Panic making it so hard to go to work

[paulaf]

Hi everyone

I am 29 an have had anxiety and panic attacks since I was 13. I have been on different meds since I was 18 and recently tried seroxat (which made me gain loads of weight) so I changed to fluoxetine 5 weeks ago. Ever since then I have been so ill with anxiety and constant panic attacks. The worst thing is going to work, I have to take two buses an it takes about 1 hour to get there and every morning I wake up feeling absolute dread and have to force myself to leave the house. I have panic attacks on the buses and all day at work, I leave feeling so exhausted and depressed. My husband wants to start a family and I am feeling so alone right now, like noboy understands how I am feeling. Would appreciate any replies xx

[Jabz]

i dealt with the same problem. i live in NYC and i used to take the subway to work for 5 years...after countless of hours of being stuck in the subway,blackouts, 9/11, subway fires and subway delays..i just couldn't handle the subway anymore. I started taking the bus and it definitely cut a lot of the stress out...it takes me an hour to commute, but i still had massive panic attacks. I am sorry to say this but the only thing that helped me was getting laid off as I took a massive break from everything and all the commuting and did everything at my own pace. When you feel like you are forced to do something your anxiety just rises even more, you need to step back and calm down even if for a bit. For a while I even drove to work. There is no shame in starting it out slow, its not avoidance its just getting yourself ready, building up your confidence etc. So see if you can find some ways to release some stress, maybe take a vacation, maybe change your commute a little bit, maybe try to change some work hours so you dont have to commute during rush hour and the buses are emptier and more relaxing, maybe you can drive to work for a few months...etc. But trust me, you're not alone and you will find a way, just give it some patience.

[paulaf]

Thanks so much for replying, I am going to take some time off work until I feel better. I have my driving test next week so fingers crossed I will pass and then I can drive to work. Nice to know Im not the only one feeling like this though, thanks again.

[Gideon.Waller]

you are not alone. there are so many out there - here is another great site where you can connect with people:
http://www.anxietyzone.com/


Hang in there!

[leah27]

does anyone know of any work that yu can do from home?