Exhaustion and GAD

[robbie178]

I must have been medicatig myself with alcohol because when i stopped drinking nine months ago my world was turned upside down. I'v been unable to concentrate, have excruciating fatigue and am irritable allday long. These feelings are on me everyday. Instead of feeling better because i stopped drinking I feel like I have  a fatal disease. I had to leave work since I was pretty much out of it. I was diagnosed with GAD last month. My dr wants me to increase the xanax I am taking to 4 mgs!  How is my energy level going get better when I am zonked out on 4mgs of xanax. He also thinks I might be depressed (you really think so?) and wants to put me on an anti depressent. Well, there goes my sex life. This is very depressing. Is there anyone out there that can comment on thi? Thats experienced anything like this? I feel that I am totally alone. Finally is this what GAD does to you.

[JSGeare]

Booze can mask a lot of stuff, but when you remove the mask -there's the stuff!  This is why people new to AA spend so much time calling their sponsors and others -and going to meetings- to get the support they need to deal with feeling like doggie -you know the rest.

So now, the GAD is out in the open, and needs to be dealt with. Agreed, that if the course of meds you've been prescribed goes on for ever -and the results are as you expect (low libido, etc) then that's a tough deal. Hopefully there will also be some intensive therapy to help you drill down and find out why you have the GAD, and/or give you some tools to deal with it without medication (or in addition to medication).

The bottom line is a very thorough consult with your psychiatrist, and the attitude that this situation requires serious attention. In the end, the cure is IN YOU. This forum is a great way to get support and give yourself "reality checks" as to what to expect and what seems to happen. Stay with us.

Asadgul, mindful of the benefits of Cognitive Therapy, cites an approach that evidently worked for him. That's not to say it will or will not work for you -talk to your doc about it. You've made a very positive move by posting here -so things will start to change.

[asadgul]

Hi,

I believe you must see a better psychiatrist, who will not only suggest some proper medicines other than xanax and also advise you about cognitive therapy. A combination of meds with therapy works best to get rid of or to subside the anxiety. There have been couple of techniques that I have learned from my experience as well.

1) Cognitive Therapy: Whenever you have anxiety, just tell yourself loud, "this is just anxiety and I will be ok very soon. One vital thing is not to avoid those activities, which actually instigate your GAD. If you feel that a certain activity will cause you anxiety, the just go for it. It will cause anxiety in the first phase, however, when you repeat the activity, you will yourself find that your anxiety has been subdued at least tied up with that particular action.

If you tell me your syndromes in detail, I may suggest something else more.

Best regards.

Asad