I suffer with terrible anxiety. Where to?

LegacyUser

I've been suffering from severe anxiety all my life and it's finally reached the point where it's beginning to damage my career, relationship and friendships. It's particularly affecting my job, where I hardly speak to my colleagues anymore and freeze up every time my boss speaks to me. I constantly feel anxious and afraid.

Where can I go to seek help? I'm tired of being like this and letting it hold me back, miss great opportunities in life. A friend of mine has given me Xanax a few times when it was really bad and it helped so much. I understand that is only a short term solution but I think I need something like that immediately. I would also like to explore the possibility of cognitive behavioural therapy in the long term.

Where do I go? Can I speak to a GP? How difficult is it to get immediate relief? I really don't know where to turn. Already I'm getting anxious about another day in work.

glued

You need to book an appointment with a doctor and ask to be referred to a Psychiatrist. Keep the head up and look forward fo sorting your anxiety out. I know plenty of people who suffered terrible with anxiety who are now as calm as anyone.

There are plenty of long term solutions to treat anxiety such as Prozac. Don't worry dude, you'll be fine. Book an appointment ASAP and get it sorted out.

AndonHandon

Avoid caffeine, smoking and alcohol. Try to get a good night's sleep always too.

LegacyUser

Go to your GP! They can prescribe anti depressants which should greatly lessen your anxiety. Best of luck xxx

The Bishop Basher

As above, speak to your GP as a first port of call and they can prescribe you some medication in the short term.

I suffered from crippling anxiety for over 12 years and was on xanax for most of that time.

Be careful of Doctors though as they do tend to throw pills at you. I was put on anti depressants at one stage and the side effects were worse then anxiety itself. I didn't stay on them long and realised I was on my own and had to figure it out myself.

Ultimately it was a combination of lifestyle and mental aproach. CBT was a huge help as was hypnotherapy. I gave up alcohol and started excercising regularly. Councelling may also help if there are underlying issues causing the symptoms.

What it really boils down to in the end is that the anxiety is driven by fear. Fear of an attack in public, fear of driving, fear of flying etc. Once you start to feel the panic, you tense up and the fear of the impending attack feeds it further. It's self perpetuating.

CBT can help you lose the fear of the attack and once that goes, the anxiety will dissipate. Sounds simple and it is. I was astounded at how easy it was to get rid of it in the end but it took me 12 years to get there.

Bottom line is don't give up. I am now completley free of this curse and you can be too. Try anything and everything but don't wait for a doctor to tell you. Do it yourself and i hope you find the relief you need.

Best of luck.

ongarboy

OP, is there a friend or family member you can confide in about your anxiety? While they may not be trained to provide the medical or psychological assistance you may need, just knowing someone you respect acknowledges and empathises with your situation should help you not feel alone or completely helpless about it and can be someone you can turn to during particularly troubling periods.

I would also strongly recommend that you seek counselling as you've already described how this is adversely affecting all the important aspects of your life (friendships, relationships, work). You may be encouraged to try CBT or your psychotherapist/counsellor may feel another approach might work better for you as CBT does not work for everyone (particularly if there are more complicated or deep rooted underlying issues or symptoms that are creating your anxiety).

Ensure you get in touch with an accredited counsellor that is IACP or IAHIP affiliated as there are quite a few unregulated counsellors out there that may not be able to offer you the expertise that you need to help you.

Rubberchikken

speak to your gp. go in with an open mind. as others have said, some doctors will just hand out pills. this may not be what you want so keep other options e.g.cbt, counselling, in mind when you speak to gp.

take care

SATSUMA

Sorry to hear you're suffering.

As already mentioned, go and see your GP, they deal with this everyday and can provide you eith a cert for time of work yo give you space if you need it. Therapy is ideal too as it's lovely to have that support and try and get to the root of the issue. Medication wont do that but will enable you to look at any possible causes. Aware do weekly meetings which include people with anxiety, check out their website for general info also.

It must be a horrible feeling but know that you are not alone and there is a better way for you to feel, you just need a little help at the moment.

Best of luck OP