Anxiety vs Stress vs harmless?

[tailspin]

One of my pet peeves is when people - especially doctors - tell me what I'm experiencing is "just" anxiety and that it's "harmless". If that is supposed to make me feel better, it doesn't. It also makes no sense to me.

It seems to me that chronic anxiety is very much like chronic stress. In both cases our bodies are in a state of chronic tension and all kinds of physical symptoms result from the release of stress hormones. Yet nobody would say that living in a state of heightened stress is harmless. Chronic stress is known to be bad for the body and is related to all kinds of serious medical conditions such as high blood pressure and heart disease.

Why then do people think that chronic anxiety is harmless, when it clearly stresses the body and has some of the same effects as stress?

I guess I just want more people - again, especially doctors - to take this condition seriously!!!!! I'm so tired of having this condition trivialized. I'm not talking about the odd bout of anxiety now and then. I'm talking about chronic long term anxiety which can be extremely debilitating and have all sorts of negative impacts on how a person is able to live their life. Not to mention adverse reactions to their health. No way is this condition harmless.

Of course, there are many things we can do to help ourselves. But one thing that would help me personally is if more people took anxiety disorders seriously and regarded them as harmful (not harmless) conditions/diseases that deserve the same level of attention and treatment as other medical conditions!

[anthonyjbro760]

Guess it means everyone is going to die young all human being stress bad these days

[Cobra]

I don't think they're dismissive of it. I just think there's little they can do for it. The only person who can cure you is you. Just my opinion.

[tailspin]

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.

My pdoc takes me seriously, but I feel there needs to be a much better understanding of Anxiety Disorders and how they effect people physically, and in all areas of their life, by the general medical profession. Of course, we have to take responsibility for our own anxiety and I am not suggesting there is a magic bullet, but the truth is millions of people really suffer with this stuff and I don't think there is adequate understanding or sufficient treatment of it ("it" being anxiety orders specifically, and mental disorders in general).

[tailspin]

I agree . But also they are not trained in it .

I think it is best that you find the people that understand what you are talking about rather than try and convince people that cant and will never understand .

You have to of lived with anxiety to understand the full impact of it .

Anxiety is just stress on a higher level . It is fixable but you need to choose your battles and honestly trying to get people to understand that dont is just more headaches. Your better off to educate and fix yourself .

Good points! Yes, definitely can't argue with any of that!

[Cobra]

I was lucky in that my primary care doctor had suffered from anxiety. She prescribed me some meds to help bring it down a bit, referred me to a psychiatrist and talked to me a bit about her own issues. It was not super helpful, to be honest, because everyone is very confused and frightened when the anxiety attacks first start happening. Panic disorder has a steep learning curve, and unfortunately, by the time you realize what is happening to you, your brain has already set patterns of almost instinctive panic response to your triggers, patterns that have to be taken apart bit by bit, day by day, with a lot of willpower and determination. I am six months in and though I am able to shop and drive without too much anxiety now, I am still having a huge amount of trouble eating and paranoia about my heart. Anxiety is fear, fear that has programmed itself into your brain, and the only way to fight it is to be brave. You have to be brave in the face of the most horrible terror you've every felt in your life, and just keep fighting it and fighting it.

[Lin]

I agree that it is extremely difficult for anyone who has not experience it, or trained in it, to understand anxiety or depression.
It is a great shame to have it made to appear trivial by anyone, because on the Forum we all know how bad and desperate it can make you feel.
It is best to find a Dr and psychiatrist etc who understands and can help you overcome your problems.
Peer support groups in England are good - anyone suffering from any kind of mental health issues can go along and they are free except for donations. The Mental Health Forum run them in Dorset and we have recently started an evening one. Membership is slow, but the 4-6 of us at the moment who get together find it really beneficial to have 1.5 hours every Wednesday evening to talk to each other, and we all understand. I would recommend you see if you have a group in your area, it might help talking to people who understand.

[tailspin]

I was lucky in that my primary care doctor had suffered from anxiety. She prescribed me some meds to help bring it down a bit, referred me to a psychiatrist and talked to me a bit about her own issues. It was not super helpful, to be honest, because everyone is very confused and frightened when the anxiety attacks first start happening. Panic disorder has a steep learning curve, and unfortunately, by the time you realize what is happening to you, your brain has already set patterns of almost instinctive panic response to your triggers, patterns that have to be taken apart bit by bit, day by day, with a lot of willpower and determination. I am six months in and though I am able to shop and drive without too much anxiety now, I am still having a huge amount of trouble eating and paranoia about my heart. Anxiety is fear, fear that has programmed itself into your brain, and the only way to fight it is to be brave. You have to be brave in the face of the most horrible terror you've every felt in your life, and just keep fighting it and fighting it.

Hi Cobra, Are you in therapy? Do you use a CBT type approach (working on your thinking and self-talk etc) or what approach are you taking? Are you still on meds? Definitely sounds like you making good progress, which is great. I'm at the point where I am exhausted from it. It just wears you down, ya know?

[tailspin]

I agree that it is extremely difficult for anyone who has not experience it, or trained in it, to understand anxiety or depression.
It is a great shame to have it made to appear trivial by anyone, because on the Forum we all know how bad and desperate it can make you feel.
It is best to find a Dr and psychiatrist etc who understands and can help you overcome your problems.
Peer support groups in England are good - anyone suffering from any kind of mental health issues can go along and they are free except for donations. The Mental Health Forum run them in Dorset and we have recently started an evening one. Membership is slow, but the 4-6 of us at the moment who get together find it really beneficial to have 1.5 hours every Wednesday evening to talk to each other, and we all understand. I would recommend you see if you have a group in your area, it might help talking to people who understand.

Thanks for the helpful feedback, Lin. I think I could definitely find a better doctor and I am going to look into switching. It's great you have found a helpful support group near your home. I'm not sure if there are any peer to peer groups like that near where I am, but I know my local hospital offers group classes. I've done a couple in the past but it's definitely something I could look into again. Thanks for the suggestions!

[Cobra]

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.

[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 :eek: )

[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 :eek: )

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.

[tailspin]

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.

Hi oliviam, sorry you can relate! And I'm really sorry you have gastritis. I hope you can get some effective treatment for that. Maybe from a different doctor? I'm going to look into switching to a new doc myself. Good luck to you!

[tailspin]

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.

I'm really sorry you don't currently have insurance, Jessica. I have heard that Welbutrin can be very stimulating/activating so I can see how it could make anxiety a lot worse. Sorry you had that experience.

What you say about expecting to feel crappy is so true. After a while, feeling crappy becomes a habit and we expect it. And that really can be a trap. But then I do have good days. Boy, what a difference mood makes!!!! It just all feels out of my control. My moods, I mean. It's always been that way, now I think about it. My moods have always felt unstable. Not to the extent of being Bi-Polar, just, my "good moods" have always tended to feel fragile and temporary, whereas my bad moods have tended more and more to feel like the norm. And so often, there seems to be no rhyme or reason for the mood changes. It's all internal, rather than external.

I did recently up my dose of Lexapro so I think the dosage is high enough. But I can see that I need to need to make more effort myself, instead of hoping the pills will work better. I have definitely fallen into a rut and I need to make some changes to my daily routine. My attitude could also use some work!!

Thanks for making me think about this!

[tailspin]

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.


Yes! So true. Though I don't even worry so much about losing it all (since I don't really have it all), but when I'm having a good day, or I'm in a good mood, there is so much further to fall when I lose that good mood. So in that sense, it is like losing it all. And it hurts more. And, definitely, that sense of impending doom.......