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odgalvin
08-01-13, 18:19
Hello all!

I'm 19, and since I can remember I've been a nervous, anxious person. I often feel sick, can't sleep, trembling, racing heart, have hot/cold flashes and so on. It's steadily gotten worse as I've gotten older and has led to depression, and only in the last couple of months have I sought help. A doctor in Luton at a drop in centre suggested it was GAD, gave me Diazepam which helps somewhat, and recommended this website! :)

When I told the GP at University where I am now in Bath she essentially said try counselling and if that doesn't help she'd give me SSRIs. This disappointed me a bit, antidepressants sound scary and I thought perhaps there'd be other things to try. I've seen the Uni counsellor I'm waiting to hear from the counsellor for a regular meeting, they're quite busy.

There's also a seasonal affective part to it, the winter is far worse and the short days are really depressing. I'm looking for Lightboxes online for light therapy. This, combined with coming to University and the stress and fear from that has really escalated things.

I could talk all day about the things that make me anxious, but maybe another time. This forum looks great and I also go on the subreddit for Anxiety (reddit.com/r/anxiety) which I'd deifinitely recommend.

So that's me. Thanks for reading! :)

nomorepanic
08-01-13, 18:29
Hi odgalvin

We just wanted to welcome you aboard to NMP. We hope you enjoy your stay here and get all the support and advice you need.

Please take some time to read the website articles on the left as well for loads of advice and tips.

Mark13
08-01-13, 18:47
Hi Oliver

Welcome to the forum.

CBT and talking therapies are the long-term solution (hopefully) for GAD.

Anti-Depressants (ADs) and rarely, benzos (very short term) can help in the meantime.

Sparkle1984
08-01-13, 19:44
Welcome to the forums, Oliver. You'll find plenty of support here. :)

You've done the right thing asking for help. Hopefully the counselling will help.

There is no need to be worried about SSRIs - they work for anxiety as well as depression. There is a lot of overlap between the symptoms of anxiety and depression and they often have the same cause (deficiency of serotonin in the brain), which is why the 2 illnesses are treated in very similar ways. SSRIs can be used for longer than diazepam can, as they're not addictive. Diazepam can be addictive which is why doctors are reluctant to prescribe it long-term.

I hope this helps. :)

Arnie365
08-01-13, 20:01
Hi Oliver welcome to the forum. Hope you get a lot out of the site