Chelsea Marie Giovacchino
01-22-2013, 12:57 AM
My name is Chelsea, and I consider myself a recovering anxiety sufferer. I've had anxiety problems since I was very young, though I wasn't diagnosed until about eleven. I suffer from GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder), Panic Disorder, and a little big of Agoraphobia.
For a time in my life my anxiety was absolutely terrible. It ruled my life in ever way possible. I couldn't go to school without freaking out all day, I couldn't spend the night at friends houses - or even go over half the time, I couldn't take long trips, or go through any stressful without freaking out. Then shortly after the passing of my Great-Grandfather my anxiety spiraled out of control, becoming worse than it had ever been. I became physically sick, I couldn't eat or drink, get out of bed. I was practically sleeping all day and night for a week, only waking up for a few hours to just stare at the tv. Once I worked myself out of my stupor, I went to the doctor to get checked over and was then finally told that I have anxiety problems. I was placed on 50mg of Zoloft, which has since been increased to 100mg.
I'm generally always a little tense, but my real problem comes from my panic attacks which, on top of the normal mental distress, make me physically sick. My anxiety makes my stomach produce too much stomach acid which means I get heartburn, nausea, and if I don't calm down I end up throwing up - even if there's nothing in my stomach, which is just as unpleasant as it sounds.
Through a mixture of medication, self-therapy, and going to my school psychologist for a year I've become incredibly free from my anxiety. I can function normally in life, without debilitating anxiety anymore. I still get anxious in crowds, unfamiliar places, and certain other situations but I've become able to handle it and the time span between bad attacks has been increasing with time, and severity has been decreasing.
I still wanted to join this site, to help others here and to still get help when I need it. It's a continuing journey, but it only gets better.
For a time in my life my anxiety was absolutely terrible. It ruled my life in ever way possible. I couldn't go to school without freaking out all day, I couldn't spend the night at friends houses - or even go over half the time, I couldn't take long trips, or go through any stressful without freaking out. Then shortly after the passing of my Great-Grandfather my anxiety spiraled out of control, becoming worse than it had ever been. I became physically sick, I couldn't eat or drink, get out of bed. I was practically sleeping all day and night for a week, only waking up for a few hours to just stare at the tv. Once I worked myself out of my stupor, I went to the doctor to get checked over and was then finally told that I have anxiety problems. I was placed on 50mg of Zoloft, which has since been increased to 100mg.
I'm generally always a little tense, but my real problem comes from my panic attacks which, on top of the normal mental distress, make me physically sick. My anxiety makes my stomach produce too much stomach acid which means I get heartburn, nausea, and if I don't calm down I end up throwing up - even if there's nothing in my stomach, which is just as unpleasant as it sounds.
Through a mixture of medication, self-therapy, and going to my school psychologist for a year I've become incredibly free from my anxiety. I can function normally in life, without debilitating anxiety anymore. I still get anxious in crowds, unfamiliar places, and certain other situations but I've become able to handle it and the time span between bad attacks has been increasing with time, and severity has been decreasing.
I still wanted to join this site, to help others here and to still get help when I need it. It's a continuing journey, but it only gets better.