Blip?

[~Unknown]

Hey guys,

I restarted Citalopram early in August, I think I am on week five, and have been doing better. I had horrendous side effects for the first few weeks, increased anxiety (especially when waking up in the morning), loss of appetite, waking up all night, intrusive thoughts about death (always happens when my anxiety is bad), panic attacks, nausea, etc. The past week or so I have been doing really well though and came back to work, which is a big step as my job revolves around public speaking and managing large groups of people. It's been a relief.

The past couple of days though I have been feeling a bit weird again. I'm waking up anxious but not shaking/crying like before, I am getting some of the intrusive thoughts that I am trying to block out. It usually wears off once I get up and have something to do for the day but it's still creeping in if I have too much time to sit and think.

Really just looking for some encouragement that this will pass :( I can't afford to be taken down by anxiety. Citalopram has worked before, I just tend to forget this stuff after a while I guess. I get scared that maybe it has stopped working for me or something :(

[SLA]

It will pass. Regarding intrusive thoughts, do not try and block them. That usually makes them more of an issue, and gives them more power.

Instead, prevent them from happening at all, and try the 3-Steps I suggest here:
http://www.startinglifeagain.com/3-steps-to-manage-and-eliminate-your-intrusive-thoughts/

[~Unknown]

It will pass. Regarding intrusive thoughts, do not try and block them. That usually makes them more of an issue, and gives them more power.

Instead, prevent them from happening at all, and try the 3-Steps I suggest here:
http://www.startinglifeagain.com/3-steps-to-manage-and-eliminate-your-intrusive-thoughts/

Mine are about death though, from experience when I entertain those thoughts I get in a very dark place and become much worse. Since I can't do much to fix that death exists, I have tried reading stuff people claimed to help them and they just gave me panic attacks that affected me days later, I find blocking them out is the best way to keep me functional. These thoughts seem to fade when I am in a better mental state. Things like talking to people about average daily life stuff helps.

[SLA]

In what way are they about death?

I had ones about death. It doesn't make them anymore serious, or important.

[~Unknown]

In what way are they about death?

I had ones about death. It doesn't make them anymore serious, or important.

The concept of death in general horrifies me, I focus on time passing too fast leading me to a horrible inescapable fate. I don't want to elaborate more and freak myself out before work. If I dwell on it too much I get full on panic attacks and sort of derealisation about it and can't go to work/really do anything. Nothing I have read has helped me and therapy is sadly out of my budget. I know they seem to fade when I'm doing better anxiety-wise as it's happened before so forcing my brain onto other stuff helps in the meantime.

[~Unknown]

I have a long work day, and I woke up fairly anxious :( I really hope it'll pass and I'll feel like I did a week ago, I can't be off sick. I've been trying hard to stay strong but waking up scared each day really messes with me after a while. My job involves constant public speaking, the public speaking isn't the hard part though it's the fact that I can't excuse myself to the bathroom if needed, I am literally performing constantly and need to look normal.