Peace of mind

[TwitchGreenMachine]

I just read up on anxiety on this site:

www.anxietynomore.co.uk/anxiety_q_a.html (http://www.anxietynomore.co.uk/anxiety_q_a.html)


It answered alot of my questions and worries, maybe it will help you too. Check it out.

Even though that site help give me a peace of mind in some areas, I still have alot of anxiety questions and worries. Hopefully someone here can help.

I still have physical symptoms that cause me to worry

-First thing in the morning I wake up feeling shaky
-I feel tired and in a daze
-Sensitive to light
-Irritable
-Clumsy
-Thinking seems slower
-Trouble reading, concentrating or watching TV

With these physical symptoms, I don't know if they're normal or common with anxiety. And that leads me to believe, I have something physically wrong with me or I am developing another serious mental illness. this is the majority of my anxiety and panic.

Also I went to the doctor to see if I can get a blood test to make sure I don't have anything physically wrong with me, so I'm going to do that. But he also gave me 25mg Seroquel and 20mg fluoxetine, a weeks worth. To start.

I'm not comfortable taking any meds, but especially Seroquel, because it's a drug that is used to treat other serious mental illnesses. So it freaks me out. He gave me Seroquel because I didn't want Ativan, because it's addictive.

As for the 20mg Fluoxetine, my only fear is that it will make my anxiety even worse than it already is.And thats bad.

Ive been doing every relaxation technique you can think of, Ive been trying to learn more about anxiety. It's still there. I haven't tried CBT because it's real expensive.

Anyways, if you can help me get a peace of mind and share your stories with these medications or if you know that the physical symptoms I get are Common. Let me know. It would help alot.

Thanks

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[jj1983]

Thank you for this excellent website... I have been reading over it and it is a good one to save in bookmarks and look at fully!

I am sure when I am having a panic attack its a site I will pull up and read real fast.

Often my mind thinks too fast, and always has. I am sure everyone here is the same way

[Robbed]

First things first. I have never been a fan of taking medication for anxiety disorder. Particularly if you have not tried using nonphamracological treatments. After all, medication never cures anything, side effects can significant to the point that they negate any benefits, and relief is typically only partial at best. However, if you DO decide to go the medication route, STAY AWAY FROM SEROQUEL! Seroquel is an antipsychotic medication, and has serious side effects. Some, such as tardive dyskinesia (a movement disorder) can become permanent, even after discontinuing the medication. But others (like akathesia) can easily put you in a MUCH worse world than you are already in with anxiety disorder. The bottom line here is that antipsychotics should be used ONLY as a treatment of last resort. It should not be used until all other possible treatments (including milder medications) have been tried and failed. Here are a couple of links for antipsychotics. And they are pretty disturbing to me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seroquel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antipsychotic

As for medications causing dependence, keep in mind that, with anxiety medications, 'dependence' is what doctors and pharmaceutical companies want it to be. Ativan is said to cause dependence because people want to take it to get high. But drugs such as Fluoxetine and Seroquel are said not to cause dependence because they don't make you 'high'. However, this does NOT mean that they don't cause withdrawal if you stop taking them. Indeed, withdrawal from both of these medications (and other antidepressants and antipsychotics) can be serious for some people. And some people can have a VERY difficult time getting off these drugs. So, in 'medical talk', 'non-habit forming' does NOT mean that you can just walk away from these drugs like you could from vitamin pills or aspirin (even if this is what you think 'non-habit forming' should mean).

As for the symptoms that you mentioned (ie feeling shaky in the morning, drowsiness, light sensitivity, difficulty concentrating, etc), ALL of these are both possible AND common anxiety symptoms. Although they may be disturbing, they are neither harmful nor indications that something more serious is wrong wih you than anxiety disorder. Try to accept these sypmtoms and allow them to exist. Try not to react to them with fear. This may not be possible at first. But if you can just at least worry about them a little less, this is beneficial. They key here is to worry about them less and less over time so that they eventually do not bother you. This will help to reduce stress, which will allow your anxiety disorder to diminish over time.

As for CBT, seeing a therapist is NOT cheap. However, keep in mind that it is not essential that you see one. Perhaps some of the best CBT is that which you administer to yourself. And best of all, it only costs the price of a book (or two or three). I would HIGHLY recommend one of the Claire Weekes books (like Complete Self Help for your Nerves). Her books seem to specialize in dealing directly with anxiety symptoms and disorder rather than life issues (they actually are more ACT than CBT, but ACT is often considered a part of CBT and is typically better than traditional CBT for dealing with symptoms). And this would probably be most helpful if anxiety disorder and symptoms are your top worry at this time. Of course, other books might be more helpful later on when it comes time to deal with other life issues. And perhaps other people here might be able to recommend something here. But honestly, I think CBT would be the best place for you to start.

[TwitchGreenMachine]

Thank you for this excellent website... I have been reading over it and it is a good one to save in bookmarks and look at fully!

I am sure when I am having a panic attack its a site I will pull up and read real fast.

Often my mind thinks too fast, and always has. I am sure everyone here is the same way

I'm glad you liked it, I hope it helps. I had other worries, but after reading that site they're gone.Just knowing that the symptoms I had were normal and common and will pass, was what I needed to hear.

[TwitchGreenMachine]

Thats good information Robbed, I already had bad feelings about Seroquel, and decided not to take it.

I'm definately going to look into those books. I hope it helps. Maybe the local library might have videos too, we'll see.

Ive been, pretty active in my recovery, so far, I'm always learning everyday, I tried yoga, and it felt good. I meditate, that helps, sitting in a hottub also helps. I wanna try massage therapy and CBT.But have to find something affordable.

I guess that's why I looked into meds, because no matter what self help I do, I still have severe anxiety. So Fluoxetine will be my last resort, if all else fails.

Does anybody know anything about Fluoxetine20mg?

[forwells]

Howdy all

Yes your symptoms are very common with anxiety and i have had them all in the past .

rememeber that anxiety is a nerve problem . Basically your nerves are running on high and of course because your nerves run your whole body then it will and does effect most parts of the body . Dont forget as many like to tell you otherwise that your brain IS also a part of this body . So yes it will feel tired . You eyes and ears have a huge amount of nerves and this is why it is common to have problems with these .

The last three on your list are easy to explain . Your brain is trying to do to many things and this is why it is effected . It is trying to work on whats happening in your body , procese your thoughts and also things that are coming at it from the outside world . It cannot do this and will cut out things it dosent think it needs .

I watch a thing on texting while driving the other day and it showed what the brain sees while doing it . It showed that because the brain was focused on doing one job it removes things . It showed that our side vision is removed and also it showed that it would remove certain things such as people in the way . That is why many people would say sorry i didnt see you when they hit someone . It wasnt that they were not there just that a busy brain cut them out thinking that they didnt need to see it .

The human brain is not built ( as much as we think it is )to do so many things at once .

If you learn to relax . It will settle over time but yes it takes time .

Robbed . Fantasic post

akathesia I always thought i never had anxiety in a normal sence , I have never worried but when my stress got so high it started to show symptoms they told me i was a worrier . And place me on drugs and this is were i ended up for 4 months .And took me 18 months to retrain my brain what it learned on those drugs . Trust me when i say you do not want to go down this path .

Drug info . Drugs sold per year for mental illness $3 000 000 000 3 trillion dollars a year . These drugs will have a bad effect on 2% of people . 80% of people would get the same effect from a sugar pill .

To prove these drugs safe they have to have two test to say they work and they do this by doing test , if they dont like the results they do another . Remember it is the drug sellers doing the test . They are paying for it . They dont like the rsults they pay for another one , they have $3 trillion to spend . Whos benifits are these drugs for ???????

Do not fall for the crap that these drugs are a cure . At best they will cover symptoms . At worst they will send you into a nightmare you dont want to be .

Phyciatrist sell these drugs , phyciatrist have been working for 100s of years on the bases that mental illness is something wrong with our brain but to date they have cured nothing . They cure something then they are out of a job . They and drug companies invent many problems . The invent them because it is the only way they can make money off people . AGAIN THAT 3 TRILLION A YEAR IN DRUGS ALONE . That not adding the cost to vist a phyciatrist. Phyciatrist give you a drug and you have a bad effect from it they dont remove it but give you another to counter react the effects of the first . It is common for many people on this path to be on many many drugs . Many which are causing the problems .

All the bullshit that these two mobs sell us convince us that there is something wrong with our brains . that we have a chemical imbalance . Well next time ask them for the test to prove it . If they say these isnt one then ask what that statement is based on . I bet the first things is WE BELIEVE .

Do your research on these drugs . Research the facts from people not getting a cut of that $3 trillion pie.

You will get better as long as you beleive you can and you work on reducing your stress . CBT is base on one thing and that is showing you to believe that you can do it . It is getting you to face the problem head on and accepting it . You can do this . I did and so did 1000s before me and did it all without drugs .

research anxiety and it will help you understand it better , help you understand those symptoms and where they come from . This will stop you feeding things with worry about things . Anxiety takes time to recovery , not weeks but months and sometimes years . But it is worth the work . You will not be as you are now for years it fades fast but takes a while to retrain the brain and also to let go of the bad memories it has made.

Try anxietycenter.com Fantasic fact based information on anxiety .

cheers kev :D

[TwitchGreenMachine]

I think you might be right forwells, maybe I have a food allergy. Because I get alot of anxiety after eating. I actually feel my best on an empty stomach.which is weird because I like to eat,well, I use to like to eat anyways, now I restrict myself to only certain foods, because of my food anxiety. I'm losing weight. And I don't like it.

But once I get to the bottom of all these physical symptoms, I think I might be able to successfully beat this anxiety.

Thanks for replying.

[Robbed]

These drugs will have a bad effect on 2% of people .

Actually, if the frequency of adverse effects for psych drugs was only 2%, that would be pretty damn good. Unfortunately, it is MUCH greater than that. If you consider common SSRI side effects such as weight gain, loss of libido, insomnia, drowsiness, 'spaciness', GI upset, increased depression/anxiety, and headaches, ALL of these affect more than 2% of SSRI users. In fact, studies have found that sexual side effects affect anywhere from 17-41% of SSRI users (and even 17% is pretty high).

Here's something interesting to think about. I wonder how many doctors or psychiatrists would prescribe psych drugs if they knew that, for every prescription they wrote, either they, a loved one, or a close friend would also have to take the drug for a week. Also, I wonder how many would prescribe the very same drugs they prescribe to others for their own children.

[worrier123]

very interesting link and pretty spot on, only thing thats now confused me abit is that iv learnt from inspirational speakers, self help books ie the secret and many more, internet sites ect is that ´thoughts become things´so in this link where its saying to allow any thought to happen and dont try to ignore/change it and just to let it happen and forget about it the other thing iv been tought is that as soon as a negative thought comes into play to replace it with a positive realisic one as what we think happens and that how we can make things happen by visualising?? confused which one is correct to do now

[TwitchGreenMachine]

Dont worry worrier123.

Both are correct. "Laws of attraction" works by visualising a want, and then doing whatever it takes to get it, and as long as you never give up, you'll eventually have it. Somehow things just fall into place. And it works.

And no unwanted negative thoughts are powerful enough to change anything. Positive energy is way more powerful, negative energy cant phase it. "Laws of attraction" is based on positive energy. So don't worry.