Here it goes....

Ok, here goes nothing... My name is Brooke and i am 19 years old and have been suffering general anxiety and panic attacks for the past 8 months. As a result of my anxiety i developed depression :( I have also had ocd from a very yong age...
My anxiety causes me to be extremely hypervigilent and i convince myself that there is something terribly wrong with me and that i am going to die, which i'm sure as you all know is very scary. It seems stupid when i see what i'm writing but i am so terrified that i have multiple sclerosis, that i'm going to have a brain anurysm, get cancer and lots of other horrible things. I have given up work as i couldn't handle going there, i no longer study as i am too afraid, and have very poor concentration. I avoid going to clubs, shopping centres, and well i guess most places. I was on medication, an antidepressant/anxiety pill in one called arapax, but i stopped taking it as i fell pregnant, only to loose my baby at 12 weeks, another downer... I don't think the medication helped that much anyway. I see a psycologist every week, which seems to have helped a bit, but self-talk and relaxation rarely work. I begin worrying that i am unwell as soon as i wake up in the morning, also not a nice feeling. I guess the thing that bothers me the most is that i feel light headed and dizzy most of the time and that i can't concentrate on anything. Do others feel this way?
I would love so much to hear back from anybody at all....
Thanks for taking the time to read this...
Brooke

hi brookie! hope your doing ok today and thanks for the reply on my thread.

when i was 19 i had an anxiety and depression episode very similar to yours. the good news is that even though it has came back over the years it has never been as bad as the first time. as i got older i got a slightly better handle on things and knew that if i got better once i could do it again. hopefully things will turn out this way for you.

regarding not going anywhere i would suggest trying to do a very little bit of exposure any day that u feel up to it. recently i've been off work and tend to stay at home a lot but today i've went for a couple of walks (just to get back into the world!). i'm not going back to work till im ready but i know that having a routine can really help an anxious person.

the dizzy thing could be due to not breathing slowly enough and also make sure you eat plenty. to put your mind at ease why not have a check up for your blood pressure etc? most of your symptoms will be due to nerves only im sure.


anyway , take care and know that u can get better from from this crappy illness!!:D


graham

hey there. i too have many of the same symptoms and fears as you. over time though i have become more able too 'reason' with myself that it is just (such an easy thing to say,but hard to live with!) anxiety,

i had a baby girl 7 weeks ago and this has made my symptoms harder to deal with. think it was alot to do with the hormonal changes that occured. this may well have affected you, plus the grief of loosing your baby.

goal setting and relaxation really helped me, but you need to be quite dedicated to keep at it.

lisa:)