21 Year Old Suffering from anxiety? Or is it just a temporary thing?

[indus49]

Let me give you a little background first. My father died when I was 9, a few years after my uncle passed away. For most of my young-adult life, I was living in my house alone, as my mother worked 3 - 11 pm every night. When I was 18 and graduated high school, I left my home of over 14 years and moved into an apartment with my sister a town over from where I lived, because my mother was moving in with her boyfriend who lives 2 hours away. I had no problems with that, but was sad to leave my house I had lived in for so long. Now I am 21, having lived with my sister for almost 3 years now. Most times, we do get along. Sometimes we fight, and sometimes she fights with my mother. I get put in the middle a lot, which I do not like. When things are good with my sister (now in her 40s), they're great. But when we're fighting, they are uncomfortable, like I am walking on egg shells. This on-and-off getting along has gone on for years, but is usually broken up by me going away to school in upstate, NY.

This summer is when all the trouble began. My grandmother passed away in December of 2002, and this year I have been dealing with a lot. My other sister, who helped raise me and has helped me a lot, has (we all think) come down with Multiple Sclerosis. She has a young daughter, Leah - my neice, who has no real father figure in her life besides me. One day during the middle of summer, while I was working part time and interning at a local TV news station, I woke up one morning with my ears ringing loudly (which is not all too uncommon since I have tinnitus) but my heart was pounding hard and I was sweating. I couldn't get back to sleep. All during the day, my heart would be racing and I felt dizzy. After seeing a doctor and beginning to describe my problems, I felt myself ready to cry in his office. I did cry when I got outside, and it felt good. I cried a few more times, and it relieved a lot of the stress. For the next few nights, I was sleeping okay. But the increased heart rate never quite went away. Then all of a sudden I had to the urge to pee like every 5 minutes. That went away after another week, but now here I am, still have a bit of trouble going to sleep at night, always wake up early (sometimes several times in the morning), no problems peeing. My sister and I had a few big fights since my mom left 2 weekends ago, and I don't see things getting much better between her and I. I am leaving in 15 days to go back to school for the year (needless to say I can't wait to get away from my sister!) I am just concerned because in all the years I've been here, I've never had anxiety like this. I know I've dealt with a lot this summer: my grandma dying, entering my last year of college, my sister being diagnosed with MS, fights with my sister...but Could I be developing anxiety like my mom had (she was diagnosed when she went to nursing school and takes meds now), or does it sound like I just need someone professional to talk with about my concerns?

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

I think you will probably be fine when you go back to school, but if still a bit anxious, you should talk this through with a professional and avoid starting on medications, they may not be necessary.