Suddenly Anxious

[dcjm1984]

Hi Everyone,

I need a bit of advice if I may. I have, seemingly overnight, gone from a confident professional to a ball of anxiety that I can't put my finger on.

Two months ago, a lot happened. I had a lot of dental work done that I was pretty bummed about, I have not fully recovered from that physically and I worry about the pain never going away / that I have given myself TMJD, my girl who I was in a long distance relationship with broke up with me, there has been a lot of change in my work life, I am having to relocate to NYC from DC and my performance at work has suffered greatly.

The symptoms from my dental work continue to diminish which indicates it will eventually resolve but I cannot stop being anxious. Ever. And now I cannot work out what I am anxious about. This has gone on for something like 6-7 weeks now and I am underperforming at work, unable to concentrate on the matter at hand, cannot relax at all and feel like I am on red alert the whole time. I have seen a Psychiatrist who I talk to once a week and who has prescribed Klonopin for intermittent relief, but it hasn't moved me much closer to resolution.

Has anyone ever had something like this happen? Does it go away with time? Is there anything I can do?

Thanks for any advice.

DCJM

[dcjm1984]

Thanks for this Paxiled, I appreciate it. I contacted a talk therapist who has a specialism in anxiety and thought patterns and am seeing them tomorrow. I am grateful for your advice, and am sure I will be able to get through this.

DCJM

[Paxiled]

There are two basic kinds of anxiety -- that caused by some traumatic event or physiological condition or some other real thing, and that seemingly not caused by anything.  In both cases it can seem to have  popped up out of nowhere.  In your case, since yours seems to have arisen from some specific events (and possibly medication) I'd continue to work with a talk therapist to try and resolve what's going on with you -- given all the changes you're going through anxiety would be normal, but crippling anxiety isn't.  If your psychiatrist isn't helping you try seeing a psychologist, particularly one who specializes in anxiety and changing thinking patterns before it becomes something chronic.