relapse

[beautyinmisery]

Hey everyone. I have had my anxiety for several years. When I was in junior high, it got really bad. I started to see a therapist and it got progressively better, however, my parents could no longer pay for me to see her. About a year or two later, I woke up one morning with no anxiety. I felt like a completely normal teenager, I was not afraid of anything. Nothing worried me, I wasn't afraid of anything. I would sit and concentrate on scary thoughts or do something that would normally cause panic and just TRY to start a panic attack, because after so long of having them and then suddenly not, I felt that the lack of anxiety was a lack of feeling. But now I know how wonderful it was. It lasted about six or seven months, until right before my senior year of high school, I made a baaad choice of smoking weed with some friends, which sent me into a panic that lasted for three days. Since then, my anxiety has been back. I was just wondering if anyone else experienced such a break in their anxiety or even a "relapse" as I call it? And what you have done to help yourself?

I have been concentrating on my breathing methods, talking myself down, drinking tea and occasionally taking my as-needed pills. But it seems that nagging anxiety is always there...

[Just.A.Girl.x]

Hey Beauty.
I have also had a relapse...I was fine for nearly 3 years and then it came back in October 09....mine was due to stress that kept building up and other stressfull things adding to it!! I am not doing too well but I have felt the past 2 days that I am feeling a bit better and ready to tackle the anxiety again!! When I first got the anxiety and panic back again I had that constant nagging anxiety but after a week of complete rest it had gone and now I am just left with the panic!!

Just try and remember what you were taught on how to tackle them and keep at it...dont let it go on too long so you slip back into the anxiety lifestyle as I have because its going to take sooooo much to get back again!!

Good luck
Candy xxx

[Sarah1986]

Hey...
I can relate to this completely.
I too thought my anxiety was a lack of feeling and desperately tried getting back to my old self. I had in fact forgotten that this old self was unhappy - i had completely forgot how i used to be. I thought the past 5 years where i thought i had depression was bad and felt i was 'numb'. I have just started taking citalopram which is an anti-depressent and it increases panic for the first 2 or so weeks (side effects). Now i feel stuck where I used to be all those years ago.
I am actually longing to be back where i was a few weeks ago now (which is when i thought i was depressed)
It sounds insane - this anxiety is awful and im finding it difficult to cope with the thoughts. I literally feel i have gone back about 5 years and stuck there?
Is this also similar to how u feel?

[magic girl]

i also relapsed recently(christmas)again but i just hold onto the thought that i have got through it twice before and was normal for several years so i will get through it again i refuse to be beaten:lac:

[beautyinmisery]

thanks justagirl, i'm glad i'm not alone, although it sucks that anyone should have to go through this!

sarah--definitely. I feel like I'm just back to where I was before the therapy and the pills. I had been doing so great and it's like, out of nowhere this extreme level of panic and anxiety just came back. it's so horrible. those pills sound terrible! i'd probably freak out over the fact that they made me feel more anxious and stop taking them!

magic girl--that's really true. we just have to remember that we have lived anxiety-free...so I KNOW that I am able to do it.