Anxiety issues - can someone shed some light?

[Pardi]

I use to have crippling anxiety and panic attacks,

I was pretty much a prisoner in my own house for 2 years out of self choice. I tried drugs, religion and psychology.. None of it really worked, at best
it subdued it.

The key I found personally to rid myself of anxiety was to identify my fears and them conquer them!
I did so by getting a job in sales, forcing myself to be social and be rejected many times a day.
Worked like a charm.

To this date i still get Anxiety occasionally, but I dont flip out and think that im dying anymore.

 

[ze kink]

Weird that this is here, I apparently got my first panic attack yesterday. Never knew what one would be like or that I could get one either. Seems like pot's something I shouldn't touch after all. Everything still feels kind of surreal even though it's already a while since it happened, and I had a good night's sleep in between. Fucking sucks.

 

[Brady k]

[/QNo No NO!!!!

Do NOT "tell" her to see a doctor! This can actually lead to a SHITLOAD of new anxiety issuesUOTE



??DUDE

i have had social anxiety for a long time,,
the first two months i started taking medication , I FELT a million times betteer,,, i could talk to people without sweating i could take tests without shaking!!

man medication has made my life a MILLION times better!!!!

 

[John_C]

Hormone stuff can mess with girls emotions and cause anxiety problems. If she's on some sort of contraception then that can really mess people up; different pills have very different side-effects.

 

[JeffTD]

I hate to be this guy, but unless you're in this one for the long run, I'm not sure it's worth your time or trouble. My girlfriend senior year had serious anxiety/panic attack issues, and it was honestly the worst 7 months I've ever wasted on what I later realized was a lost cause. She might be an extreme case, though - she was on a slew of medications, but the only one that did anything was Klonopin, and it made her super void/lethargic/apathetic when she took it regularly.

I'd recommend trying to help her, but I'm not sure if dating her at the same time is the best idea unless she really is something special. I can't see it working out incredibly well for your side, and I could see her latching onto you as a savior and making any sort of breakup totally devastating.

I just can't get into the idea of 'fixing' someone, so to speak, you know? And I'm not saying I'm perfect - hereditary anxiety/depression fucked up my entire middle school years and only in the last 4-5 years have SSRI's helped me sort things out, but dating someone with serious issues like this doesn't sound like a good idea to my biased ear.

I'm curious though, just out of possible coincidence... does she have daddy issues?

 

[drew_drummer]

Bottom line is; a bunch of boners on a metal forum are not really the best demographic to ask. Maybe visit ultimatemedicine.com ... know what I'm sayin' ???

 

[MarcusGHedwig]

Jorge, I'm sorry to hear that dude, it's gotta be rough - do you find the herb helps you at all, or does it not make much of a difference? And Ze Kink, yeah, she too hasn't had the best experiences with weed, I guess for those who are prone to anxiety it can make things worse, though I've also known some who suffer from anxiety and are calmed by it, so I guess it depends (also depends on the quality of the bud)

Brady, if I may ask, what medication are you taking, and what dose? Glad to hear it's working for ya man

Jeff, nah, it seems like she has a pretty good relationship with her Dad, and I like him a lot, he's a good guy; truth be told, I guess in the grand scheme of girls she's really a pretty stable person, I haven't seen her really go apeshit or anything (yet... ); the main issue really is just her tendency to seem kinda spaced-out a lot of the time; I don't think it's a lost cause, so I'm gonna stick with it and see what happens! And there are definitely advantages to sticking with her, primarily cuz a) she's a total sweetheart, though definitely not innocent, b) she's slammin', and c) she loves cooking exotic stuff for me, and is damn good at it

 

[jipchen]

I'm somehow astonished to see so many people on here that have to deal with depressions/anxiety/etc..
But then again, it's a metal forum and the "oh i do never ponder and everything is great, i'm so self-secure and looking good"-people don't listen to alternative music most of the time

On a sidenote: I'm not shure if I have a light form of social anxiety, I feel very uncomfortable when I'm around people I don't know, get diarrhea, sometimes feel sick and I'm very tired afterwards.
What helped my is my job, I'm naturally around people all day and have to talk to them and everything

Whatever.. I wish all of you guys the best
Oh and Marcus, I do hope your relationship with her will last

 

[SocialNumb]

Jorge, I'm sorry to hear that dude, it's gotta be rough - do you find the herb helps you at all, or does it not make much of a difference?

It does help and so does beer. When the day is done (@4:00-5:00) I drink anywhere from 3-6 beers and smoke a bowl or two and I'm in a state of pure calm. It's the only time I get some "mental peace" and can just simply forget I have it while I immerse myself in my crazy experimental music. I do this everyday and have been for years. At first I used to get all fucked up and stupid, now people can't even tell I had a few.

Of course I can't do that all day (not to mention my health, I'm already pushing it although the doc says I'll be ok), I have money to make and bills that would make most people cry. So I have to put up with it. A big thing I've noticed in people with anxiety including myself is that constant question "What if?". From my therapy I took years ago I was supposed to stop asking that question but I never did.

 

[kev]

I'm somehow astonished to see so many people on here that have to deal with depressions/anxiety/etc..

Yep, seems to be very popular indeedly. I originally came into this thread in the belief that the situation could have been simply resolved by Marcus visiting a penis enlargement website, but then I decided I wouldnt bother with that joke

Anyways, as I've mentioned previously maybe on here, I get some nasty anxiety symptons as well when i'm under extremely stressful situations. It first arose in uni exams (as what I believe was a panic attack as I put too much pressure on myself, and of course there is usually pressure to succeed from people around you e.g. mates/parents). Sometimes the evenings before i'd feel hyper anxious (when i'd have to sink a few whiskies to fuck myself up into sleeping pretty much). I managed to train my mind around it though to some degree with a few weird mind tricks, but obviously I can appreciate some people have much worse problems with it.

Key point back there from drew, countryside. Anxiety can be caused by a failure to break routine, no change in your surroundings, and also lack of excercise. I found that competitive sport is really good for it, it helps you to deal with palpitations for instance, you have to get on with people, communicate with a common goal. You can also get recognition for successes which might help with any underlying confidence issues.

 

[Jind]

Sorry to hear about these issues you are going through and have gone through both with your girlfriend a yourself in the past.

I'm a generally well balanced, happy go lucky guy that tends to roll with the punches that life deals us all with, however, I have had (as you noted in your own story) a few instances in my life where my normally well balanced life has been dealt a blow that I've had difficulties dealing with.

As many here know, I'm a two time cancer survivor having had two bone marrow transplants to treat acute leukemia. Being completely honest, I handled the first battle with mental clarity and strength. Always knowing I would make it through it despite the low percentages being given to me by my health care providers. However, three years later when I relapsed, I became a wreck and anxiety became my cross to bare. My mind was constantly thinking about being sick, about the odds of survival given this was my second occurrence of leukemia, I could not sleep, I got worked up about the smallest of things, I cried all the time, I was not eating, ... Despite being a fighter by nature, I was doubting surviving this for the first time in my life (I've had serious health issues my entire life in one form or another). It finally got so bad that I decided to go see a psychiatrist and seek out counseling as well. I found out that I was not necessarily "depressed", but I had severe anxiety issues. Ive always found that talking about my issues was extremely helpful and have always been one to keep a journal that I share openly with friends and family but that alone was not enough to talk me down from the ledge per se; I needed something to slow my mind down, to stop it from these racing thoughts that I was constantly obsessed with. I ended up requiring the assistance of an anti-psychotic normally prescribed for psychosis and/or bi-polar disorders, but in my case being used for anxiety related issues. While I used it in very low dosages, primarily at bedtime (it has the side effect of hitting you like a horse kick to the head and knocking you out to get you to sleep) to slow down those racing thoughts that caused my anxiety. It also helped during my waking hours by increasing decreasing dopamine production, thus reducing the daytime mania type symptoms I was exhibiting - it really improved my ability to deal with the second battle with cancer and the anxiety it caused.

I'm still here today and if I happen to relapse I'll take cancer head on once again with the knowledge that I might need a little pharmacological assistance, but I'll get through it as long as I'm given the opportunity.

Long story short - as you noted, there are medications out there that definitely can help with these things. It's just a matter of finding the right combination's and the right psychiatrist that knows their stuff and can get the right combination's that do not have a negative impact on your life, but improve your ability to cope.

I hope things work out my friend.

 

[Jevil]

Jind, your message is very encouraging, thanks for sharing your experience.

2 years ago I started having fasciculations and some muscle problems.
I was totally convinced that I had ALS (Jason becker's disease). My mother in law started with the same symptoms and now she is terribly ill... I was desperate and went to doctors, they told me I was right and fasciculations could be due to anxiety, and anxiety caused me more fasciculations. 2 years later, I still have fasciculations and more anxiety, every day, hour, minute during 2 fucking years. Everytime I have one I think that I have probably ALS. That is a fucking hell, since I wake up until I got to bed I am thinking about it. I have some little pains in muscles that could be even psychological, and not real, but the fear is always there.

I am a very sociable guy, and I make jokes about my health hypochondrism with friends, and people say I'm happy and funny, but my 'inner me' is tormented when I start to think about it.

Anxiety sucks.