Anxiety vs Stress vs harmless?

[JustAnotherAttack]

I have considered looking for support groups for the anxiety problems that I have, but all of my issues boil down to a chemical imbalance that can be corrected with medications.
Its places like this one that really have been a huge help. I can get on here when I feel like I'm having a panic attack and I can write about how I'm feeling and reply to others posts.
It sort of comes down to distracting yourself.
Finding a worthy distraction helps me so much. I'd love to start painting again because when I do that I can channel my emotions into an art piece and I don't focus so much on my anxiety problems.
Also making friends who have similar issues that you do with panic attacks may help. If you cannot find a support group in your area...make one!

[tailspin]

I have a counsellor and psychiatrist. I take half an Ativan when I need, but I try not to. I don't like being dependent on drugs. My counsellor says my big issue is self esteem and we do positive reinforcement therapy and affirmations. The psychiatrist prescribes the meds. He is a salty old dog who doesn't believe that cbt and positive thought work. He is more the exposure, face your fears type. He says I should cultivate a fuck it attitude, his words. Lol. He says panic is a bully that must be stood up to and fought. I tend to agree with him, but I try to work on my self esteem, too. I'm sure it has some bearing on my issues.

Yes, self-esteem (or lack thereof) is a huge problem for me too. And it's definitely related to my anxiety.
Thanks for the feedback, Cobra.

[tailspin]

I have considered looking for support groups for the anxiety problems that I have, but all of my issues boil down to a chemical imbalance that can be corrected with medications.
Its places like this one that really have been a huge help. I can get on here when I feel like I'm having a panic attack and I can write about how I'm feeling and reply to others posts.
It sort of comes down to distracting yourself.
Finding a worthy distraction helps me so much. I'd love to start painting again because when I do that I can channel my emotions into an art piece and I don't focus so much on my anxiety problems.
Also making friends who have similar issues that you do with panic attacks may help. If you cannot find a support group in your area...make one!

Hi Jessica. Yes, I find online forums helpful for the same reasons. No one in my circle of friends has an anxiety disorder. I'm big on trying to distract myself too. The internet is one of the greatest distraction tools out there and I don't know what I'd do without it! (Of course, it's also a double-edged sword because the internet can also fuel my anxiety when I start googling diseases )

[Dahila]

I have definitely been dismissed by my doc because of my anxiety issues and I've read that it's a common problem for people with anxiety problems to get blown off by their primary care physicians. You're right though, it could well be because they don't know what to do. But it certainly doesn't help when you're made to feel like it's all in your head and it just adds to the misunderstanding of of mental illness.

Different country, different doctors the same patterns. same situation. I had to trick the B-lady to refer me to psychiatrist. I am so lucky my Pdoc is awesome and she is really helping me. Finally)

[JustAnotherAttack]

Hi Jessica. Yes, I find online forums helpful for the same reasons. No one in my circle of friends has an anxiety disorder. I'm big on trying to distract myself too. The internet is one of the greatest distraction tools out there and I don't know what I'd do without it! (Of course, it's also a double-edged sword because the internet can also fuel my anxiety when I start googling diseases )

I do the same thing lmao! I start thinking "well what if something IS IN FACT wrong with me and I'm being ignorant?" then I head over to google and find that I possibly have 5 different fatal diseases that have no cure what so ever.
I just refuse to believe that I have something that will kill me. Anxiety doesn't cause death, lol! It feels super uncomfortable and it is terrible to deal with, but I try to think that I am fortunate because things could be a lot worse for me.

Its just strange. I literally have no stress. I wake up when I want, clean the house, do laundry, cook dinner, spend time with my husband, and we run errands together when we need to. We go out to dinner occasionally, we have money to buy things we need/want to have and we love each other. I don't live near my parents which gets hard sometimes, but only because my mom was the only one that I ever had for so long. Missing them doesn't cause my anxiety though. I literally have nothing to stress over. My life is easy. I take care of a great man and he takes care of me, so why I have panic attacks I'll never know. My best guess is just the whole chemical imbalance, lol.

[tailspin]

Different country, different doctors the same patterns. same situation. I had to trick the B-lady to refer me to psychiatrist. I am so lucky my Pdoc is awesome and she is really helping me. Finally)

Really glad you have a great pdoc, Dahlia! I like mine too. I just wish I had more confidence in my primary care doc!

[tailspin]

I do the same thing lmao! I start thinking "well what if something IS IN FACT wrong with me and I'm being ignorant?" then I head over to google and find that I possibly have 5 different fatal diseases that have no cure what so ever.
I just refuse to believe that I have something that will kill me. Anxiety doesn't cause death, lol! It feels super uncomfortable and it is terrible to deal with, but I try to think that I am fortunate because things could be a lot worse for me.

Its just strange. I literally have no stress. I wake up when I want, clean the house, do laundry, cook dinner, spend time with my husband, and we run errands together when we need to. We go out to dinner occasionally, we have money to buy things we need/want to have and we love each other. I don't live near my parents which gets hard sometimes, but only because my mom was the only one that I ever had for so long. Missing them doesn't cause my anxiety though. I literally have nothing to stress over. My life is easy. I take care of a great man and he takes care of me, so why I have panic attacks I'll never know. My best guess is just the whole chemical imbalance, lol.

I can really relate to a lot of this. I am in a similar situation in many ways in that I have no obvious stresses in my life. In fact, my life looks great on the outside!!! But inside, it's another story. I feel like crap. I do go along with the chemical imbalance theory, except, I wonder why meds don't work better for me. I've tried all the main SSRI's and SNRI's and they just don't do that much. I continue to take Lexapro because when I came off my medication I ended up doing so much worse that I realized it was helping me more than I thought. So I do take meds, but I still struggle. And this has been going on for a long, long time. I just don't get it!!

[oliviam]

I agree with your post. I have suffered from anxiety since I was a child, although I didn't know what it was at the time. It comes and goes in waves, really hitting every time I go through a major change in my life. I don't feel stressed all of the time but I have been experiencing very real physical pain as a result (recently diagnosed with gastritis) and doctors act like having uncomfortable stomach pain is just fine because it is most likely self-induced. Just trying to focus on feeling "normal" again.

[JustAnotherAttack]

I can really relate to a lot of this. I am in a similar situation in many ways in that I have no obvious stresses in my life. In fact, my life looks great on the outside!!! But inside, it's another story. I feel like crap. I do go along with the chemical imbalance theory, except, I wonder why meds don't work better for me. I've tried all the main SSRI's and SNRI's and they just don't do that much. I continue to take Lexapro because when I came off my medication I ended up doing so much worse that I realized it was helping me more than I thought. So I do take meds, but I still struggle. And this has been going on for a long, long time. I just don't get it!!

I think that maybe the reason the meds don't work for you the way that they should is because when you take anxiety medications for anxiety you still have the thoughts in your head about it.
Its easy to sort of trick ourselves into thinking that things dont work because we are so used to the way that things were before the meds.
I never noticed how the meds were helping me until I stopped taking them. I think it is because I was used to feeling so crappy and I EXPECTED to feel crappy so I didn't give myself a chance with the medication though I was on it for a while.

Could it also be that the dose that you're taking isnt the correct dose and may need to be adjusted?
I heard that over time as your body gets used to a certain dose that it may need to be increased to get the same effect out of it, so that could also be true.

I wish I was able to take meds for my anxiety. I'm not currently on insurance, so I have to suffer through the crap.
I was prescribed Welbutrin, but it was so bad. I ended up getting severe panic attacks multiple times a day.

[Cobra]

You're probably worried that you will lose your happy life? How? Sickness or death! It can be very stressful to have it all, because you can Los it all. Life is unpredictable. Also, you may worry that you don't deserve the fine things you have. Or, like me, think that you've been just too darn lucky, and any moment now something terrible is going to happen to jerk the rug out from under your feet.