anxiety and feeling of unreality for 2months and fear of death! Please help!

[kamalas151]

hey guys it all started a few months ago where i had a sudden fear of death through my body. Its as if my soul was about to leave my body i then had to get up from where i was sitting to make sure i was still alive. This occurance turned into anxiety dis order. Since then i keep thinking im goin to die. The world around me seems unreal like a dream and i cant even remember how i used to be as a person. Its as if im just tagging along like a zombie. Things i used to look forward to dnt seem to excite me anymore. Everything i do seems as if its the last time il be doing it. There is the odd occasion where reality does kick in everything goes back to normal and the reality itself freaks me out even more cause i think this is it "im normal again coz im about to die". I jus cant get out the cycle. If im feeling unreal i want to go back to normal wen im normal i freak out. Can some one pls give me some advice. Thanks.

[Julie359]

sorry once again was meant to say 100mg of each...goodness, tired...LOL

[Julie359]

sorry thats meant to say 100% of each.... opps!

[Julie359]

Hiya, well Centrum advance is ok but if you take a close look you'll see that the percentage of each b-vit is fairly low, in Holland and Barretts they have a B-complex 100, which gives you 1000% of each.  This is really what you need to kick start your nervous system.  The fish oil will enable the neurotransmitters in your brain to function at a higher level, hense you will feel more alert, concentrate better, feel calmer and be able to deal with stress far better..... of course it is up to you which one you go for but the guys in Holland and barretts are very good at helping you pick the right products for your needs so i would recommend having a good chat with a member of staff there.  

Good-luck and if you need anything plez dont hesitate....... :0)

[kamalas151]

hi julie,
just replying to your messge now
i have read about CBT and have heard it helps alot. my first meeting with the therapist is in around a week time so i'l how that goes!
and u are right abot the anti d's being last resort if everything else has been exhausted.

abou the vitamin B...there is a multi vitamin called "centrum advance" which contains a-z of all vitamins do think that would be of any help or shall i just stick to the B vitamins and omega 3 fish oils?

ur advice on the herbal agents are fantastic, ive googled them and they seem very appeling indeed so i shall take a trip to holland and barret and check them out lol

today i feel ok back to my normal self again with very few anxiety related symptoms.
wonder how long it will last though..

thanks again

[kamalas151]

hey sorry for late reply. thanks for ur story
it is very deep indeed. and thank god ur managing now with meds and support from ur other half.
im kind of new to this whole anxiety thing and u have mentioned alot that i will take into consideration. if things get worse then i probs will try the anti d's
until then i guess i jus need to keep myself busy to take my mind of the horrible physcial and mental sysmptoms and stop googling symptoms all the time lol.
it just shows anxious people need constant re asurance and knowledge about what is going on with them.
people on this forum are extremely supportive and give good advice so thanks so much

[Julie359]

HIya, ive been watching this thread for a couple of days now and i would like to suggest a couple of things to you that i believe will help immensly.  First please do get yourself into therapy, something like CBT would be ideal for you (cognitive behavioural therapy)... google an have a read, research.  secondly before going down the anti-d road i would strongly suggest trying natural alternatives first, anti-d's in my opinion should be used as a last resort only after other avenues have been tried without success as they are extremely potent drugs and should only be used as either an emergency or, as i have just said, as a last resort.  

Naturally i think you should first get yourself a good quailty Vitamin B-Complex with high percentage of each B-vit, plus choose a good quailty Omega 3 fish oil.  Both these will strenthen the nervous system and brain, make you feel calmer and more alert and will replace any vit or EFA that your body is lacking.  

Secondly until your body has had a chance to replenish itself you could look at hebal agents to help keep your anxiety under control, calm such a Passion flower or Valerian.  Valerian is esspecially good if your having trouble sleeping, a cup of Valerian tea or taken as a capsule will promote a good sleep in most and will relax you.  I would personally take the capsule as Valerian smells like really bad socks...LOL and isn't too pleasant when trying to drink the tea, although it tastes far better than it smells.

Thirdly if you feel you require an anti-depressant you could try either St. Johns Wort or 5-HTP.  5-HTP acts in the brain as a amino acid that encourages the production of Serotonin, it carries far far fewer side effects than chemical anti-d's and there have been very few reports of severe withdrawal.  Although NEVER take 5-HTP or st. Johns Wort with chemical anti-d's as this could produce Serotonin syndrome which can prove fatal, on their own though is completely SAFE.  Also there is a product that contains Hyperforin (St.Johns wort) 18mg, 5-HTP 25mg and Rhodiola Rosea Extract (root) 90mg with several vitamins in it called Amoryn.  Google and have a read.  A friend of mine takes this and finds it very good, ive noticed a big difference in her over the last 4/5 months.

I personally just take 50mg 5-HTP and have noticed a big difference, i feel less anxious, have more energy an don't get any side effects, apart from a mild head ache in the beginning but it was not bothersome.

Anyway, hope this has been useful to you, i wish you the best of luck and ohh just to inform you the feelings of not being with it is VERY common with anxiety, it can make you feel like your going mad but trust me you are not.  It is very scary i know but it is nothing serious medical wise, it is just a tempory change in the body's chemical balance usually caused by Hyperventilating.

All the best

Julie

[FairyDust25]

Hello. I had the same problem that you are having. I started getting depressed back just after I had my 2nd daughter. (shes now 10 months) they figured it was postpartum depression. I am on Zoloft for it. For the most part my depression is under control there are times when I have bad days mood wise but I can usually snap out of it quickly (I also have firbomyalgya and thats another huge reason for the depression) At first I felt the same way that you did about taking the anti - depressants. I didn't know what it would do to me and I didn't know if it would make me a different person. After much reluctance my husband finally talked me into taking them. In about 2 weeks I was back to not being so upset all the time. It didn't change me as a person it just allowed me to be happy and smile again.

The other night I had a panic attack. My first one ever. I was terrified as I didn't know what was happening. I was so scared I was going to die and I had to get out of the room I was in. I couldn't breath well I was dizzy and like in a daze. I was so scared. My husband talked me though it and just as quickly as it came thats how fast it went. It lasted about 25 min. I know it hard but when you feel like your going to die try to tell you self that you going to be okay. Do you have someone that can talk you though the panic attacks? Also I have heard Xanax alot used for this type of thing. I have never tried it myself but alot of people say it works well.

I do think that you should give the anti depressants a try. They might help you more than you know. And going to talk to the therapist is a good thing, because alot of times that does help just talking about it. I hope you start feeling better soon. Keep posting in here as well. This is an excellent fourm with a lot of supportive people that know what you are going though.

[kamalas151]

thanks alot for the advice and re assurance.
u have many great points
im def meeting a therapist and see how that goes.

thanks guys

[jul04]

I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone.  There are so many of us that deal with anxiety and have a fear of death.  It is really hard to deal with this but please know that you can get better.

My therapist had me start keeping a journal to help me get some of those fears out and it does help.  Talking with a therapist is a great idea for you.  They are trained to help people with anxiety and they can teach you coping skills.  Sometimes it might take you awhile to find someone you are comfortable with but don't give up.  You will find the right therapist for you...

As hard as it is please try to focus on positive things.  Part of the problem with the fear of death is the fear of the unknown...If you spend your time worrying about dying then you can't enjoy your life.  My new goal is to focus on today and not worry about tomorrow.  This helps me get through one day at a time.  

I don't know how the Linden Method works but I know for me personally if I am not focusing on the anxiety/death I do feel better.  It is when I am alone and I let my mind start to wonder that the cycle starts up again.  If I allow it to continue I find myself in a really bad place.

Just know you are not alone and everyone on this forum understands.  I hope you feel better soon...Keep us posted.

[kamalas151]

hi thanks for ur fast response.
i feel ok to know there are others out there that have been through the same thing.
ive been to docs several times only to be given valium to take the "edge" off. but its not a long term fix and just made me feel spaced out and really tired. i have heard that anti d's work for certain indivduals but im kinda afraid to try them incase it changes me as a person, however if this continues then i may have no choice but to try them and see how it goes. iv heard mixed reviews about the anti d's but i guess i wont know the reality of it unless i dont try. what kind of physical symptoms do u get?
in regards to being ur "normal self" again is there anyway to just make it stay permanently?
have u ever tried the linden method.
according to charles linden himself anxiety is a behavioural condition and to remove it the key is to distract yourself and keep busy and the distraction in time will become the new behavior returning anxiety etc to normal levels.
wat do u think of this statment?

[Blynns]

Hi, I'm so sorry you're going through this!  I have panick disorder & feel exactly the way you do.  Mine come in bouts & I feel like I am going to die.  I also feel like a different person, a terrified stranger to myself....then all of a sudden (usually 1-2 weeks later) it feels like something in my mind just flips a switch & I'm back to my old 'normal' self again!  It makes NO sense!  Have you seen your Doc yet?  They will usually put you on an anti-depressant/anxiety med that takes about 2 weeks to take full effect but works eventually & refer you to a therapist which helps in the long run too.  I take Lexapro.  In the mean time they may also reccomend Xanax or something similiar to take the edge off so u can get some immediate relief.  You are not alone friend :)