Need Help/Encouragement

[Ryan21]

Hey everybody, I am a first time poster in this forum.

***This might end up kinda long so I will try to break it up into paragraphs instead of one big wall of text.

Basically, I've been suffering from panic, anxiety, and depression for about the last 3 years. I'm a 23 year old male college student. I take lexapro 20 mg and buspar 15 mg.

My main problem is that I am unable to go out with my friends and have any sort of social life. I went out for the first time in a while the other night with one of my buddies and we had a few beers. All day the next day and today I had real bad anxiety/ panic feelings. Also when I try to sleep I get these ridiculous feelings that I will die in my sleep. I've been able to pin point that drinking makes my anxiety worse so I only drink once a week sometimes once every couple of weeks.

I also experience anxiety even when I haven't drank for several days. So I don't think that drinking is the sole cause of my anxiety. For example, sometimes I will be sitting in class and I will start to feel a panic attack coming on. It really sucks because I love going to school but my anxiety can make me feel so miserable that I don't enjoy it anymore.

I guess right now I'm really scared for a couple reasons. First of all I've had anxiety for about 3 years and I keep thinking to myself "What happens if I never get rid of my anxiety? Am I going to have to live the rest of my life like this?" Lets just say I live until I'm 80. Thats almost 60 more years of anxiety. Another thing that bothers me is I have been single for a while now. How am I going to meet someone when most girls my age like to go out, drink, and party?

One last thing that bothers me is that I'm scared I will never be able to be able to just have a few beers every now and then with my friends. I'm not saying I want to drink all the time. No way. I just want to live a normal life. My best friend is getting married in September and I am the best man. How am I going to be able to throw a bachelor party or be at the reception without a little drinking? The reason why I feel like I need to drink is because I get really nervous now around people in certain situations.



If you have read this far, I'd like to say thank you! If anyone can offer me some advice or words of encouragement I would really appreciate it. God Bless.

[02Batmobile]

Hey bro, I know exactly where you are coming from. I am 23 and have/had your same problems.

I had intense anxiety in 2003 and after lexapro 20mg I was "cured". I was out and enjoying my life to the fullest since then. I had a small relapse of anxiety and panic attacks, though, this summer. I don't drink at all. I never consume an ounce of alcohol but I decided to purchase some Mike's Hard Lemonade because it isn't too strong and was quite refreshing during those hot summer months. Well I had 2 in the morning one day and had a panic attack. I do believe alcohol can trigger some anxiety symptoms. For a few months afterwards I was consumed by the thought, "Will this plague me forever? Will I ever get better? What if I don't?" It is quite common. Keep in mind that anxiety is one of the most treatable conditions out there. I should know, I am living proof. Google how many celebrities have had anxiety-related issues and have recovered. There anxiety was NO DIFFERENT than the anxiety you are feeling. Donny Osmond beat it. Jessica Alba beat it. Barbara Streisand beat it and so many more has recovered. What I would recommend is that you see a Cognitive-Behavioural therapist to help you because anxiety is also triggered by thoughts and emotions. They will teach you to change your thinking patterns which in return, will diminish your anxiety.

Later!

[northstar]

hi ryan :) sorry to see you having such trouble so young, i hope you find the help and support you need on this forum.

the first thing i want to do is to explain to you why alcohol makes you feel anxious. you've already noticed that it makes you feel worse, and this is not uncommon at all! lots of people come through here wonder why they have panic attacks the day after they drink so you are not alone. i'm going to copy and paste something i wrote in another post here:

there are several reasons why alcohol makes you feel bad:

1) dehydration, which is pretty easily fixed by sipping from a bottle of water throughout the morning and also getting plenty of water in the night you're out drinking

2) when you drink you burn through your body's supply of vitamins, especially the B vitamins. B vitamins are responsible for keeping your nervous system happy and helping you to stay stress free - so naturally if you've depleted them with alcohol you're gonna feel bad and anxiety & panic will ensue if you're prone to it. the best way to solve this is to take a B vitamin complex the morning after, something like Berocca or lots of hangover cures contain B vitamins, ask your pharmacist about it

3) alcohol acts like liquid sugar within your body and will play havoc with your blood sugars. the blood sugar crash you get after a night out in the pub can give you all kinds of symptoms like sweats, shaking, ringing in your ears, anxiety, panic attacks, heart palpitations to name but a few. again there's an easy way to combat this: make sure you eat before you drink or even while you're having a couple of glasses or when you arrive home. and i don't mean typical after-the-pub-fare like kebabs and chips lol, but things like wholegrain bread or toast or nuts & fruit. if you eat pretty healthily the next morning too it will help with the hangover, complex carbohydrates will keep your blood sugars stable for longer so try to get some in

so basically i'm not telling you not to drink at all, but just to remember that it can cause anxiety and panic problems that are easily fixed by just simply taking care of yourself. i find that the knowledge of what physically happens when we drink and how exactly it causes anxiety really takes the power away from the panic feelings - i know that if i drink i may feel anxious, but i also know that i can solve this pretty easily and that i'm not going crazy it's just my body giving out to me, so i don't freak out if i feel bad the next morning, i just start doing the things i know will help me to feel better. it's probably best not to overdo things either, but take it easy when you go out for a couple of beers and try to avoid drinking way too much :)

if you're finding that alcohol makes you feel this way then it may be a good idea to look at your diet and how you eat. the anxiety you feel coming on randomly like during your lectures may be down to low blood sugar, just like what happens when you drink. the best way to solve this is to make sure you eat regularly, don't skip meals and try to eat things that will burn up slowly in your body and release energy into your system slowly and so keep your blood sugar stable for longer. you'd be amazed at how much better this will make you feel :) you can read more about this here on this other post under the section about hypoglycemia: http://www.anxietyforum.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4087 - there are also lots of other tips on that post about how to combat anxiety along with your meds, there are lots of things that you can do :)

avoiding excesses of sugar, caffeine, sodas and refined carbohydrates (like pizza, white breads and pastas, white rice, cakes, biscuits) will also help. so if you drink lots of coke or coffee then cut down and it'll help you also :)

also have you thought to talk to a counsellor about your problems? it can also really help. if you're in college then there should be a free student counselling service you can avail of, and i'd really advise it :)

ok i think this is long enough now lol. i hope it helps a bit, you should find some other helpful things in that other post too. i hope you feel better soon & please do let us know how you're doing! :)

[Ryan21]

hey i want to thank you both for your responses. They helped calm me down quite a bit.
It's inspiring to hear about celebrities that have beaten anxiety. Also I currently see a therapist from time to time. I actually have an appointment with her today. I think that if I can just get my dosage right with my meds and continue to stay away from alcohol I should do better.
As far as vitamin b goes, I've been taking a daily multivitamin so I don't know if that counts or not.
Another thing I've noticed and maybe its just in my head but if I don't get a bunch of sleep, I sometimes will feel anxiety all of the next day regardless of whether I drink the night before.
The hypoglycemia thing you talked about makes sense because sometimes (not all the time) I will feel better after I eat something.
Thanks again for your help.
I have to go to my therapist in a little bit. I will let you know how it goes.