3 months, and still anxious....

[ksam35]

Hello everyone. I haven't written here since July. I was having bad panic attacks. I was doing better for a while. I have been in therapy. I go once to twice each week. I seem to feel more anxious after my sessions sometimes. I think because my therapist feels I need to go back to work sooner than I feel I am ready to. I feel she is pushing me too fast. I have been very anxious all over again. Feelings of fear are always with me. Worse at night and when I wake up. Sometimes they subside during the day, usually if I am busy. But they always seem to sneak up on me somehow. I feel like a scared kid most of the time. I have nightmares, I wake up all during the night. Even though I have my mother here with me, I sometimes feel alone. I think I feel alone in what I am going through. She understands, because she's been there. But I think I just feel like sometimes no one really knows what to say to me when I ask for advice. I hope that maybe someone here might be able to tell me if what i am feeling is normal for what I am going through. And maybe give me some ideas on what might help. I appreciate any advice you can give me. Thank you in advance.

[megan675]

How long before the meds started to work

[dawnd1988]

I suffered wth bipolar disorder since i was about twelve.  Im 24 now, about 4 years ago i lost a loved one in a traumatic way and afterwards i developed panic disorder.  I have full blown panic attacks for 2 years multiple times a day to where my heart would feel like it was gonna explode, my skin on my arm, chest, and back would go numb, and sometimes i would almost black out.  It normally happened to me at night cause i was scared of dying in my sleep for some reason.  Everyone has different fears though so thats one reason why people have them at different times.  I hate being alone as well.  I still have panic attacks here and there, normally if im really exhausted or doing something im uncomfortable with or have doubts about.  What i learned is that medication will help (adavan/clonazepam) are best but the best thing i did was stop taking it and started on my own playing mental games with myself.  I would try to block it completely out of my mind and keep busy.  I learned not to be scared of it because panic attacks cant hurt you.  It took years but im so much better now and when it does happen, it goes away quit and not as intense.  Sometimes medication is just covering up the problem.  Therapy, talking to people, getting your mind off it, and simply conquering your fears are the best ways in my eyes.  hope this helps some, and good luck.  

[ksam35]

Thank you everyone for your advice, it really means a lot to me. This is just the hardest thing I ever had to go through. Some days can just be so much darker and scarier then others.

[nursegirl6572]

Exercise IS very beneficial for anxiety, great suggestion!

OP, start incorporating some more physical activity into your daily routine as you continue to seek help for the anxiety.

Keep in mind, due to differing states of health, be sure to check with your doctor before starting any major exercise regime.  If you're out of shape, start slow, walking every day is a great way to start!

[pataya6]

You need to do some very vigorous exercise, not walking or something easy.

Need to push very, very hard. I like to do run 10-20 km, and at the end I do a full sprint.

I realize I might be screwing my knees as jogging is not the best, but after a solid workout there is almost no room for anxiety.

Works for me anyways.

[nursegirl6572]

Obviously, while therapy has helped some, it's not helping enough.  My suggestion is to meet up with your psychiatrist and discuss your options.  Have you ever tried medications?  I would suggest that as the next logical option.  LOTS of people have been successful getting their anxiety to more manageable levels with meds.  I personally feel an approach with meds AND therapy is the best.

I hope you figure something out soon.  Your therapist is only pushing you because if you DON'T go back to work soon (even on a PT basis), you stay stuck in the anxiety cycle, so while the idea of returning to work fills you with anxiety...it should be the biggest goal on your list.  You'd be surprised too....you will ALWAYS imagine things to be much worse than they end up being.  After a few days back at work, your comfort levels will improve drastically.

Please let us know how you are!

[changethechannel]

I have lived with anxiety and depression for 30 years now, due to OCD. It was only a few years ago that I finally researched my symptoms enough to figure out what my problem was called. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Anxiety was the worse, sometimes just hitting me out of the blue without any warning, and for no reason that I could think of at the time.

Well, over the last two years, I have been taking natural medication for the problem, the natural meds are called Amoryn for the depression and Seredyn for the anxiety. You can find them online and I take only one of each per day and have to say that my world today is at least 98% better than when I started taking the natural meds. For instance, there was a time when it would take me some fifteen minutes just to leave the house due to anxiety of leaving my comfort zone. Now, I am out the door in less than a minute and even sometimes forget to check everything before I leave. (Checking is part of the OCD ritual).

Your mind cannot think of two things at once...so....keep your mind occupied by reading, crosswords, drawing, writing, or anything other than the anxiety your feeling and you will notice your anxiety melting away when your mind is occupied elsewhere. Anxiety is nothing more than the fear of the unknown. The more you know about anxiety, it's cause and effects, the less you will fear it. Many times after an anxiety attack, I would laugh out loud and say to myself, wow, that was a 9 or 7 or 3 etc. The idea here was to not fear the anxiety attack. This was some of the things I did to fight the attacks before I started taking the Amoryn and Seredyn.

Hope you find the help as I have.

[kickanxietysbutt]

I recently quit my job due to my anxiety getting so out of control as well.  Are you on any medication?  I have no idea why my anxiety resurfaced, as it had been at bay for years, but I had a very stressful job that wasn't helping my situation.  Anyway, I think your therapist is trying to encourage you to get into a routine so that you don't get any worse.  I've been seeing a therapist as well and she recommended part-time work for the time being.  Is this an option for you?  If not, you may want to consider volunteering.  I'm not ready to commit to full-time work yet myself, but volunteering gives you the opportunity to still have something to commit your time and mind to, while not being as demanding as a full-time job.  

[allmymarbles]

How old are you? What is your normal line of work? Why can't you work? Are you on any medications?

Lots of questions. You don't tell us much so it is hard to understand your problem.