Jolly12
07-05-14, 17:16
I had my first anxiety attack at 19 in college. I woke up in the middle of the night fearing that I was having a heart attack. I had never felt the strong palpitations that I did that night. I remember on my way to the hospital, leaning into the floorboard of the car saying, “hurry please hurry.”
When I got to the emergency room, the nurse thought I must have been on drugs, my heart rate was 176. She sent me for a test and it came back negative. I stayed for a few hours and was given a sedative. The next week I went through thyroid and blood tests which all came back fine and was then sent to see the school therapist. She diagnosed me with anxiety disorder. I had never heard of it. The more I learned, the better I thought I understood.
The next few years I battled these attacks which seemed to come out of the blue until eventually getting on Lexapro. I have taken that for 6 years and learned to deal with the anxiety. Last year the anxiety turned into more of a hypochondria. I was getting married and my biggest fear was that an illness would come and steal this “happiness” from me. I have been struggling with that and continue to do so today. Just this morning, I googled; “Is it okay to feel lymph nodes in your neck?” It is a struggle and one that I will deal with for some time, I imagine, but there is hope, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Today I have been off of my Lexapro medication for six weeks. This is my third and most successful attempt so far. When people hear my anxieties, I know they sound crazy. They even sound crazy to me, but that is part of the disorder. The only way to get through it is with perseverance, prayer, education, and support.
Lets work together and help one another.
Blog - Anxiety Safe Haven on Wordpress
When I got to the emergency room, the nurse thought I must have been on drugs, my heart rate was 176. She sent me for a test and it came back negative. I stayed for a few hours and was given a sedative. The next week I went through thyroid and blood tests which all came back fine and was then sent to see the school therapist. She diagnosed me with anxiety disorder. I had never heard of it. The more I learned, the better I thought I understood.
The next few years I battled these attacks which seemed to come out of the blue until eventually getting on Lexapro. I have taken that for 6 years and learned to deal with the anxiety. Last year the anxiety turned into more of a hypochondria. I was getting married and my biggest fear was that an illness would come and steal this “happiness” from me. I have been struggling with that and continue to do so today. Just this morning, I googled; “Is it okay to feel lymph nodes in your neck?” It is a struggle and one that I will deal with for some time, I imagine, but there is hope, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Today I have been off of my Lexapro medication for six weeks. This is my third and most successful attempt so far. When people hear my anxieties, I know they sound crazy. They even sound crazy to me, but that is part of the disorder. The only way to get through it is with perseverance, prayer, education, and support.
Lets work together and help one another.
Blog - Anxiety Safe Haven on Wordpress