Some advice would be very good

[ovals5]

Hello,

I'm new to the forum and I wanted to express myself a little here. Recently, I planned a trip to go to Santa Cruz, but my panic disorder prevented me from going. I have really supportive friends who wanted me to conquer the anxieties and were willing to be there a hundred percent of the way, but I was too frantic. I felt so depressed, angry, and awful. I cried a few times and I was overwhelmed with fear. I was taking medicine, but that didn't help me calm myself down. I can't seem to control my mind. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

[V for Victor]

Anxiety does that to us. It takes our lives away a little at a time.

It's probably not going to go away on it's own. You may have cycles where it is really bad, and then eases off, but it'll probably come back again.

The good news is that there are a myriad of options for treating and controlling anxiety. I'm not sure how many different medications you've tried, but you should know that not all medications are the same and what works for one may not work for another. I was lucky that the first med I tried was the one for me. If you want, you can go back to the doctor and start asking about other types of medications. There are also therapy groups that can help, books, herbs, you name it.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy seems to be the therapy of choice. It can help you learn to take control of your anxiety and start "reprogramming" your mind to fight it off more automatically.

Just some thoughts. :)[/list]

[RichB]

I'm new here too, but not new to what you're going through. Fortunately I've been able to conquer my anxieties but it's a hard road. You'll eventually come out a better, more empathetic person for it. Read all you can and educate yourself about what anxiety and panic is. The meds help, but you need to use them WHILE you learn to cope, not instead of learning.

Rich

[Robbed]

I'm new here too, but not new to what you're going through. Fortunately I've been able to conquer my anxieties but it's a hard road. You'll eventually come out a better, more empathetic person for it. Read all you can and educate yourself about what anxiety and panic is. The meds help, but you need to use them WHILE you learn to cope, not instead of learning.

Rich

Just curious. How exactly did you manage to overcome your anxiety?

[RichB]

Where do I start....

I saw psychiatrists that gave my drugs for far too long but helped initially. At least they gave my feelings a name.

I spoke to therapists who helped me understand myself more but didn't really help with my anxiety.

What really helped is when I stopped fearing my feelings and had a strategy for getting past them. I read everything I could get my hands on, some books going back to pre-1900 and trying everything and seeing what worked and what was BS. After awhile I had a great plan I could use for all my fears of a few techniques and strategies that were actually USEFUL and no psycho mumbo jumbo. Those experiences and frustration are what made me get involved with the program I'm in, to help others not have to spend the years I did figuring it all out.

So in a word, information. How I got the info is what took forever and caused me heartache and brought me close to not wanting to even try anymore.

Rich