HELP WITH ANXIETY!!!?
Lately I have been having severe anxiety to the point where I can't even leave the house! I'm terrified of going into stored because my social anxiety makes me sick. I am having trouble going to school, and when I do, I spend frequent visits in the nurses office. I just started 5mg of lexapro, and I'm waiting for it to work. I can't see friends anymore, and I'm losing weight very fast because I stopped eating. Im terrified to throw up, and that is why I can't eat, I get extremely nauesous everytime I even think about food yet im starving. My anxiety is only getting worse, and my parents are extremely frustrated because they have no idea how to help me. Multiple occasions I get panic attacks so bad I will hypervent, almost pass out, almost vomit, shake, the room goes very dark, I can't see straight, I can't move, I can't breathe, they can last for hrs, I won't be able to stop crying, I get extremely dizzy etc.. But I don't have a moment's relief because I'm constantly upset and I need help and I've tried everything but nothing seems to calm me down. There is vomit in the back of my throat almost every minute of every day. I have an amazing councillor, but I only see her once a week for 45 minutes, but that is usually cut short. My anxiety just progresses, and I'm afraid of everything. A lot of this sparked when a close family member of mine went to jail for the second time, and my father's drinking problem makes me mad.(Even though its just beers, it's becoming a big problem)
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You will be fine. I am and I thought my life was over a couple months ago. The 'waiting for it to work' and not knowing if the dose is right or even if the drug is right (Zoloft worked for me after my first dose of Lexapro had major side effects) is really really hard. But you did make it this far!
Two things that have worked for me when I got the worst of it (bad anxiety attacks) were breathing exercises and saying and repeating positive things out loud. As for the rest, I'll bet a huge cloud will be lifted when the meds kick in.
Being hungry is good (I was not). My thought: Eat! Why be scared of throwing up? If you chuck, you chuck. Carry a barf bag with you so you do not make a mess if you actually do chuck.
I did the crying thing. Several times a day for almost two months. It really sucked! I have not cried in two weeks now. :) No, life is not all rosy and perfect, but most all the anxiety is gone and I'm getting back to my normal. You will too. Well, your normal, not mine. :)
I do not recommend medication because it will not solve your problem, only suppress it so it can pop out in another form, perhaps in a process happening within your body that you will not notice until it is too late. As for anxiety attacks, I had an acquaintance who was in the same situation. I did not help her because she refused help, but I have some strange methods to deal with this. It sounds as if there are no tremendous problems in your life, but I'm only assuming from the "suffer from attacks of anxiety for no apparent reason" quote. It would be helpful for you to seek an opportunity where you can focus on other people in third world countries, perhaps volunteering to distribute malaria relief or food, even. When you're dealing with a real crisis, sometimes these things take the backdrop and leave you alone. On the other hand, pressure can mount higher and you'll find yourself worse off, but I doubt this.
View my previous answers about emetophobia / fear of vomit(ing) at https://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20... about agoraphobia at http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=201... about anxiety and panic attacks, their differences, and treatments, at https://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20... and about anxiety at http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=201... but note that 8m.com has been replaced by: your-mental-health.weebly.com/i.html
Learn and employ the relaxation techniques (begin with Progressive Muscle Relaxation) and the EFT variant for use in public places, in case it is needed there. Use whichever works best for you. By addressing your anxieties, you may prevent panic attacks, but also become proficient in an anti-panic attack breathing technique, for use when necessary. Learn to recognise the thought patterns which trigger panic attacks, and immediately challenge and reprogram as shown.
Begin learning an anti-panic attack breathing technique now; practise several times so you know that you can cope. Then learn EFT: Give EFT a good tryout, to see if it helps you. It is free via the searchbar at www.mercola.com "EFT" & "EFT therapists" www.tapping.com (13 free videos) or eftuniverse.com or emofree.com or YouTube EFT. Professional is best. There is a version for use in public places, (you can claim to have a headache, as you employ the acupressure massage/tapping on your temples, but you would then be restricted to subvocalising: saying it to yourself in your mind: "Even though I have anxiety spectrum disorders, I deeply and completely accept myself."
Check out Lexapro at drugs.com &
www.theroadback.org/lexapro_side_effects.aspx At present you could discontinue Lexapro without withdrawal effects, and try the 5-htp + St. John's Wort, or the SAMe, and if insufficient, stop without withdrawal effects, and their side effects are uncommon, and always reversible. "From Y!A: by perfecti... Member since: http://au.answers.yahoo.com/my/profile;_%E2%80%A6
I haven't tried zoloft, but since the very first lexapro tablet I ever took, I have never had an orgasm again.
And I came off it a year ago". Sexual dysfunction is common with SSRIs like Lexapro.
View my previous answer about Lexapro at http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=201... and my previous answer about antidepressants/anxiolytics at http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=201... ( note that http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind... is inoperative, so check out https://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20... ).
Enter: "replacement meals; liquid" at Google, for short term use only. Teens(?) with an alcoholic parent: http://www.al-anon.alateen.org/