Feeling very anxious and if i can cope with this new normal

[Shanny63]

Hi everyone, i live in rural Victoria, i have suffered from social anxiety and health anxiety for over 20 years. This whole coronavirus scenario is like my worst nightmare come true. I wake up every morning and read everything i can find about the virus and the death tolls. I’m making myself a nervous wreck. I am staying home. I haven’t left the house in 9 days now. I have some health conditions that mean that I could become very ill if i contracted the virus or even die from it. I’m 56 just wanted to say hi and I’m looking for some support..

[mocha delight]

Hi shanny63 I think this latest drama is not helping any of us and in fact it’s really doing my head in. And the worst thing is the week before this all started I started on a antidepressant (first time I’ve ever been on one to) so this is my second week on it as of today. My gp agrees that it looks like I’ve got depression but not officially diagnosed with depression yet (and I think I have anxiety to). Had my second phone appointment to what with how everything is and I found out that I now can’t get in to see a psychologist as all those kind of professionals aren’t taking on new patients right now because of corona virus. So I’m annoyed at myself that I did not take that option while I could of 😔. Oh and welcome to the forums & if you ever need to chat I’m here plus I’m a good listener to.

[jess334]

Hi Shanny63,

I just wanted to say that you're not alone. I'm terrified of the current situation. It feels like everything is out of our control. I'm lucky that I'm not in immediate danger myself, but I keep wondering how many funerals I'll be attending (or not due to the restrictions) this year.

I can't get away from the COVID-19 news completely, as I am helping my workplace manage through this. But I have stopped reading the news when I am at home. I can't cope with the constant barrage of bad news.

Mocha delight - I hope you're doing ok with your medication. I started on antidepressants last year and the first 2 weeks were the worse. After that I felt like I was slowly getting better and by week 6 I felt almost as good as new (until all this COVID-19 stuff started).

Jess

[mocha delight]

Thanks Jess334 for your reply I’m all good with it and only side effects I’ve gotten is a slightly dry mouth & feeling like I’ve had to much coffee and/or sugar 😂