Hi there,
The history:
I went to the doctor about 4 years ago after I left school and started my first job; I was really nervous about going to work, I couldn't sleep before it, I had an upset stomach during it, I felt apprehensive and paranoid. I explained my symptoms to the doctor who, after writing in her book told me that it sounded like anxiety, but went on to say that she wasn't a ';wizard'; and didn't have a ';magic potion'; to make it go away, and suggested that I go rent a book about it from the library.
It took a lot for me to go to the doctor to speak about it, and since I have never visited the surgery for fear of being treated like I was wrong for booking myself in to talk about such a stupid thing.
The present:
I am now 20 years old and I think that I am alienating myself from the world because it has got too much for me to cope with.
I have tried telling myself to shut up and that it's all in my head but it has been getting progressively worse.
I can't walk anywhere public on my own without being paranoid that I look stupid or their is something wrong with the way I walk, so I spend time telling myself I walk properly. Then spend time telling myself to shut up.
As I approach someone, or vice versa I start to feel light headed and shakey, I sweat and I can I can't stop thinking about what they might think of me. this feeling is multiplied if there is a group.My breathing is short and my thoughts are erratic.
I want to take another route so that I will pass as little people as possible.
I've stopped going in to town because I feel suffocated by my own thoughts and my perceptions of the thoughts of what people think of me.
Social situations are a problem too, I do go out with my friends, but I only go someplace if i am with my friends on entry so I'm not alone.
I find it hard to talk to new people, and when I force myself to, I am still thinking about what they will think about what I might say so conversation is always at a minimum.
If i'm ever left with someone new on my own, I freak out and jut want to be on my own agai, because my head goes into over load with what I should say and what they think of me.
It has destroyed my sex life. I can't get intimate because of this, I feel inferior and go into anxiety melt down when with a girl.
There are two things that ';solve'; my problems though:
When I drink to intoxication, I get chatty, people warm to me, I feel great.
I have found that when I take extacy, I have been the ';popular'; one and again I feel great, I make new friends, I wish it was like this all the time.
But this is short lived, and it will kill me to keep using the above as an excuse to be normal.
I never go to bed without feeling rubbish, I never get to sleep until 3-4 through thinking about it night after night, and asking myself if it's the right time to go to the GP, or do something, anything to shake this off.
Am I just making life difficult for myself or could something actually be wrong? Can a GP do anything?
I really appreciate your help.
Thank you.Severe Anxiety: Seek Medical Advice or Get On With It?
Avoidant personality disorder and/or social anxiety disorder (or social phobia, if you prefer) seem very likely, with social anxiety disorder as the most probable (unless they are comorbid), because it seems that just the thought of social situations makes you anxious.
I've always been a shy guy myself, but I find that being around my own friends has helped get more comfortable around strangers, and I still do get a little nervous at malls or in public. Slowly pushing yourself to go out around strangers more and more (and with fewer of your own friends) can help you get past it as well. You'll realize that most of the time, nothing will go wrong, and even if something does go wrong and embarrasses you, the anxiety and anticipation of embarrassment is much worse than actually being embarrassed.
If you prefer to avoid therapy, Wikipedia states that:
';Many people choose to self-medicate using legally available nutritional supplements. One such supplement believed to benefit sufferers of social anxiety is L-tryptophan, an amino acid that serves as a building block in natural production of serotonin. L-tryptophan also should be taken with vitamin B6 to aid conversion to serotonin and to avoid B6 depletion.';
Don't rely on alcohol or ecstasy, because it could lead to addiction and substance abuse.Severe Anxiety: Seek Medical Advice or Get On With It?
Oh, you poor thing! That doctor was no help at all and did not represent his profession very well...he certainly broke his oath of ';do no harm';, because it took all your nerve to even see the doctor, and then he blew you off and never even realized that you were anxious enough to need medication and a referral to a therapist.
Kate, above gave you great advice--I do think therapy could help...a GP could definitely prescribe you an anti-anxiety medication, though a psychiatrist would be a good choice for assigning anti-depressants, getting a good dosage assigned to you...and do realize it sometimes takes a month or two to adjust the dosage, and sometimes one medication might not work, and so another one must be tried.
A good anti-anxiety medication that works well, and doesn't take a long time to begin it efficacy is BuSpar (Buspirone)...it's generic version is $4 per month at both Target and Wal-Mart pharmacies in the U-S.
Hang in there, and remember, if you get rubbish for advice from a doctor, always seek a second opinion. Most insurance companies will pay for that.
Good luck; I hope you are soon feeling better!
i would like to suggest that you have someone help you find a good hypnotherapist. the level of anxiety you describe is something that cannot go unchecked, which is evidenced by the fact that you are self medicating with alcohol. i understand the temporary sense of relief you feel by doing so, however you must find a constructive pattern of behavior. my experience with hypnosis for treatment of severe anxiety %26amp; panic was so profound that i refer to my therapist as my hypno-saviour. i hope you can have a similar experience at your tender age, so you may stop suffering %26amp; realize your true worth.
It was absolutely wrong of your former doctor to just blow you off like that. Anxiety is a real, very difficult condition and the way they treated you was terrible. True, there is no ';magic potion';, but that doesn't mean there aren't a lot of things that doctors can do to help you manage your anxiety.
It sounds like your anxiety is at a point where it has taken over your life and altered everything you do - what you say, where you go, what you do, who you do it with, the substances you take to try and self-medicate for this disorder. That isn't something you can just ';get over'; - as someone who has struggled with anxiety for a lifetime, I absolutely understand. I have been there too - drinking to dampen the grip of anxiety on my mind, smoking pot to chill me out and make me feel at ease in social situations. You feel like there is nothing you can do for yourself so you have to take whatever you can to take the edge off of your nerves.
Anxiety like this is painful to live with, but fortunately it is very, very treatable. There are several different options for you, and you do NOT have to keep living your life like this. I have walked the back roads to avoid seeing people, I have driven the long way to stay out of traffic not because it annoyed me but because I would have a full-blown panic attack from the ';trapped'; feeling, I have canceled dates and blown off friends who I loved dearly because of the overwhelming panic. But you can get treatment and get past this.
There are many anti-anxiety medications out there that you can try, as well as a really great form of therapy called cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT is a form of therapy that addresses your thoughts and actions, and by helping you restructure your thoughts, changes your actions and allows you to break the cycle of anxiety. CBT is extremely effective in treating all forms of anxiety, whether it's generalized, social, panic disorder, OCD, etc. and often allows you to live the rest of your life without anxiety or medication. It is a long process (usually 12-16 weeks) and it takes a lot of effort on your part, but you absolutely can do it and it can change your life.
I would suggest you start by visiting your GP again and asking for a psychiatric referral. Talk to the psychiatrist (who is a mental health specialist and much more apt to treat you than the GP) about your anxiety, and listen to what they have to say about it. If you are interested in the cognitive-behavioral therapy, bring it up to them and ask if they can refer you to any clinics or psychologists in your area that perform CBT. Some patients don't need medication, while for others a combination of meds and CBT is the best way to start off therapy, allowing them to slowly wean off the meds throughout the course of the therapy.
Good luck!
this is so sad. i suffer from anxiety too, but its not as bad as your case.
sometimes you just have to force yourself to do things or else your anxiety will get worse. all of your fears and negative thoughts are all in your head.
maybe try going to group therapy or a seminar on how to get over your anxiety.
i hoped this kinda helped and i hope you get better.
napoleon perdis
