Can Anxiety Be Caused by tramatic things?

[cnote]

My anxiety started last october.
Ive suffered from panic attacks here and there in my life... but they only lasted a few minutes.

My grandmother died last July.
I just became a father...
but everything seemed to be fine.
I thought I coped with it fine.
I didnt have any anxiety til 3 months later!!!

Do you think your chemicals can be set off 3 months after a life change like that?

I now suffer from anxiety spells that last for weeks at a time.. had to go on and off Lexapro for it... and take ativan, til I get over the spell... then I'll got a month or even 4 months at time without having one. They seem to be getting more spread out.

Do you think this could be a phase I'm going through? I'm only 25! Or do you think I'm doomed with this the rest of my life? I do therapy... and since I can't find a REASON for my anxiety... all he does is talk to me about "Cognitive Thinking". Try to change my thinking.. and NOT FEAR of having another ANXIETY spell.

Do you think I'm going to have to depend on the meds for a long time?

Or is this beatable?

My Dr. said anxiety can get better as you get older.

[scaredjo]

hey i deffo think anxiety can be caused or made worse by trauma, i have had health anxiety on and off for 14 yrs i was in a bad relationship and got pregnant quite young, everytime someone in my family dies or gets ill my anxiety flares up. my grandad died nearly 2 years ago and since then my life has been hell, im in therapy too and i hope and pray i get better i want the old me back, im like you though sometimes i dont even feel anxious but still get the symptoms its cause our brains are wrongly trained at the minute we will get back to normal though it just takes time and effort

[gunit410]

Well, you're certianly not doomed, and your anxiety seems relatively minor.

"My grandmother died last July.
I just became a father...
but everything seemed to be fine.
I thought I coped with it fine.
I didnt have any anxiety til 3 months later!!!

Do you think your chemicals can be set off 3 months after a life change like that?"

Often, life changes/stress are the catalyst for an anxiety disorder taking hold. Most people have some predisposition to anxiety (you've had some panic attacks), but stress can put them over the edge.

It might be a combination of events that's bothering you. Have things generally become more stressful in your life over the past three months? It might be a gradual change of events rather than a single stressful event.

Or, it might be certain conflicts/issues that you've had that are only manifesting now. Anything I can suggest is really conjecture, you'd have to talk to a therapist about it.


"Do you think I'm going to have to depend on the meds for a long time?"

Not if you find another method for coping. Ideally, you shouldn't need to depend on Medication PERIOD. It's meant only to assist.

"Do you think this could be a phase I'm going through? I'm only 25! Or do you think I'm doomed with this the rest of my life? I do therapy... and since I can't find a REASON for my anxiety... all he does is talk to me about "Cognitive Thinking". Try to change my thinking.. and NOT FEAR of having another ANXIETY spell. "

Cognitive Therapy can be excellent for managing things like panic attacks/OCD, but as far as figuring out what deeper issues you have that may be causing you anxiety it is not. If you feel like you're not getting anywhere with your therapist's approach you might want to look for someone whose method are more at psychotherapy/psychodynamics.

"My Dr. said anxiety can get better as you get older."

It usually does as the mind/personality mature.