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View Full Version : My Anxiety is Slowly Starting to Overwhelm Me Again



Two One
10-14-2015, 04:25 PM
I've had quite a long, hard fought road with my anxiety. There has been times when I can control it very well to the point where it's almost nonexistent. However, then there are other times when it can range from uncomfortable to down right disabling. I've been struggling with my anxiety lately and I'm beginning to fear the worst. I haven't been able to see my therapist lately due to scheduling conflicts with school and whatnot. So I'm doing my best to hold it together until I am able to have my appointment. Lately, I've been feeling overwhelmed to say the least. It's hard for me to describe honestly. Everything that I type will still not fully explain how I have been feeling.

There are times during the day where my mind completely races. I have so many thoughts going through my mind and it's incredibly difficult for me to pick out a single one. When I look at everything objectively, I'm doing a lot better with my anxiety than I was a year ago. Externally, it seems as though I do not have many stressors. But I feel overwhelmed, I feel suffocated by everything going on. Despite being back in school and having my true friends around me, I feel more alone than ever. I feel uneasy almost all the time. I feel like absolute crap physically for at least an hour a day which is very uncomfortable. I've built a life for myself, I fixed things I felt I needed to fix, and I've mended relationships that I care about deeply. I have a life that was supposed to represent me moving from my life that was plagued by anxiety but at the same time I'm terrified. At the same time I almost see this as a curse. I feel like I have too much to lose now. If I make one wrong choice, I can lose it all (again). If I lose anything that I've worked for or anything that I care about I feel like I will be right back where I started. Right now it seems as though I'm merely trying to hold myself together rather than focus on getting better and overcoming my anxiety. I see this as a serious issue.

On the physical side of things I've been having some symptoms that are troubling to say the least. My stomach has been uneasy for quite some time and although I know it's my anxiety that causes it, it still makes me worry. I've also been having headaches almost daily. Due to my fear of migraines this only increases my anxiety, but the pain is not migraine like at all. I wake up with the headache and throughout the day it sort of waxes and wanes in its intensity. The pain is not too severe, it's very tolerable actually, but the headache itself is very dull and persistent. It is at its worst in the morning and at night. Now for the most troubling symptom. It's a symptom that's hard for me to describe. I have this weird sensation in my head, it feels as though my brain is foggy and I just feel hazy. It's almost like a lightheaded feeling. There's strange feelings of unreality and it's just a troubling symptom. I tend to misinterpret this as vertigo which again, makes me anxiety that much worse. Has anybody had this strange "brain fog" symptom before? If you have any advice on how to deal with symptom, please let me know.

I apologize for the length of this post. I just wanted to get a few things off of my chest until I am able to see my therapist. Thank you to all who took the time to read in advance.

NixonRulz
10-14-2015, 04:43 PM
TwoOne - good to see you again but sorry it isn't under better circumstances

The brain fog is easy. Derealization or depersonalization. Basically the same thing and very common. And it is funny that you mention having an uneasy stomach. When I went through DP, my stomach was in knots terribly.

All the other crappy symptoms are just another reason to love anxiety disorders. I know you know that but it is time to really BELIEVE it.

Everything in your post, whether with relationships or physical symptoms, revolves around fear. And we know irrational fear is the spot on definition of anxiety so perhaps we start to work on only the anxiety issue and all the other things will just fall into place.

Are you on any meds or open to them? They make a world of difference for physical symptoms and especially racing thoughts.

Two One
10-16-2015, 11:50 AM
TwoOne - good to see you again but sorry it isn't under better circumstances

The brain fog is easy. Derealization or depersonalization. Basically the same thing and very common. And it is funny that you mention having an uneasy stomach. When I went through DP, my stomach was in knots terribly.

All the other crappy symptoms are just another reason to love anxiety disorders. I know you know that but it is time to really BELIEVE it.

Everything in your post, whether with relationships or physical symptoms, revolves around fear. And we know irrational fear is the spot on definition of anxiety so perhaps we start to work on only the anxiety issue and all the other things will just fall into place.

Are you on any meds or open to them? They make a world of difference for physical symptoms and especially racing thoughts.

Hey, Nixon. I wish it was under better circumstances as well, but I knew this wouldn't be an easy road.

The derealization / depersonalization is a troubling symptom just because it's such an odd feeling. But you're right, I can definitely deduce that it's a result of anxiety. I agree that I need to focus on working on my anxiety more. I've been too busy working on everything else going on that my anxiety has probably gone up as a result. I can say that I have a lot of stress / fear right now. Especially about school.

I'm on medication. I'm on 20 mg of Lexapro and 0.5 mg of Klonopin as needed. Although, I can say the Lexapro never really did much for me. It didn't make a huge difference for me once I started taking it, but it didn't make me any worse either. It's also worth noting that the Lexapro was prescribed by my first psychiatrist who turned out not to be a good fit for me at all. The psychiatrist I'm seeing right now decided to keep me on it to see how I would do but perhaps I need to change to a different SSRI. I rarely use the Klonopin, I take it about once a month. A few times a month if I'm having a hell of a time, but usually I try to power through it.

NixonRulz
10-16-2015, 01:29 PM
Hey, Nixon. I wish it was under better circumstances as well, but I knew this wouldn't be an easy road.

The derealization / depersonalization is a troubling symptom just because it's such an odd feeling. But you're right, I can definitely deduce that it's a result of anxiety. I agree that I need to focus on working on my anxiety more. I've been too busy working on everything else going on that my anxiety has probably gone up as a result. I can say that I have a lot of stress / fear right now. Especially about school.

I'm on medication. I'm on 20 mg of Lexapro and 0.5 mg of Klonopin as needed. Although, I can say the Lexapro never really did much for me. It didn't make a huge difference for me once I started taking it, but it didn't make me any worse either. It's also worth noting that the Lexapro was prescribed by my first psychiatrist who turned out not to be a good fit for me at all. The psychiatrist I'm seeing right now decided to keep me on it to see how I would do but perhaps I need to change to a different SSRI. I rarely use the Klonopin, I take it about once a month. A few times a month if I'm having a hell of a time, but usually I try to power through it.

Effexor was the one that ended up working for me. It did a great job