I'm having scary thoughts

[Annabel]

Hi, I had a stressful incident at work that has now triggered severe Anxiety. I had a scary OCD thought last night which I sometimes think about from time to time and able to put it out of my mind but now that I have Anxiety, it's made the Anxiety so much worse that a my heart is racing and I can't sleep at all! Last night I had a panic attack and I'm feeling extremely drained today. I've started on medication and been taking them for 4 days, I'm wondering if I need to increase this dose? I'm worried about my racing heart as I'm 46 years old so thinking that it can't be good for me at my age. I distract myself as much I can and going out and keeping myself busy but when I get home, the Anxiety is still quite overwhelming. If there any advice as to what I should do next and if I should increase my Anti-depressant? Thankyou. xo Annabel.

[Starwolf]

Hi Annabel, welcome back to the forums.

Sorry to read about this unwelcome development. Anxiety is so scary and disruptive...I was plagued by it many years. My heart goes out to you.

Medication takes a while to kick in. 4 days is still early days. I wouldn't increase the dose without consulting your prescribing doctor. If you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to keep her/him informed. We're all different so respond differently to medication. Tweaking dosage without supervision can have disastrous results.

Have you looked into mindfulness ? Persistent practice is a good antidote for anxiety. A great complement to medical treatment. Smiling Mind is a helpful app to download.You could also google Relaxed Body Scan and Relaxed breathing.

Kindest thoughts.

[Slipstream_SS]

Hi Annabel

The Social Phobia i suffer from only happens during certain cases that trigger it, like meetings, doing things infront of ppl. ie filling in paperwork. When that happens i get Panic Attacks, and what ive found that helps me with Panic Attacks is Beta Blockers..

I dont know if im steeping over the line here, and in no way am i recommending these but for me there a life changer. Beta Blockers slow the Adrenal Glad which has dramatic effects on a racing heart. Like i say though talk to someone who knows a whole lot more then me...

CK

[geoff]

hi Annabel, have you been able to sort out this incident that has triggered your anxiety, otherwise it's always going to be a problem.
As much as you don't feel relaxed 4 days is normally too early to even consider increasing the dosage, and your doctor wouldn't even contemplate doing this, because they want to see if this medication is going to be helpful or not.
Perhaps the best solution is for you to take a week off, and that's what your doctor can do now is give you a certificate,this will allow time for the medication to begin to work. Geoff.

[Annabel]

After some time, I want to give an update to Beyond Blue and say Thank you to Geoff, Starwolf, Slip Stream SS an others who have given me support and great advice. I was surprised how the scary obsessive Thought went away much quicker this time then last time back in 2014 triggered from grief of my friend's death by cancer. I had 3 scary thoughts over that time, fortunately, the mind can only handle 1 terrible scary thought at a time! The 3rd one I will share, it was my Heart was beating faster then usual and I was convinced I had done something to my heart! I went back to work after my husband told me "well if you don't go back to work, we'll lose the house!" So, I was on the bus on the way to work and I had this attitude if I have a heart attack at work or on 1 of the city streets atleast they can get an ambulance to me quick! I used humour over that first couple weeks and thought Oh my poor heart! no one else knew that's exactly how I was thinking! I got better after a couple of weeks thinking I'm done with this now, it must be anxiety and it reduced and went away. On the 2nd March 2017 (3 years later) triggered from a stressful incident at work, the first original thought was triggered by a stressful incident at work and I had a panic attack that night, that thought I won't share but thankfully it only lasted 2 days as I was so determined to not let my mind win! I just took my car into the Auto place, walked home, ate a yummy lunch, went to a social gathering and spoke to a few nice people there and Wow, I felt more relaxed that night. I woke up the next morning, Oh Thank goodness the intensity of that scary thought has reduced! I had such relief Yes I don't have to have another long duration off work which we can't afford anyway! I have learnt a lot about Mental health due to it actually happening to my mind and at times when I feel that bizarre scariest thought coming on, I actually use humour and go oh well, there's nothing I can do and I did the best I could anyway! That helps me and being kind and understanding to other people too and give back love and smile! I now have another post about nervousness and Anxiety which has escalated due to Stress in my work place so I will be posting that under Anxiety as I need advice again from BB! Love u Beyond Blue! xo Annabel