Lots of great advice here from those in the know! Hope it helped. Do stick with the program, and consult with your doctor if you don't notice any improvement soon. Let us know how you are doing.
it took me ages to give in and take an ssri, i was taking ativan but was very anxious taking it because of all the negative stuff i had heard and read about getting off it (thank god i am now off it), i have been taking 10mg Prozac fot almost 7 weeks now and am starting to feel really good, i am up to the exposure part of the program and the medication is taking away my negativity just enough to really push myself in this part of the program, i still have some anxious thoughts like today my daughter wanted to go to a shop about 25 minutes away, the last time i went there i had an attack and have not been back their in 6 months, i was anxious and was getting a few what ifs but i went anyway, i had a few anxious moments but i made sure i kept up my breathing and stayed there for at least an hour and i was glad i did, i also drove down the main road instead of taking the backstreets, i think it is a combo of the meds and the program as even just reading other peoples comments really helps, sometimes it just makes you think if they can do it i can do it to.
i think you should be really proud of yourself for going back to work thats a big step and a step forward not back, keep doing the program i think it works to build positive core beliefs and also knowledge is power, sometimes i reread earlier sessions over and over just to make sure they are sunk into my head.
I took Paxil for 7 years and did really well with it. So well that I decided I was cured and took myself off it. Big mistake! The panic came back worse than ever and I had such a hard time with it that I got online and found out all sorts of stuff about side effects and withdrawals, etc., and swore I would never do it again. I realized that the meds take away the physical aspect of anxiety but it will not take away the core of the anxiety, which is your thoughts and the way you deal with situations and feelings. The CBT will teach you how to change the way your thought pattern goes, which will in turn help ease and even take away your anxiety.
I've had anxiety my entire life and for 12 years before I found this website, I was a prisoner in my own head because my anxiety was so bad. (Not counting the 7 years of Paxil, of course.) The CBT literally saved my life. I was at a point where I wanted to end it. Stick with the CBT - I promise it will help you! It takes time. Do one session each week, or longer if you feel you need to - it's completely on your own time so take your time. Be patient. Fill out the forms as you have attacks, update your diary and use the support group when you need to vent.
I promise it will help you if you keep with it! There are always times that it gets harder to deal with depending on different situations going on in your life (like going back to work) but if you can retrain your thought process, you will see that you will learn how to cope in a healthy way. I do have hard times now and again when stress levels go up, but I can honestly say that I can now sit and be still and not feel like I'm crawling out of my skin.
Hang in there and don't give up! I promise you are stronger than you feel!
Like Davit says..hang in there! It sounds like youre in the middle of a big change in your life...going back to work after being at home for 3 years...that's stressful! Thats huge! I say go easy on yourself and give yourself some more time to adjust. But if youre concerned with your meds you should see your doctor and discuss it.
I take 20 mg celexa, and I also have found that my negative thoughts have decreased almost to zero.. (so it works )but when they do come, I use the challenging questions and poof! gone..so I'm loving my marriage of CBT and meds.
Not too many of us like the idea of being medicated..it took me years and years to even think of that as an option for me.
This group is the closest thing to therapy for me...feel free to vent anytime you need to. We are all here for eachother
It's the information this time. In stead of using meds to put your panic on the shelf you are using information to take it off the shelf and deal with it. In the long run you will have less trouble with the panic. You will have the tools to make it go away instead of just putting it out of site. You can do CBT by yourself but you know by following the program and using the forums to ask questions and vent you are not actually doing it alone. You are doing it as part of the group. We are not therapy but I've done both and have to say we are close. How close depends on how open you want to be. You can be open here, we can not hurt you. We are your friends and here to help you. Hang in there it works, it just takes time.
So I've been dealing with anxiety for about 10 years now, and I always have set-backs in the winter. I usually reduce my meds in the summer, and forget that I need more until I start having attacks again. I have only ever dealt with this with medication. I didn't know I could do CBT on my own, and therapy is out of my price option. Either way, now I am working through this program (I'm on session 3) and it's been 6 weeks since I went from 5mgs/day to 25mgs/day and my panic still creeps up on me. I'm wondering why it's taking so long for the attacks to go away. The meds usually help me to forget any anxious thoughts completley (cures me in a sense).
Could it be that the meds just aren't working for me anymore? Or is it because I've started to activley think about what I'm thinking about?
It's gotten a lot better, this time the attacks were especially bad. I've never been on more than 20 mgs before. I've also started working after being at home with the kids for 3 years..
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