Anxiety

[Out of Order]

I can't really suggest much in the way of help fushingfeef, but I do wish you all the best in whichever course you decide to follow.

You certainly add a lot to this message board that much I will say!!

[Sundrop]

PM me, Bob....I have lots to say about anxiety and meds.
I suffered from anxiety/depression for years, have taken meds since 1998.....never had any "adverse side effects".....however, most of my problems were solved with my divorce. ♥

[fushingfeef]

I am truly bowled over by the kindness of you all! I really should have spoken up sooner, there is all this support right here under my nose this whole time! Seriously, to each one of you, thank you for caring, sharing your stories, and showing your concern. I can really feel the love coming from this board, once again. I shouldn't be surprised.

Atomic, this thread is for everyone, not just about me--I'm just the one who started the thread, that's all. Like you said, it does feel a bit better just to put it out there, doesn't it? Sounds like you could be seeking out help too (I won't say "should"...lord knows I waited long enough to help myself, and I have insurance so I had no excuse!)

I'm taking everything under advisement...something will end up working, at least I hope so.

[PatInTheHat]

something will end up working, at least I hope so.

Whooops, there ya go again.
Don't sweat it brother, really, and ya know somethin' else, you as a father, a good father (hey I can tell, I know things about peoples ya know), a father of two beautiful, smart, and oh so talented daughters, I might be disappointed in ya if'n ya weren't.

[TalkingHead88]

So many of us suffer from anxiety and depression, just remember in the end everything will be okay. The Law of Attraction might help as well. You know what is crazy? Specific regional areas give me anxiety. I was born and raised in the St. Louis area, which I have respect for in several aspects. However, I always viewed St. Louis as an R rated version of Everybody Loves Raymond. Let that simmer for a sec. Grocery stores in that area would jump start my anxiety quicker than anything. I have a habit of absorbing the environment around me and I felt some negative ions floating around, not to mention the sizable mental health facility that is prominent in that area.

Does anyone here suffer from anxiety (or at least anyone willing to talk about it?) I have been having a lot of anxiety for the past year and half, occasionally having attacks that leave me almost unable to function (I had a doozy last week where I pretty much had to flee the office). I've tried everything (meditation, exercise, deep breathing, etc.) and while it has sometimes helped me cope in the short term, the anxiety always comes back. What is frustrating is that it is generalized anxiety and not caused by any one thing that I can put a finger on. Any reason will do.

I'm finally throwing in the towel and admitting I have a real problem here that is not going to just go away by itself. Yesterday I spoke with a counselor on the phone for an hour. And I'm going to see my medical doctor tomorrow.

I'm concerned about medications, if I decide to go that route. One worry I have is that they'll prescribe a medication that could change my personality, or have bad side effects. I don't want to become dependent on a drug to function each day, and I don't want my creative energies sapped away. My thought is, I didn't need anything to get through some of the roughest parts of my life, so why should I need something now when I don't really have any major problems to worry about? But, I think it was this attitude that prevented me from looking for help in the first place.

Anyway, if anyone out there wants to talk about their experiences with anxiety, anxiety attacks or anxiety medications, I would really appreciate it--particularly if you've found something that helps. This isn't the kind of thing I would discuss with my poker buddies in person but I feel like I'm able to open up to the members of this board.

[Todash]

PM me, Bob....I have lots to say about anxiety and meds.
I suffered from anxiety/depression for years, have taken meds since 1998.....never had any "adverse side effects".....however, most of my problems were solved with my divorce. ♥

I laughed at this ... but I felt guilty for laughing.

[Neesy]

Yes I have had some experience of anxiety at times. Lorazepam or Ativan can help but is not really recommended long term (or perhaps another benzodiazapine) I probably spelled that last one wrong and being a medical transcriptionist I should have it memorized by now! The other suggestions already given are great. Best of luck with dealing with it. Better living chemically as they say... I found that my anxiety actually lessened when given enough time alone to relax. Maybe spending some "me" time might help you with your problem (just a suggestion). Everybody's different (thank God for that!)

[GNTLGNT]

...all the best my old friend....Bob, I tip my bowler to you for acknowledging you have a need for help...I struggled to admit, and seek help for my depression-and man, what a relief when I did...so many here have great advice, and you KNOW we have your back...much love brother...

[Todash]

I've been thinking. Yesterday, I pm'd fushingfeef a link to a new blog a dear friend of mine just happens to be writing. This friend has been suffering from major depression and anxiety for years. Like many people who struggle with these issues, most of his friends and family had no idea. For a long time, he had no idea. My husband (who has ongoing issues himself) is reading a book that posits, and I believe it, that at any given time, one in five people is suffering from some form of depression. At any given time. That means that if you are sitting in a room of 100 people, 20 of them are experiencing some form of depression. Many of those people (and probably some who aren't depressed) also experience anxiety disorders; the two often go hand in hand.

Anxiety and depression--which is more accurately characterized as the lack of feeling, not necessarily feeling sad--are harmful in and of themselves, but what makes them worse is that they are difficult to recognize and name; that despite being more than twice as common as diabetes, they feel like a personal struggle no one else could understand; and that there is still--STILL--so much shame and stigma attached that many people don't seek help, even after they do understand something is wrong.

The point of all this is that although my friend Ron began his blog as a form of therapy for himself, reading about someone else's struggle to overcome a broken brain can be helpful for others as well, because it can help us put a name to something we hadn't been able to before, and (perhaps even more importantly) it lets us know that we really are not alone. I talked to him yesterday, and he was extremely pleased with the idea that his writing might be able to help someone else. With Ms. Mod's blessing, therefore, I am posting the link to his first post, where he talks about the new medications that are one of the tools he's using to overcome this, and the fears that go along with that (will they work? will they change who I am?). It's a chronological blog with flashbacks, so if you want to read it, and I can't recommend it highly enough, the best place to start is at the beginning: http://blackdogsun.com/three-blue-bottles-3/. Warning: The blog starts gently but becomes brutally honest rather quickly. His experience has been, at times, extreme. But if you have struggled with depression, numbness, anxiety, self-medicating with alcohol, and/or thoughts of suicide--or if you know someone who has--parts of it will likely feel familiar, even if your own struggles have been less intense.

And if you don't think this applies to you, I would ask a question that has recently been posed to me, a question that, to my surprise and dismay, I was unable to satisfactorily answer: when is the last time you felt true joy?

[Sundrop]

I laughed at this ... but I felt guilty for laughing.

Don't feel guilty.....I'm glad ya got a laugh from it.

Heck, the day the judge signed the divorce, I ran up the street shouting "Free at last, free at last....." I felt it was appropriate