Anxiety + Head Injury + Drug Addiction

[droz]

You can tell him this . . .

The thing about anxiety is that all of us who have it want a solution right at this very moment as well. Our thoughts drive us crazy, too, and we just don't understand why we can't control this terrible feeling. But the more we try to control it, sometimes the worse it gets. The more we accept the anxiety, usually the better it gets. The more we realize that even if we are anxious, it doesn't actually hurt anything, the better we get. And the more we realize that it might take time to get better and accept that, the better it gets.

It sounds counterproductive, accept your anxiety and you'll get better, but a lot of the problem with anxiety is that we fear what it does to us and our brains and lives. And when you accept it and believe you can handle it, it becomes easier to handle.

But of course, that is much easier said than done! And I'm not saying this is a simple solution because it really isn't!

Also, I know he was injured, but it would be good to encourage him not to believe that he's a damaged individual. I have had anxiety and depression problems my entire life and therefore I've always thought it was genetic, almost like fate, that I would be forced to suffer forever. Make sure he understands he's the same person, he just happens to have anxiety right now, but that it doesn't define him. It's not who he is now. He's still the same person. That helped me a lot, too. Because when you have a mental problem like this, sometimes you feel like you're some kind of doomed weirdo!

Thanks for this advice; I will definitely talk to him about it. It sounds right...like, I know that he definitely worries about feeling the anxiety when he's not feeling it; that anticipation is there.

[acetone]

Stop his pot. I have read many accounts of people developing anxiety after smoking marijuana.

[droz]

Quick Update: We've started him on Celexa; it's been about a week and a half, it's hard to tell if it's helping yet. He says it makes him feel kind of weird; I know these meds can be kind of dodgy with teens, so I'm keeping a close eye for any weird behavior or suicidal thoughts. All in all, though, the last week or so has actually been pretty decent. he had one "meltdown" but I took him for a drive and got him talking about other stuff.