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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
a troubled mind.....?
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD), bipolar disorder, dementia, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic, personality disorders, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, stress, transitions, and work problems.
a troubled mind.....?
by englishlad, Aug 07, 2006 12:00AM
1st off, let me say that i have in fact been going to a phycologist and he has in fact diagnosed me with depression and o.c.d. with a slight case of idenity chrisis..ok now that we got that out of the way...anyway this year i have started to have panic attacks and have been to the doctor countless times including 2 visits to a cardiovascular care place just to assure me that my heart is fine..after loads n loads of clean bills of health i have somewhat gotten over my obsessiveness about my health..however every now and then my brain just searches and searches for something to worry about no matter how much i try n distract myself..one of my last worries was that "i ate too much before my "stress test" aka tredmill test.. and it could have done damage to my heart..my dr. said your test results were fine and if you HAD eaten too much, you would have felt sick (which i didnt)...good! now that worry is gone...however about 2 months ago i had a panic attack right after i ate lunch ..so i started to worry over that..thinking that maybe ive damaged any or all of my cardiac muscles or ive done damage to my heart in some way, shape or form..or maybe even some other internal organ!. ect ect..i dont have chest pains or anything like that...and ive been assured that panic attacks cannot "kill" you ...i know this sounds completely irrational but i cannot stop obsessing over this incident that occured over 2 months ago..im guessing that having a panic attack on a full or empty stomach prolly doesnt matter much....but i dont know for sure...if i call any of the doctors that i have seen over the last 6 months, im afraid they will hang up on me =(....ive gotten into this terrible habit of obsessing over my health and i am also a hypochondriac as well..im 25 years old and would really love to break down this mental wall and start living a stress free life...oh p.s...this last panic attack occured after i have had all my tests done..so should i have another one?...neurotic i know...but any words of wisdom would surely be appreciated! thanks
Doctor's Answer
by Roger Gould, M.D., Aug 10, 2006 12:00AM
, Aug 10, 2006 12:00AM
You have to work with your therapist to find the real cause of your fear, or put another way, why you are unable to create a safe feeling of general well being. You have to look at both what has happened in your life that has fractured your sense of safety, and what is frightening you about where your life could be going if you didn't have these fears paralyzing you. All the worry about the wrong things just keeps you away from facing yourself in a productive and intelligent way.
Member Comments (1)
by suezq41, Aug 26, 2006 12:00AM
i have also been going to a therapist and i feel like giving up. every time i think it cant get worse it does. oh thank god i havent had to run to the emergency room for a while but nothing makes me happy anymore im scared of everthing especially my health. it never leaves me alone. i have been taking medicine for 4 years it just doesnt stop. and i try so hard to talk to myself do the breathing exercises go for a walk, it just feels hopeless to me. although i read about what all these other people go through i feel so alone. i just got a new job and was hoping that i wouldnt have to tell them about it.but of course i had a panick attack at work and was almost crying looks good on me eh
by MONARCH, Sep 15, 2006 12:00AM
To: sue and worrysum
Sue and worrysum, I can relate to what you both say and how you feel, i have suffered for so many years with Fear panic atacks anxiety ,i also suffer with Ocd most of my concerns are obsessions with my health ,i get palpitatons i went to a cardio Dr he did so many tests , and they came back fine,but i still would go to the ER at times i would feel like i couldn't take a deep breath they would do few test's which was okay and give me an ativan send me home ,this went on for years since 2001 i haven't seen the cardio dr only my md so in my mind i think what if in between that time til now something changed or wrong the thought won't go away ......now all my symptoms are back i feel dizzy everyday its like when i wake up from 10 am til noon i have this intense fear of what i am feelng , i get so sad and feel misunderstood when i try tell my family and friends and my boyfriend how bad this disrupts my life, some people just say get over it..... well whats easy for some isn't always easy for others it sure isn't for me i know and alot others .... i take xanax but its short acting ,i'm afraid to eat at times because i get palpitations right after than the vicious cycle starts,it consumes me ,so i'm going to see my family dr and i hope he can help me ,because seeing my pyschatrist isn't helping anymore ,i see a councler and go to a group once a week but no one in that group has fears about their health lucky them ,i feel i need reasurrance anything that will help me at this point ,its like i fear everything i won't take a vitamin i'm afraid it will make my heart act up ,i know that sounds crazy but i'm stuck with that bad thought ...i also tryed everything best i could the worrys just won't go away my whole body is afraid ,i feel alone also i just feel emotionally physically exhausted i FEEl for everyone that suffers anxiety etc i guess i just need to know im Okay and get a SAFE feeling not to isolate myself because of these FEARS...oh it's such a good feeling not to worry about health ,just when i think maybe these scary feelings are gone they return and alot times just out of the blue they start than my whole day is ruined than i'm with the ' what if's' ,well i hope you both and everyone here have better days some peace of mind , please e mail me anytime i can relate to so much that is said here ,my e mail is ***@**** take care:}
