Originally Posted by
maddecent
I had my first panic attack as a result of smoking marijuana while on Adderall. Before that I had never experienced anxiety. After that day I would have panic attacks whenever I smoked marijuana, so I quit. Everything was fine for a while. Then the next summer I sat down for an interstate train ride and had another panic attack out of nowhere. From there I developed claustrophobia and an inability to be in enclosed places like cars trains and planes without panic. A few months later I had another attack while in an assembly in school. I was prescribed Klonopin as needed after that. For a few years I took it only when I knew I would be in an enclosed space. Over the holidays of this year, I started to have general anxiety for no reason. I began to take my Klonopin daily. It has been a few months since then and I feel very dependent physically and mentally on the Klonopin. I can't leave my apartment without taking a dose. I feel that I'm becoming severely agoraphobic. My psychiatrist had wanted me to try an SSRI for years but I was too scared that it would cause panic attacks. A few weeks ago I agreed to start taking Remeron (mirtazapine) because it looked like it had fewer side effects than SSRIs. I have not experienced side effects on my 15mg dose, but I feel like my anxiety is more or less the same. I still am anxious about leaving my apartment without taking Klonopin. I really do not want to become more addicted but I have to go to classes and be able to get through this semester. I live at my university which is not in a city so I don't have a psychologist currently. Over the summer I plan to try CBT and try a new medicine because I really need to get my anxiety under control. I guess I'm just writing this because I don't talk to anyone about my anxiety, even my best friends. I just need to vent. I feel like it is only getting worse and nothing will let me live a normal life. Does anyone have any suggestions about how I can get my life back on track and put this anxiety behind me? What should I do?!