Suggestions for me anyone?

[Finch7]

Hi there, I'm currently in high school doing very well (85% average) but Ive recently been diagnosed with anxiety disorder. All was going well until about a month ago when I had an experience that I did not enjoy at school. I have missed quite a bit of time since then but have gone a few times. Every time I go back there I get thoughts about my past experience and I start feel unconftorable, my heart gets racing and I start to feel dizzy, and I well, panic. Staying home makes me feel relaxed but I know it's not the right thing to do. It has gone from bad to worse as now every time I even leave my house I get reminded of my past experience. I have been taking Prozac for about 2 weeks but have been told it could take up to 10 weeks to start working. I don't want to lose my semester over this but i'm starting to get worried. I also have Ativan and I feel like taking that is the only way that I can leave without getting unconftorable. I was only given 10 tablets as I know it's only ok for short term use, but I'm starting to rely on it and I know that's bad. Does anyone have any suggestions to help me get out the door, without taking an Ativan tablet?

[acasey]

hi there. i am in no position to give anyone advise, as i am dealing with some pretty bad anxiety myself. but i will give you my opinion. you said that you had an experience at school that caused this. but you didn't say what the experience was. not trying to be get into your business, but we might be able to give some suggestions if we knew what the situaton was that started it all. staying home and avoding it is not the answer. you have to face whatever it is your fearing, or you wont be able to rid yourself of that fear. you say you feel safe at home and panic when you leave the house. you should start by leaving and going only a short distance, maybe just sitting on the front porch. do that for while until you get use to it. then keep going further distances. you may even find that when you do leave the house, you dont panic as much as you thought you would. in doing this you are facing your fear. trust me from experience, staying in the house is only going to make it worse, then you will start feeling isolated from the rest of the world. it's going to be uncomfortable, but in time the anxiety will decrease. you need to read some books about CBT. i think what they cover in these books will be of great help to you. just know that anxiety does decrease over time. it may take awhile, its hard, and you have to push yourself, but it does get better. the prozac takes 10 weeks to kick in........ in that time your body will have already started to heal its self. thats just my opinion. time heals all please be careful with the ativan. benzos are very addictive. the doc is only giving them to you for short term, so when they are gone your gonna have to leave the house and wont have the pills to rely on to help you through it. i suggest you start praticing like i said, WITHOUT the ativan. taking the ativan is not helping you face your fear. your putting a bandaid on it, and when that bandaid is gone, the wound is still there. i have been through hell and back with my anxiety the last few months. couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, could barley leave my house. now im back to doing all the normal things iv always done. not becuase my anxiety is gone, it's still there, but becuase i have pushed myself to move on. when my anxiety starts up while im trying to enjoy myself, I say F**k you anxiety, your not stopping me from living my life. my friend recently told me an inspirational quote. life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about going out and dancing in the rain. you will get through this i promise, give it time, and in the mean time go check out a book about CBT. hope this helped

[Finch7]

Thanks for the help I appreciate it a lot. You also said that I should open up but just talking about it makes me feel "panicy". I also have a few questions for you if your still on: What is CBT?, If you have taken prozac did it work well? I know everyone is different but just looking for some extra info, and the fact that I feel like I need the Ativan makes me nervous, I was planing on taking it tomorrow but should i just try to go without it? I have tried before but I make it to the parking lot and turn around because I cant control my thoughts, I think about it my whole walk there. It even bugs be the night before, like right now. I can't get my mind off it, it sort of sounds like you can so if im right do you have any strategies to help get your mind of these thoughts?

[acasey]

yeah i know what you mean about talking about it making you panicy. i do the same thing. but you will find that the more you talk about it the more comfortable you will get with it. do you have anyone that you are very close with that you can talk about it with? i know my mom has been amazing through all this. i tell her whatever im feeling and she is able to talk me out of it. it may be uncomfortable at first talking about it with someone. but afterwords you will feel so much better. i know i do.

CBT stands for congitive behavioral therapy. it basically shows you how to change the way you think about things, and helps you face your fears. Alot of what you said i read about in these books and gives you stragegies to help overcome it. it will do you wonders. you can even just go to the local libarary and check one out. the one i read is called cbt for dummies. it's very easy to follow

i have never taken prozac. i actually have a script for it. but never took it. they all pretty much work in the same way. i took zoloft for a couple of years. and to be honest it was amazing. my anxiety was completly gone and i was back to being my happy healthy self. however, when i got of it, the anxiety came back within a few months. i went to the doc to get put back on it but i had a bad reaction, and it actually made my anxiety worse. but now looking back i think it was just all in my head. but because of that reaction i had, im now scared to take anything. trust me, i wish i could take the zoloft again. im not anti meds at all because i know how much it helped me in the past. but it is only a short term fix. when the meds are gone, the anxiety is back. so this time around im trying to let time heal me. but if you feel that the meds will help you then def go for it. it's your decision. dont let anyone else influence you that taking meds is the wrong thing to do, or that you must take them to be normal.

you have to decide what is right for you. ativan can be very addictive. i have a script for kolonipin. i have had it for about 3 months, and in that time iv taken about 5 pills. i only take a half one at a time. and i only take one when it's gets to bad that i can't function. i have bad days all the time and manage to get through without one, and at the end of the day i feel pretty good about getting through it on my own. when im freaking out thinking im dying, heart beating out of my chest, crying (aka, panic attack), then i will take one. dont take one just to avoid freaking out. you want to freak out sometimes, that way you can learn the skills to get through it. if you take an ativan, you are preventing yourself from learning the skills you need to learn. so just take one when your already freaking out, not before.

controling my thoughts is one of the hardest parts for me. im still working on it, but im getting much better. the key is actually to NOT try to control your thoughts. by trying to control them, that means you are thinking about it, if your thinking about it, it;s not going to go away if that makes sense. here is something i learned in the CBT book. close your eyes. now i want you to picture a pink dog. now open your eyes, and stop thinking abotu the dog. YOU CAN'T RIGHT? thats because when your trying to not think about it, it's making you think about it even more, haha. this is easier said then done, but you have to try and accept your thoughts for what they are. they are just thought they mean nothing. just because you tihnk something does not mean it's going to come true. when you have the thoughts just let them pass by. don't focus on them and move on. you said that on your walk you can't stop thinking aboout it. when you are walking try to focus on the external enviroment. use all of your senses. see what kind of smells you can smell, pay attention to how ground feels as you walk on it, listen to all the noises going on around you, birds, cars, people talking. look at the scenery and pay attention to little things you didn't notice before. it takes alot of pratice, im still working on it myself. but it can be done. by focusing on the external enviroment, you are taking your attention away from your inner thoughts. try to live in the moment.

please get the CBT book. it will help you so much. you are going to be just fine. weather you decide to take meds or not, the anxiety will fade in time. and you WILL get back to living your life just as you did before the anxiety started. it may take awhile but you will get there. hope i helped

[Finch7]

Thanks for the advice, and I will have to try and find CBT for dummies ha ha.