Questions and Concerns.

[chili2424]

Hello,

My name is Dennis and I am a 15 year old male who just discovered this forum after researching GAD. I was diagnosed with GAD about 2 months ago and life has been a struggle ever since. I came to this forum to ask a few questions in order to better understand my condition and hopefully overcome it. If you can, please help answer my questions concerning this annoying disorder.

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Overview: I experienced my first panic attack January 4th of this year. It came completely out of the blue when I was in a totally calm state. Looking back, I figured this was caused by my drastic change of sleeping habits during winter break and over exposure to video games. Thats the past and I have stopped this abusive lifestyle and am here to seek help and get rid of this disorder for good. After experiencing my first panic attack I was extremely scared that I had something seriously wrong with me. I came home from school and just prayed it wouldn't happen again. Unfortunately, it did. I had a few bad attacks re-occuring for the next couple of days. Finally, one day after coming home from a friends house, I had the worst panic attack I had ever experienced. I felt like I couldn't breathe, my heart was pounding, and I felt like death was coming. I was scared out of my mind so I went to the emergency room and they told me I would be fine and I just had experienced a "panic attack". After coming home from the ER I decided that I needed to visit my GP and find out what was going on with me. After my visit with the doctor and describing my symptoms of panic he diagnosed me with GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder). Unsure of what it meant, I was scared of what would happen to me and decided to do some research. The research I found was very reassuring and described nearly all the symptoms I was feeling. I knew that I wasn't alone with this, thankfully. After the month of January, I pretty much stopped having such severe panic attacks (despite a few brief moments) and tried to cope with the other symptoms. The reason I joined this forum is because I need to find a way to do away with the effects of GAD. For the past 3 weeks I have feelings of derealization/depersonalization. These symptoms are so scary even though I reassure myself they are not dangerous. I become lost in my own world and I feel like I am not real. It's not like I'm in any physical pain but I just feel like something is not right and don't feel the self of normal that I used to have before having this. It's a very scary feeling because I'm constantly haunted by these symptoms and they just wont seem to go away. In addition to derealization I also have a very tough time sleeping. It is very hard to fall asleep because when I lie in bed I feel so dizzy and its very hard to calm down and fall asleep. After lying in bed for about an hour I finally am able to fall asleep but the real problem is staying asleep. Every night now I suddenly wake up in the middle of the night breathing hard and scared out of my mind... for no reason! Some nights this may only happen once but others could be up to 3-4 times. This is ridiculous and I can't live my life like this. I always feel tired during the day and out of energy because of these sleepless nights. I feel very tired but my brain just won't turn off. I have a bunch of negative thoughts coming in and as much as I try to think positively they still happen. This is SO frusturating for me because I am just a teenager who up until this disorder, lived a very fun and fulfilling life. Now, I am stuck with this stupid "GAD" and have to live with it. I feel depressed and miserable because I just can't get any relief from this. I JUST WANT MY NORMAL LIFE BACK! Other symptoms I feel during the day are a "lump in my throat and difficulty swallowing sensation" and sometimes difficulty in breathing. (Very uncomfortable symptoms) I also feel dizzy at times and sick in my stomach. Everyday I have to force myself out of bed and tell myself "It will all go away soon" but I just don't know when. Please help me with my questions and concerns because all I want is to return to normal and start living life. I hate dealing with this everyday and just want to start doing things I used to do.
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Questions to fellow forum members:

Question #1-Will I ever be rid of my symptoms from GAD?

Question #2-If so, how long should I expect full recovery to take?

Question #3- When will I start feeling relief from the everyday horrible feelings of anxiety.

Question #4- My parents do not feel that I need to see a physciatrist and will get over this on my own. Can this be done? Can I return to normal without seeing a therapist and just "ride it out"?

Question #5- If I do not decide to see professional help will I not be able to recover fully?

Question #6- What can I do when I am feeling the dreaded symptoms of anxiety. I feel like I am helpless and all I can do is wait it out.

Question #7- When does derealization/depersonalization go away and when will I stop feeling like I am going crazy.

Question #8- I see many people posting that they have GAD for "x" amount of years. This deeply troubles me. Does that mean I'm going to experience what I am feeling now for many years to come with no relief?

Question #9- What type of improvement am I going to see and what I should expect? I know its not going to be an overnight cure but its troubling to see that my condition is not improving as the weeks go by.

Question #10- What is the AVERAGE recovery time rate for GAD? I just mainly need a realistic outlook on how long I'm going to have to battle this.

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Thanks to all who read my thread and all who help answer my questions. I find that information and self-education about this topic is what is helping me through this.

Regards,
Dennis.

[BabyRachel]

Hi Dennis. I feel bad for you, so young and new at this all. With time you will come to understand this disorder and find lots of support here.

Question #1-Will I ever be rid of my symptoms from GAD? YES. You definatly will. You will NOT be like this forever. There will be times when your symptoms peak and when they are low or non existant and they can also change. But in time when your mind is calm again, you will not have these symptoms.

Question #2-If so, how long should I expect full recovery to take? This question is impossible to answer. Everybodies recovery is individual. You will not recover overnight, or in weeks. But it IS possible to fully recover with hard work and dedication - lots of fighting.

Question #3- When will I start feeling relief from the everyday horrible feelings of anxiety. This again is impossible for me to answer. You need to learn relaxation methods and start working on your anxiety before you feel relief.

Question #4- My parents do not feel that I need to see a physciatrist and will get over this on my own. Can this be done? Can I return to normal without seeing a therapist and just "ride it out"? You can return to normal without a psychiatrist but I really reccomend you speak with your parents so you can see at least a therapist who is good with techniques to help anxiety. Your very new to this and the help a professional can offer will speed up your recovery and make things a lot easier for you. I would suggest you sit down with your parents and talk to them, tell them you would like to see a therapist and describe the feelings you have every day and how it is impacting your life. If need be, go see your GP with your parents so your GP can explain to them the benefits of seeing a professional.

Question #5- If I do not decide to see professional help will I not be able to recover fully? You can help yourself to recover. Lots of people have done it on here, Im sure you can speak to a few. If you do decide not to see a professional you will need to do a lot of research into calming and relaxing your body and mind. Some techniques are listed on the left hand side of the page - please please please read them.

Question #6- What can I do when I am feeling the dreaded symptoms of anxiety. I feel like I am helpless and all I can do is wait it out. There are various ways to relax when you feel anxious. Abdominal breathing is very very useful (left hand side of the page, under the link panic attacks you will find a method for this) also phsyical exercise is good, it releases the adrenaline that builds up when you become anxious. Aside of that distraction is good, so writing, reading a book, talking to a friend watching a movie are all good. You should eat a well balanced diet too. You can also purchase something called Rescue Remedy that is helpful for some, it is a herbal mixture that helps calm anxiety.

Question #7- When does derealization/depersonalization go away and when will I stop feeling like I am going crazy. This is impossible for me to say. It will go away when your not in an anxious state. Remember you are NOT going crazy at all. Very important.

Question #8- I see many people posting that they have GAD for "x" amount of years. This deeply troubles me. Does that mean I'm going to experience what I am feeling now for many years to come with no relief? No this is completly not the case. You will not feel this way for many years, your life is NOT doomed to be an anxious one and you WILL get relief. Anxiety can come and go throughout our lives depending on personal circumstances. Please do not let this worry you.

Question #9- What type of improvement am I going to see and what I should expect? I know its not going to be an overnight cure but its troubling to see that my condition is not improving as the weeks go by. Anxiety does not go away by itself. You need to learn ways to calm yourself for it to go away. You should expect to feel like you have ways to cope with anxiety, you will get more confident, be more sociable and less worried. In time, you will not feel anxious at all.

Question #10- What is the AVERAGE recovery time rate for GAD? I just mainly need a realistic outlook on how long I'm going to have to battle this. I cannot answer this im sorry... It is totally individual and every person is different. It might be best to focus one week at a time. set SMALL ACHEVIABLE goals. This will help.

Also Dennis please read the link below in my signature, it is very helpful.

Take care, I hope my answers provided you some comfort.

Rachel xx

[chili2424]

Thank you very much for your response Rachel. You brought me a lot of relief. For the past two days it hasn't been so bad and I guess I'm slowly starting to return to normal. I don't feel as much as the symptoms as I used to but I still don't feel the same as before. You know what I mean? I hope this goes away cause I've sort of been going through this day sort of like in a daze. Kind of losing interest in life but I guess thats just part of the illness. Can't wait to feel better and return to my normal life and hang out with my friends again without having to go home early cause I feel they symptoms of anxiety.

Also, why is that I feel anxious? I know what anxiety feels like, like before a big test or some stressful event, but why was I feeling anxious when I was in a totally calm state. I didn't feel anxious at all, quite the opposite actually, but my body still showed signs of anxiety. (difficulty breathing, light headed, blank minded, difficulty swallowing, etc.) Can you answer why I still show the symptoms when I actually felt calm and relaxed? Also, can you help me find ways to stay asleep during the night. For the past three weeks I keep waking up at like 2 in the morning scared out of mind FOR NO REASON! and then just fall asleep after thirty minutes. Is there anything I can do about this or should I just wait and let it pass. Lastly, I've been feeling kind of dizzy lately and I'm kind of scared I'm going to lose control and can't stop spinning. I really hate the feeling cause it makes me nauseous. Any ideas on what I should do about it?

Thanks,
Dennis.

[Lauz]

Questions to fellow forum members:

Question #1-Will I ever be rid of my symptoms from GAD? Yes but you need to be patient and not expect it to happen overnight. Also if you start feeling better but then start feeling awful again, please dont feel guilty like you have failed as this can happy and for myself that is one of the hard things to work through is feeling good then feeling crapy :(.

Question #2-If so, how long should I expect full recovery to take? Varies on the person and what sort of treatment they take I guess. Myself I am on some medication to help the panic attacks which has worked brilliant, if you do this and have side effects when first starting dont be alarmed as they will pass can take up to 2 - 3 weeks. Secondly cousellor I am seeing has done wonders, explaining and helping me understand what had triggered all of it and how to help me through it.

Question #3- When will I start feeling relief from the everyday horrible feelings of anxiety. When you start to face and accept your symptoms headon and not let them overwhelm you. They are your adrenaline pumping through your body and the more you try to fight and run from them the more intense they may feel. When you feel something, notice it and face it, you will see that it will not get anymore intense etc and just let it pass. It is done than said and may take a little time to be able to do this but it has worked wonders in helping me get through the day and not freaking out.

Question #4- My parents do not feel that I need to see a physciatrist and will get over this on my own. Can this be done? Can I return to normal without seeing a therapist and just "ride it out"? Yes and no, depends on the person. I suggest to go to your local doctor and bring your parents or one of them with you so you can sit there and explain all to the doctor and your parents can hear the response and how 'serious' it actually is as opposed to just getting over it. number 1 thing I believe in is your support around you, it makes all the difference and not having your parents understand etc can hurt.

Question #5- If I do not decide to see professional help will I not be able to recover fully? You will, but how is up to you. Being on here will help lots as well.

Question #6- What can I do when I am feeling the dreaded symptoms of anxiety. I feel like I am helpless and all I can do is wait it out. As I said above, try face it and really feel it if you know what I mean. Calm breathing, through your tummy not your chest. Occupy yourself with activities.

Question #7- When does derealization/depersonalization go away and when will I stop feeling like I am going crazy. Not sure, looking back I actually had it, but didn't realise what it was and wasnt too concerned by it hence why it went quickly for me I think.

Question #8- I see many people posting that they have GAD for "x" amount of years. This deeply troubles me. Does that mean I'm going to experience what I am feeling now for many years to come with no relief? Not at all, do not let that sink you further. Everyone is on here for one reason or another and every person is different and so is their recovery. You need to stay positive. You have caught this out early and are being proactive you can only expect the best.

Question #9- What type of improvement am I going to see and what I should expect? I know its not going to be an overnight cure but its troubling to see that my condition is not improving as the weeks go by. You will be able to have times of no anx :) they are my fav times haha you will be able to sleep better and learn not to worry and stress so much.

Question #10- What is the AVERAGE recovery time rate for GAD? I just mainly need a realistic outlook on how long I'm going to have to battle this.I started in Nov with all of this, it is now march and am nearly there I feel. My doctor said that treating panic/anx on meds they normally recommend 1yr, this is not to say that you will feel that way for the whole year but it is to ensure that you have settled it compeltely. Honestly it is just a difficult question to answer.


My last comments for you is to purchase a book called Self help for your nevers, learn to relax. By Claire Weekes. If you have not heard of her, her books are fantastic. This book basically runs through everything to do with anx and panic and explains every gate way in full detail. I think half the prob with anx and panic is that we all dont fully understand it and this book fills that void and you get a greater understanding. Not saying that it will cure you so to say but it will definately give you prospective and some great tools to help you through.

Wish you all the best of luck Xo

[chili2424]

Thank you lauz for your time in answering my questions I really appreciate it. Knowing all this information about this disorder really helps me calm down. I will continue to use the forum and learn more and talk to others. Thanks to both of you.