I'm feeling so hypochondriac

[clay]

I've been on antidepressant/antianxiety meds since september and most of the time I'm quite good. there was one week where I was thrown off into severe anxiety after missing just 1 pill. but in general, I've been quite good...
last night I had an anxiety attack. nausea, heart racing, sweating, etc. what brought it on? I found a rather large purple pimple on my body and it is so large and its purple so it made me fear that it isn't a pimple that maybe its a cyst or a boil or something and my mom has these awful awful abscesses that I fear it's one of those. this sent me into a big panic. I've always been someone hypochondriac, I always think there is something wrong with me and generally I think the WORST. when I'm going through an anxious period my hypochondriacness is much worse. a stomach-ache will make me think I have something awful and I'll be dead before morning. I often think that I have something wrong that will kill me if I don't go to the hospital. how do I control this? I try to talk myself out of these thoughts. I try to reason with myself that these illnesses are so unlikely but I can't convince myself at the time. any tips? I try square breathing and all that but it doesn't help.

[jar4u]

Hey Clay, Relax friend, this is a big terrifying part of anxiety disorder hypochondria...its the silliest thought a normal persons would think..getting terrified of a pimple..but for us its a big deal i know it very very well, Constant thought of something is wrong with your health especially the heart, brain or vital organs....Even if the medical test reports are all normal...its very hard to convince a Hypochondriac....I know it friend have gone through it......

The only way to get out of it is simply ignore it for long by doing something more purposeful and fruitful..like some good work which gives you satisfaction and piece of mind...Do something you excel in...Something you are good at...Which reaps you menatl, physical or financial benefits and do it for long ignoring your thoughts and sensations and soon these Crazy thoughts will go away i assure you this....When you get the anxiety or panic attack you do feel you cant control anything..but you have to trust yourself and the medical proof that all the sensations and thoughts related with anxiety and panic disorder are absolutely harmless to your body and brain and it will not lead to any serious health disorder later on, An anxiety attack of any severity will not kill you its a medical fact...Believe it and challenge your thoughts and sensations and it will be gone soon, it will not be easy but this is the only way out for this fake fear we have created:):):)

[clay]

that's jar4u and forwells
both responses are helpful

I've been wondering if the drugs do anything good or if I'm only on them because coming off them will suck so bad. my doctor says that the fact that missing a pill sends my anxiety soaring means that I need to stay on the drugs longer but I think that missing a pill sending me into anxiety just means the pills are screwing with me and withdrawal is going to suck.

argh!!! in my head I'm divided between thinking I need stronger meds and thinking I'd be just as well off with no meds. no meds scares me. but I'm not exactly great on the meds so....

[clay]

I think that is you simply missed a does and then you noticed that your anxiety returned would mean it is the withdrawal from the drug . The drug i took ( benzo) i became addicted to in a very short term and i could say 6 pm its going to hit and that was soley my body saying were is my drug .

But on the other hand if you missed a does and started to panic then it is your anxiety but i find this hard to see , because if you were panicking you would have taking a dose .

Most doctors know nothing about these drugs other than what they are sold on them from the company that sells them.

cheers kev

I didn't even realize I had missed a dose for almost 24hrs so it was my body's dependency on the drugs not just my head telling me I should be anxious because I missed the dose. My doctor doesn't see it the same way I do. My psychologist agrees with me that it was just my body in shock from missing a dose and not a reflection of what I would be if I went off the meds. I also asked my doc if I could switch to a different med with a longer half life so that it would be easier to get off the meds but he told me that in his experience people do not have trouble coming off the dosage that I am on (google searches tell me otherwise).

[lifeconfusion6179]

yeah the famous google searches. i can tell you from experience the ability to google and research anything you want is a bad thing for people going thru anxiety disorders and what not. People have said benzos are the worst thing in the world but there are conflicting comments in their statements about that. They suddenly get relief from the drug when they get on it and after they abuse it or decide they dont want to be on it for whatever reason then thats where the disaster starts. I think people are too quick to stop these drugs before their ready. i remember the first time i used klonopin for a month at .5 a day, i stopped with no problems and i had 15 pills that lasted me six months. no withdrawal effects whatsoever. then my anxiety and ocd kind of escalated and i have been on klonopin for about a year now at the most .75 and normally .5 daily. even though i can go a day or two without taking it. i just know that im not ready to stop this drug so why try. i know its gonna be tough but i knew this going in and the relief has definitely outweighed possible future withdrawal risk. in a nutshell not everyone has such a horrible experience with getting off a benzo its just that theres more bad then good. that might not happen to you or me. just make sure that when you stop its because you are ready to stop and ween off properly and not because you feel a type of way about having to take the meds. oh btw what dose are you on anyway? the higher the dose of course the harder it will be. im not an advocate for drs but my dr. when i first stopped the klonopin, i called him and asked him if there was any withdrawal symptoms i had to worry about and he said if you dont feel any worse you dont have to worry about it. i dont know what kind of drs other people deal with but i dont feel like hes trying to ram anything down my throat. try finding a dr. you can trust because the worst thing to feel is to be skeptical of what your drs intentions are. good luck