Sparkle1984
13-08-12, 21:51
Hi everyone!
I'm 28 I have had anxiety episodes on and off ever since I was about 8 or 9 years old. Nearly every time, the anxiety is about a different topic - it always plays on my worst fear at that particular time. My episodes come on very suddenly and they can last for weeks or even months. Eventually they fizzle out and I can go for months or years until the next episode starts. Between episodes, I feel happy and relaxed nearly all the time.
My current episode started about 5 weeks ago. It is so intense this time (I keep getting intrusive morbid thoughts including worries about getting old and dying, even though I'm only 28 for crying out loud!) I feel tensed up nearly all the time and I feel like there is always something negative in the back of my mind, so I don't enjoy things as much as I used to.
I went to the doctor on Friday - this is the first time I've felt able to seek help, as I used to be too embarrassed to talk about my worries. I discussed my emotions over the last 5 weeks, and I also mentioned that I have these episodes which come and go over the years. After I talked through all my feelings, she asked me to fill in a form which had several questions about symptoms on a scale of 0 to 3. (Eg "Do you feel like you can't relax?" and then you'd have to circle 0 if you never have that symptom, or 3 if you get that symptom nearly all the time). My scores suggested I have generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). Thankfully I didn't score anywhere near so highly on the depression scale, although the doctor did say that my anxious feelings have caused me to feel down and that this is only natural.
The doctor suggested 3 things to help me - firstly she has booked me in for a blood test just to make sure I don't have any thyroid problems (she did say that sometimes thyroid problems can affect people's emotions). Secondly she is going to refer me for some therapy - probably CBT (Cognitive behavioural therapy). This will enable me to talk through my thoughts and hopefully teach me techniques for reducing my anxious feelings. Thirdly, she prescribed me some medication - citalopram to be taken daily, and diazepam to be taken only when I'm feeling extra anxious, for example when I feel like I'm having a panic attack. Citalopram is one of the SSRI medications (Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors). I have never taken any medication like that before so it'll be interesting to see how it works.
I'm on my 4th day of citalopram now and I'm getting some weird side effects like losing my appetite, not being able to sleep and feeling nauseous. I know it will probably be a few weeks before I start to see some improvement.
I'm 28 I have had anxiety episodes on and off ever since I was about 8 or 9 years old. Nearly every time, the anxiety is about a different topic - it always plays on my worst fear at that particular time. My episodes come on very suddenly and they can last for weeks or even months. Eventually they fizzle out and I can go for months or years until the next episode starts. Between episodes, I feel happy and relaxed nearly all the time.
My current episode started about 5 weeks ago. It is so intense this time (I keep getting intrusive morbid thoughts including worries about getting old and dying, even though I'm only 28 for crying out loud!) I feel tensed up nearly all the time and I feel like there is always something negative in the back of my mind, so I don't enjoy things as much as I used to.
I went to the doctor on Friday - this is the first time I've felt able to seek help, as I used to be too embarrassed to talk about my worries. I discussed my emotions over the last 5 weeks, and I also mentioned that I have these episodes which come and go over the years. After I talked through all my feelings, she asked me to fill in a form which had several questions about symptoms on a scale of 0 to 3. (Eg "Do you feel like you can't relax?" and then you'd have to circle 0 if you never have that symptom, or 3 if you get that symptom nearly all the time). My scores suggested I have generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). Thankfully I didn't score anywhere near so highly on the depression scale, although the doctor did say that my anxious feelings have caused me to feel down and that this is only natural.
The doctor suggested 3 things to help me - firstly she has booked me in for a blood test just to make sure I don't have any thyroid problems (she did say that sometimes thyroid problems can affect people's emotions). Secondly she is going to refer me for some therapy - probably CBT (Cognitive behavioural therapy). This will enable me to talk through my thoughts and hopefully teach me techniques for reducing my anxious feelings. Thirdly, she prescribed me some medication - citalopram to be taken daily, and diazepam to be taken only when I'm feeling extra anxious, for example when I feel like I'm having a panic attack. Citalopram is one of the SSRI medications (Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors). I have never taken any medication like that before so it'll be interesting to see how it works.
I'm on my 4th day of citalopram now and I'm getting some weird side effects like losing my appetite, not being able to sleep and feeling nauseous. I know it will probably be a few weeks before I start to see some improvement.