Anxious All The Time

[mornegerard]

Hi All.

I just wanted to know if there is anyone else there like me. I know a lot of people get panic attacks and get anxious in certain situations, but my problem is that I am anxious all the time!

I'm 31 years old and can remember growing up, I always had a nervous disposition, but my anxiety has really started to grow in the last 2 years or so. I used to just get anxious in certain situations, but now it is constant, and I seem to be scared of absolutely everything.

I literally have to count the minutes at work, and when I get home, I am still anxious and really struggle to sleep. I'm dizzy all the time and cant concentrate properly.

I'm on SSRI's and have been taking Lorazepam for about a month, and my docter said I should come off it due to its addictive properties and move on to Buspirone. I've tried hypnosis which didn't help and have had about 12 sessions of CBT (which has gotten too expensive for me now). I know that I'm not going to die, but the symptoms are so unpleasant, I sometimes wish I would.

Is there anyone else out there who has experienced similar and gotten through it? The constant severe anxiety has been going at full speed for a few months now and feels like I will never get over this.

I'm really happy for everyone who has recovered already.
All the best
Morné

[V for Victor]

I understand what you're saying. I got to a point in my anxiety where I was afraid of being afraid! I was scared that something would get me nervous, and sure enough, it would. And then I'd spend all day with my stomach all knotted up, short of breath, and so on.

I've gotten over that for the most part, thanks to an SSRI called Citalopram. I have OCD, and I've also studied that, and learned about how I can get control of it.


For you, the only thing I can tell you is to learn to depend on the logical side of your brain during an attack. Not easy, but very effective.

When you get an anxiety attack, you have to stop, and say, "What am I thinking about? What am I really afraid of here. There IS no real threat to me here, there's just a glitch in my brain and it's sending me a false alarm."

Then you've got to focus on something else, and determine not to listen to your brain's faulty message, or the physical symptoms it's causing.

Once you get busy doing something else, you'll forget about it and the symptoms will vanish. But it takes a lot of practice and will power to be able to do that, and you should expect that it just won't go away immediately.

[mornegerard]

Thanks for the positive feedback Victor, it's just hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel at the moment, I will just have to keep at it.

Cheers
Morné

[fearful35]

In reading your post, I think we have shared similar experiences. I always knew I was a "worry-wart" ever since I was young, but my worrying has gotten so significantly worse within the last two years or so. I am 28 years old. I worry about EVERYTHING, it's ridiculous. What makes it worse is that I have physical symptoms...tightness in my shoulders, neck, my hear races, etc. It's so painful for me, and it seems like my friends and family don't understand. They all say I think too much, but really, I am not thinking about anything when I get anxious. It's an actual physical feeling...it's so painful, I wish I could find a solution. Medication and therapy are not working, so coming here was my last resort.

In your opinion, what do you think causes your anxiety? Are there any traumatic events that recently occurred? Stress from work? You thinking too much?

[mornegerard]

Hi Fearful

I've gone through quite a few bad patches in my life - had a tough family life with my dad being an alcoholic and then drinking himself to death. I was also caught up in an armed robbery, with a gun held to my head... but the thing is, I was ok for quite a few years after (apart from being a little nervous).

I've been on anti-depressants for about 10 years, as I was initially diagnosed with depression, which really got better; It's just been the last 2 years or so that I have become really anxious, and especially the last 3 months, where there isn't a second of the day when I'm not anxious, panicy, dizzy and have a lack of concentration and feel like I'm in a bad dream.

There is not one thing in particular that I think about - I'm just scared of a whole lot of things:
Confrontation or getting into a fight or being attached, I worry that I am never going to get better and that I'm struggling with every minute of the day and I wont be able to keep this up for ever(I would rather die, but I'm too scared to do anything to myself).
I'm scared at work the whole time and am scared I'm going to lose my job, then my house, wife and baby boy.
I worry about public transport and getting mugged...

Enough about the worries, I have a very supportive wife who I love with all my heart, I just feel bad that I am putting her through all this and limiting her life too.

I am starting therapy again tomorrow and really hope that I will make progress this time round, because I feel that I definitely cannot carry on like this for much longer. Fingers crossed and I really hope that you reach a point in your life when you are content again.

cheers
Morné

[fearful35]

It seems like you have post-traumatic stress disorder. I am not a doctor, but it seems like you endured some stressful events in your life. That could definitely be a cause of your anxiety.

I know what you mean when you say that you are consumed with anxiety the entire day. For me, some days are good, some days are bad. But there are those periods where I have a series of "bad days" where I am basically immobilized because of fear...fear of the unknown.

I too feel like it's so painful that I want to die at times since no one can help me.

I'm in therapy right now, and my doctor says I should go to therapy regularly, instead of just attending sporadically. I'm also on Zoloft and have tried Wellbutrin and Lexapro. My doc says the Zoloft will take 8 weeks to work, so I'm hoping I'll feel a difference soon. I've been on it for 2 weeks now.

Things will get better. You just have to believe that. And takes things one day at a time. My problem is that I think so far into the future that I worry about things that could possibly happen a year from now. Also do things and surround yourself with people that make you feel comfortable and safe, and try to think about happy thoughts. I know, I should be taking my own advice.

Well, good luck to you and I hope you can find happiness again.