anxiety help!?!?

[haxadent]

hello, i am 19 years old and need help. just recently i came home from a party and woke up in the morning really hungover. but this time i felt sick and slightly anxious. i have a  history of anxiety attacks but they were just attacks that came and went and i felt normal in-between. but this day i was just feeling slightly anxious all day... even after i wasnt sick. whatever... i just thought it was weird. i woke up the next day completely sober feeling weird again... but mid day i had an insane anxiety attack. but this was different.. i felt like i was going crazy and it wouldnt stop! i felt as though i couldnt comprehend everything i was seeing and that everything was just too much! my stomach was in knots and i was having this crazy rush of fear over my entire body. but it didnt stop. i just sat for hours freaking out and didnt know what to do. i have never felt this way in my entire life. all i could think about was whats wrong with me. i started to think terrible thoughts.. suicidal thoughts. i felt as though there was no way i could continue to live in this state of mind. i took 2 shots of whiskey to try to cut the tention. it kinda worked. my mom came home from work and ended up taking me to the ER. they basically didnt do **** except give me some atavan. my mom and i made an appointment with a local mental health office. during my appointment i explained my situation and was prescribed 15mg busbar. i started splitting 1 pill and taking half at morning and half at night. after about 5 days is started working in the sense that i didnt feel absolutely crazy. i wasnt feeling to good so now i take 2 pills every night. i didnt leave my house for about    2 and a half weeks. i have now been taking my meds for probably 3 and a half weeks. still i constantly feel anxious.. or not normal. i always think about it. it feels like its getting worse. currently i feel it most when i question reality. everything i see with my own two eyes becomes overwhelming. i am young and dont want to live like this!!! its ruining my life! i am supposed to be moving to colorado on my own for the second time in 7 days. im really freaking out and feel like i cant do this on my own. should i try a different medication or what?! please help

[Blondescientistahead]

The answer to your question re why apparently you are experiencing anxiety / panic attacks whilst doing the same behaviour all of a sudden  (such as drinking excessive alcohol and / or smoking marijuana) is because your body and in particular your brain, has now come to the point where the receptors, particularly the BZD (or benzodiazepine receptors) have reacted to whats been going on. This takes "time" to develop and its now a case of over regulation of the receptors, hence you will feel anxious when the alcohol has stopped being delivered to these new receptors created to cope with the excessive alcohol comsumption.

[haxadent]

well currently i am not having suicidal thoughts... im just super anxious about the future. i know i need to think positive and go one day at a time, but its really hard! smoking marijuana also gives me insane anxiety attacks... but only recently. thats actually where it first happened. i have smoked weed a lot for a long time and had my fair share of drinking. but a few days before my sober attack i got a extreme anxiety attack from being high??? i really think thats where it started.. but why? that has never happened before. but the point of this is, in breckenridge, weed is "legal" to anybody over the age of 21. there are like 5 dispensaries on my street. EVERYBODY smokes weed and parties all the time. last year i did too! but this time im already anxious about going.... but the people im going with and to live with smoke and drink regularly. and so does everybody!! i will be surrounded by this all the time. and to be honest i really want to but i know i cant because for some reason it triggers anxiety attacks now??! why has this happened. its sooooo weird. what changed that one time i got high a few weeks ago? why did i all of a sudden get a extreme case of anxiety after being hungover? i have never felt this way in my whole life and all of a sudden im a mess!! i dont understand. my life revolves around skiing but i feel like the negatives outweigh the positives in colorado. but if i dont go i will be alone with all my friends gone elsewhere and jobless.... i dont know what to do............!!!

[hmf099]

Alcohol can cause some really strong anxiety and panic. After having just one or two drinks on a holiday, I've had anxiety from the moment it wore off until up to 2-3 days later. After heavy drinking it would last up to a week. When I told my pdoc about this he told me this was VERY common in anxiety sufferers and he recommends none of his patients drink. My PCP confirmed this information when I saw her. I've found other people with anxiety who've said the same thing. Alcohol and anxiety do not mix well. Even with my anxiety pretty well controlled these days, I'd still be hesitant to go to the bar.

It's also important to know anxiety medications help the symptoms of anxiety, they don't cure it. Like mentioned above, meds without therapy aren't a long term fix. My psychiatrist won't even prescribe my meds if I've gone a month without seeing my therapist until I see her again.  Medication can be a great tool in anxiety but works best paired with therapy.

Moving out of state can cause a lot of anxiety. Before you leave if I were you I'd look up a therapist and psychiatrist in the area your moving to so you have help already set up there.

Most important are the suicidal feelings gone?! If not you need to see your doc again before you leave, or better yet go straight to the ER and tell them how you're feeling, maybe they'll take it more seriously since you were there recently. Please keep us updated on how you're doing! Best of luck.

[rls27]

There is always the option to go home. You aren't going to prison or the military. Keep that in the back of your mind as a safety net. You're options may not be simple, but you ALWAYS have options.

Remind yourself why you are going to Colorado....work and pleasure. Can't beat that. Don't think too far ahead either. Don't think about how long you wil be in Colorado or how long it is until you leave. Concentrate on each day as it happens. One day at a time. The only thing you have control over is RIGHT NOW, not yesterday and not tomorrow, but right now in the present. You have a choice to remain where you are at this moment, worrying about your health, or you can do anything else. Stop having this tug of war with anxiety...drop the rope.

[haxadent]

the move to colorado is for a seasonal job. i just move there to work and ski for the winter. i am just scared because i feel like i cannot handle this without the option of being able to go home. i dont want to have anxiety attacks on my own in front of my friends and job...

[rls27]

Do you have access to a therapist? I think therapy is really the answer for you. I'm not a fan of doctors putting patients on meds for anxiety or depression without some form of counseling. The meds aren't a cure and they certainly don't get to the root of your anxiety or teach you how to cope. See if you can find someone who specializes in behavioral therapy for anxiety.

Meanwhile, it sounds like this move to Colorado is triggering your anxiety and causing it to spike. Is this a long term permanant move? How far is Colorado from where you live now? Do you have friends and family where you are now or in Colorado?

I would also lay off the alcohol right now. It will NOT help. Focus more on your nutrition, getting more exercise, getting proper sleep and taking care of yourself.

[onedayillbfine]

Its such scary thing anxiety and no your not going crazy you will be fine. I went through an episode i thought id never get out of.i one day thought i was going to die for whatever reason and went nuts i couldnt control the urge to think suicidal and cried and cried and cried. I am now slowly learning Im going to be ok and although i have more bad days than good im starting to see Its all mental. And it really is you must persuade yourself your ok because you are and understand the anxiety because it can create a world of uncomfortable feelings and scare you into unwanted thoughts. zoloft and xanax worked for me for a bit but i decided to stop taking them for i wanted to not be chemical dependant and although its been extremely tough for me its also getting a tiny bit better everyday. Best of luck