Is this common in anxiety

[Princesskel865]

Hello my name is Kelly and I am 27. I first started having panic attacks Sept. 2003 after my son was born very ill.  They hit me so fast and without warning.  I of course went to the ER several times and had many test done.  I was fine. I do see a therapist and have gotten so much better but I still have some symptoms. Headaches that are very unusal and my biggest problem is I obsess over having a serious mental illness.  I am constanly looking up Bipolar and other things thinking I have these things.  I do get stressed so easily and get depressed from my symptoms.  I feel like I bring on many of my own problems but I can't stop worrying I have a illness other than anxiety.  I can pretty much control the major symptoms but I still do not concentrate well and am very irritable.  I am very scared of this.  I have tried Lexapro and it made it so much worse as well as Zoloft but only took them a few days. The weird thing is I am a nurse and had taken Lexapro before and it did not affect me badly. I also took Welbutrin to try to stop smoking before all this and it didn't bother me either. Why are these medicines making me crazy now? Is it true that if I were Bipolar I wouldn't really worry so much of having it? I still function in life but it is so depressing to me. I do not feel normal anymore. I will not deny depression but it is not severe depression. My doctor tells me I am to smart for my own good and over analize everthing. Is this common anxiety issuses and what do you suggest for me? I am also easaly angered well I feel overwhelmed much of the time. I am scared to take medicine and scared to drink alcohol when I have fun and forget the anxiety I think I am hypomanic it is a cycle.  I also have 0 sex desire.

[Barbarella]

I read the SAME book and it helped me get 99% rid of my panic attacks.

[debi0926]

I too suffer from anxiety disorder. I have been on a low dose of Xanax for quite some time now and that does help. I know this is going to sound silly to some of you who may read this, but I set aside 20 minutes a day in which I allow my self to worry about everything, everything that I feel may be contributing to my anxiety. During the rest of the day when issues or feelings arise that could cause me to panic, I force myself to save it for my worry time. It's not avoiding issues, but I have gained control of "when" I worry and stress, and this has helped me more than I can say and I hopefully will be able to get off of meds soon.

I don't know if this will benefit anyone else, but I thought I would share my experience.

[Reese 2]

In 2000 I woke up and the room was spinning.  I began to suffer from vertigo.  After about 9 months, I was able to function 'normally' again.  During my 9 months of being out of commission, I had every test imaginable to man.  EEG, EKG, MRI of my brain, hearing and vision tests, blood glucose tests, mental tests, blood test after blood test....and they all came back 'NORMAL'.....The reason that I had the tests to begin with is because the vertigo attacked launched a bevy of other symptoms.....later which I would learn that these symptoms were suggestive of anxiety/panic disorder......The symptoms that I suffered from were sheer fear that I was going to die any minute, racing heart beat, beet red cheeks, wobbly ~ rubber band like lets, tunnel vision, distorted hearing, things sounded like they were in a horror movie, inability to concentrate, fear of driving past a 2 mile radius, fear of being alone, fear of fear, fear of dying in my sleep, fear of myself (if you can believe that), I was afraid that I would spontaneously go nuts and hurt myself or others......not that I had the desire to do so, on the contrary, I was terrified that since I was feeling so out of sorts otherwise, what if I completely cracked my nut and couldn't be rational anymore.  These fears was so crippling, I am surprised that I was even able to finally get 95% better.  The 'CURE', in part, for me was to eliminate ALL sugars from my diet.....white bread, pasta, rice, cookies, cakes, soda, ketchup, fruit, etc.  After about two weeks I noticed an AMAZING difference.  Thank God......the other components to aiding me in feeling well again, was that I absorbed every bit of self help information that I could.....some was worth it and some of it trash.  I took what could help and totally discarded the rest.....a few things remain in my mind until this day.  I was told by a very young girl that she too was suffering from anxiety, etc.  She said that she would NEVER LET HERSELF FOCUS ON THE ANXIETY OR PANIC, WOULD NOT SHUT OUT THE WORLD AND DWELL, SHE SAID THAT IF SHE DID THAT, IT WOULD TAKE OVER HER AND WIN.  The other thing that remains in my mind is something  I read; it was suggested that when feeling the signs of an oncoming 'attack', to act like you were in the ocean on a wave.......NEVER FIGHT IT OR IT WILL TAKE YOU UNDER, YOU SHOULD MORE OR LESS, FEEL WHAT YOU FEEL, TELL YOURSELF IT WILL BE OVER SOON AND RIDE IT TILL IT PASSES.....DON'T KICK AND FLAIL YOURSELF ALL OVER, YOU WILL USE UP ALL OF  YOUR ENERGY.....RELAX  YOUR MIND AND FLOAT THROUGH THE WAVE, IT WILL PASS...........both techniques worked great.....no, not the first or second times I tried them, but more and more and more that I did, I saw more and more results.    Mostly, it's either you or your mind in control......The sad part of my story is that in the past 6 months, I've been very depressed over a couple of major life changes and resumed eating the 'WHITES', I have been feeling sad, depressed, ANXIOUS, PANICKY, INSECURE, WOBBLY KNEES, FEARFUL, ETC.  It's time I get back on the wagon.   I will NOT LET THIS WAVE TAKE ME UNDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope that this may have helped someone out there.......

[newman63]

Brendan,

Your comments about obessing over health brought a chuckle to me.  I've had anxiety/panic for a couple of months now and every ache and pain drives me to look for a medical cause like stroke or heart attack.  I once typed in my symptoms and found I had early-onset menopause! Not common in a 40 year old man.

[bulba2]

Hi Kelly, my name is Brendan, i had panic attacks in 2003 also after major surgery. I can totally relate to your story, I have had exact symptoms.  Don't worry about a thing, you are going to be fine.  I read a brilliant book by Dr Claire Weekes called "essential help for your nerves", it explains all the feelings u have, how common they are and how do deal with them, it's really great!  I went through a stage of diagnosing myself online with every disease known, i think i was pregnant at one stage!  The headaches are caused by the stress of worry, you're scalp muscles become very tense, believe me i had awful ones. One of the most common symptons of anxiety is the worry about health.  The trick is not to fight the anxiety but to relax and accept you will worry from time to time and gradually it passes and you no longer fear it, it's great to be rid of the fear, it really was awful when i had it.
trust me, read this book it will change your life, it's short, inexpensive and easy to read.
take care and good luck and if you ever need to email me you can do so at ***@****

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

If I were you I would concentrate with my therapist on what it means for you to be a mother, and how that brings back memories and issues with your own parents, and I would suspect spills over to your husband.  Those are the issues...the bipolar fear is just a displacement.