Will it be like this forever?

[Panda22]

I feel so desperate and frustrated.. i can't get over my anxiety. It's there almost constantly as soon as i leave my home!

I just got back from a holiday with family and i couldn't enjoy it at all, unless i was at the house. There i felt at ease, but when i leave anxiety kicks in big time. Supermarkets, shopping malls, airports are horrible. I get so dizzy and can't focus at all. I feel so out of it and like i'm about to lose my mind or forget where i am or who i am. it's really weird... like depersonlisation and anxiety. Then when i get home i feel completely normal again like nothing happened. How?

When i'm out i feel nervous and keep thinking 'what if i go crazy?' 'what if i forget everything'? 'what if i lose control?' Every psychiatrist has told me there's nothing wrong with me and it's just anxiety/panic.. But i think what if they're overlooking a serious mental illness? i always check myself to see if i'm behaving normally and not doing or thinking anything out of the ordinary. It's so tiring. When i'm on the verge of panic i feel like i'm about to go crazy, but it has never happened even after a million times of thinking it was going to happen.. i've had it for years and nothing bad ever happened.. But i'm scared what if the next time it will happen.. How can i know for sure i won't go crazy and it's just anxiety?

I've been taking 10mg Escitalopram for over a month now and i don't feel better at all. I feel less depressed but my anxiety seems worse.. and my brain feels cloudy somtimes. I think i'll stop taking it

HELP :weep:

[braindead]

a month is not long enough to say its working, ESCITALOPRAM is 1of the best meds there is so no use changing till you give it at least 8 week, you say its helped with depression it wont hit anxiery till depression is nuked. All these think that you though would happed have never happened, you have anxiety like70% of this forum you can take meds you can do therapy ME i would sooner stick pins in my eyes than therapy . you will be fine when you learn to spit in the face of anxiety:wacko::shades:

[Bill]

Anxiety is like a raging fire and it's flames are all the fears, worries and irrational thoughts it creates.

We're too afraid to take our eyes off the fire because we're afraid it will burn out of control but to keep watching it causes us constant stress which then makes us feel the need to watch it even more which is what it wants because it wants our attention to keep fuelling it so it can burn more fiercely.

So when it asks "What If" to gain your attention, tell it "So What", resist it's temptation to watch it burning and then see what happens. You'll probably find the fire will go out and you'll feel like you never left home.

[Ljj44577]

I understand your struggle with anxiety. I have anxiety that goes up and down. It sucks, if you ask me. Usually, I distract myself as a way to cope. But it's only a short-term solution.

[Toby2000]

I think you should try to learn coping techniques for those sorts of situations and when you think you're ready, find the busiest, most scary shopping centre or wherever and just walk into it. Let yourself feel the anxiety and embrace it as you realise how melodramatic you'd get before in these sorts of situations (don't mean melodramatic in a bad way, it's rational to you but as with any anxiety, it's not 100% rational to a non-sufferer, for example). Exposure is the only real way to beat this, and as soon as you do land yourself in one of those situations and realise that it's not that bad then you'll be free.

And only a person with anxiety would ask hypothetical questions such as "what if I lose control?" because that's obviously a classic "what if?" thought. You need to accept what your psychiatrist is saying because they're the ones who are medically trained, not you. They'd spot a problem a mile off, I promise you

https://tinybuddha.com/blog/stop-fearing-worst-worrying-about-what-ifs/

http://www.psychology-solution.com/anxiety/what-if

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/anxiety/how-to-stop-worrying.htm

Hope you feel better soon

[chrismex89]

Im a GP doctor and i agree that escitalopram is one of the best medications availables for GAD, but could be necessary that you take benzos too for a while and CBT, the therapy its very important for the treatment of GAD. Greetings from Mexico.

[braindead]

I think you should try to learn coping techniques for those sorts of situations and when you think you're ready, find the busiest, most scary shopping centre or wherever and just walk into it. Let yourself feel the anxiety and embrace it as you realise how melodramatic you'd get before in these sorts of situations (don't mean melodramatic in a bad way, it's rational to you but as with any anxiety, it's not 100% rational to a non-sufferer, for example). Exposure is the only real way to beat this, and as soon as you do land yourself in one of those situations and realise that it's not that bad then you'll be free.

And only a person with anxiety would ask hypothetical questions such as "what if I lose control?" because that's obviously a classic "what if?" thought. You need to accept what your psychiatrist is saying because they're the ones who are medically trained, not you. They'd spot a problem a mile off, I promise you

https://tinybuddha.com/blog/stop-fearing-worst-worrying-about-what-ifs/

http://www.psychology-solution.com/anxiety/what-if

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/anxiety/how-to-stop-worrying.htm

Hope you feel better soon dont walk into a supermarket thats busy on your own, or you may find yourself fainting. its bad enough for some people that are not ill, take things slow no point in terror alert

---------- Post added at 09:23 ---------- Previous post was at 09:18 ----------


Im a GP doctor and i agree that escitalopram is one of the best medications availables for GAD, but could be necessary that you take benzos too for a while and CBT, the therapy its very important for the treatment of GAD. Greetings from Mexico.

i am glad to see a gp that thinks adding a BENZO to a start up for the first 3 weeks is a good idea , if a lot of docs did this instead of telling a patient benzos are the spawn of the devil , mabye less would stop there meds in the first week.:yahoo:

[Panda22]

Thanks for all the comments, i appreciate the reassurance as well as the feedback.. I'm sticking with escitalopram but no positive effects (yet) Well maybe my depression has lifted a bit, but anxiety is the same or a bit worse.

It just blows my mind how i can feel so good when i'm in my comfort zone at home, and so horrible when i'm out in unknown or busy places. It's like my mind goes into anxiety mode and i just feel so dizzy and weird i can't focus on anything! I get more and more nervous my mind won't be able to handle the feelings and something bad will happen. Does this sound familar to anyone?

[.Poppy.]

You've gotten some great suggestions, I just wanted to add that 10 mg of escitalopram isn't the theraputic level and that might be contributing to some of your problems. You should probably be on at least 20 mg. Are you planning on increasing?

[braindead]

You've gotten some great suggestions, I just wanted to add that 10 mg of escitalopram isn't the theraputic level and that might be contributing to some of your problems. You should probably be on at least 20 mg. Are you planning on increasing?

10mg is the therapeutic dose 20mg is the top, its escitalopram not citalopram if you over 65 in England 10mg is the highest dose:rolleyes:

[Panda22]

Yes i was thinking of increasing, maybe to 15mg first. I just wonder if it would increase anxiety again in the first week(s) But might be a good idea to increase i really need all the help i can get to get better :)

I really want to feel clear headed and be able to focus. Anxiety makes everything a bit of a blur :wacko:

[snowghost57]

Anxiety is like a raging fire and it's flames are all the fears, worries and irrational thoughts it creates.

We're too afraid to take our eyes off the fire because we're afraid it will burn out of control but to keep watching it causes us constant stress which then makes us feel the need to watch it even more which is what it wants because it wants our attention to keep fuelling it so it can burn more fiercely.

So when it asks "What If" to gain your attention, tell it "So What", resist it's temptation to watch it burning and then see what happens. You'll probably find the fire will go out and you'll feel like you never left home.

Ah, Bill, awesome advice as always. we can get better, it is up to us to rein in our brains!:bighug1:

[Stewy]

Check out a book by David Carbonell called "The Worry Trick." He also has a website: www.anxietycoach.com. Worked wonders for me.