Urgent anxiety please help

[anxietyocdphobias]

Hello,
I have two questions I've been living a peak of anxiety in the latest few days, I dumped my ex who was lying to me and not being faithful, I started having extreme doubts and some paranoid thoughts that I do not believe but I am panicking because of these intrusive thoughts. I have a question: My Doctor said there is no way I develop a psychosis, but I am panicking about it and the thoughts sometimes when Im very anxious make me paralyzed and feel so afraid as if they were true. Does paranoia start little by little after an emotional shock? Or it is either we have paranoia or we don't? I am very sociable I love talking to people and everything but lately been living doubts regarding intentions and sometimes I laugh about my thoughts yet sometimes Im scared to death. My Doctor suggested I increase my dosage of fluoxetine 20mg to 40 mgs for a month, do you think this may help? And I remember she said I should take double pills of 20mgs in the morning, would that lead to make me become schizophrenic or paranoid or cause me another mental illness? Please answer me I need to start increasing.. But Im panicking and thanks in advance

[anxietyocdphobias]

Thank you very very much, I know Im not paranoid I just get too panicky!!!!

[Paxiled]

By the way, I think this in part because you were assertive in breaking off the relationship.  I was always the one dumped because I hung on, so good for you for sticking up for yourself and moving on.  But moving on is always hard, particularly in this situation when you're probably very angry about what happened.  Anger can be scary to anxiety sufferers.

[Paxiled]

First, to the person posting, ignore this -- you're already on the Prozac, so no, it won't give you a mental illness.  But we do have to be accurate here -- drugs can and do cause mental problems -- it's right on the cautions included with these meds.  We do need to be accurate here.  It doesn't happen to someone already taking a medication with no problems, it generally happens when a medication is new to someone.  It's important to know when starting a medication because if you don't know this you won't tell your psychiatrist it's happening.  Again, to the poster, I don't think you have PTSD.   That's a very specific diagnosis.  I think you have what many of us call PTSD-like reactions.  In your case, break-ups are very traumatic for some of us and not for others.  I'm one of the ones who historically had a lot of problems with break-ups, particularly when I found out the person was cheating on me.  This is a common problem with people with low self-esteem, which pretty much defines those of us with anxiety and depression problems.  So my view is, you're already on the Prozac -- going up may be a good idea for a band-aid, but then you may be stuck at that high level.  Sometimes drugs poop out when a traumatic event happens -- a break-up caused a drug to stop working for me, so it does happen.  My view is you need to do this in talk therapy to find out why you're having this reaction.  I'd do that personally before going up in dosage because you'll either have to stay at a higher dosage or deal with going back down again, but you and your doctor are better equipped to deal with this than me.  

[nursegirl6572]

These kinds of conditions (anxiety disorders, PTSD) are conditions that need to be managed.  Seldom do people "rid" themselves of it completely.  They're cyclic in nature, you'll experience periods of time where the symptoms are more severe and debilitating, and if you're addressing the issues, you'll experience times where the symptoms are very tolerable, and even absent.

That's why it's important that you find yourself a good mental health professional to help you learn how to properly manage these disorders.  Therapy really is crucial.   CBT, or cognitive behavioral therapy, which is a little different than the traditional "talk therapy" is a wonderful tool for anxiety based conditions.  It teaches a person how to change the thought processes that keep us stuck in the anxiety cycle.

Right now, you're stuck on the "what if I go crazy?" thought process.  With the right help, you'll be able to learn how to manage those thoughts and dismiss them.  

I recommend that you also browse through the OCD forum, and even start a thread there.  The community leader there, JGF, posts wonderful advice and tips on how to dismiss those kinds of upsetting intrusive thoughts.  

One of her threads, entitiled "Anatomy of a horrific thought" is fabulous.  It explains very well how that thought process works and what to do about it.  The key is to not give those thoughts more power, don't feed into them by seeking reassurance, or engaging in "checking" compulsions (ie searching the internet for info, overanalyzing your thoughts).  The key is to dismiss them, which like I said, JGF gives really good advice on how to do that.

The OCD forum:

http://www.medhelp.org/forums/Obsessive-Compulsive-Disorder-OCD-/show/231

Hang in there.

[BluCrystal]

PTSD isn't like some mental issues that stick around forever.  It is due directly to a traumatic experience.  In many cases, people have gotten over this given enough time and counseling.  I have never heard of a prescribed medication CAUSING a mental illness.  In fact, I think the closest thing to that would be taking a street drug like LSD (acid or angel dust), which causes your perceptions of the world to change dramatically.  Even that is temporary in most cases.  The worst thing about taking medications to help you is the possibility of dependence on the drug, even if you don't abuse it.  Benzodiazepines like klonopin and Lorazepam.  You can google benzo's for more info.  All it really comes down to is that when your doctor decides it's time to come off of these meds, he has to TAPER you off slowly, less and less over time, so that you don't have withdrawals.

[anxietyocdphobias]

I have it BluCrystal, my psychiatrist told me that I have it! Is it a serious mental illness? Or like anxiety we can get over it and wont lead to anything worse? :(

[anxietyocdphobias]

Thank you so much nursegirl, always great replies from you, by the way I heard paranoid people dont know they are paranoid! Is that correct?

[BluCrystal]

Google 'post traumatic stress disorder' also known as PTSD.

[nursegirl6572]

Hello there!

The logical side of you KNOWS that this is anxiety and is to be expected after stressful events in your life (ie your break up), but the anxiety fueled side of you runs with the "what if" thoughts.

The fear of "going crazy" is a very common one among anxiety sufferers, I've been there myself.  Anxiety disorders are totally different from psychotic disorders.  An anxiety disorder won't "morph" into a psychotic mental illness, and upping your medication dose won't cause a psychotic illness.

I'd say to follow your doctor's instructions, and keep the lines of communication open with him about how you're feeling.  Remember that it's common to experience an increase in anxiety when increasing your dose of Prozac.  It's usually pretty short lived (if you experience it at all).

In the meantime, be proactive about doing things that will help the anxiety.  Distraction is one of the BEST tools we have against anxiety.  Keeping your body AND mind busy will help a lot.  

Exercise is great for anxiety and overall sense of well being.  Try to be vigilant about NOT allowing yourself to sit and "think" too much.  We get stuck in our heads and start "what iffing" ourselves into a frenzy.  Distraction will greatly reduce, if not eliminate that kind of thinking.

Lastly, are you in therapy?  If not, I recommend it, because while medications can be helpful in managing the symptoms of anxiety, it's not a "fix" or "cure".  Anxiety needs addressed from the approach of changing the way we think and react.

Good luck, keep us posted in how you're doing!