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Browse through 411.742 posts in 47.053 threads.

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15 years ago 0 16 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
New to the forum and anxiety, looking for support!

Hi everyone, my name is Jamie. For the past 4 months i have been experiencing some disturbing symptoms which i now believe i can attribute to generalised anxiety with mild panic.
 
I am 24, just finished the 1st year of dental school, something i was particularly proud of as i had worked hard to get there. My life has been quite stressful over the past 3 years. I have been through a lot having done a science degree and started immediately afterwards (2 months after!) on a full time accelerated dental course. During this two months off i made the mistake of going travelling with a friend (more his idea than mine) despite having little money, and as an aside ended up getting a horrible bout of food poisoning during my travels, which was very traumatic in a hospital overseas.
 
6 months into my dental course i began to get horrible stomach cramps , nausea and low appetite which would put me out of action for a week at a time but would go away quite soon for quite a long time. I ignored these until they got a lot worse after my grandad died in august. Now i have had to drop out of dental school for the time being as my life is currently plagued by fears over my health, and the future ( even though i have had a thorugh diagnosis by specialists and there is nothing medically wrong with me ) but i worry that these debilitating symptoms will not go away and i will be unable to be the man i used to be. I hope to go back to complete the course next year if i am well enough. At the moment the bouts of GI problems and associated anxiety are too frequent to consider going back. Since leaving the course i have returned to my parents and things seem to be a little better. I  got through xmas and had a really good time with family- i didnt expect to be able to handle it but it was very therapeutic as it turned out.
 
I sometimes get weird moods of mainly fear but its hard to describe- just feeling like i need to go and hide until it subsides. If i am distracted by friends or family i am usually ok and can be for days. The bouts are getting less intense i think but they are still there, and seem to be worse on days when i am at home when my parents are out. I will cycle from being positive, when my anxiety is low and thinking i am nearly better, and then i will be very low when my anxiety is present and think negatively. I have tried diazepam- which i like but cannot take any more due to addiction risk, propanolol- which is ok and SSRI's which made me feel too weird.
 
I am scheduled to have some CBT soon, but i just wondered if anyone on here could share any advice or stories about how they have managed to get over anxiety- and how long i might expect to feel this way. I long to be the man i was a year ago when nothing seemed daunting and i enjoyed life to the full.
 
Thanks for listening,
Jamie
 
 
15 years ago 0 16 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Starting Tai Chi

Hi everyone, im starting Tai Chi lessons tonight, to be honest i cant wait to go, although i am a little nervous. Was just wondering if anyone had seen improvement in mind/body after doing Tai Chi, it was just a personal hunch that it might be a good idea (seems slow and mentally absorbing).
 
I will let you all know how it goes!
 
Jamie
15 years ago 0 16 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
An interesting success

Dear all,

I had a very interesting experience this morning which i felt like i had to share!
 
I woke up early as usual and went to take my Propanolol (i usually take 10mg first thing in the morning and then wait 45m to have breakfast and get up fully). I waited the time and went downstairs got shaved, dressed had breakfast and felt quite calm. I thought to myself thank goodness for the Propanolol or i could be in all sorts of discomfort. I really felt like i could feel the drug working its usual calming magic on my adrenal system.
 
Well an hour later i went back up to my room to find something and guess what i found; the little pink pill was still sitting there by the glass of water i had meant to take it with.
A moment of absent mindedness has shown me an important lesson. At least for my own personal anixiety, my expectations and thoughts must have a LOT to do with the fears and symptoms i experience.
 
I feel empowered somehow, but i am unsure what to do with this new knowledge. I will endevour to keep you posted if i come up with any ideas! What do you guys think?
 
Jamie
15 years ago 0 16 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
New to the forum and anxiety, looking for support!

Hey everyone, thanks for your comments, its nice to know other people are going through the same thing and im sure this thing will pass in good time.
 
Karla, no i havent started any of the sessions yet, i am looking forward to starting my CBT therapy which is supposed to begin in a week or so, so i might discuss whether or not to also complete these sessions or just concentrate on my own course with the therpist when i first meet them. In the meantime i am finding the forums very helpful. You mention you have been having attacks for a year now, im sorry to hear that. My own anxiety is at the moment mainly interfering with my eating, i often get very anxious and lots of physical symptoms around food or meal times. Its very weird and disconcerting. But i hope that soon i can re-establish a healthy relationship with the food i used to love.
I've got a good feeling that things will improve for you and me in the near future. My medical doctor tells me that anxiety affects primarily young gifted and intelligent people- so i feel like the sky is the limit once we are over this bump in the road and begin living life to the full again.
 
Wishing you feel good today!
 
 
15 years ago 0 16 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Starting Tai Chi

Hey guys,
 
I was pretty nervous when i got there to begin the class thinking i would be rubbish, but pretty soon i felt at ease because i realised that there were others who were worse than me and they had been going for longer! I guess its one of those things that you have to take at your own pace and practice a lot. It can be very demanding on the legs but i found this was a good thing, because i felt tired for once- usually i am wired and on edge even at nightime so the tiredness in the leg muscles was welcome!
 
In all, i thought it was worth going to- i am not at the stage yet where i know what i am doing, so it would not be right for me to comment on Tai Chi's ability to help with anxiety (though i did feel more relaxed while i was at the class) and i think it will start to have more of an effect the more i practice. The best thing about it was actually starting something new and having that feeling of discovery. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for an outlet or something new. Took my mind off anxiety for a good 2 hours (this is a long time for me!).
 
Jamie
15 years ago 0 16 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
The most common anxious thought?

Hello everyone,
 
I just felt like writing something about what seems to be a very common negative thought amongst people with anxiety issues. I know it is one of the main culprits in my anxiety thought pattern.
It hides at the back of my thoughts a bit like a ninja- recently i have been calling it out whenever i hear it and putting a spotlight on it does seem to help. The thought has a couple of main forms for me:
 
I will probably be like this forever
This wont end (or) I will be lucky if it doesnt get worse
My old life is gone for good
 
These are incredibly powerful statements, as they basically amount to saying that everything you enjoyed about life is now gone forever. They also imply that life is now going to be unbearable forever (even though this is extremely unlikely). The fact that a lot of people (like myself) have truly believed these statements makes me feel like, no wonder we get the symptoms we do! Any average person who found themselves truly believing this statement, even for a moment, would feel very anxious, down and unmotivated. The fact is that this thought gets reinforced many times daily for some of us, and ends up being something we have accepted about our situation.
 
I urge you to call this thought out whenever you find it- it flies in the face of all the published research and good common sense. I know many friends who have recovered from anxiety and i know none that have lived unbearable lives forever. I can only begin to imagine the impact that thoughts such as this one have on our conciousness, as we are being bombarded by such a massively negative statement. It is about the worst thought that one could have about one's situation. Above all, its completely false and is about the least likely thing to happen. Dont let this ninja get away with stealing your hope- it is something you deserve, put it in your safest place.
 
Jamie 
 
 
 
 
15 years ago 0 16 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Noob here...greetings!

Gilkey,
 
I too do not suffer panic attacks but have more of a generalised anxiety problem. The fact is that all anxiety problems share common treatments and probably similar causes. So i am finding the forums and exersises here very helpful for my generalised anxiety- they are not only of use to panic sufferers.
 
I am no expert but i think that your case sounds roughly similar to my own, so i dont think its unique. I foudn that my flair ups were related to definate life events which i was very aware of each time. I think that you will find the CBT here very useful. My family doctor also prescribed medication but not the very treatment i needed to get better- which in my case is hopefully CBT and other related therapies. I finally found out about it through self help books and when i asked him he referred me. Just taking the medication is in my opinion only dealing with the symptoms, not treating the cause of why you suffer anxiety at these times.
It sounds like you put a lot of mental pressure on being able to sleep and im sure this may be related to your shift work affecting sleeping patterns. I have noticed that anything we put heaps of pressure on (for me its eating 4 meals a day) suddenly becomes a reason for our flight or fight response to kick in- i too can get extremely anxious if i dont think im falling asleep after say 2 or 3 hours.
Regarding the fears, almost all people who suffer from some form of anxiety develop some fears along the way, i think this might be because we are looking into the future way too much and not living in the moment. For example i have had fears of becoming depressed also but i have several others which are all not helpful and are unlikely ever to come to be. Try to think each day at a time and when you get these fears, try the exersises on challenging negative thoughts. You will probably find that your anxiety is closely related to your self-talk and attitudes. It will go away in time, and dont let your thoughts tell you otherwise. It may not happen overnight, but you are taking the right steps to recover fully this time.
By undertaking CBT and maybe other therapies and relaxation techniques to give your body some rest, you stand a good chance of being free from it for good, since perhaps if it ever does return in the future, you will have the skills and understanding to avoid it taking hold again. Its good to hear you are not taking too many sleep meds, as these can become counter-productive in the long term.
 
When i used to have an issue with sleep- this was early on in my anxiety and i beat it, i found these well published rules very useful to ensure a restful night.
 
 
1- Do not eat or drink for 3-4 hours before bed
2- Do not consume caffine or other stimulants at all and reduce your salt intake (not sure why salt but it is very well published)
3- Improve your diet to make it healthier as fatty foods can lead to sleep problems
4- Make sure you are fully hydrated with clean fresh water during the working day
3- Create the right bedroom environment (Very important) this means no electrical equipment (at least not anything on standby or with any LEDs etc.), no phones in the bedroom and absolute darkness and silence (these two are a must!).
4- If there is anything at all on your mind (such as thoughts about what has to be done tomorrow or other stressful thoughts) write these all down before going to bed, and then allow your mind to forget them, knowing that they are safely written down.
5- Light exersise (such as a breif walk) before bed can be very helpful to produce that naturally tired and relaxed feeling.
6- If you dont fall asleep within 30 minutes, dont stress about it, just get up and read or do something very tedious (like read a book you have already read) so that your mind begins to get the idea that it must now shut down for sleep. The key is a relaxed attitude towards sleep (easier said than done i know!) , if you're always on edge about it, your mind thinks it needs to stay awake and dutifully obliges you.
7- Consider using hypnosis tapes (i found these quite good) or progressive muscle relaxation techniques as an alternative to sleep meds. Another alternative is meditation or yoga about 30minutes before bed.
8- Good sleep requires adherence to natural circadian rythms. This means sleeping when the sun goes down and waking when it comes up. You might want to consider alternatives to shift work if you are not getting the sleep you need to feel normal. Our bodies are programed to want to sleep at certain times and not others. Check out the article on circadian rythms on wikipedia, it has a cool diagram that shows your biological clock.
 
I know thats a lot of information but it helped me overcome my sleep problems- and now i sleep fine most days. I think that since your anxiety is so closely related to your sleeping, then addressing the sleeping can only help your recovery. You do however need to complete the exersises here and then maybe you can be better at challenging negative thoughts and also better at dealing with the anxiety when it begins to interfere with your ability to get a restful night's sleep. You are not alone, there are millions of us dealing with anxiety and irrational fears which spring from it. Above all, full recovery is very likely once you have made the necessary adjustments and altered your thinking patterns for the better.
 
Hope some of this has been useful sorry its been a bit long winded, its nice to see someone else with a GAD issue on here, let me know how you get on.

Jamie
 
15 years ago 0 16 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
hey guys!

Hey Magin,
 
I also have GI symptoms with my anxiety, i get heartburn and also stomach pain from time to time. It isnt pleasant, but im working on reducing my anxiety to combat these. Im glad you had relief with effexor, perhaps its something for me to consider. Dealing with sadness (sometimes its sadness for no real reason) is often hard because you may not realise why you are so sad. I find that release of these emotions is the best thing, but also a positive attitude on the future is very important. Realise that although you may get very attached to potential girl friends and fall in love easily, this does not mean that you wont find the right person for you. I know lots of people who fall in love at the drop of a hat, and once they find that right person (this can take time) they are very happy together. You need to work on your fear of rejection however, as this will make you more confident in relationships and i think CBT is the right way to go for this.
 Depression is very common in todays society and im sure in time it will pass. The key is that you want to get better and you have made the steps to put in place the correct treatments. Try to embrace new or old hobbies (i found this great as you end up getting to know a lot of people) and take life at the pace you need to. Im sure you will find good companionship this way and possibly even meet the girl whos right for you. My only advice (im not perfect at relationships as i tend to get too involved too quickly) is to take things slowly but make your feelings known, think about the positives, if a girl doesnt want a relationship at this time, at least you have a good friend who will potentially have lots of other girlfriends who you can be introduced to. Also, concentrate on the good friends and family you have, you do not necessarily need to find a partner right away, it may be that as you overcome these issues and you are begining to love yourself and your life as it is, the right person just appears.
 
Take life one step at a time, recovery from anxiety and depression should be your major priority- and you can make a full recovery like many others before you have done. I too am sure that the Lord helps us in many ways we do not fully appreciate. What we endure makes us stronger, and being a happy, intelligent and loving person is what truly matters as we should measure our lifes accomplishment by how much love we have given and how much we have grown in wisdom.
 
"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." (Psalms 30:5)
 
Im sure your morning is on the horizon.
 
Jamie
15 years ago 0 16 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Activities

Hey guys,
 
I have noticed this too. In fact it is one of the main ways i get over my anxiety. I do many things to get a sense of achievement. Just ticking off things on my 'to do' list often helps. I play badminton, now go to tai chi, help my grandparents with various jobs and cademccallum- i also rip CD's, is it just me or is it great for taking your mind off anxiety! I have ripped my entire cd collection in a little over 3 days. Sometimes i just drive to the local supermarket to get groceries hoping to bump into people i know so i can feel that high you get from not avoiding people. Im working on cleaning my room and rearanging furniture but its such a big job i just cant get started. But i will do it tomorrow- and not put it off any more days.
15 years ago 0 16 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
healing power of music

I completely agree with everything said here. I find driving to be an incredible relief from anxiety and i hadnt thought of the connection before but i always listen to the radio too! Usually something upbeat if i am feeling good or classical music if im a bit on edge. I love Bob Dylan and The Beatles for getting right.