View Full Version : Anxiety / Panic Recovery and Support
veronicavale
01-07-2008, 03:01 PM
Britt- I got ativan along with my celexa, and I find it totally different than xanax. Ativan does almost nothing for me, whereas xanax knocks me out. I know everyone is different, but they definitely don't have the same effect on me. I'm not sure which one I'd rather have... But it is exciting to hear about your insurance. It's just one less thing to worry about, ya know?
britt244
01-07-2008, 03:06 PM
Britt- I got ativan along with my celexa, and I find it totally different than xanax. Ativan does almost nothing for me, whereas xanax knocks me out. I know everyone is different, but they definitely don't have the same effect on me. I'm not sure which one I'd rather have... But it is exciting to hear about your insurance. It's just one less thing to worry about, ya know?
my biggest problem is that i have a very addictive personality. i like everything and i like to do things in excess. i typically don't like pills, i had painkillers last year when i broke my ankle, but the chance is always there. so my biggest concern is the potential for abuse. i'd like them to work, too, obviously, haha. i won't be mixing anything, either, because i dont want to take something daily. i want a benzo for when i need them.
I'm actually feeling okay today as far as anxiety goes. I just want this cold to hurry up and pass so I can go back to work. It's a vicious cycle... me, my anxiety, and my fucking allergies. I'm going to take a nap here shortly then wake up and continue babying myself. That's pretty much all I can do right now. I have to tell myself this constantly. "Mily, there's only so much you can do... just ride it out, blah, blah, blah..." So damn frustrating! I just suck! Bleeehhhh!!!
Darcy Foxx
01-07-2008, 07:55 PM
ehhh just started feeling really anxious. not sure what triggered it. but i feel really unsettled and can't get comfortable in my chair and i just feel like something isn't right.
britt244
01-07-2008, 07:57 PM
hmm. well actually, nevermind. that insurance would turn out to be double what it will be if i go through an insurance that branches off what i have now through my dad. so still no way to get to a psych quickly. i was at my parents house earlier and having some serious anxiety.. so bad i dont want to go over the ex's right now even though i'd rather sleep there and i know i'll feel better once i'm there.
Darcy Foxx
01-07-2008, 08:08 PM
i think maybe im stressy cos im going to see my psychatrist in a few hours. havent been for a month.....
britt244
01-07-2008, 08:09 PM
i think maybe im stressy cos im going to see my psychatrist in a few hours. havent been for a month.....
when i leave my therapist, i feel very anxious. i talk so much and its like im trying to get so much out so fast and i cant slow down.
Darcy Foxx
01-07-2008, 08:23 PM
yeah, me too. i always get really anxious before going there too.
Syrran
01-07-2008, 09:39 PM
Still having problems with my meds. I'm on welbutrin and effexor and its barely keeping me functioning. I have a few mini attacks a day and massive amounts of paranoia....
All Good Things
01-08-2008, 12:01 AM
TOO, I'm taking 1mg.
If 1 mg is knocking you out completely for 3 hours, try cutting the pill in half and see what a half mg will do for you. The idea is to reduce your anxiety, not put you under for three hours.
You can get pill cutters at the pharmacy that are very efficient at cutting small white pills right down the middle.
Lysondra
01-08-2008, 01:04 AM
YAY NEW PILLS.
Side effects include bloody urine and death.
Sweet.
Katrine
01-08-2008, 01:07 AM
YAY NEW PILLS.
Side effects include bloody urine and death.
Sweet.
Sounds like a band name at Emos: bloody urine and death. I have 3 shrinks on my insurance that came up with the criteria I am searching for. None are MD, but that is good.
I am very thankful that I have such great health coverage. If I were still dancing, I'd be a really bad mess......
veronicavale
01-08-2008, 07:28 AM
Still having problems with my meds. I'm on welbutrin and effexor and its barely keeping me functioning. I have a few mini attacks a day and massive amounts of paranoia....
How long have you been on them? Maybe it's time for a change... I know it takes a while for them to start working.
On another note, I've been having blurry vision which I thought was a crazy side effect of the celexa I started. But my optometrist failed to inform me that he changed my contact lens prescription without telling me. I put a pair of my old lenses in and I can see again! Thank goodness because it was really freaking me out! I'm going to call him and yell at him today.
Syrran
01-08-2008, 11:26 AM
I've been on effexor for 8 months or so, welbutrin for 3 months.
Girls... boys...
I can't believe I finally got the courage to post this... but..
I'm always afraid. I am afraid to leave the house. I haven't been attending to my business (sorting out driver's license issues, finding a family doctor, finding prep materials for a SUPER important and difficult exam)
I don't know what to do. I'm afraid to go to the doctor. I'm in a strange new place where I don't know anyone.
All I do is sit at home and watch tv series.
How can I get the courage to go to the doc? I feel like an upside down turtle...
Help!
veronicavale
01-11-2008, 09:34 AM
It's been over a week since I've been to work and I don't wanna go tonight! Although I know I have to in order to regain some normalcy in my life. I can't stay home watching TV forever... But I feel bad because I haven't worked out all week or gone tanning. I'm going to take a shower and put on some fake tan in a bit. And try not to worry too much about tonight... how bad can it be? I don't really have any money goals for tonight because I think that would be too much pressure. I'm just going to go in and try to be positive!
mollyzmoon
01-11-2008, 10:35 AM
...I wasn't sure to post or not. I've never felt like anxiety is a huge problem for me, except in certain situations I can mostly avoid. When I can't, I just look like a shaky, redfaced, teeth-chattering idiot. And then it's okay.
But sometimes i get these brief little periods of time where I start to freak out on some weird apocalyptic level. It's very much 'the sky is falling and everyone I love is going to suffer and die'. And I honestly, honestly believe this. But it's not a generalized anxiety, although it feels kind of crippling. That's what makes me not want to move from my bed, every once in a while. It's been greatly reduced since taking Wellbutrin, so I presumed it was a depression thing. Still. I can't not believe that the world is ending sometimes. I'm just so certain that I don't even want to have kids or get married or commit to anything (like even grad school), because it will only be more to lose.
Ugh. So I'm just wondering if this is common? Do things like war and global warming contribute to panicky feelings in anyone else? I feel like rationally we should fear these things, but maybe it doesn't make sense to fear them quite so much. But it's like there's this unconcious hold on my emotions, and I can't stop the fear train once it starts. It always subsides after about a week though. Anyway, thanks for letting me unload. I feel like I can keep the crazy aluminum hat wearing part of my personality mostly at bay, and then some days it's just unrelenting.
veronicavale
01-11-2008, 11:26 AM
Ugh. So I'm just wondering if this is common? Do things like war and global warming contribute to panicky feelings in anyone else? I feel like rationally we should fear these things, but maybe it doesn't make sense to fear them quite so much. But it's like there's this unconcious hold on my emotions, and I can't stop the fear train once it starts. It always subsides after about a week though. Anyway, thanks for letting me unload. I feel like I can keep the crazy aluminum hat wearing part of my personality mostly at bay, and then some days it's just unrelenting.
I know exactly how this feels!
Darcy Foxx
01-11-2008, 12:14 PM
Ugh. So I'm just wondering if this is common? Do things like war and global warming contribute to panicky feelings in anyone else? I feel like rationally we should fear these things, but maybe it doesn't make sense to fear them quite so much. But it's like there's this unconcious hold on my emotions, and I can't stop the fear train once it starts. It always subsides after about a week though. Anyway, thanks for letting me unload. I feel like I can keep the crazy aluminum hat wearing part of my personality mostly at bay, and then some days it's just unrelenting.
i constantly stress about ridiculous things like terrorism or the world ending. although most of my fear is fixated towards car accidents. i regularly worry myself to the point of either crying or feeling physically ill that myself or someone i love is going to be killed/paralysed in a car accident.
cameron_keys
01-11-2008, 12:26 PM
I'm planning on going to the club tonight...I"m already having panic attacks...
veronicavale
01-11-2008, 12:36 PM
I feel bad for you Cam, but it's kinda nice for me to know that someone else is going through the EXACT same thing I am. We'll get through this! I keep telling myself it will be fun once I get there.
cameron_keys
01-12-2008, 03:41 AM
Well I went and I'm back and I"m ok. Still relatively sane(as sane as I can get at least) so...congrats to me!
Kaylinn
01-12-2008, 04:49 AM
delete
Lysondra
01-12-2008, 04:53 AM
My pills are finally starting to balance me out... I'm starting to act like my old self again. :)
veronicavale
01-12-2008, 09:34 AM
I went to work last night and while I DID feel like I might have a panic attack, I just kept going and I never ended up getting one. I get to go back into work tonight. Oh, and work was kinda sucky as well, so hopefully it will be better. And I get to up my medication today since I was only taking a half dose untill I got used to it. Hopefully I won't get horrible side effects.
Kaylinn
01-12-2008, 09:37 PM
delete
stellaforstars
01-12-2008, 10:06 PM
I don't feel like a human being anymore.
'Mindless' is the perfect word to describe my state these days.
Mindless...or panicked. If it's not one, it's the other.
sun child
01-13-2008, 07:53 PM
OK, I want to post this here because I don't feel like starting my own thread on it and it definitely relates. My anxiety and depression has gotten to a point where it seems unmanageable and it's affecting me on the daily. I have health insurance now, I can afford to pay what that doesn't cover, but I am too anxious to go see a psychiatrist. I'm nervous about it, because I am scared that I might be bipolar.
I've read a little about it, but basically the two indications are that I get extremely depressed and other times I get extremely manic. While I'm manic I think up a million things to do, start a million projects and try to read ten books at once.
I had a horrible experience with Paxil when I was 15-16; I still have scars on my arm from that period. I wasn't "cutting" in the endorphin-releasing end-the-pain way, but I was practicing to cut my veins.
The last few years I have been able to somewhat manage my depression and anxiety, but I've had many months of agoraphobia. I get nervous sometimes just going up to pay for something in a store. I've read up on "depersonalization" and I swear, I've felt that way my whole life.
My huge fear is that I'll go to the psychiatrist and I'll have a Paxil-like experience again, or the psychiatrist won't really correctly find out what's wrong. I'm afraid to go in and say "I get extremely manic and drive myself and others around me crazy" or "I often think of death" and have them diagnose me bipolar and suggest something severe, like lithium. I'm also nervous about making the appointment and dealing with my insurance company.
Is it normal that the idea of getting treatment sends me into a tailspin?
Yekhefah
01-13-2008, 08:21 PM
Here's my anxiety problem. The more I need money, the harder it is for me to make it. Right now I have to make $150 by tomorrow since the week was painfully slow at the new club. So I should be out auditioning somewhere, it's Sunday night, I should go make that money. It's not a lot and even on a Sunday night I should be able to make it. But I CANNOT go. I'm freaking out, when I try to get ready to go I get queasy and trembly, my shoulders are so tense they hurt, and I can't speak clearly because I'm freaked and overwhelmed.
If I were to get up tomorrow knowing I can't pay my bills and it doesn't matter whether I make the money or not, I can go to work and do well. Or if I have the money I need, I'm fine. But when I urgently need the money, I fall apart and can't earn it. That's why I keep falling deeper into debt. I just panic.
Drugs are not an option, I just have to learn to fix it. Anybody else have this problem?
Lysondra
01-13-2008, 08:26 PM
^ I had that problem for a very long time until I finally fell on some good times and saved a shitload of money to be a buffer. Ever since I was able to do that, I've never panicked about it again and now I make heaps more money knowing I have money and don't need it. I take a lot less bullshit and I don't get burnt out because of it either. No reason to get burnt out and panic if I don't need the money or the job to make me, right? I know that doesn't help you NOW, but when you have a good night, just save save save. Keep some of your debt and instead of paying extra off that time with the money, just pay off the minimum for a LIIIITTLE bit so you can have a savings and then pay it off with the extra you make from not worrying so much. :)
Jeska
01-14-2008, 02:45 AM
It seems anxiety got the best of me at work tonight, and I left with only $60 :(
I think the fact that I drank more than usual, along with my club just being completely renovated and having gotten rid of every girl except the super hot ones, ruined my night. I wasn't completely comfortable in my new surroundings and kept seeing all the hot girls, thinking I wasn't good enough to be there.
Caffeine, weed and alcohol all seem to make my anxiety worse. Anyone else like this?
I don't know if I can handle this industry anymore. But trying to find a real job with "stripper" on your resume isn't exactly easy. :-\
I feel so hopeless. :(
Oh and Yekhefah, I feel for you girl :hug: That's why I have to force myself to go into work with the mindset that I don't need money and I'm just doing it for fun. It doesn't always work though.
Yekhefah
01-14-2008, 09:22 AM
Caffeine, weed and alcohol all seem to make my anxiety worse. Anyone else like this?
Haven't noticed it with alcohol, but yeah, too much caffeine makes me very nervous and ANY weed totally freaks me out.
cameron_keys
01-14-2008, 11:26 AM
Here's my anxiety problem. The more I need money, the harder it is for me to make it.
Yep. I get SO stressed when I"m in need of money that even though I try to talk myself into "just have fun and whatever you make is good"...I"m sure my desperation shines through because I never make as much as when I dont really need it.
Katrine
01-14-2008, 11:44 AM
Bad, its very, very bad. Crippling bad anxiety. I don't have pills and don't want them. I am here typing on SW so I am not in bed shaking and shuddering like I have been all morning. Seriously, I am afraid, sweating like a pig, heart pounding....
veronicavale
01-14-2008, 01:47 PM
Is it normal that the idea of getting treatment sends me into a tailspin?
It's totally normal. Medications and therapy are scary at first. For me, I'm SO glad I got help when I did, because I couldn't get better on my own. Just maybe look at it as the first step to getting your life back. Oh, and I have a friend who is bipolar. Lamictil changed her life. I'm not saying you NEED medication, just that I know someone who had a positive experience with it. I used to stay with her before she took meds, and the difference in her behavior was like night and day.
Lysondra
01-14-2008, 07:40 PM
Oh great. Now every time I take my medication I start twitching. I'm on day ten of my pills (or 8 or something or whatever) and the palpatations have stopped but the SECOND I take the pill I start twitching. I know it's not long enough for the pill to start effecting me...I'm just SO used to the pills making me twitch that I just start doing it. Not good. Depression is a bit better, though. Losing weight is awesome. Um...twitch.
Darcy Foxx
01-15-2008, 12:22 AM
i have taken my celexa every day for well over a week now and the nausea and other side effects are finally starting to ease up. i'm feeling heaps better already. got a bit panicky in the supermarket today, but i think that's just cos my body is a bit run down from my weekend of alcohol abuse.
I hate taking my medication even though I know I need to. I feel like such a freak or something. :(
xdamage
01-15-2008, 08:02 AM
I hate taking my medication even though I know I need to. I feel like such a freak or something. :(
Ack. Maybe one day our society will grow up. If your brain chemistry is off, it's not something to be ashamed of.
^You're absolutely right, x. People can be so ignorant.
cameron_keys
01-15-2008, 02:26 PM
I hate taking my medication even though I know I need to. I feel like such a freak or something. :(
I know the feeling. I am fine with taking my meds for my physical ailments, but having to take meds for a mental ailment makes me feel weak. Like if I just sucked it up and stopped being a baby I wouldnt need it. I know better...but it still FEELS that way
britt244
01-15-2008, 02:49 PM
i'm doing a crisis management training for my job at the school, and today we had to practice lowering someone to a mat and holding them down. we all had to take turns as students, and i thought i was going to have a panic attack when it was my turn. the girls kept messing up and i had to do it sooo many times. but it wasnt typical panic, i just felt very closed in and kind of dizzy and sick. it was different.
Jeska
01-15-2008, 04:25 PM
If you have anxiety and don't use medication, how do you know when you really need it?
Ever since my club started getting busy every night (I'm used to working slower nights, I always do better) I can't work with the crowds, I start getting shaky and weird, making myself hide in dressing room until I can leave.
I know the feeling. I am fine with taking my meds for my physical ailments, but having to take meds for a mental ailment makes me feel weak. Like if I just sucked it up and stopped being a baby I wouldnt need it. I know better...but it still FEELS that way
That's EXACTLY how I feel. It doesn't help that I'm kind of scarred now because in the past, people did think I was just being a baby, and were very cruel to me... when I really did have a problem and needed the medication.
cameron_keys
01-15-2008, 05:44 PM
That's EXACTLY how I feel. It doesn't help that I'm kind of scarred now because in the past, people did think I was just being a baby, and were very cruel to me... when I really did have a problem and needed the medication.
Yeah. I think back to times when I wouldnt want to get out of bed to go to school(high school was a bit harsh for me....I was the geek everyone picked on). I genuinly HURT and couldnt move, but I was called a baby and a hypochondriac when nothing was actually wrong(aka..no fever , etc...)
Of course...my physical ailments were misdignosed for 32 years as well. So maybe we just had crappy ass Dr's back then where I was.
Darcy Foxx
01-16-2008, 01:01 AM
i am really proud of myself. have not had a full fledged panic attack for a few days now, and i've been feeling significantly happier and more optimistic than i've been feeling all year so far.
Lysondra
01-16-2008, 05:55 AM
Shit shit shit!!! I didn't take my meds on time today (about 6-7 hours late) and I FREAKED. I started hyperventilating and ended up going on this downward plummet. Oh god this shit IS harder to get off than on. I thought I was dying. I had to drive home from the gallery just to take my pill.
veronicavale
01-16-2008, 08:46 AM
I had to take an ativan to go to sleep last night, and I still slept like crap. I was just so anxious that I couldn't fall asleep! But I think the ativan isn't strong enough or something. When I go back to the doctor next month, I'm gonna ask for xanax if this is still happening. Hopefully by then my celexa will have kicked in and I won't need it...
i.breathe.in
01-16-2008, 09:06 AM
im finally brave enough to try and get off this stuff. i have had a love affair with ativan for 2.5 years. i started out on .5 mg now i am at 4-5 mg a day. tolerance anyone? im so tired all the time it sucks.
in 2 days my doc is switching me to librium, and tapering me down a mg a month. im scared of living without it.
TigersMilk
01-16-2008, 10:37 AM
i am really proud of myself. have not had a full fledged panic attack for a few days now, and i've been feeling significantly happier and more optimistic than i've been feeling all year so far.
Thats great to read Darcy. :)
I started freaking out at Target the other day b/c this lady was coughing behind me. Then it snowballed into what if people can see me start to freak out and then I left without getting a few things.
A friend invited me out last night. Just a small party of 5 people then plus me and him turned into 7 people. Didn't want to take my ativan b/c I shouldn't drive on it and it makes me sleepy. I didn't feel like drinking to avoid the anxiety so I didn't go anywhere.