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Mental Health Anxiety Disorders MEGA thread

dude, i have an appnt in 1 week and i want to try lyrica. i have anxiety and am a junkie. im clean, on suboxone and lexapro. lex helps with anxiety but leaves me feeling flat in emotion. im hoping lyrica will allow me to drop my lex and sub dose. i have medicaid so im hoping its covered. im in ny, which state are you in? if public hc covers it for you i am very interested.
 
Sykoknot said:
A much needed bump ;)

I have been almost completely anxiety and depression free lately. Aside from very minor anxiety episodes that last only like 30 minutes. This has allowed me to enjoy the occasional stimulant, and also not worry as much about caffeine intake.

I have stopped exercising and meditating as much since I have been feeling better mentally. I think the anxiety was a good motivator. Hopefully I can get back into that habit to keep feeling better and better.

How is everyone else doing? ocean? azgaza? scott?
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Hey, I just saw this :)
How are you feeling now? Still on the up swing??

Things have been generally going really well for me this last month as far as depression goes......anxiety is another story though.
I'm still on Kpins and trying to bring in other ways of dealing with my anxiety.
Deep breathing in the car has been working pretty well-
The beginning of the year I had a LOT going on and it took me months to sort through it....... But things have been good recently. Hopefully I'm working through it as I should be........ :)

This morning was stressful for me so I am doing music therapy :)
Singing, deep breathing, listening to music is helpful.
I want to bring some spiritual practices into play to help but haven't yet......
Things are better than they have been in a long while though!
 
homeydontplaythat said:
dude, i have an appnt in 1 week and i want to try lyrica. i have anxiety and am a junkie. im clean, on suboxone and lexapro. lex helps with anxiety but leaves me feeling flat in emotion. im hoping lyrica will allow me to drop my lex and sub dose. i have medicaid so im hoping its covered. im in ny, which state are you in? if public hc covers it for you i am very interested.
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I live in Denmark, not in the US. There's probably not a state in the US with the same system, if that was the case then you probably wouldn't have had the big debate over public healthcare.

There are some side effects of lyrica, but so far I haven't really felt any of them. I started at 2*25mg a day and I'm now at 2*75mg and I can feel it working, so you might not need that much.
 
Tis good to read all the positive posts on CBT. I'm still waiting to get in for an appointment to start CBT. (Generalised Anxiety Disorder and Social Anxiety Disorder). Of course I thought CBT would just be a load of crap when I first got told about it, but am not so stubborn about it now :)
 
anyone know any medications that are helpful for benzo wtihdrawal



I hate being on so much medication i feel like i useless person. but my anxiety is so bad that i cannot function. NOTHING works for me other than pills. I cant meditate. The benzo withdrawal is making it a thousand times worse.
 
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i just got prescribed .25 of xanax. he said he wanted me to start so low cause i'm so sensitive to drugs. this medicine has changed my life already. I FEEL FUCKING CALM. i'm not tired. i took it two hours ago. i walk to the kitchen and realize i didn't have 30 thoughts on my mind on the walk there. wtf? this does exactly what adderall does for me, except doesnt cure the physical swaying/leg tapping. but i have the calmness it brought. this is crazy. i'm scared. i already don't want to go without one of these :/

dune, i've heard of people saying xanax worked well for benzo tapering? not sure though, good luck :(
 
xanax is too short acting for tapering in my opinion. plus im already off of them and it was a long journey so fuck going back lol. ive already lost a gf over this itd be aterrible waste to give up and go back on'

and please dont take the benzos everyday. no one should go through this. whatever you are going through before you start xanax you are gonna be wishing you had back when you are withdrawing. I thought my life was terrible before i started benzos again. LOL
 
duneplanet said:
xanax is too short acting for tapering in my opinion. plus im already off of them and it was a long journey so fuck going back lol. ive already lost a gf over this itd be aterrible waste to give up and go back on'

and please dont take the benzos everyday. no one should go through this. whatever you are going through before you start xanax you are gonna be wishing you had back when you are withdrawing. I thought my life was terrible before i started benzos again. LOL
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that's unfortunate.. i read about it being short acting, but haven't really noticed a wear off per say.. i'm really sorry you're going through this! i've been on so many medications too, this is the final one and my outlook going in on it is i've already suffered so much from other medication. and i've accepted i have serious anxiety. i think at this point i should worry about coming off it later, and just enjoy the peace while i can...

do you think if i keep taking my .25 everyday, i will be ok? i know my tolerance will build eventually, and i don't want that to happen. i've already considered taking it every other day, but this was the alternative to smoking $60 of weed a day :/

i know the feeling already of your 'normal' becoming shitty, and not being able to get back to there. but i can physically feel myself not tense on this medicine. i can hold full breaths in. ahhh
 
.25 wont be terrible to come off of but as you know a year from now it will not work at all. id still suggest to only take it 2 or 3 times a week
 
hey fellow anxiety sufferers. i have had an anxiety disorder all my life but one day in 2003 it got much worse and i broke down and things have never been the same since.

so im anxous every moment of every day and even when im sleeping. my muscles hurt, i get mad tingles all over, my head hurts, i cant think straight or hold a proper conversation. ive tried most medications and exercise and good diet and everything but theres no point. the only way im hoing to get better is to improve my life. thats why im back at university trying to get myself a proper career and stuff. my story :)
 
duneplanet said:
.25 wont be terrible to come off of but as you know a year from now it will not work at all. id still suggest to only take it 2 or 3 times a week
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i don't think i'm taking it anymore. i had to take two today. i took one and had a panic attack :/ so i took another. i can't get into another circle like this. i'd rather suffer, it is legit suffering though. i don't work or go to school because i feel impaired to do so

sigh
 
its a very good decision to stop taking it. im in the same boat with anxiety. Idk how im in school im not doing well. im very lonely too, every girl thats ever loved me now hates me and i have no one to call out to. itd be easier with some loving affection/embrace, but im on my own. i just got back from a bike ride it helps a little. i take 5 different medications i feel like such a useless person. i cant funcion without them. i feel like if i wasnt withdrawing lyrica/neurontin would have greatly helped my anxiety. wish my doc told me about them in the first place so i wouldnt be in this mess.
 
thank you. idk how you're in school either cause i walked on campus one day and withdrew the same day. what has been your experience in general with anxiety treatment? i know you said pills work, but what were some other things you tried? i feel the same way, that only pills make everyday tasks bearable. i read about lyrica not having the sedative and 'monotone' effects as other benzos, making it ideal in my case. xanax made me not enjoy things :/ i couldnt orgasm, wasn't really interested in my boyfriend in general. it's really sad. sorry you jhave to go through this bullshit too, far worse than i have it i know this.

my doctor prescribed me xanax with stomach medicine that increases benzos' sedative effect, and i find out the interaction should be "watched". wish my doc told me that:(

the best way I'd describe it is feeling like a robot, not useless. that gets me down when i think that. i just tell myself i can't help how i'm feeling right now and i know this isn't me, it sometimes helps. just remember tomorrow is always going to be a little better. Benedryl hits the H receptors and is used also for anxiety, have you tried that?
 
i hope tomorrow is better lol. bennadryl gives me dxm flashbacks. i feel like i took a low level psychedelic. not good for my already terrible hppd
 
So glad I found this thread.

I have been suffering from depersonalization/derealization and anxiety for about 6 months now. It all started when I experienced a very frightening, panic attack-inducing event during a 4-AcO-DET + JWH-018 trip. For the next few months, I experienced rather intense DP/DR which in turn made me very anxious. Like others have said in this thread, it really does seem like you've messed up your brain and will stay that way forever (I wrote a rather detailed thread on this, but I kinda lost track of it...). Anyway, it gradually got better as I focused my mind on well, living. I vividly remember spending so many days just worrying about my mind and having trouble integrating my physical experience with my mental one. I even contemplated suicide at one point...but did not attempt it because I was afraid that maybe if I committed suicide I would awaken myself from a dream. I would wake up in the middle of the night crying because the nightmares I would have seemed so real. I eventually broke that cycle and had greatly improved my mental state.

But a couple of months ago, I very stupidly decided to smoke some weed again (I was a daily smoker beforehand...never experienced anxiety on weed prior to my first panic attack). It immediately brought back the DP/DR and anxiety. Since then, I have been trying to restore myself to my previous state. It is a slow battle. It is hard to practice patience and realize that these things don't cure themselves overnight. Even now, just reading this thread raises my anxiety level a bit. And reading other people's accounts of DP/DR is completely out of the question -- it's like having a flashback. I still experience what I believe to be minor HPPD due to habitual psychedelic drug use for a short time before the first incident. I am not sure anymore, though -- I honestly cannot remember whether or not I experience tracers or if it is how I am "supposed" to perceive things. This also causes some anxiety sometimes. But overall, I have hope.

One of the things that is helping me is that I have recently started a social confidence course at my university. I have always had self-confidence issues, depression issues, and other little psychological "quirks" that undoubtedly are contributing to my current ailments. I am a very indecisive person, and resolving my self-confidence issues will make me confident/sure of myself and my physical experience on this planet.
 
^Welcome. As you can see, you are not the only one.

Overall, I also have a lot of hope, and I remain at a minimal dose of Valium for the most part along with intense therapy. I worry sometimes that I will never truly beat it. I couldn't cross a busy street yesterday and was intensely agoraphobic for about an hour. But then I pulled myself out of it and today I was able to walk the street I feared without any problems or noticeable anxiety.

Not all of my friends and family understand what it is to live with panic disorder. I would say most have a rough idea, as I am candid about it with the people in my life. I am proactive in dealing with it through medical treatment. It is a fact that I have a very independent nature; I want to be able to live a good and happy life without feeling as though I need to depend on drugs, therapists, or sympathetic souls to so do.

I am glad to read that your confidence is increasing; in addition to the university course, are you also seeing a therapist? Cognitive-behavioral therapy is what turned a lot of it around for me. Also Hakomi and NLP, but most of all, going out and confronting minor things that freak me out and create that bad adrenaline response in me... it's made all the difference. From your post, you seem like a very intelligent person with a lot of insight into your condition. Intelligence and insight together with support from your loved ones and a competent therapist will give you that dose of true courage you need to transcend the pain you feel right now.

My best to you, and again, welcome. You'll find a lot of support and a great community here. :)
 
I dont think anxiety is taken seriously enough by many people(and docs). There is a fine line between paranoia and anxiety, i often think people are talking about me and have a constant unreality, dream like feeling that never goes away. anxiety or paranoia? im not sure myself, can anyone explain the differences.
I might add that untill one experiences true anxiety they have no idea how disabiling it can be, as bad as being crippled physically imo.
 
Mariposa said:
^Welcome. As you can see, you are not the only one.

Overall, I also have a lot of hope, and I remain at a minimal dose of Valium for the most part along with intense therapy. I worry sometimes that I will never truly beat it. I couldn't cross a busy street yesterday and was intensely agoraphobic for about an hour. But then I pulled myself out of it and today I was able to walk the street I feared without any problems or noticeable anxiety.

Not all of my friends and family understand what it is to live with panic disorder. I would say most have a rough idea, as I am candid about it with the people in my life. I am proactive in dealing with it through medical treatment. It is a fact that I have a very independent nature; I want to be able to live a good and happy life without feeling as though I need to depend on drugs, therapists, or sympathetic souls to so do.

I am glad to read that your confidence is increasing; in addition to the university course, are you also seeing a therapist? Cognitive-behavioral therapy is what turned a lot of it around for me. Also Hakomi and NLP, but most of all, going out and confronting minor things that freak me out and create that bad adrenaline response in me... it's made all the difference. From your post, you seem like a very intelligent person with a lot of insight into your condition. Intelligence and insight together with support from your loved ones and a competent therapist will give you that dose of true courage you need to transcend the pain you feel right now.

My best to you, and again, welcome. You'll find a lot of support and a great community here. :)
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Thank you so much!!!! I can't begin to say how much your post means to me. I have had very severe social problems for a while now...have not made a new friend anywhere in more than 4 years (even online I can't seem to truly relate to others) so it is amazing to read such a welcoming post. The Dark Side has been very good to me.

I had been seeing a therapist at my university a few months ago, but we are only allowed a certain amount of sessions per year. Originally, I had gone in because my anxiety and DP/DR had become so intense and crippling. But apparently the university does not have a therapist who deals specifically with what I was experiencing, so I ended up with one that specializes in self esteem and other related issues. She hypothesized that my condition was related to underlying self esteem issues which I needed to address (I didn't totally agree at first), so we did.

I don't think I underwent any specific psychotherapeutic method like the ones you mentioned, it was mostly just talking. She wanted me to undergo EMDR but there was not adequate time for that.

Overall, it did temporarily help resolve the self esteem issues I had. But since I stopped going (the last session was about 3 months ago), I have somewhat fallen back into old patterns. It is very difficult to keep those feelings going when I don't have much of a support system. My family doesn't even know I have any problems at all, and I have just one very close friend I can occasionally talk to about these things. I wish I had your independent nature -- although I kinda have one of my own, it is not exactly by choice.

I really want to attempt something like CBT, but I have no money or insurance at all to pay for that. Maybe some day.

Again, thank you for your kind words. Your approach to your panic disorder is extremely encouraging. I hope to read more of your insightful posts in the future :)
 
I've posted about anxiety before, but not in this forum I think. Somehow I managed to miss this thread.

I've been dealing with increasing anxiety on and off for the past few years. I'm an independent person who finds it hard to reach out to others for help. I tried to deal with this on my own for a long time but I think I'm finally ready to take the leap and get professional help. It's way too tempting to turn to drugs for relief (my god that has to be one of the most beautiful words...). I've flirted with addiction to opiates and other drugs due in no small part to this anxiety I think. I just want this feeling to go away so badly, and I think I'm going to fuck myself over soon because I just don't see this getting better by wishing it away.

I've had the same GP since birth. He's a great man and I trust him wholly to make a good recommendation. But I have no experience with therapy and I'm wondering if other people would be willing to share some tips - some things they wished someone would have told them before they started therapy.
 
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