HELP!! How can I stop anticipatory Anxiety?

[Marks470]

I am going crazy with anxiety over anxiety! I'm not thinking about other issues, just the fact that I may have another anxiety attack, which is causing anxiety. It's an endless loop. How can I stop it? I've gotten over my major depression but the anxiety is killing me. I am on 150mg of zoloft also. Thanks.

[cj29]

In my opinion this is what makes anxiety so hard to overcome sometimes.  It is kind of ironic that we are actually anxious about another panic attack. To get out of this loop one must acquire the long term knowledge to confront and beat it in my experience.  Long term knowledge of the cycle really helps....there is a reason that they say, 'knowledge is power....'  

I am a big proponent of SSRIs like Zoloft, but remember they are only a part of the equation.  While they are a useful tool, they will not cure you of anything, but combined with talk therapy it can be a huge advantage....keep us posted!

[lonewolf07]

I really do wish I had an answer to your question.  If I did, I could use it myself.  From recent experiences, I have found that a lot of people - from drs. nurses and those not in the health care field - don't take anxiety seriously.  Awhile ago, I had a heart attack and if you can believe it, I slept through most of it.  My family thought it was just me being anxious and wanting attention.  Having a heart attack is not the kind of attention I want.  Since that happened, every feeling I have makes me fear this is happening again and twice I have gone to the ER.  Both times the drs and nurses examined me but I got the clear impression that they thought I was "anxious".

I am NOT dismissing your anxiety attacks; in fact, I can honestly identify with them and they are horrible.  Are you taking any anti-anxiety meds like alprazolam, clonazepam or lorazepam?  Recently I tried to stop taking them but ultimately realized that I'd rather be addicted to them than go through so much anxiety.  Even my shrink agrees with that because of the "terror" we go through with anxiety attacks.  Anyone who has never had such a panic attack has no idea what it's really like.  It sounds like you're having anxiety attacks over the fear of having another anxiety attack and that makes absolute sense to me.

Depression and anxiety often go together.  If I remember right, Zoloft has a "tranquillizing" effect as well as an anti-depressant quality.  If I was feeling like you are - and to some extent, I do - I would ask for anti-anxiety meds but you know what is best for you.  And cj29 is right.  These meds are a tool to help us get through the really bad phases.  For that, my opinion is that talk therapy and meds, if used correctly, can help you find out what is really making you depressed and anxious.

Hope you find some answers and advice that help you.

wolf