run down

[stressmonkey]

hi all

i've had problems with anxiety and depression for a long time, but this is the first time i've joined a forum (i wish i did it long ago).

i suffer from social anxiety and i get stressed easily. i have been on various anti depressants for quite a while (currently on venlafaxine), but i feel that they have not done much for me on the whole.

i feel that my anxiety often doesn't have an emotional outlet (something that i'm working on), so my anxiety manifests itself in physical ways. i almost always feel run down, and i am often sick. i have had a wide range of tests, which all come back negative, which has reinforced by belief that my physical state is primarily psychosomatic.

i feel i take very good care of myself on the whole. i see a psychologist, i meditate, i do light exercise, i have a good diet, i keep an emotion diary. though i feel that these things do help on the whole, i can't help but get very frustrated each time i get ill when i've been putting in so much effort. i also find it very frustrating that i am physically unable to live the active lifestyle that i would so much love to live.

i'm actually doing pretty well at the moment, but i often still have difficulty getting by. i have successfully been holding down a good full time job for over a year now, so i consider myself very lucky, but i'm not one to turn down any potential support that might make things easier, and i hope i'm able to offer some help of my own.

i would love to hear your thoughts, especially from anyone who also suffers from ongoing physical symptoms of anxiety.

take care of yourselfs

[tailspin]

Hi stressmonkey. Welcome to the site! I'm glad you found us. Wow, I could have written this post myself. I can relate to everything you say here! I have depression as well as anxiety and I feel that both these things manifest themselves physically with me. I have also been on - and am still on - anti-depressants, but feel they only help me in a limited way. I also take pretty good care of myself and do a lot of things that generally help with anxiety and depression (especially regular exercise, therapy etc) Yet I still struggle and it's very frustrating. In particular the physical symptoms are very bothersome and it becomes a vicious cycle because the physical symptoms fuel the anxiety and depression, and vice versa. I do have periods where I do better and I try and remain mindful of those. But I sure wish I had more of them! I really like this forum and find it very helpful to come here and share experiences with others. I really hope it helps you too!

Also, it's great to hear that you are doing well at your job. That is awesome!!

[stressmonkey]

hello tailspin

really good to hear from you. i wouldn't wish anxiety issue on anyone, but there is something strangely comforting with the knowledge that there are others out there dealing with the same problems.


the physical symptoms fuel the anxiety and depression, and vice versa

i can certainly relate to this. when i start to feel physically unwell, i feel depressed and anxious about getting through the working week, which further impacts my physical health. i am aware of the feedback loop when it happens, but often i feel like i have no control over preventing it from continuing.

a little over a year ago, i was working in a stressful job which was not good for my health at all. i would feel so unwell and ran down by the end of the week, that i would spend the whole weekend recovering, just to have to do it all again the following week (and that was a good week). i ended up having to quit before i drove myself into an early grave.

even though i still struggle with my new job, there is significantly less stress, which makes a big difference.

thanks again for the reply

[tailspin]

Hi stressmonkey, yes, definitely a horrible vicious cycle. What physical symptoms do you typically have, or is it more a general sense of being unwell? My symptoms usually revolve around feeling nauseated, having a migraine, sinus and allergy issues and feeling as if I'm coming down with something. Happy Days!! Not!! ;)

It's very good to hear that you are now in a much less stressful job and that you're doing well with it overall.

PS: Love your avatar! :)

[stressmonkey]

symptoms ... where do i start?

yeah, i suffer from nausea as well. headaches, lethargy, sleeplessness (which exacerbates other issues), and i generally seem to have a low immune system, so i seem to have a cold every other week. when i'm really stressed, i'll get tummy cramps and diarrhea ... lovely!

i do enjoy my current job most of the time, but it's still a struggle when i'm feeling run down (which is often). i've already used up all my sick leave, which puts more pressure on pushing through, which inevitably make things even worse.


PS: Love your avatar!

heh, cheers. i just googled 'stress monkey', and it seemed appropriate. also, i'm a fan of toy story.

[jessed03]

symptoms ... where do i start?

yeah, i suffer from nausea as well. headaches, lethargy, sleeplessness (which exacerbates other issues), and i generally seem to have a low immune system, so i seem to have a cold every other week. when i'm really stressed, i'll get tummy cramps and diarrhea ... lovely!

i do enjoy my current job most of the time, but it's still a struggle when i'm feeling run down (which is often). i've already used up all my sick leave, which puts more pressure on pushing through, which inevitably make things even worse.



heh, cheers. i just googled 'stress monkey', and it seemed appropriate. also, i'm a fan of toy story.

Oh gosh, how can I put this...

I think we have a site for your kind... Www.monkeyanxietyforum.net :) ... we don't really deal with monkey anxiety here I'm afraid, we're people. When we want bananas, we just go to the fruit bowel. And... Um... I don't think anyone here will understand the anxiety about the tyre swing breaking. I know monkeys love them but... Ya know... We usually fear diseases.

Jk jk ;) your avatar is funny. I think stress monkey is definitely a marketable concept. I'd buy a stress monkey mug!

Yeah, for a long time even short walks and stuff made me feel like I had flu. Horrible isn't it. Makes it hard to be productive. It's good you can keep the job going and stuff. I guess at least it does go back to normal. You do lose that run down feeling when anxiety goes... Whenever that is! Taking B12 helped me a LOT! Not everyone can tolerate it though. Muscle relaxation daily helped too. I found I was keeping so much tension in my muscles making me feel ill.

I guess the anti depressant should prevent this feeling really, whether upping or switching from the veno is something you'd think about I'm not sure. I took a couple of mess that helped with anxiety, but not enough, eventually found one that removed the symptoms I wanted. Whether you'd consider a change, it could yield benefits.

I hope it gets better soon for you!