I have generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) along with moderate to severe social anxiety disorder (SAD). I take xanax 0.5 mg 5 times per day, which to me is a lot, but it is the only way for me to cope. I hate it because it makes me so fatigued, but it is the only way. Anyone else deal with this? I hate knowing I depend on pills (even though they're santioned by a doctor), just to get through my day. I dread reaching for meds just to halfway "cope."
I know how you feel. I take Prozac 20mg once a day, and it feels like a slap in the face sometimes knowing that I'm not sure whether or not I could make it without these pills. But at the same time, I know why they're there. They're not there to make the tightrope of life wider and easier to walk on. They're there to keep you from looking down. I know how it is. I have social anxiety and clinical depression. Or at least I did. I'm not so sure anymore, but it's probably because of the Prozac. Just take it one day at a time. Eventually, you'll be able to wean yourself off of them with the help of your doctor. Are you also seeing a therapist? That's helped me a lot. I've learned to pull myself back to a more rational state when my anxiety flares up, too. Just stop and ask yourself, "Why do I feel this way? What's triggering this?" Then go from there. If you can talk yourself down in the heat of panic and recognize what's going on, it's a nice little personal victory you can remind yourself of later. I wish you the best. (*hug*)
Thank you! I've been on prozac and the SSRI class of drugs do help, but also have side effects I do not like. One of the really tough things about xanax is if I have a day I am feeling "good," I still have to take the xanax because my body experiences withdrawl symptoms such as pounding headaches if I skip a day or two. I wish I could take prozac or a similar drug again, but even at 10mg, I experienced some side effects, (which I am embarassed a bit to admit...but I'll do it anyway...it caused "sexual dysfuntion").
The side effects I've gotten from Effexor (an SNRI) so far would be: nightly sweats, vivid dreams, trouble with arousal and orgasm, and dry mouth -- fairly typical. Compared to where I was before, though, this is Heaven. Lexapro was giving me suicidal urges and making sleep very difficult, so whenever I take my pills, the thought is usually, "This is a necessary step, if we want to avoid relapse." That, and the withdrawal symptoms for this drug is BRUTAL, which is to be expected by one so powerful and effective.
Yeah, I hate SSRI's, but I can't take benzodiazepines like Ativan because they make me paranoid and angry. SSRI's used to make me want to kill people, not because I hated them, but because I was curious, I guess. They don't anymore, though, for some reason. I was out of Prozac for about a week after taking it for months, and I had some weird symptoms. And yeah, some psychiatric drugs are known to cause sexual dysfunction.
Well I am on a right old cocktail... Fluoxetine + Mirtazapine + Escitalopram and occasional diazepam (all at once) can you believe it ??!! And I still feel stressed... sigh it basically sucks.
Fellow sufferer here, Unfortunately mine is genetic and I'll be with it for the long run! I have never used pills, But using them isn't a sign of any weakness, It's a hard disorder to have, And any sort of help you can get is good help, I just opted out from medicine as I wanted to create my own mental defenses! I find that being logical works best for this type of disorder, And not to seek affirmation from others, What you do when you feel the anxiety well up, Is take a deep breath, Take out those facts you have in your head, Combat EACH and every worrisome thought with the FACTS you have, Allow yourself to realize this IS an anxiety attack, As that's the first step in convincing that over thinking brain of yours that the worries are irrational. Usually this works, If all else fails, Take a small nap Good luck!
All very great tactics and I use them, too. I am really trying to supplement my meds with more natural approaches such as breathing exercises (which I always dismissed as "ridiculous" before I actually gave it a well attempt). I also started St. Johns Wort (supposedly a natural antidepressant) and some other vitamins containing anti-anxiety qualities. I try very much to use logic; but anxiety isn't always based in logic, but still it is helpful to use, when employed effectively. Thanks for sharing.
another thing I've found helpful is to bring around a (paper) notebook in which I write down all my worries as they come.
I used to take Paxil for anxiety. It made me feel so draggy that I quit taking it Telling myself things aren't as bad as they seem usually works for me. Taking a shower makes my mood better too. However some days I'm just in a fog.
I've had anxiety myself since I was ten years old. It was well managed naturally up until about two years ago. Was only told in the past year by a therapist at university that I do indeed have moderate to severe GAD, as it was triggered by the stress in my personal life. At its worst, nothing I did worked. I didn't want to be on medication because for the longest time I was able to manage it on my own. But then suddenly, I cut all the stress out of my life, and it all went back to being pretty manageable. I take at least two supplements that help with mood, and it has kept me pretty even keel. I do figure though if it ever occurs again though, then I will get evaluated for medication. But right now at this point, I feel it's still manageable enough for me to really not need medication. My goal lately has been to eat right and sleep right and cut back on my caffeine intake(I cut back after last semester, I went from drinking one to two cups of coffee to three to four last semester and it messed with my adrenals I believe).
