Very tired of anxiety! Please help

[anxietyocdphobias]

Ive been diagnosed with General Anxiety since a year now, been on 20 mg fluoxetine which helped a lot to overcome panic attacks, many phobias and stuff that irritated me, now since 3 months I've been feeling like the effect of the medication is not really there anymore, I have some irrational thoughts and fears I had before essentially fearing of developing schizophrenia or paranoia which terrifies me.. I know this is common among anxiety sufferers but I just feel dreadful.. I'm like 24/7 since 3 months waiting to have hallucinations, concentrating on any strange voice or stuff happening, what irritates me most is that when I pass a very beautiful day just the idea of why I didnt have any irrational scary thought makes me again depressed irritated.. I feel guilty because of my thoughts, I tend to analyze a lot, each move, each thought, each thing I do, others behaviors... All my Psychiatrists and Pscyhologists told me there is no way I go crazy or develop schizophrenia or paranoia, but I tend to always keep this thought, it is affecting my relationship my partner left me 2 days ago then he is back but I need to change this.. I was better on medication when I started it, now my Doctor is suggesting to increase the dosage to more than 20 mg fluoxetine but Im afraid it would damage my nerve system or cause psychosis, is that possible? Plus, what irritates me the most are these crazy thoughts, are they common among anxiety ocd sufferers, to be 24/7 afraid of hallucinations, or spirits, ghosts, mirrors, possession? I tend to sleep well, but am I crazy for having these thoughts? Thanks for medical answers..

[nursegirl6572]

"This is all anxiety right? Nothing psychotic, I read it's either u r psychotic or not, and moreover prozac at my age wont cause any psychosis right?"

Correct!  The fear of "going crazy" is a common one among anxiety sufferers, been there, done that.  

"Thank you for ur answer, and so you think it does really stop working after 6 months"

Not necessarily that it stopped working all together, but sometimes a higher dose is needed to maintain the same level of efficacy.

Get back into your CBT as well, you need to stop this "what if" thinking cycle.  That's half the battle sometimes!

[anxietyocdphobias]

Thank you very much for your amazing answer, Ive been on prozac since February, the scary thing is that I read it may cause schizophrenia, thats why Im scared of taking an upper dosage, but many assured me it has nothing to do with this, and knowing Im already 24 years old,they said Im not in danger. Now I have already had CBT which helped me get over many many phobias, I used to think Im paranoid, because I was very timid and feared peoples' intentions, then I understood it wasnt and I only suffered from social phobia.. And paranoia is genetic and a psychosis.. In my family we dont have any case of schizophrenia nor paranoia.. Now during the CBT I understood that my fear of unexplained thoughts and schizophrenia is due to movies I watched Horror movies mostly.. Now I tend to really analyze alot for instance I tend to say what if Im in my first episodes of developing anything? All the Docs I saw said no, but the OCD keeps telling me yes, moreover I find myself analyzing things like saying what if Im afraid of possession and stuff is a kind of paranoia because you are always fearing of something happening to you! I know it is unlikely but it triggers fear, a big kind of fear.. This is all anxiety right? Nothing psychotic, I read it's either u r psychotic or not, and moreover prozac at my age wont cause any psychosis right? Thank you for ur answer, and so you think it does really stop working after 6 months

[nursegirl6572]

HI there, sorry to hear you're having a rough time.  The BAD news is, it can take some time to get your anxiety back to a more manageable level and to get those intrusive thoughts under control.  The GOOD news is, it's totally possible.  

The most obvious approach would be to try an increase in the Prozac dose, like your doctor mentioned (how long have you been on it btw?).  It's not at all uncommon to require an occasional dosage increase, as these kinds of meds definitely peter out from time to time.  That may end up being all you need, but I would also recommend getting yourself into some therapy, specifically CBT if it's available to you.  You need to work with a therapist on changing that "what if" thinking pattern so common with anxiety.  That just keeps you stuck in the cycle.

Your doctors are right about you not developing a psychotic illness.  This is a very common fear for people with anxiety disorders, but you have to understand that anxiety disorders and psychotic disorders are very different conditions, it's not like an anxiety disorder will morph into a psychotic illness.  Those conditions present in their own unique way, and the diagnostic criteria are VERY different from that of anxiety disorders.

Hang in there, let us know how you're doing, and remember that if you decide to try a higher dose of the Prozac, you have to give it time to work.  It could take up to 4-6 weeks, sometimes even a bit longer.  Patience is very helpful!