Anyone else dealing with anxiety?

[Starry-eyed]

Hello,

 

Does anyone else here have problems with anxiety? How do you deal with it?

 

I'm going through many changes in my life and I get anxiety attacks, but for me anxiety makes me cry non-stop and unable to function normally. And this has been happening at work a lot (a huge part of my change/anxiety is related to my job).

 

My doctor prescribed lorazepam for me, which has saved my life, I swear. It really helps me not to cry at work and get through the day. But I can't take it forever. Some days I am fine and feel pretty good, but then something will happen and trigger the anxiety and I can't stop crying.

 

Just wondering if anyone else deals with anxiety, takes lorazepam, or anything.

 

Thanks.

[AFarAwayPlace]

I have social anxiety disorder, I have not sought treatment, how I deal is I work at home cause of it. But obviously avoiding "life" is not such a good thing, I've allowed myself to stay in a dead relationship cause of it. Maybe one day I'll have the courage to seek help for myself. On top of the social anxiety disorder, I have a severe blushing problem if anyone so much as talks to me, due to this I am introverted, anti-social and my boyfriend has called me hermit, which hurt me very much.

[Jinxx]

I have the occasional anxiety attack every couple weeks or so. Valium does the trick for me. It is not a daily medication and you take as needed.

[Starry-eyed]

I have social anxiety disorder, I have not sought treatment, how I deal is I work at home cause of it. But obviously avoiding "life" is not such a good thing, I've allowed myself to stay in a dead relationship cause of it. Maybe one day I'll have the courage to seek help for myself. On top of the social anxiety disorder, I have a severe blushing problem if anyone so much as talks to me, due to this I am introverted, anti-social and my boyfriend has called me hermit, which hurt me very much.

 

Oh, AFarAwayPlace, I am sorry! That must be awful to deal with. You simply must get treatment for it. It could really change your life. I guess I am lucky that I don't have a chronic anxiety disorder (although I do have depression); for me it is usually temporary/situational due to events (like now). But, still, debilitating for that time. Have you ever tried anti-anxiety meds? Some anti-depressants also work on anxiety. Does your anxiety make you cry or does your chest get all tight and burning?

 

 

I have the occasional anxiety attack every couple weeks or so. Valium does the trick for me. It is not a daily medication and you take as needed.

 

That's pretty much how lorazepam is: take as needed. Which sometimes can be like three times a day, other times just if you feel one coming on. Is there a particular trigger to your attacks? Does meditation or deep breathing help?

 

Nice to know there are other people out there.

[Jinxx]

 

That's pretty much how lorazepam is: take as needed. Which sometimes can be like three times a day, other times just if you feel one coming on. Is there a particular trigger to your attacks? Does meditation or deep breathing help?

 

Nice to know there are other people out there.

 

Oh no -- one valium does it for me. It says to take every 4-6 hours as needed but the norm has only been one for me maybe once a week. The cause of my anxiety is stress, even more so now that I'm separated. Teenage daughter and adult son are a real piece of work sometimes too. I've never done meditation or deep breathing but I am very athletic and active outdoors. A trip to the gym for a good work out or a long ass horseback ride helps too.

[AFarAwayPlace]

Oh, AFarAwayPlace, I am sorry! That must be awful to deal with. You simply must get treatment for it. It could really change your life. I guess I am lucky that I don't have a chronic anxiety disorder (although I do have depression); for me it is usually temporary/situational due to events (like now). But, still, debilitating for that time. Have you ever tried anti-anxiety meds? Some anti-depressants also work on anxiety. Does your anxiety make you cry or does your chest get all tight and burning?

I've been living with this for half my life, it never seems to get better or go away. I haven't tried any meds at all. No, I don't cry or get any pains over it. But it just bothers me a lot emotionally, there's so much I don't do and so much I change to avoid situations.

[whichwayisup]

Google Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, and your City - A bunch of therapist names should come up, they specialized in dealing with people who suffer from all sorts of anxiety disorders and/or depression.

 

CBT is a great way of fighting the anxiety and gaining control of your life again! Takes alot of hard work, and if you're willing to open up, talk about your fears, triggers, things from your past/present which are contributing to your anxiety and any worries/fears of the future, CBT WILL help you cope better, you'll learn coping skills, learn how to handle the anxiety and panic attacks.

 

I still have my moments of anxiety, but I know now how to handle them, I've learned how to face my fears by doing exposure therapy. CBT changes the way you think about things in a more positive light, rather than full of worry, negative and distorted thoughts.

 

Avoidance behaviour is not good, it gives you an out and makes you pick up bad habits (like if you have a panic attack while driving over a bridge, you avoid the bridge next time and then again afew more times, next thing you know - You cannot drive over the bridge because of fears of having a panic attack.) Good thing is, all that learned behaviour can be undone!!

 

Get Dr David Burns, The Feeling Good book. It's a great starter book to understand your anxiety, and it gives you alot of information about CBT too.

 

Keep posting and feel free to ask me questions, I'm an openbook when it comes to anxiety!

[dropdeadlegs]

I have had many situational episodes of extreme anxiety. I took Xanax and it was a lifesaver for me. Like you, I couldn't stop crying and couldn't function at all. My career choice was very stressful wasn't right for me and I had to give it up.

 

Sunday I had a minor anxiety attack because my myspace account had been compromised and I was sending out spam bulletins. I got all freaked out worrying that if they compromised my password, maybe they now have all of my online passwords to financial accounts info. I was pretty worked up about it all day and the thoughts of impending doom were constantly just under the surface. I was very worried that my BF and his brother might also be affected because I have paid their bills online, too. In other words I was preparing mentally for a major disaster.

 

I don't have any Xanax anymore, but I was feeling the chest tightness I recognized from the past.

 

I told myself that myspace isn't as secure as my financial institutions are and that using my account to send those bulletins was probably the whole purpose. I use the appropriate software programs to keep me as protected as possible, and I feel better about the unliklihood of disaster. I didn't do anything wrong and discovered that my BF's nephew's account was the source of the problem since two other people in both of our friend spaces were having the same problem. I deleted him as my friend and changed my password and all appears to be well. I'll keep an eye on things, but I will not obsess over a "possibilty." That will drive me crazy.

 

It is hard to always maintain control over anxiety, but I don't need help regularly anymore. I talk myself through things and don't allow myself to get as stressed out. It's a conscious thought process and it is working for me. Stressing wasn't helping any problems to go away.

[Starry-eyed]

CBT is a great way of fighting the anxiety and gaining control of your life again! Takes alot of hard work, and if you're willing to open up, talk about your fears, triggers, things from your past/present which are contributing to your anxiety and any worries/fears of the future, CBT WILL help you cope better, you'll learn coping skills, learn how to handle the anxiety and panic attacks.

 

I still have my moments of anxiety, but I know now how to handle them, I've learned how to face my fears by doing exposure therapy. CBT changes the way you think about things in a more positive light, rather than full of worry, negative and distorted thoughts.

 

.....

Get Dr David Burns, The Feeling Good book. It's a great starter book to understand your anxiety, and it gives you alot of information about CBT too.

 

Keep posting and feel free to ask me questions, I'm an openbook when it comes to anxiety!

 

I'm doing a kind of therapy with my counselor now. It's about core beliefs and going back to why you feel the way you do. It's helping. I will look up about CBT. Therapy in itself is just a godsend to me now and I really like my therapist.

 

Sounds like you have made great progress in overcoming anxiety!

 

I read the David Burns book many years ago, but it'd probably be worth it to check it out again.

 

I have had many situational episodes of extreme anxiety. I took Xanax and it was a lifesaver for me. Like you, I couldn't stop crying and couldn't function at all. My career choice was very stressful wasn't right for me and I had to give it up.

 

....

 

I don't have any Xanax anymore, but I was feeling the chest tightness I recognized from the past.

 

I told myself that myspace isn't as secure as my financial institutions are and that using my account to send those bulletins was probably the whole purpose. I use the appropriate software programs to keep me as protected as possible, and I feel better about the unliklihood of disaster. I didn't do anything wrong and discovered that my BF's nephew's account was the source of the problem since two other people in both of our friend spaces were having the same problem. I deleted him as my friend and changed my password and all appears to be well. I'll keep an eye on things, but I will not obsess over a "possibilty." That will drive me crazy.

 

It is hard to always maintain control over anxiety, but I don't need help regularly anymore. I talk myself through things and don't allow myself to get as stressed out. It's a conscious thought process and it is working for me. Stressing wasn't helping any problems to go away.

 

Wow, I'm so glad to know I'm not the only one who manifests anxiety attacks by crying and chest tightening and not functioning! When I read about anxiety online, I just never see non-stop crying as a symptom. With me, the crying could be related to depression, too, although when it happens this way it is definitely different.

 

I can understand how anxious it would feel to worry about financial info and computer security. I swear, cyber-world is not for the faint of heart. At least all is well. That's great that you don't need regular anti-anxiety help anymore. I am hoping that soon I won't need any more chemical help, either.

 

Jinxx - so jealous of the horseback ride! Do you have a horse?

 

AFarAwayPlace - are you interested in getting help or addressing your social anxiety? I don't mean that to sound critical, I'm just curious. It could be that right now you're not ready for that. How nice to not get panic attacks!

[dropdeadlegs]

I think I've suffered from anxiety for most of my life. That chest tightening feels like I cannot really get quite enough oxygen. I have known some who truly hyper-ventilate and pass out, but that only happened to me once about 20 years ago. Just before passing out momentarily, my eyes darted back and forth uncontrollably. I have felt the eyeball darting since then and learned to close my eyes and consciously relax.

 

I didn't seek chemical help until I couldn't control my crying at work. I let things get really bad even though my family and friends had been urging me to get some pills for nearly a year. For some reason I felt that medication indicated weakness, but now I think it saved my sanity.

 

I have been in therapy many times during my life. It was pretty intense in my adolescent years and I've had to have several months of "refresher" therapy in my adult years on three occasions. I really think everyone should be required to have therapy, like a job requirement or something. Once a month would be beneficial even for those who are pretty healthy mentally.

 

What has helped the most with my anxiety is making a conscious effort to calm down and talk myself through it. The first thing I remind myself of is that getting all emotionally worked up keeps me stagnant because I cannot do anything except be all worked up when I'm like that. As I said, something as automatic as breathing goes haywire. I tell myself that I must calm down and think rationally in order to resolve the issue at hand. Then I start thinking about what steps could make the situation better. I use the logical side of my brain and turn off the emotional side as much as possible. It's kind of like thinking how I would calm down a friend in my position and taking my own advice. The first thing I would tell a friend is that it's not the end of the world and almost anything can be straightened out with a little effort. Stressing is reactive, not proactive.

 

It sounds silly when writing it, but it has helped me a lot. I have to take a bit of a whatever will be will be attitude and remind myself that my worst case scenario is usually unlikely to happen.

 

Glad your meds and therapy are giving you hope and relief!

[Starry-eyed]

I think I've suffered from anxiety for most of my life. That chest tightening feels like I cannot really get quite enough oxygen. I have known some who truly hyper-ventilate and pass out, but that only happened to me once about 20 years ago. Just before passing out momentarily, my eyes darted back and forth uncontrollably. I have felt the eyeball darting since then and learned to close my eyes and consciously relax.

 

How fascinating that your eyes would dart and that would be an indication of impending fainting. I wonder what the connection is? At least you found a way to prevent it by consciously relaxing.

 

I didn't seek chemical help until I couldn't control my crying at work. I let things get really bad even though my family and friends had been urging me to get some pills for nearly a year. For some reason I felt that medication indicated weakness, but now I think it saved my sanity.

 

Wow, someone else who couldn't control her crying at work! I'm just amazed there is someone else! I have cried every day at work so far this week, and tomorrow's Fri. I'm hoping that for one day at least I will not cry at work! That I'll not get that overwhelming urge and hopelessness and grief that is like the Hoover dam behind my eyeballs, waiting to leak and then burst open. And I know what you mean about thinking meds mean weakness. I don't want to take the big L every day. I'd like to function normally without it. I know I will come through this time, it's just a particularly difficult episode!

 

What has helped the most with my anxiety is making a conscious effort to calm down and talk myself through it. The first thing I remind myself of is that getting all emotionally worked up keeps me stagnant because I cannot do anything except be all worked up when I'm like that. As I said, something as automatic as breathing goes haywire. I tell myself that I must calm down and think rationally in order to resolve the issue at hand. Then I start thinking about what steps could make the situation better. I use the logical side of my brain and turn off the emotional side as much as possible. It's kind of like thinking how I would calm down a friend in my position and taking my own advice. The first thing I would tell a friend is that it's not the end of the world and almost anything can be straightened out with a little effort. Stressing is reactive, not proactive.

 

I'm glad that works for you. I'm working on that kind of self-talk, but I'm pretty far away from it now. Now when I tell myself those rational, calming things, it has no effect, I still cry and get the anxiety. But there is always hope! DDL, you always surprise me with the things you've gone through.

 

It's comforting to know other people deal with anxiety, too. Tough times for many of us, man.

[dropdeadlegs]

DDL, you always surprise me with the things you've gone through.

I have had some moments like that reading and posting here. Someone who gives rational, compassionate, and well thought out advice makes me think "wow, this person is so together." One day they reveal they are struggling and I'm shocked! This person seems like someone who has no problems, and probably never has. But we all got here for a reason, and it wasn't initially to come help a bunch of folks out!

 

I'm in a pretty good place right now, but you just wait till I have one of MY meltdowns. I will be the crazy lady all over again some day. I'm not THAT much better, but I do hope that the info I have gotten here will make me a bit less crazy, and a little more rational, than before!

 

Take the pills all day every day if you need to. If you were in physical pain, you wouldn't hesitate to do so. This is just a transitional period and there will come a day when you don't need them all day, and that will be followed by days you don't need them at all.

 

There is always hope for those willing to seek it!

[Starry-eyed]

Take the pills all day every day if you need to. If you were in physical pain, you wouldn't hesitate to do so. This is just a transitional period and there will come a day when you don't need them all day, and that will be followed by days you don't need them at all.

 

There is always hope for those willing to seek it!

 

That is good advice and encouraging. We tend to poo-poo our psychological or emotional difficulties, exactly what we don't do for physical pain. It is good to remember that! Because I feel kinda guilty for relying on a tranquilizer to get me through the day.

 

The beginnings of the week are worse than the ends of the week because near the weekends and over the weekends, lately, I have been spending time with the guy I have been seeing (I know, I'm not officially divorced yet...). The early parts of the week I either don't have contact with him or else very little, and that is when I tend to get anxiety. I think much of it is just learning to do so many "adult" things for myself and adjusting to being alone.

 

I'm glad you're in a good place now. I think coming here can really help a person learn so much, what with so many different people. And you can know that you have helped people, more than just me!

[dgiirl]

I suffer from anxiety. But i didnt know what it was until i went through my divorce and talked to my therapist. Once I had a label for it, my over-thinking mind read every single piece of information on anxiety. One of the main things that helped was when going through a panic attack, when you have the urge to flee, is let yourself experience the emotions for a few seconds (dont flee), just let your body get tense, heart pound, but stand still, and then analyze your feelings. As much as possible, from a third perspective, find out what is triggering your anxiety attack.

 

For instance, I'd start having a panic attack in the line at the bank. I'd try to take deep breaths, let my heart pound for a few seconds, and then ask myself what it is i'm currently afraid of. I'm affraid of talking to the teller. Why am I afraid of talking to the teller? Because she might ask me a question and I wont know what to do. Well then, you can ask her for help and to explain what she's talking about. Etc, etc, and then the anxiety would go away.

 

I often get anxiety attacks when I feel out of control, when I feel something will happen and I dont have a backup plan to handle the situation. If I can analyze the situation and have a backup plan, even a plan of "Screw it, it's not worth worrying about", then I can handle the situation and the anxiety goes away.

 

As of late, I've been having some major anxiety attacks at work over getting fired. I just got a new job and I'm worried about losing it. The problem is, I use to fear this prior to my divorce too, so I feel like I'm regressing to my previous habits. I dont LIKE this feeling at all and I've learned a lot in the past two years on how to handle my anxiety and I've learned to let go a lot of my past worries. The fear of losing my job is not worth my anxiety. I survived a divorce, I can certainly survive a job loss. So I'm trying to overcome this fear.

 

You mentioned that you get more anxiety when you're not spending time with your guy. I would follow through with this train of thought and ask yourself why? Has the guy become a crutch for you? Or do you have fears of him straying when you're not in sight? Do these fears you have remind you of any feelings you had in the past, childhood or your previous relationship? If you analyze yourself, you can figure out what exactly is triggering your fears. Once you actually KNOW what it is you are fearing, then you can find a solution to it. And very often, the things we have anxiety over are simply a symptom of what we truely are afraid of. Your guy might be the best loyal devoted man in the world, and he might not be doing anything specifically to cause you anxiety. It might be something completely unrelated, yet he's become the scapegoat.

[Tangerina]

I don't have 'attacks' so much as a hard time not fixating obsessively on worried feelings about difficult things in my life, or fears about romantic or friend relationships failing. I'm still working on it, I'm mostly having relationship anxiety right now and I'm thinking of talking to a councilor since it is free while I'm at college.

[Starry-eyed]

For instance, I'd start having a panic attack in the line at the bank. I'd try to take deep breaths, let my heart pound for a few seconds, and then ask myself what it is i'm currently afraid of. I'm affraid of talking to the teller. Why am I afraid of talking to the teller? Because she might ask me a question and I wont know what to do. Well then, you can ask her for help and to explain what she's talking about. Etc, etc, and then the anxiety would go away.

 

I often get anxiety attacks when I feel out of control, when I feel something will happen and I dont have a backup plan to handle the situation. If I can analyze the situation and have a backup plan, even a plan of "Screw it, it's not worth worrying about", then I can handle the situation and the anxiety goes away.

 

As of late, I've been having some major anxiety attacks at work over getting fired. I just got a new job and I'm worried about losing it. The problem is, I use to fear this prior to my divorce too, so I feel like I'm regressing to my previous habits. I dont LIKE this feeling at all and I've learned a lot in the past two years on how to handle my anxiety and I've learned to let go a lot of my past worries. The fear of losing my job is not worth my anxiety. I survived a divorce, I can certainly survive a job loss. So I'm trying to overcome this fear.

 

That's a good strategy about talking through the fear/anxiety. Following the train of thought and possible outcomes. Fear of losing a job can be pretty worrisome, so it's healthy to try to overcome it and realize that you've survived a divorce, so you can survive other disasters.

 

You mentioned that you get more anxiety when you're not spending time with your guy. I would follow through with this train of thought and ask yourself why? Has the guy become a crutch for you?

 

Yes, I use him as emotional validation and companionship against loneliness, as well as just lusting for him. I'm working on not relying on him as a crutch or as anything. I'm in counseling and working on just being ok by being myself. Plus, I get a little anxiety wondering if he's thinking of me and why doesn't he contact me. But, I've got to get over that.

 

It must be a little distressing to feel you are regressing in your ability to cope with anxiety. Hopefully it's just a passing blip. You've made so much progress in dealing with it! You probably won't lose all that success.

 

I don't have 'attacks' so much as a hard time not fixating obsessively on worried feelings about difficult things in my life, or fears about romantic or friend relationships failing. I'm still working on it, I'm mostly having relationship anxiety right now and I'm thinking of talking to a councilor since it is free while I'm at college.

 

Man, talking to a counselor is one of the most helpful things ever. Especially if it's free! And you don't have to have panic attacks to have anxiety. It sounds like you already realize that worry = anxiety. I have relationship anxiety, too! I hope you get a good counselor.

[Kwo-ne'-she]

Two kinds of anxiety attacks. The most common, is brought on by stress, or certain triggers. These can happen once, or many times until your life gets less stressful.

 

The second kind is hereditary. An actual genetic flaw, where chemicals in your brain are imbalanced. These attacks have no triggers, they happen at random, and repeatedly. They don't ever go away completely, as it is a physical condition. All the therapy in the world can not correct what is a physical problem, though it can help you deal with them a little better.

 

Some believe certain things like St John's Wort, Melatonin, or others help.

No caffiene, no chocolate, drugs, alcohol, or stimulants of any kind.

 

For severe, chronic cases, alprazaloam is often used, and has the best effects.

[thelittlespoon]

I have been dealing with anxiety for several years now. I take 100mg of Zoloft daily, and it has helped tremendously.

 

I was at my witts end when I was forced to turn to medication, though. I suffered several years beforehand trying to naturally work at dealing with it. I tried everything from herbal supplements to yoga, and nothing helped ease my syptoms. It eventually got the point that I had a horrendous panic attack that ended me up in the hospital.

 

I now have my syptoms under control and am able to live a normal life. Sometimes I will still experience some anxiety, but the counseling I had when I first started my medication, taught me how to reason with yourself to control it.

[djgirl]

I am so glad to learn that there are many other people dealing with anxiety problems. I am not on any meds, but I am wondering if i need to be. I have had anxiety attacks, but only when i'm in a fight or stressing out too much about something. my mother thinks I have OCD and I did go to a doctor and was diagnosed with severe anxiety. I wonder if I do have OCD, if it brought on the anxiety. Then I went on webmd.com and took this assessment test on bipolar disorder. Everything spelled out that I have it, so I wonder if it could have been brought on by the anxiety. My mom was diagnosed with bipolar, and so has my sister, half sister and half brother. my grandpa on my mom's side also was bipolar. Am I doomed to be all "mixed" up?

 

I really have this anger problem. It's not that I want to fight all the time or anything, it's more that I'm "too" sensative to what people say. Mostly though, I only seem to be too sensative to what my fiance' says to me. Like if he says something inconsiderate or rude, I totally freak out! I really don't know why. I seem to be able to deal with it okay with other people, but for some reason, when the love of my life screws up, I can't take it. I really honestly don't quite know what's wrong with me.

 

Plus, here I am STILL up at 6:30am and I haven't even been to bed yet. I always obsess over everything that is going wrong and I can't sleep.

 

I use to be a member a long time ago of this site, and for some reason I stopped getting on and forgot my log in info and stuff. I don't know why I ever stopped getting on here. This site really does help people out a lot.

[faire l'amour]

I am so glad to learn that there are many other people dealing with anxiety problems. I am not on any meds, but I am wondering if i need to be. I have had anxiety attacks, but only when i'm in a fight or stressing out too much about something. my mother thinks I have OCD and I did go to a doctor and was diagnosed with severe anxiety. I wonder if I do have OCD, if it brought on the anxiety. Then I went on webmd.com and took this assessment test on bipolar disorder. Everything spelled out that I have it, so I wonder if it could have been brought on by the anxiety. My mom was diagnosed with bipolar, and so has my sister, half sister and half brother. my grandpa on my mom's side also was bipolar. Am I doomed to be all "mixed" up?

 

I really have this anger problem. It's not that I want to fight all the time or anything, it's more that I'm "too" sensative to what people say. Mostly though, I only seem to be too sensative to what my fiance' says to me. Like if he says something inconsiderate or rude, I totally freak out! I really don't know why. I seem to be able to deal with it okay with other people, but for some reason, when the love of my life screws up, I can't take it. I really honestly don't quite know what's wrong with me.

 

Plus, here I am STILL up at 6:30am and I haven't even been to bed yet. I always obsess over everything that is going wrong and I can't sleep.

[djgirl]

i found my old user name, so i am not going to use this one anymore, so the faire l'amour is me! sorry for the confusion!

[che_jesse]

I have been having anxiety attacks since my father died 3 weeks ago, I guess its a combination of the grief and the pregnancy hormones. My obj tired giving me ativan but I wont take it, it turns me into a zombie and I have way to much stuff to do for the new baby.

 

I just do my best to get it to pass as quickly as possible, remember all the meditation training and some of the yoga. Then I go hug my husband, kids, and mom. They go away soon enough.

 

I guess knowing its just temporary makes it a whole lot easier to deal with for me.

[chilatte]

I was diagnosed with anxiety attackes last year after a few days of thinking I was literally going to die. I went to the ER thinking I was having a heart attack and they did all the tests and said nothing was wrong with me and that I was having anxiety attacks. I didn't believe them because I didn't have any stress and wasn't worried about anything but the doctor told me I don't need stress or anything to cause them. he said that if the serotonin is off in my brain then they can come on anywhere at anytime and I will not be able to control them. I carry Xanax now everywhere I go. It is the greatest med and takes care of my attacks.

 

I think my attacks may have come after I had been hospitilized for something else and I thought I was going to die. So for me I think the cause for my attacks are because I constantly think I have cancer or heart problems or a tumor. I am terrified that I am going to die young and I have so much I want to do in life and I can't imagine my hubby living without me.

 

There is a huge difference between just having anxiety and having a full blown anxiety/panic attack. I get sweaty hands and feet, tight chest, can't breath, dizzy, tingly, can't concentrate, and feeling like I am dying. Each one scares me to death and without Xanax I don't think i could handle them by myself. Anxiety attacks are the worst things ever and I get them sometimes when I am just out having fun with friends or at work and like I said they just come on out of the blue without me even thinking or worrying about something. I can be having the greatest time or be fully relaxed and here comes an attack. Fortunately, I don't get a full blown one everyday. Sometimes I will get them almost every day and then I can go weeks with out one at all.

[sb129]

 

I still have my moments of anxiety, but I know now how to handle them, I've learned how to face my fears by doing exposure therapy. CBT changes the way you think about things in a more positive light, rather than full of worry, negative and distorted thoughts.

!

 

Me too. Mine was related to depression. I was on prozac for six months and it really helped me get into a better space in my head where I was a bit more rational and positive.

 

Is your depression being dealt with StarryEyed? Anxiety and depression often go hand in hand, and probably should be dealt with together.

 

Glad to hear you have therapy.

[Starry-eyed]

Chillate and che jesse, you've both had stressful events that can precipitate anxiety/anxiety attacks. (family death and hospitalization) It seems like both of you have gotten help. Chillate, I know what you mean about Xanax basically being your best friend now - it helps so much! Because sometimes there just doesn't seem to be any behavioral/mental thing you can do to stop an attack. I use lorazepam, which is the same type of drug. My attacks and bouts of uncontrollable crying are really tapering off, and I am so thankful. But I still take my tranqulizers with me to work every day.

 

sb, yes, my anxiety is related to my depression, too, and I'm being treated for both. It's weird how the two conditions are so often related!

 

I feel that, with more time passing and processing of my life changes and getting more stable, my anxiety will lessen. It has really been helpful to me to know other people deal with it, too, and how it has affected other people. Sometimes you can feel so alone!