AndyNYNY
10-12-07, 17:15
Hi everyone. 35 year old male in the US here.
Never had an anxiety problem (that I was aware of) until I was about 21 or 22, in college. Tried to fall asleep one Sunday night and lost complete control of my surroundings, was sure I was going to die, etc. In hindsight, I think it was brought on by years of heavy drinking, smoking pot and LSD. Spent many a night sitting in my car in front of the hospital trying to decide if I needed to go in or if it was all in my head.
Ended up leaving school early that year and spent the summer on some medication, which seemed to lower my anxiety overall. Problem was that I couldn't really drink on the medicine and dropped the medicine in favor of that. Basically since then, I've been dealing with almost constant depersonalization feelings, sometimes it gets worse, other times its manageable. Have a very stressful job and that definitely makes it more difficult to function. As far as treating it, I tend to be the type of person who just fights through things even though I recognize it's probably not the best way.
I've noticed lately that when I get drunk (only once a month or so -- I have cut back drinking quite a bit), my hangovers seem to last for days. Very bizarre and uncomfortable. As a result, I think I'm going to stop altogether.
Anyway, that's where I am right now. It's nice to read everyone else's stories and realize I'm not alone.
Happy holidays.
Never had an anxiety problem (that I was aware of) until I was about 21 or 22, in college. Tried to fall asleep one Sunday night and lost complete control of my surroundings, was sure I was going to die, etc. In hindsight, I think it was brought on by years of heavy drinking, smoking pot and LSD. Spent many a night sitting in my car in front of the hospital trying to decide if I needed to go in or if it was all in my head.
Ended up leaving school early that year and spent the summer on some medication, which seemed to lower my anxiety overall. Problem was that I couldn't really drink on the medicine and dropped the medicine in favor of that. Basically since then, I've been dealing with almost constant depersonalization feelings, sometimes it gets worse, other times its manageable. Have a very stressful job and that definitely makes it more difficult to function. As far as treating it, I tend to be the type of person who just fights through things even though I recognize it's probably not the best way.
I've noticed lately that when I get drunk (only once a month or so -- I have cut back drinking quite a bit), my hangovers seem to last for days. Very bizarre and uncomfortable. As a result, I think I'm going to stop altogether.
Anyway, that's where I am right now. It's nice to read everyone else's stories and realize I'm not alone.
Happy holidays.