Cats make it better
01-08-12, 15:35
Hello all!
I am brandnew to this world of talking about my issues. So here it is: I am a 26 year old dietitian living in PA in the US. I have had anxiety for as long as I can remember. I suffered my first panic attack in one of my college classes about 6 years ago. Since then things have gotten much worse. I suffer panic attacks nearly every day. Most days just leaving the house causes my anxiety level to increase.
My anxiety has changed over time, from being just generalized, to generalized plus these panic attacks. Lots of medical things seem to set me off, a coding patient, reading poor lab values, a patient dying: and I work in long-term care! People die all the time here. Additionally, I have a horrid fear that ingesting anything new will cause my throat to swell shut. So eating new foods, or taking medications all bring on a panic attack... I have also started avoiding all nuts and shellfish, simply because I know they tend to cause these kind of reactions the most commonly.
I just started seeing a therapist last Thursday. Hopefully she will help me develop tools to getting stronger. My official dx is GAD with panic attacks and OCD. I am very against taking pills, because of the anxiety taking them creates. I am hopeful that I will be able to reintroduce many of the foods that I have been avoiding and be able to eat them without anxiety. I am hopeful that you all can be a good support system for me as you know what anxiety feels like. And I can honestly say that no-one else knows what I am going through. I havn't even told my husband the extent of my phobias. I worry that he will just write me off. He has a tendency to never believe me anyway. He always tells me that I everything is in my head and trivializes it. Hopefully I will gain the courage to talk things out eventually.
Thanks for listening!
I am brandnew to this world of talking about my issues. So here it is: I am a 26 year old dietitian living in PA in the US. I have had anxiety for as long as I can remember. I suffered my first panic attack in one of my college classes about 6 years ago. Since then things have gotten much worse. I suffer panic attacks nearly every day. Most days just leaving the house causes my anxiety level to increase.
My anxiety has changed over time, from being just generalized, to generalized plus these panic attacks. Lots of medical things seem to set me off, a coding patient, reading poor lab values, a patient dying: and I work in long-term care! People die all the time here. Additionally, I have a horrid fear that ingesting anything new will cause my throat to swell shut. So eating new foods, or taking medications all bring on a panic attack... I have also started avoiding all nuts and shellfish, simply because I know they tend to cause these kind of reactions the most commonly.
I just started seeing a therapist last Thursday. Hopefully she will help me develop tools to getting stronger. My official dx is GAD with panic attacks and OCD. I am very against taking pills, because of the anxiety taking them creates. I am hopeful that I will be able to reintroduce many of the foods that I have been avoiding and be able to eat them without anxiety. I am hopeful that you all can be a good support system for me as you know what anxiety feels like. And I can honestly say that no-one else knows what I am going through. I havn't even told my husband the extent of my phobias. I worry that he will just write me off. He has a tendency to never believe me anyway. He always tells me that I everything is in my head and trivializes it. Hopefully I will gain the courage to talk things out eventually.
Thanks for listening!