When do you exactly need medication?

[bcc001]

My anxiety hasn't effected me academiclly or at my job. At a professional level I can deal but when I'm in a relaxed social event or out of my routine, my stomach and mind go crazy. I hyperventilate, my stomach gets upset, and I have irrational thoughts.

One time I didn't purchase a text book for my class and I had homework, which could of been turned in the next week, that night was one of the worst nights of my life. I kept thinking if I dont have my book I cant do my work, if i cant do my work I will fail, if I fail I wont graduate, this resulted in me not sleeping the whole night. And when I had to got to a soccer game, my stomach was upset the whole night /I have to avoid eating when I'm going to social gatherings lol/

Exercise helps to, but I can't exercize all day and I have a lot of things to do. I really don't want to take medication, I haven't even thought about asking my Dr. about it yet. I'm just wondering if my issues seem out of the norm? My roommate says yes, but I think she wants me to take them to shut me up lol!

Thanks
Brandee

[Robbed]

I always say to give meds a try only when you have tried everything else without success. And by 'everything else', I mean giving self-help (ie a GOOD self-help book) and/or therapy a fair shake. And by fair shake, I mean giving it the time necessary to help (which is definitely not overnight, or even a month - these things take time). The reason why I say this is simple: meds are NOT what they are made out to be. They seldom just 'magically' make you better. Sometimes, they can alleviate symptoms (but don't make everything go away). But they often cause side effects such a constant drowsiness, apathy, listlessness, and unreality - stuff you REALLY don't want to deal with. To make matters worse, if you tell your doctor about this, they will probably blame he problem on your anxiety and UP the dosage, making the situation worse. Also, they can be REALLY difficult to discontinue for some. For all these reasons, I just can't recommend them as the first thing to do about your problem.

[bcc001]

Thanks so much! I'm in therapy right now /2 years now/, and it really helps me deal with certain issues. I'm even considering going to the anxiety group meetings.

Anything to try and avoid the meds. I mean when I'm not panicing I am really normal except when I am its really bad, but I'm sure different activities will help me deal and calm me down.

[Alchemist]

No one can tell you when to take medication. I know for me, I really was against medication but it came to a point (after suffering from post traumatic stress) and issues with my significant other that i told my therapist i needed more help. 8 months later i am coming off and have really made headway where i was struggling before to do.

the thing is, if you feel horrible all the time from anxiety, how do yu deal with the underlining issues? i needed to take the edge off but i worked really hard at understanding what got me there in the first place and now i am able to deal with it better.

so good luck and remember, there is no one answer.......

:-)

[Robbed]

the thing is, if you feel horrible all the time from anxiety, how do yu deal with the underlining issues?

Then again, it is typically not necessary to deal with underlying issues to reduce your current level of anxiety. Remember that anxiety disorder results when you become afraid of the symptoms of stress. When this happens, a fear of symptoms and where they may lead takes precedence over the issues that caused you stress in the first place. And getting over anxiety typically means getting over fear of fear rather than dealing with your issues. Once you deal with your anxiety (or deal with it to get the symptoms down enough), you can deal with your issues so that the anxiety will not come back. Hell, the fatigue and foggy-headedness that SSRIs cause probably doesn't put you in the best position to deal with your issues anyway.

[Alchemist]

I can see your point. I, however, have done lots of work on myself and have found that the way i deal with stress (which leads to anxiety) has been due to my childhood dysfunction at dealing with pretty hectic issues with my family. I learned to handle things by internalising them. they worked when i was a kid but as an adult, with adult pressures, it developed into chronic fear, self doubt and severe anxiety.

Since I have been in therapy, understanding why i have dealt with things due to my past, i can learn methods of coping as an adult. I could only do this, though, when the physical symptoms of the anxiety attacks were less and it gave me the crutch to do the work.

It wont work (and i agree with you here) if you dont have the desire to work through the fogginess and that takes effort. But its well worth it, in my opinion. I also agree that its not a solution and sometimes ppl use it as a cure (which can lead to dependency).

[Robbed]

Then again, you have to realize that MANY people with anxiety find meds EXTREMELY unappealing. And side effects can just make for more things to be worried about. Furthermore, getting off meds can be REALLY stressful for many. All of these things are what made me not want to touch meds. Especially since I personally have witnessed in others the negative changes that SSRIs can cause. The way I see it, I would rather deal with my anxiety head-on than have to worry about how taking meds could possibly make matters more difficult.