Stress anxiety and paranoia - how to get out of them

[frightenedone]

I think I am suffering from anxiety, or something, and I think its leading to paranoia.

I work in a fairly stressful environment, and really don't sleep well.  I seldom sleep more
than a few hours a night and have been known go go as long as 50 hours at a stretch.

Last week I went to the hospital with chest pains.  And they have referred me to a doctor.
I am worried I will lose my job over this.  Its odd, everything I hear somehow makes me feel
as though I am being "watched", but I don't know why - that sounds irrational, and quite frankly
my own preoccupation makes me worry.

Is this paranoia?

Can one (anxiety and paranoia) lead to the other?

I have an appointment with a shrink this week, just to have the fears stop, and get this fixed.

What is the treatment, and how soon before the fear and anxiety go away?

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

You are right to see a psychiatrist, and this does not need to become a work problem, should remain a private medical matter.  The most important thing is sleep, sleep, sleep...it affects everything, including pain tolerance and paranoia and anxiety....sleep and talk, you will be all right, and the timetable is yours, not anybody else's.

[tamlloyd]

I went through something similar a few years back but it was brought on by a traumatic event. The first thing my doctor did was get me sleeping. When you are not getting proper rest, your body and mind can play tricks on you. I was very paranoid and started having panic attacks.

[frightenedone]

I have had no traumatic event that I can think of.

Maybe its where I work - thats what I keep telling myself.  But on the other hand,
what I really don't want to admit is that the problem is me.  And I really cannot
put my finger on why...  Just that I have become this person, who is fearful, does
not trust, and catches himself looking over his shoulder.

Weird thing is - last weekend I tried to purge myself of ANYTHING unhealthy in my
life.  Old ramblings and diaries from a divorce over 10 years ago; old disks (from
that period) - almost in an attempt to unburden myself from any past.  The odd thing
is that I have no real past, but somehow it felt like it was the only ACTION I could take
at the time.

I am counting the hours till I see this shrink, and quite frankly - smoking like a
choo choo.  The good news is I have lost quite a bit of weight.  But that's hardly
an up side.

Question is.  They have proscribed ambian (sleeping), and I am starting to sleep
better.  But how long before the panic and paranoia go away?  How long for you?

I got to get this fixed, its wrecking me, and have no doubt it will eventually spill
over to my spouse, co-workers, and even the contract I have worked so long
with them on.

So how long am I talking about here?

[tamlloyd]

Honestly, it took me about 6 months to get a handle on it. I was even hospitalized for a couple of weeks but that was before they got me sleeping. Once I was sleeping and seeing a counselor for therapy, I begin to get the anxiety under control. I also had a good family support system. It's been about 3 years to date and I have learned to keep my anxiety at bay and I rarely have to take my anxiety medication.

Have I helped any? If you have any more questions, I'm here.

[frightenedone]

How do I avoid losing my job..

If I have psychiatric help, I need to report it.

But worse yet, as a subcontractor, I may have given my customer bad vibes, and
I know I have given my co-workers bad vibes.  I keep feeling like my job is on the
line...

Did you experience problems with your job?  Did it cost you your job?
But thats the paranoia speaking.

Rationally, I do quite well at what I do

[Mark TX]

I can relate to what you're going through.  My experiences with this occurred while I was drinking heavily.  You mentioned you're smoking like a choo-choo.  Yep.  How about alcohol?  Any problems there?

I waited too long to get my symptoms under control.

I ended up losing my job.  But in retrospect... that was probably a good thing.  I wasn't happy in the job.  And my doctors seemed to think that my unhappiness at work was due to depression.  The truth was I hated the job.  But I got stuck between a rock and a hard place while my doc tried to 'fix' me so I'd be good at work.  I sucked at that job.  I finally just quit and started a new career.  Best thing I ever did.

If you enjoy your work, that's great...

But don't let these problems and feelings build up any more than they already have.  As for how long?  The first time I went through this I got back to normal fairly quickly.  The second time took much longer... mainly while I struggled with the work situation.  (I had also just gone through a difficult breakup.)  So I took some time off and started feeling much better after several months.  Though not fully back to normal for at least a year.

Good luck!

mark

[plisken]

research the internet about amino acid and amino acid tests soon, this might be ur answer!

[NYKat]

You really need to talk with a doctor about your paranoia...I thought I had bad anxiety, but yours takes the cake...Sorry to be so blunt but you really need help...talk w/your doctor..hopefully they can give you something to calm your thoughts down...you shouldn't need to be hospitalized...your rational right? your talking, your seeking help, your researching on why your feeling this way, sounds to me your going in the right direction.

Why do  you need to report to your job that your seeing a phychiatrist?

Honestly...about the whole getting fired about seeing a mental health doctor...You can't get fired...I'm pretty sure you can't...I had to see HR the other day, cuz I had a anxiety/panic attack at work (long story...but never had one in my life till now)...I had no where to turn...I was freaking out and I knew HR could help me...that's what there their for...and I asked her if I could get fired cuz of me getting so upset and what not...and she told me NO...then I asked my therapist later about it..(us paranoia people can never ask to many times just to make sure were getting the right answer) and she said that NO they cannot fire you that would be discrimination...just cuz your head isn't feeling so good ..your job cannot punish you for it...talk w/your doctor or therapist and ask them on how to proceed if in deed someone says something  to threaten your job. I find it very comforting now that I know they can't touch me, not that I would take advantage of this..but knowing that I can't help the way that I feel and I won't be punished for it, makes me feel more at ease in the work place.

Sorry I tend to jump to one subject to the next...If you have anymore questions...just ask...I love to give feed back

I'm Bipolar...not any of the four major ones...there are now 28 new diagnosis for Bi-Polar...I'm on 20mg Lexapro, 200 mg Lamictal, Ambien to sleep, in which I got addicted to...but realized the addiction and have tried to not use it as much...problem is that I was waking up in the middle of the night...so I got Ambien CR...that was working well, but then one night I woke up at 4 a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep...so just be eyeful of how much your taking...you mentioned your taking it to sleep since you were an insomniac....(since I had the panic/anxiety attack the doctor gave me seroquel at night time to stop the racing thoughts or per diem for anxiety..but I only like to take at night before I go to sleep...It makes me sleepy, so hence I'm off the Ambien and Ambien CR.

[2ofmeme]

Hey Its against the law for them to can you because of your anxiety.Problems of the mental are treated the same as the physical in the law sense.And if you concern yourself with getting fired it makes your anxiety twice as bad and youll keep yourself up at night. Its a viscious circle.MAKE SURE YOU DO YOUR RESEARCH!!Make sure the medication that their going to give you is not going to effect you durring the day, actually look around at the forums in this website for the specific medications.Insite from other patients will help better prepare you. You don't want to sleep 10 hrs a night or feel like a zombie during the day.Never be afraid to ask your doctor or your psych Questions.Good luck to ya I hope you get some sleep.Oh and don't forget to just RELAX