Anxiety

[urmotherwasahamster]

I'm really not sure if there is a thread already made about this, so sorry if there is, but I couldn't find it in search...and we all know how reliable that is

Anyway...

I've been diagnosed with severe social anxiety/phobia and GAD, as well as depression. I was wondering if anyone else suffered from it, what your story is, how you deal with it, etc? I just need some advice right now.

[highhappyfree]

I've suffered with severe social anxiety and depression for most of my life. As a teenager I dealt with it by getting wasted on alcohol and drugs to mask it and give me a false confidence - I don't advise going down that road.
As an adult my depression is a lot less apparent, mostly because of having my Fiancé, and also because I've learned to just cut out of my life anything that makes me unhappy - mostly people. The way I deal with social anxiety now is to just not put myself into situations that I feel anxious going into. The less I trust and know the people I'm going to be around, the more anxious I feel. I also feel the most anxious when I'm going to be around people or in places I was in/around when I was in the drug/alcohol phase because it brings back a lot of bad memories. I'm okay with just not going out and doing something I don't want to do because I'm an introverted person and being in my home with my Fiance or out with my family will always make me the most happy I can be, so I don't feel a need to force anything else. However, if you're not an introverted person and used to be social or miss being able to go out etc, you should look into cognitive behavior therapy, changing the way you think step by step is really the only way you can cure such disorders. I feel like anti-depressants just mask the situation rather than helping in the long run - although I've known them to help a lot with some people. and this may be a little controversial for some, but if you HAVE to be in a situation you really aren't comfortable with, smoking w*ed helps with anxiety like nothing I've ever known (and I don't count it as a drug).

I'm not really sure what else to say! Anything else you'd like to know/discuss?

[urmotherwasahamster]

I've suffered with severe social anxiety and depression for most of my life. As a teenager I dealt with it by getting wasted on alcohol and drugs to mask it and give me a false confidence - I don't advise going down that road.
As an adult my depression is a lot less apparent, mostly because of having my Fiancé, and also because I've learned to just cut out of my life anything that makes me unhappy - mostly people. The way I deal with social anxiety now is to just not put myself into situations that I feel anxious going into. The less I trust and know the people I'm going to be around, the more anxious I feel. I also feel the most anxious when I'm going to be around people or in places I was in/around when I was in the drug/alcohol phase because it brings back a lot of bad memories. I'm okay with just not going out and doing something I don't want to do because I'm an introverted person and being in my home with my Fiance or out with my family will always make me the most happy I can be, so I don't feel a need to force anything else. However, if you're not an introverted person and used to be social or miss being able to go out etc, you should look into cognitive behavior therapy, changing the way you think step by step is really the only way you can cure such disorders. I feel like anti-depressants just mask the situation rather than helping in the long run - although I've known them to help a lot with some people. and this may be a little controversial for some, but if you HAVE to be in a situation you really aren't comfortable with, smoking w*ed helps with anxiety like nothing I've ever known (and I don't count it as a drug).

I'm not really sure what else to say! Anything else you'd like to know/discuss?

I'm actually at my happiest when I'm by myself or with my boyfriend, so it really doesn't bother me much. But I'm still in school, so I'm always forced to be social and do things that I'm not comfortable with doing. But I guess when I get older I'll be able to do whatever I want, so that gives me a lot of hope

[highhappyfree]

Well the reason my social anxiety and depression started was because of school life for me. I had trouble fitting in at primary school (age 4-11) and then was bullied as soon as I started high school so I just stopped going and eventually changed schools a little into the second year. I got on well there for a little while and then the bullying started again so, once again, I refused to go. I then got put into a very tiny school (about 10 people) for people with medical conditions after being diagnosed with social anxiety and a phobia of school for my second-to-last year (age 14-15) and I loved it there. For my last year I was allowed to start college early, where I met lots of great people and through them my Fiancé. I had quite a good time through college, I was there for 3 years, but it was towards the end that I got involved with drugs and it all turned a bit sour. My anxiety is quite bad at the moment because of trouble with friends. But I''m 21 now so I deal with it a lot better.
As for forced social situations, I honestly can't give any advice because like I said, I just refused to even go to school. I didn't deal with it very well at all. Do you have any friends who you can talk to about your situation, or is it possible for your boyfriend to be with you in those situations? As for any social situations that are outside of school activities, my advice is to do what you feel the most comfortable doing. Your feelings should be the most important thing to you. If you can be in control of the situation i.e. leave whenever you want, it'll be easy for you to do so with no pressure to stay or it's safe for you to leave on your own etc, then maybe convince yourself to give it a go - you might be pleasantly surprised. I generally don't go into situations where I have to rely on other people for a lift home because I need to be able to leave on my terms. If I can easily escape I'm usually OK.

[urmotherwasahamster]

Well the reason my social anxiety and depression started was because of school life for me. I had trouble fitting in at primary school (age 4-11) and then was bullied as soon as I started high school so I just stopped going and eventually changed schools a little into the second year. I got on well there for a little while and then the bullying started again so, once again, I refused to go. I then got put into a very tiny school (about 10 people) for people with medical conditions after being diagnosed with social anxiety and a phobia of school for my second-to-last year (age 14-15) and I loved it there. For my last year I was allowed to start college early, where I met lots of great people and through them my Fiancé. I had quite a good time through college, I was there for 3 years, but it was towards the end that I got involved with drugs and it all turned a bit sour. My anxiety is quite bad at the moment because of trouble with friends. But I''m 21 now so I deal with it a lot better.
As for forced social situations, I honestly can't give any advice because like I said, I just refused to even go to school. I didn't deal with it very well at all. Do you have any friends who you can talk to about your situation, or is it possible for your boyfriend to be with you in those situations? As for any social situations that are outside of school activities, my advice is to do what you feel the most comfortable doing. Your feelings should be the most important thing to you. If you can be in control of the situation i.e. leave whenever you want, it'll be easy for you to do so with no pressure to stay or it's safe for you to leave on your own etc, then maybe convince yourself to give it a go - you might be pleasantly surprised. I generally don't go into situations where I have to rely on other people for a lift home because I need to be able to leave on my terms. If I can easily escape I'm usually OK.

I'm the exact same way! I actually started making myself sick (idk how, I just thought really hard and eventually got "sick") so I didn't have to go. I was actually threatened by the school board that if I didn't go, I would be put on SART, which is some kind of school program for people with truancy.

And again, I'm the same way with the social situations. I try to avoid going anywhere with a lot of people unless I'm with my boyfriend, because he calms me a lot. I call him my "Xanax" lol. But I actually challenge myself once in a while to do things that I'm uncomfortable with, and a lot of times I feel really motivated after. But most days when I'm at a low point, I just want to sit around my house and feel miserable, lol :/

[ikeepitrealok]

When I was in highschool I got taken out of school in an ambulance because I was having such a bad anxiety attack I pulled a muscle in my chest and I thought it was heart pains

[AN0N.]

It's funny that this thread is so recent

Last Wednesday I was clinically diagnosed with minor depression and social anxiety, with panic attacks
I was prescribed Effexor and I just started taking it, but I'm not too sure with it...

I have really bad anxiety in school or around people, and I'm quite depressed, mostly because of things I know I need to change but don't, I have horrible self esteem and overall bad outlook on life most of the time

I don't know, aren't we ALL fucked up at some point! We're human

[urmotherwasahamster]

It's funny that this thread is so recent

Last Wednesday I was clinically diagnosed with minor depression and social anxiety, with panic attacks
I was prescribed Effexor and I just started taking it, but I'm not too sure with it...

I have really bad anxiety in school or around people, and I'm quite depressed, mostly because of things I know I need to change but don't, I have horrible self esteem and overall bad outlook on life most of the time

I don't know, aren't we ALL fucked up at some point! We're human

Have you had any side effects from the drug?

[AN0N.]

I just started it today, this morning and my doctor said it won't start doing what it's supposed in about 4-6 weeks

But this morning after taking it my heart was beating out my chest, I had a really increased heart rate
And SUPER cotton mouth... I've been drinking bottles of water nonstop
Also I'm drowsy... like yawning

Weird
Also decreased appetite. Hungry but no appetite.

I've read HORRIBLE reviews/watched horrible videos on youtube about it so I'm kinda worried and not sure if it's for me, but it's just the first day... so IDK, I'll be sure to post more about it to let you know. I was told that the increased heart rate was just my own anxiety. My own psycho semantics. Sometimes I think all this shit is. lol

[urmotherwasahamster]

I just started it today, this morning and my doctor said it won't start doing what it's supposed in about 4-6 weeks

But this morning after taking it my heart was beating out my chest, I had a really increased heart rate
And SUPER cotton mouth... I've been drinking bottles of water nonstop
Also I'm drowsy... like yawning

Weird
Also decreased appetite. Hungry but no appetite.

I've read HORRIBLE reviews/watched horrible videos on youtube about it so I'm kinda worried and not sure if it's for me, but it's just the first day... so IDK, I'll be sure to post more about it to let you know. I was told that the increased heart rate was just my own anxiety. My own psycho semantics. Sometimes I think all this shit is. lol

While I agree that you should generally wait to see how a medication affects you, I'm pretty sure that isn't a good sign :/ I had bad reactions to Paxil and Celexa, and I had some of those symptoms that you described, though they were well after the 4-6 week period. I think you should talk to your doctor about it even if it seems like nothing. Have you taken any other medication?

[kittykat]

I just started it today, this morning and my doctor said it won't start doing what it's supposed in about 4-6 weeks

But this morning after taking it my heart was beating out my chest, I had a really increased heart rate
And SUPER cotton mouth... I've been drinking bottles of water nonstop
Also I'm drowsy... like yawning

Weird
Also decreased appetite. Hungry but no appetite.

I've read HORRIBLE reviews/watched horrible videos on youtube about it so I'm kinda worried and not sure if it's for me, but it's just the first day... so IDK, I'll be sure to post more about it to let you know. I was told that the increased heart rate was just my own anxiety. My own psycho semantics. Sometimes I think all this shit is. lol

Try having a piece of hard candy or a mint. It will help with that.

[AN0N.]

While I agree that you should generally wait to see how a medication affects you, I'm pretty sure that isn't a good sign :/ I had bad reactions to Paxil and Celexa, and I had some of those symptoms that you described, though they were well after the 4-6 week period. I think you should talk to your doctor about it even if it seems like nothing. Have you taken any other medication?

I know, she told me to keep a diary so I wrote it down

No i don't take anything else with this, but I have taken meds in the past that have had the same side effects

She did tell me these are pretty common side effects, especially cotton mouth (and i have a piece of candy in my mouth rn lol)

[urmotherwasahamster]

While I agree that you should generally wait to see how a medication affects you, I'm pretty sure that isn't a good sign :/ I had bad reactions to Paxil and Celexa, and I had some of those symptoms that you described, though they were well after the 4-6 week period. I think you should talk to your doctor about it even if it seems like nothing. Have you taken any other medication?

I know, she told me to keep a diary so I wrote it down

No i don't take anything else with this, but I have taken meds in the past that have had the same side effects

She did tell me these are pretty common side effects, especially cotton mouth (and i have a piece of candy in my mouth rn lol)

Well if you have those after 2 months then I would say never take it again haha

[AN0N.]

Ikr... that's why I went to the doctor in the first place. I was having spells of where I felt like I was going to pass out/shaking/increased heart rate/and hot flashes/... she told me I was stessed out, had high anxiety, and was having panic attacks. Diagnosed me with that and also mild depression.

Funny cause those are most of the side effects of the meds. lol

life.

[Angie V]

I haven't been diagnosed with anything because I can't say things that I'm feeling out loud to people, so I've never gone to the doctor or counseling or anything. At my college, they force you to call or come in person to make an appointment or talk to any of the counseling center doctors, and I'm way too afraid to do that. I do get panic attacks sometimes and I have heart palpitations several times a day these days. I also get these.... bouts of depressive behavior when I just shut myself in and cry and lay on my bed by myself for days at a time. Logically, I know it makes no sense. But in the moment, I can't think logically. I usually stay home as much as possible, so I guess I don't really deal with it very well. I do like to go places by myself, though. Like to the store or just walking around somewhere, just to be outside for a bit. But then when I am by myself too much, I get really lonely and that's when those depressive episodes happen. Idk, it's a cycle. Most, if not all, of my friends are either too busy to talk or have their own "problems" and just want to talk about themselves and assume I either don't have any problems or that I'm just exaggerating, so I stopped trying to talk to anyone about it.

[TaylorKnows]

I've never been diagnosed with depression, but after looking up symptoms, I just feel like I am. I have such high anxiety on top of it. I am so scared of saying things because sometimes I do and they come out so dumb. I also have a tendency of speaking for people I care about. I didn't even notice until I told my mom something for my friend this weekend and my friend said I had done it earlier. I was so anxious for like the next day and I'm still scared I'll say the wrong thing and ruined things. Today my friend's parents came to pick her up and it was like every word I was saying, I was so scared it was gonna be the wrong one. I get really, really anxious about losing my best friend. Like if she doesn't talk to me for a full day, I feel like there's something wrong. I also find myself kicking myself for stuff I did earlier and I replay it over and over, even things from YEARS ago (I once guilted my mom into spending most of the cash she had on her to buy me hermit crabs, she had more in the car but still it bothers me). I get so anxious about money. We're not rich but we're not poor, but I never want my parents to feel like they have to spend a lot on me. My birthday's coming up for example and my mom asked me what I want. I really need a new laptop so I just like barely hinted on it because I don't want to seem like a spoiled brat...it's so hard. I even get anxious over this site and that someone in my real life is gonna find this and see what I say about them in the rants...ugh...okay...rant over...

[urmotherwasahamster]

I've never been diagnosed with depression, but after looking up symptoms, I just feel like I am. I have such high anxiety on top of it. I am so scared of saying things because sometimes I do and they come out so dumb. I also have a tendency of speaking for people I care about. I didn't even notice until I told my mom something for my friend this weekend and my friend said I had done it earlier. I was so anxious for like the next day and I'm still scared I'll say the wrong thing and ruined things. Today my friend's parents came to pick her up and it was like every word I was saying, I was so scared it was gonna be the wrong one. I get really, really anxious about losing my best friend. Like if she doesn't talk to me for a full day, I feel like there's something wrong. I also find myself kicking myself for stuff I did earlier and I replay it over and over, even things from YEARS ago (I once guilted my mom into spending most of the cash she had on her to buy me hermit crabs, she had more in the car but still it bothers me). I get so anxious about money. We're not rich but we're not poor, but I never want my parents to feel like they have to spend a lot on me. My birthday's coming up for example and my mom asked me what I want. I really need a new laptop so I just like barely hinted on it because I don't want to seem like a spoiled brat...it's so hard. I even get anxious over this site and that someone in my real life is gonna find this and see what I say about them in the rants...ugh...okay...rant over...

Me in a nutshell.

[urmotherwasahamster]

Ikr... that's why I went to the doctor in the first place. I was having spells of where I felt like I was going to pass out/shaking/increased heart rate/and hot flashes/... she told me I was stessed out, had high anxiety, and was having panic attacks. Diagnosed me with that and also mild depression.

Funny cause those are most of the side effects of the meds. lol

life.

Yeah, I find a lot of times doctors just want to throw meds at you until you're "fixed" instead of getting to the root of the problem. It's funny because my doctor did the same, except he undermined and dismissed my problems, saying that I've always been depressed and my anxiety stemmed from it. When, in reality, it's the exact opposite. I've always had anxiety, but the effects that it had on my life made me depressed. Ugh. Fucking doctors.

[TaylorKnows]

I want to take meds because nothing works. I talk about it with people but they just tell me "Whatever happens is gonna happen" or they say "It won't ever happen, don't worry". So I feel like it's my resort. I've been looking up natural over the counter treatments like lavender oil to try out but idk. I'd like to take pills, but I want to be very careful. I know that the only way to get prescribed meds is to talk about it and I just don't want to talk to a professional. I'm done talking. I just want to feel better.

[urmotherwasahamster]

I want to take meds because nothing works. I talk about it with people but they just tell me "Whatever happens is gonna happen" or they say "It won't ever happen, don't worry". So I feel like it's my resort. I've been looking up natural over the counter treatments like lavender oil to try out but idk. I'd like to take pills, but I want to be very careful. I know that the only way to get prescribed meds is to talk about it and I just don't want to talk to a professional. I'm done talking. I just want to feel better.

All you need to do is make an appointment with your doctor and they will diagnose you/prescribe you medication