I just want to be normal again

[mama2009]

I am a 26 yr old woman who has been dealing with anxiety for almost 8 yrs. I am absolutely terrified of dying/death, cancer, and any other life threatening disease. I am not currently on any medication but have taken paxil, pozac,and lexapro.
Each day I live in a fog, irritated, moody,tense,tired, detatched from reality,etc. I have currently had more attacks than I'd like and they are even waking me up in the middle of the night. I am at the end of my anxious rope.
I don't want to take any medication because I don't want to live my life dependent on drugs. I want to finally beat this but no one I know can relate to how I feel. Is there anyone out there with any suggestions??

[rejanette]

I was under Xanax and could not take it any more... I ' m seeing a therapist and it's been helping me a lot .... My attacks are less present and I' m learning to control all my anxiety.
Also acupuncture done wonders for me in the past.
Rejane

[Georgec]

You sound similar to a woman I spoke to on the phone the other day. I can't really talk about the things we said though....

With anxiety many people fear cancer and death etc... That seems to be the norm. You have to look beyond those symptoms and work through the stress and anxiety in your life.

How is work going? How is your husband (do you have a husband/boyfriend/fiance?) How is your family treating you? How do you treat them? What do you do on a daily bases?

I find that anxiety is deeply rooted in our actions, thoughts, and behavior. I actually have a theory that the symptoms are just a way of blocking people from having to deal with the biggest problems in their lives. It seems extreme, but as I talk to more and more people, it makes some sense.

If you have any questions let me know.

Thank You,

George

[mama2009]

I do have someone special in my life and I do have a daughter that is almost 2. I was just recently layed off from my job and since that has happened I have had to deal with more stress than I would like to. When I was younger I have had to do with alot of emothional and physical abuse until I was 17. I used to think that I was the strongest person I knew and since the attacks, they have wore down the guard I had up for so long. I can cry at the drop of a hat now when years ago I didn't know how to. My past eats at me more now, than it has when I was living it. I fear more at 26 than I have in my entire life and I have let it consume my life. I just wish that some day I would wake up from this "dream" and my life would be normal. I look at my daughter every day and wish that I didn't feel the way I do 6 out of 7 days.

[Georgec]

Abuse from the past definitely effects us through the rest of our lives.

You have to take action not just hope this will go away. Many people with anxiety are very passive and hope that this will just stop and they can be normal again. The truth is it takes time and effort. You have to be confident and deal with all problems in your life. Losing a job is very stressful.

Did you have anxiety before you lost it?

People that are so strong tend to convince themselves that they have nothing wrong in their lives. They tend to believe everything is fine when in reality things are not all good.

If you have any questions please let me know.

Thanks,

George

[Robbed]

I actually have a theory that the symptoms are just a way of blocking people from having to deal with the biggest problems in their lives. It seems extreme, but as I talk to more and more people, it makes some sense.

And the funny thing about it is that dealing with anxiety symptoms is RIDICULOUSLY easy compared to dealing with those problems in life. Back when all those anxiety symptoms were SOOO much worse for me, I thought that those problems were all I would have to deal with. And that, if I could deal with them, everything else in life would seem EASY in comparison. Now that I have dealt with all of that, all the nastiness that was in my life before is there once again. It's certainly not easy. And I still don't know what to do about it.

[mama2009]

yes I have had these problems for years before the lay off. At first it took me a year before I realized it was anxiety and depression. Then I was just medicated for it. Every day I live my life in fear and it's not fair to my family. Some days I can mask what I'm feeling, but the way I feel on the inside is killing me. I'm afraid to even talk about it because I'm afraid someone is going to tell me that something is wrong with me and that it's not normal to feel this way. So i've just learned to "live" with this. When really I don't want to live like this anymore I want to free myself of anxiety and depression. I do however understand that I can't totally relieve myself of every day stress. I just wish I am able to find another way to deal with it.