HELP...How Do I Do This ??

[Razz]

I tried my last resort - medications and I felt worse than ever so know I have to try a different approach. It seems like those who are recovering are doing it by taking the fear out of the symptoms.....SO HOW?

90% of my symptoms are physical, burning, extreme agitation, nausea, pain, hypersensitive to everything etc. If I am conscious I have dozens of them all at a hideous level...so much I can't function other than just pace and cope all day and half the nights.

Where do I start, how do you take the fear out of totally disabling symptoms that never leave and are on you 24/7.

I would really appreciate help from those who are recovering, especially if you were ever this tortured.

Thanks for reading and responding

James

[TheEditor]

Hi Razz,

What kind of medication are you taking?

When I started my medication (Celexa, 20mg daily) 10 years ago, my doctor was extremely cautious. Only after visiting a psychiatrist and a therapist did he prescribe it for me, and at that, only two weeks worth. After that period, he gave me a month. When it appeared well, he gave me 3 months at a time - up until this year, and now I'm at 6 months.

A concern with SSRIs is how people react ––*if I skip more than a day of medication, I get nasty withdrawal symptoms.

Getting onto a medication can also be nasty.

Some doctors don't give enough attention to SSRI dosing or people with social phobias, anxiety, etc. Do some research on your medication and find out if it's worked in the past, what the side effects are, etc.

I'd also recommend finding something relaxing. I often lie down in an air conditioned room and do sudoku puzzles, or something that requires a bit of intellectual concentration. It prevents me from lingering too much on the thoughts floating about.

Good look.

[Razz]

Doxepin an old TCA - I have tried over 9 anxiety meds over the years and had major reactions to all of them...NO MORE DRUGS AND DOCTORS

James

[TheEditor]

Doxepin an old TCA - I have tried over 9 anxiety meds over the years and had major reactions to all of them...NO MORE DRUGS AND DOCTORS

James

Have you looked into a CBT? I'm looking into it myself.

[forwells]

Howdy James :D

Ok Your a smart man but for some reason you miss something with your anxiety and are yet to see that thing that is going to get you past it

Anxiety is a two edged sword , Its hard to take the fear out of the symptoms because the fear is a symptom in itself . You know more about the brain than me but there is a part that controls fear and this becomes super active when it has stress hormones rushing though it . But it can be retrained and it can be fixed .

This is my Opinion and my opinion only . The editor you may like to read this also and it is not directed at you .

Drugs suck . They do not work , at best the cover the problem at worst , well you know the worst they do . Editor you said you have been on drugs for 10 years , they have not worked they are helping you cope at best . They are not curing you and if doctors were in the least bit honest they would say here take this drug and i shouldnt have to deal with you . These drugs as with many drugs in this age are all about helping people cope and covering the problem so that doctors dont have to deal with it . These drugs are there to cover the symptoms . Those symptoms are there for a reason . They are your body telling you to sort it out as something is a miss . Doctor do not have the time to deal with many things these days as they should and to be honest many of then dont care and are there for the money . Maybe they started of wanting to help people but now the are stuck in a system that stops them from doing that . I was on AD for 15 years and i still crashed . I should never have been put on them and was only because i was depressed from a virus i had and was depressed because i was not getting answers from doctors .

I recovered from anxiety and did it with no drugs and yes i was as bad as you , infact i may have been worst .

But i was a lucky one . You know why because i saw it for what it was . I have never been a worrier and anxiety is not about worring in many cases . Its about stress and its symptoms and the fear those symptoms bring on because of the lack of information out there about anxiety . About this bull shit about anxiety being a mental illness . It is not a mental illness , it is not something wrong with our brain . It is simply a body that is under stress and a body that is reacting to that stress . The brain is a part of the body just like the big toe is . Worry keeps us there but i dont believe it got most of us there to began with . I am sure that with most of us there was a time were we didnt worry and lived care free.

Ok back to James

First your not out of options. Your just out of the ones you see.

Do you believe that this is just anxiety ? If not why ?
What will convince you that it is only anxiety and you can get past it ?

Your in a hurry . You like most people with anxiety want it gone and i understand that but it is not going to happen over night . You have to work on it and it takes a while for it to take effect .

Do you have fears ? What are they ? These play a huge part and most are bull shit ones . Do you see the turth behind these fears ?

Are you happy to and could you take supps ?

Do you have faith ? Are you open to it and i am not talking about just on a god side .
This is a huge problem with anxiety we lose faith , we lose it in doctors , the system , life and most of all ourselves . CBT works on this but will only work if we place our faith in something. CBT to simply say Oh i feel fine is crap and unless you can back that thinking up with facts will not work .

Ok James answer them open and honest and i will see if i can help you .

My question for you . I believe you are trained in mental health area . What the hell do they teach you ? Why do so many people with anxiety have training in mental health ?

cheers kev :D

[kathique]

Hey James

I'm still 'recovering', but basically it's been 10 weeks since my last major flip out.

What changed for me is what keV said - faith in yourself and the treatment. I needed to feel empowered to manage my anxiety - when things get bad I look to myself and believe in myselfthat I can feel better. Before I would beg anyone to listen to help me.

I'd also suggest finding a good psychologist - one who is supportive and that you can relate to.