bad time with GAD too deal with it day by day.

I'm a bit uncomfortable with the fact of going to a therapist. But i do believe that it can be helpful for people having GAD to get some help from an specialist.

I hope to be in touch with you, Lexie.

You're not alone in this.

Carlos.

[orachahalion]

Hey there, you are not alone in here, thats one thing for sure.

I hope that you find the help and support to get well again.