MagiStream

I have moderate agoraphobia, as well as the more ordinary forms of anxiety and depression(my therapist also suspected very mild, almost nonexistent antisocial personality disorder, but I have my doubts). These problems made their appearance in high school and got progressively worse as I aged.

How do you cope?
Initially, through medications. When these became ineffective, I started seeing a therapist instead. When I saw the bill, I decided to combat all three problems on my own through a combination of diet, exercise, and - get this - tumblr. Yes, tumblr. There is such a massive support group on there for people who suffer from anxiety there, as well as hundreds (if not thousands) of tips, websites, and hotlines for help dealing with mental issues of all shapes, sizes, and severities.

Does it affect your livelihood?
Yes and no. I wanted to be a zookeeper, but upon attending college for this, I realized I couldn't do it. I couldn't stay in a room with all those people, I couldn't handle the pressure of classes I hated, I couldn't force myself to smile at teachers who really needed a good, hard punch in the face. In the end, I dropped out of college, and I now write scripts for my mentor, Mr. Shimizu. Scriptwriting is a good choice for me; I work from home and get paid to be creative. However, I know it's not a steady job, and I need to prepare myself for the day I lose it.

Does it hold you back from doing anything?
On so many levels. I don't like to attend parties unless I know I'll be able to leave whenever I want. I can't meet new people without thinking the worst of them. I can't just go somewhere and enjoy myself; I'll always be thinking something like 'That mom's a terrible parent, and her kid needs to shut the hell up' or 'Jeez, this place is crawling with losers today, isn't it? Shouldn't you be in high school?' Which is terrible, because I know these people have reasons and stories, but while I'm there, I just can't bring myself to care.

jcoop134 wrote:I had a bad case of anxiety once. But with the support of close friends (I never told my family) I quickly recovered. Trust me, your friends can help.

No, they can't. Anxiety as an illness falls into several types, each with a differing cause. Some are better treated with medications than others. Nearly all of them benefit from use of coping skills and behavioral modification as well as biofeedback. These should only be taught by an experienced medical professional.

I have generalized anxiety disorder. They suspect it is a chemical imbalance brought on by long term use of medications used to treat epilepsy (from which I also suffer). Having friends support you in the sense of understanding that something is medically wrong is helpful; friends standing around shouting old cliches such as "Just breathe!" and "It'll pass" don't help.

It's important to understand that we are talking about a disease process here and not normal responses to stress. In the case of those of us with an anxiety disorder, the emotions and stress become crippling. We worry about things irrationally such as dying if we go to sleep at night or losing a loved one if they are out of our sight or a myriad of other small irrational things until we can't do anything except shut down. Anxiety as a set of disorders prevents someone who has one from functioning in society.

I was in the set of patients who were enrolled in third stage trials for LexaPro. It was the first medication whose use was solely to treat anxiety disorders instead of it being an off label application of an antidepressant or a painkiller. For me, it was a miracle. I had already been on just bout everything which could be used safely with my other medications and nothing worked. Now, I still get anxiety attacks and panic attacks but the medication allows me to identify what is happening, employ the coping techniques I was taught, and deal with it rationally like any other emotion. I can even tell friends and family when I am "off" instead of suddenly imploding on them so that they can watch out for me.

Yes, I've had anxiety issues my whole life. I'd never talk about anything like this with anyone irl, just can't manage these kinds of conversations without planning them in advance. And I read and reread posts several times before I submit

The tough part is working out what's inherited, and what has developed through life experience as that no doubt goes someway to treatment.
For example I think my separation anxiety had behavioural origins. I've slowly started growing out of it, but I'm still overly attached to certain things (and my dog) and stress without them.
Where as social anxiety and depression run in my family, which would probably indicate that the best course of treatment would be some kind of medication to eliminate chemical imbalances.
I've never taken any though, sheer stubbornness has driven me to try and overcome it on my own. It no longer controls my surface life (I'm not letting these irrational fears hold me back!) but it still causes me daily internal stress and I struggle to form friendships with 'normal people'.

What really sucks are panic attacks! I become paralyzed and speechless in the face of a confrontation - even just a heated discussion with someone - shaking uncontrollably and crying. All I can do is walk away... or slap them in the face. I struggle to voice painful truths too, without locking up and crying, which made sessions with a psychologist pretty ineffective!
I've read about coping techniques, but it's kind of hard to calm down and take deep breaths when someone's breathing down your neck.

Anxiety is such a complex and multifaceted disorder, it's not an easy thing to overcome and I suspect most people who have it carry it their whole lives, despite treatment.
Everyone has their own demons though, right? Just don't give up on fighting them.

I totally agree with both of you. But Verotten I feel the completely the same why, I had high separation anxiety when I was little with my mum and my dad would get really angry. I feel he is part to blame and would live a naturally healthier life he wasnt around. It's hard to say that but you have to accept the fact.

I suffer from anxiety. Due to co-morbidity, there isn't an exact diagnosis on what form of anxiety but I hit a lot of boxes for different ones. I have been diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder before, as well as Panic Disorder. Currently, my psychiatrist has tentatively concluded that I have: GAD, Social Anxiety Disorder, and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. In addition, I also have severe depression so my experience might be rather mixed.

I see both a psychologist and a psychiatrist. My psychologist hasn't been helping me with my anxiety so much as we're focusing more on my depression but part of what I learn there can be used. We're currently learning to balance my thoughts. This helps with my anxiety some as I get paranoid and have difficulty in social situations. Learning to balance my thoughts in those situations helps a lot. I'm also learning how to breathe deliberately so I can engage my parasympathetic nervous system and relax.

My psychiatrist has recently started me on medication, Zoloft/Setraline. It's an antidepressant but like most of those, they can be used for other disorders too. It is effective in both the treatment of depression and OCD, which is partly why she wanted me on it.

My anxiety (and depression) has affected my life a lot. I've dropped out of two different universities due to being unable to handle going to class. I'm currently on academic probation in my third university for the same reason. I have difficulty in any social situation so I tend to avoid them. I don't know how to make friends or keep friends. I don't interact with people outside the internet a lot.

I'm constantly afraid my boyfriend will leave me, despite knowing, logically, that he won't. It puts a strain on our relationship as well, as if I don't go to classes, I will be kicked out and won't be able to be with him (I'm an international student in the US). It also strains it as he is the one who constantly has to help me, to keep me feeling up and good and that gets tiring when he has his own life to also deal with. He's also worried I'm going to stress myself into bad health or just die young.

The OCD isn't fun either. I'm constantly checking locks, the stove, the oven, the fridge, etc. Lately, I've taken to obsessively wiping after using the bathroom and I worry this will cause abrasions that could lead to an infection.

I worry a lot. I can't just sit and enjoy things. I have trouble sleeping and I take sleeping pills for that. I'm constantly feeling uneasy and restless, knowing that I made a mistake, I missed something, there is something I should be focusing on it, etc. There's not a lot of joy in my life or rest. I can't relax, at all. I'm working on it but it's difficult as fuck.

Okay, that was long xD

Does your medication work??? Does it help symptoms???

MistressManor wrote:Does your medication work??? Does it help symptoms???

I haven't been on it long enough to find out if it works for me. I am still titrating up. I'm currently on a very low dose (12.5mg) and I need to go to 150-200mg.

Medication is very... person-dependent, though. I've been on Xanax, Effexor, Prozac, Amitriptyline and Abilify (I think there might be one or two more but I don't remember them) and I reacted badly to all of them. Other people swear by them. I'm hoping Zoloft works but I am wary of it.

Of course and I understand that, doesn't everyone have the right to be wary of taking any type of medication???I m still wary of parcetamol because it can lead to a variety of things if you have it too often.

What is it like have a psychologist???
Do you talk a lot???
What do you do in your sessions??? Active thinking, using exercises?

I've had several and in general, I've preferred psychologists to psychiatrists. Having a psychiatrist in addition is great since drug therapy can work for many people and may in fact be a necessity but a psychiatrist alone doesn't seem to work out well. I might be biased because the time I had one alone, she was a bitch, but I dunno.

It's nice to have someone to talk to. Of course, it's hard to find the right psychologist and that's something that is very important. If you find a good one that works with you, it can be very useful. There's a lack of judgement and someone who will listen and help you work things out, for one. Then there are all the methods of coping, the treatments, etc.

We do talk a lot. I've talked a lot with all my psychologists. With my current one, it is rather new so we haven't had a lot of time to discuss things. It's rushing into treatment/coping methods because I need to be able to go for classes this semester but as I see him more, we'll talk more. Right now, he's helping me to learn how to breathe and to balance my thoughts, to make them more realistic. It's homework and then we discuss it when I see him. It's basically CBT.

MistressManor wrote:No, not really, they are the words in itself.

Things that make me anxious is doing things where people laugh at me. I get anxious when I'm alone with someone. You could say its a sense of insecurity???

True, but words have personal meaning and without understanding their proper meaning in your case, neither you nor I can hope to have a proper discussion about the topic.