Help! Will this ever end?

[Nadia A]

hi everyone,

I am new to this forum as I have been seeking to talk to someone who will understand me (hopefully) I have read some of your posts and you all sound very supportive as at the end of the day we are all in the same boat so to speak. Anyway, i am 26 years old, female and have been diagnose recently with social anxiety, panic disorder and depression. I am on various medications and am in therapy.(CBT) for the past year and a half I have been suffering nausea, dizzyness, chest pains, stomach problems, panic attacks and wobbly and shaky nearly every day. I was pnly diagnosed in the past four weeks. I have so many questions to ask but am so scared to ask anyone i know. Therapy is even very difficult as I find I m unable to talk to my therapist. I hope someone here can help at least by answering some of my thousands of worries.

Has anyone done CBT and how long can it take to complete?

How long does a does of 20mg a day of citalopram takes to start working? How do I know it is working?

Will I have this the rest of my life?

I have been off work for nearly three months now but I know I need to go back soon but am totally terrified as before I was diagnosed they had major issues with me because the anxiety and depression was obviously affing me at work. I was even getting dragged into see the big boss of the company because of my withdrawn behaviour! I have always been a nervous, worrier.
Please help me someone, any answers to my questions would be really great.

N

[forwells]

Hi Nadia A :D

I am on various medications. How many and and what sort. Many of the drugs can cause anxiety as well . Did at any stage when you started taking them increase your symptoms ..

have been diagnose recently with social anxiety, panic disorder and depression.
Doctors just love naming these bloody things . What you have is anxiety and all the others fall under that banner . But what happens these doctors name them all and make a person feel like they have a group of problem instead of just one that needs dealing with .

Has anyone done CBT and how long can it take to complete?
Never did it but i think i do it automatic. It can work and work well but what works more is to understand the turth behind anxiety and how it works . If you understand the turth it reduces the fear from it and also give you the imformation about how to change your thoughts - reaction to the symptoms .

Will I have this the rest of my life? Ok Yes you will have anxiety the rest of your life but not like now . Anxiety is stress and stress is a part of life but the stage you are at now is high anxiety where everything is blown out of whack . So in answer to your question i think is will i feel normal again . 100% in fact when you recover you will feel better because you will have learned to handle stress well .

I went from a mess , not being able to drive , leave house , talk to people to the most parts normal in 18 months and you can to but it takes work and understanding of anxiety and how it works . Anxiety is a trick and your body doing what it was built to do but it is doing it out of whack .

Hope that helps , any question let me know
cheers kev :D

[Nadia A]

Hi

Thanks very much for replying.
I am on 50mg Amitripyline once a day, 20mg citalopram once a day and 5mg chlordiazepoxide (whenever I need it). I dont think my sypmtoms have gotten worse, I do have longer periods of feeling good normally when i go out walking by myself away from everyone and everything. The mornings are the worst, shaky, wobbly, chest pains. I am learning more about anxiety every day through internet etc but I dont understand how I feel this way in the mornings as I dont think I have any particular thoughts. I just dont get it. it just comes out of the blue sometimes and i dont know why.

NA

[jon333]

Hello nadia.everyone.
Haven't checked these forums out for a while.
Always sad to read how this condition gets a hold.I went through a few months of high anxiety back in 2005.Especially bad for a week-as i didn't know what the hell was wrong.Just suddenly happened,nice sunny day on the beach after a swim.
Anyway,after a few weeks i learnt how to control it-and without resorting to medication thankfully.Doctors dont and cannot really help.Only YOU can. Only YOU know the way forward out of the hole.And it can be beaten,with the will to not allow it (that being your OWN frailties) dominate your life. You CAN beat this.It WILL leave you alone,if only you can start to believe you can win without anything but sheer will to not allow it to ruin your life.
You have loved ones? It can be pretty lonely,even with many friends and loved ones.They just do not understand.Its a living hell.
But you muist believe in yourself,in your ability to overcome what is just a mental condition...something that makes you feel inadequate,inable to live life as YOU want to. DO NOT let it win.
You can win,and with no help but belief in yourself,and your worth as a human being,that you're equal to anyone..and can be as strong as anyone else.Believe it.

[forwells]

Howdy again

Agree with Jon

Drugs will not help you and can make things alot worst . If you have been on the a while and no change then find a good doctor to talk to about them because they have side effects of anxiety and depression so i believe they can mask the problem .

Ok google anxiety center and join , read all the true info on anxiety and you will get yourselve out of it .

Takes work but you can do it.

Everything you feel is normal for anxiety .

Mornings seem to be worst for most because of thinking about the day . I bet you wake and first thing you think is i hope todays better or Oh your still here .
Anxiety works like going to the gym You do a workout but the next day you body feels worst .

You have to look at anxiety long term and do thing day in day out weather you feel good or bad untill your body settles back down to normal
cheers kev :D

[jon333]

Hi Kev
Drugs are never good are they.Glad i never had to get into that.I had to really fight it.
I couldn;t even read the word ANXIETY/P.A etc without getting that horrid feeling, for that worst week i had it.
But after a few weeks battle,i slowly got on top and those feelings faded.Those unwanted thoughts went,and i came back again.

I know thats what people here want,to be themselves again and not be dicated to by this horrid condition.
Fight for it guys and girls ! You CAN do it,with self belief and the will to be your happy confident selves...you all have the potential !

[forwells]

Howdy Jon

Too right

I never had anxiety before in my life . In fact i would have said i was one of the less anxious people i know . But i just hit my stress level and started showing symptoms of stress shakes DP Dr etc and doc said take these pills ( benzos) well within two days the nightmare began and took four months to get the doctors to listen and it to another 18 months to repair the damage done of being on then 4 months .

I guess im lucky that i have always been strong and could fight the doctors but many many people are not and never question their doctors .
I am shocked how many people are placed on drugs , sure there is a need but education would work better .
Most Doctors are good but some are shocking with the work load they have they just cant do there job well and we pay in the long run . He it takes me 6 weeks to see my doctor.

Glad you got past it mate

cheers kev :D

[Nadia A]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your replies. My problem is I dont believe in myself. I never have. ive been like this for a year and 7 months now. Ive been off work for 3 months with anxiety depression and IBS. I know I should go back to work but I am totally terrified. my bosses dont understand what is "MY PROBLEM" as they say to me. I was even dragged into meeting after meeting for months because they said i have a communication problem and I am beggining to be a problem for everyone at work. My boss even gave away all my responsibilities to a new start that I had trained and demoted me. I now not only have to deal with this nightmare of how ill I feel but to go back and take orders from someone who has 3 years less experience than me. I am so scared. i dont know what i am going to do.

NA

[kenja]

hi nadia

this is my first contribution on this site and i have to say the other posters are right in what they are saying to you in relation to the drugs!!! im not saying that drugs are totally useless, different things work for different people but i can only advise that you limit what you are taking maybe just hold onto a few light xanax or gerax of the equivalant for times when you feel like you are totally going crazy, but i have been suffering for the last year and a half and have been through all that and in relation to drugs i can only say that the benzos etc will make you worse also i cannot speak for other parts of the world but i presume scotland would be very simular to over here in ireland and the doctors especially gp's precribe these drugs all to easily, its an easy way out for them as most of them dont know how to treat our problems. google all the medication you are taking and read about them and their side effects and what they are actually doing to you, that will do you good and you will be a lot less likely to want to take them.

also in relation to the poster whos says that the answer and cure is all in you , if you believe in yourself etc, well he is also correct and he words it nicely and hope can be gotten from what he says , however to be fair to him and everyone, its not as simple as that or anywhere near, that is the mentality that you should have and you should educate yourself as much as possible but also get the right kind of info, there is a lot of rubbish out there and mis information inrelation to the ilness where people are trying to sell your their services or product as a cure, but definatly learn all you can, understand what is happening to you, it wont stop it from happening but it will help you. that along with the mentality that the others have described will help you especially when you are a little more relaxed
however it as anyone who suffers from cronic anxiety and panic know it will not prevent it from happening straight away, it takes time and sometimes lots of time, to be honest i dont know how much time it takes but what i will say is that it will improve you and when you have setbacks just tell dont panic and loose faith, that will make you worse and you will not make progress, just remember that you are doing all you can and let it happen to you because it will pass.

another thing i would suggest is that you look at your diet and lifestyle, this can help and there are certain things that make you feel worse so you should avoid them, excercise helps as you have already figured out and it is also good, im not sure how you are sleeping but if you are then thats a very good help, everything is so much worse if your not sleeping and the excercise will tire you out, but definatly look at your diet and lifestyle there are many good site out there that can help, iv not long got a new laptop and had many book marked that i found useful and i have suffered and still suffer bad so il see if i can root them out for you

the depression is ususlly a side effect of the anxiety and quite often a side effect of the meds they are giving , but i wouldnt like to make any more comment inrelation to that as i dont know all your details so a medical professional might tell you more about that, i only speak form the education i have found but most importantly the horrible expierience that is anxiety

al all here will probably tell you, we could all talk for hours about our expieriences, but sometimes its best not to , we all know whats like anyway.

in relation to your question on cbt, all i can say is that i wont knock it because iv talked to people who got great relief from it but me personally got no use from it at all it was a total waste of time and money, just like therapy, but that all depends on the person, we are all different and some things work for some but others cant take to them!!

again what the lads say is true it is up to you, you can help yourself more than anyone else or any drugs, in saying that, i have failed to cure myself as of yet, but one day :-)

im not sure if you are suffering from social anxiety but you are out and going for walks etc so maybe not and if not i would advise that you do get back to work as soon as you can, i know everyone in your life is probably saying that to you and i know it will be really hard but it will be best for you and if its too much to go back to where you left then you should start ot look else where, but as liong as you keep yourself out you are not going to make any progress

i will try find those links cause it can take a long time to find good ones, i wish you the very best, its the most horrible thing is anxiety but you can learn to controll it so it doesnt dominatle your entire life untill you are ready to recover.

fel free to ask me whatever you like i will answer you openly and honestly, im sorry if my answer lacks the hope of other posters, but i say it straight, and i learned they hard way, it has totally deatroyed my life and if i can be of any help to anyone by telling it straight then thats great, but it is not easy, its the most difficult thing in the world, there is no easy cure

take care

k

[JeffB]

I definitely suggest you give cognitive behavioral therapy a try. With proper coaching, you can see results within a few weeks. However it is a skill and you only get better with time.

Right now you're in a bit of a downward spiral, but it can change.

[Nadia A]

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my post. It was good hearing it straight. I know its gonna take time.
I have got social anxiety and panic disorder. I know in my heart that I should go back to work but am so terrified. My boss is not supportive and my collegues think im a weirdo. they even told me it was all in my head.
With the meds I think Im just desperate for some relief as its been so long. The only times I feel normal are when I go walking and wildlife watching. I am on my own though. Whenever I come accross someone I start to panic though and I try to go away or just look away which is what I normally do with people which led me to get into so much trouble at work. Communication,looking miserable all the time....blah..bla...blah..
Been sleeping on and off ok. I have terrible nightmares which I have be plagued with all my life before any of this started. My boyfriend bought me a digital radio for my birthday and that has really helped inthe past few weeks in getting me off to sleep as it takes my attention away from the noises in my ears and head. What is with that by the way???? Is that just me. I keep thinking I have somthing wrong with my head. Even went to an ear specialist but nothing came up.
I have taken caffiene out my diet which has helped a lot and starting to eat better.
Thanks again guys, you're great.

NA

[stella]

I wouldn't trust your GP these days about anxiety. You probably know more about anxiety than they do. All they do is prescribe some antideppressants and send you on your way. I would recommend you see a psychologist or counselor or attend CBT because they have been proven to be just as helpful as medication.

[ThePhoenix]

I have never gone down the medication route to date, most doctors have never really mentioned it and I saw a hypnotherapist/counsellor for my anxiety when it came on.

That got it under control for a while although I have found over the last 12 months its getting bad again. I think you have to be really diligent with the using the strategies they give you.

My gf says to me that I cause my own problems sometimes because I dont use the techniques, although to be honest for the 100 thoughts a day that stress me I might fight off 99 of them but it only takes one to crack.

[Nadia A]

ive been seeing a CBT for the past three months but not getting anywhere fast. I am having a real problem opening up to her and talking. sometimes I dont even know what my thoughts are!! I just get all wound up and scared to talk. How long were you in CBT? How long does it take?

NA

[kenja]

@ stella. in relation to your comment ab out the gps i fear unfortunatly you are right and this is a big problem because this is where most people go first when they realise that something is wrong and they are sent away with a precription for happy pills and sometimes its months later before they are properly diagnosis

@ thepheonix can i ask where you are from? also how did you find the hypnotherapis? what precess did they use??

@nadia i have also expierienced these symptoms, night time used to be a nightmare if you pardon the pun, sometimes you really feel like you are going crazy, but you must just keep telling yourself that you are not going mad that it is your illness, if you can keep doing this it can help prevent some of the panic attacks

when you say you have been going three months, how often have you been going to sessions during that time??

[Nadia A]

Hi K,

Ive been going to CBT on average once a week, sometimes every two weeks if she is really busy. Each session lasts an hour. I dont feel like Im getting anywhere. I just feel all panicky, trembly and tense up so I cant talk. Have you done CBT? How long till you get better?

N

[ThePhoenix]

@ thepheonix can i ask where you are from? also how did you find the hypnotherapis? what precess did they use??


From Sydney. The the person I saw was a combined counsellor/hypnotherapist that I had heard good things about from a few people in the area so thought I would give it a shot.

We used to sit down and talk for awhile about how I was feeling and why and from there we would do I hypno session on staying calm and alike.

[kenja]

@ nadia that sounds about right, personally i went to around 6 sessions before i decided it wasnt for me, i felt kinda like you say it makes you feel, that was me personally and i am not advising you to quit, i think you should keep going untill you know yourself or see how you feel you may well still get somewhere with it, im answer to your question how long till you get better !! unfortunatly i dont know the answer to that, im controling it at the moment and trying to get on with normal life or as close to normal as is possible, but maybe someone on here who has actually benifitted from CBT can advise you better on how long it took for them to feel the difference that it can make

@ThePhoenix thanks, and tell me did that work for you, is that not just a temperary solution to the problem though??

[jon333]

Howdy Jon

Too right

I never had anxiety before in my life . In fact i would have said i was one of the less anxious people i know . But i just hit my stress level and started showing symptoms of stress shakes DP Dr etc and doc said take these pills ( benzos) well within two days the nightmare began and took four months to get the doctors to listen and it to another 18 months to repair the damage done of being on then 4 months .

I guess im lucky that i have always been strong and could fight the doctors but many many people are not and never question their doctors .
I am shocked how many people are placed on drugs , sure there is a need but education would work better .
Most Doctors are good but some are shocking with the work load they have they just cant do there job well and we pay in the long run . He it takes me 6 weeks to see my doctor.

Glad you got past it mate

cheers kev :D

Thanks Kev

Nadia's boss moans its ''all in the head''. Well,in reality it is of course....as pretty much everything we experience and diseminate is in life.
But that does not mean it's ''nothing''. As truly bad anxiety exists in less than 1 in 10 (?correct if wrong), i think the lack of empathy isn't surprising.Worrying breeds worrying breeds worrying.

In reply to another poster,no it isn't ''as simple as that'' to merely believe in yourself,but it's really critical IMO that you realise you CAN control it with ''self-empowerment''-and then it will begin to fade out and lessen its grip.
Anyway,thats my experience. 8)