Hi Everyone I'm New!

[frankie96]

Hi all,

I'm a new member and not too sure how to do this but here it is 🙂

I'm 20 years old and suffer from severe anxiety, depression and panic attacks. I've been seeing a psychologist for about 5 months now after struggling with this illness for the past 4 years. I was and still am very embarrassed about how hard I find simple things like walking to the grocery store, meeting up with friends etc. and have only just begun talking to my family about it, though my parents are still finding it hard to understand which I though would happen - I still find it hard! But I am nervous to try and explain to them about how bad it is - they don't know I don't leave the house for days at a time in fear of having a panic attacks, or deferred from uni because of having panic attacks just thinking about going.

My psychologist suggested I go see my GP about medication options for anxiety and I think it would help but I'm nervous of what the possible side effects could be and how to tell my family about it! I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions of ideas?

I'm really glad I found this page and am able to talk about this finally with others who suffer from the same thing and not feel so alone! 🙂

[Greyhound123]

Hi frankie and welcome.

It sounds like you are making great progress by going and seeing a psych and getting things under control, congratulations. There are some medication threads here that talk about it in depth. They can seem daunting and scary but to be honest i think it's all about perspective. If they help you to live a better more stable and productive life then why not! It's all about how you view them, you can think, of them just like a vitamin. At the end of the day if you had diabetes or another medial condition you probably wouldn't think much about taking them, and it doesn't have to be permanent. One of the best things I read on here was by a guy named Paul (who I am sure will pop up here soon), he said "Medication gives us the platform on which to heal ourselves". I kinda think of it that way now. To be honest, as much as I don't really like medication I know that my life would be no where NEAR where near where it is now without the medication. I am off it at the moment but considering starting again.

It can be really tough talking about it with your family, I hope they are supportive, if they are then you really should open up to them about it. As they have known you all your life and will probably understand better than you think.

Good luck and keep in touch.

[frankie96]

I am so grateful you replied i was so scared to post on here! I am trying really hard to get help and I want to feel hopeful about the future and recovery it's just a battle to stay positive about it all. thanks ill have to go have a look at the other posts. I never thought about medication like that but it's very true. My worry is that I will become dependent on it.

I honestly really want to tell my family but my parents have very high expectations for me and I feel like if i tell them how severe it really is I will be a disappointment and burden to them. I tried telling my mum once about my anxiety and panic attacks but she stopped me straight away and said to "snap out of it and stop being so lazy". I felt so unsupported and upset that she would brush it off as laziness and I don't know how to explain it to them in a way they will understand!

[Greyhound123]

Your most welcome, as I said it can be extremely hard to explain things to family. I remember my father would do a similar thing until he understood. Sometimes we have to give them time to understand it and realize it's not just a phase etc.

There is some good general information about the medications on the main site here, and it always pays to do some indipendent research, just be careful out on the general internet as there is a hell of a lot of crackpot ideas out there marketed as science. Depending on the medication i wouldn't worry about becoming dependent. SSRI's are pretty common and are non-addictive.But some of the others can be addictive and you have to be careful, probably best to discuss with your Dr

To give an example I was on varying doses of SSRI's since about the age of 14 or 15 (I can't really remember). I am 33 now and stopped last year to see what life was like without them. Had a pretty stressful time (external stuff like having uni-exams, full time work, my wedding and crazy in-laws staying over) and started again. I stopped about 4 months ago, and didn't rely have withdrawals from the medicine after basically 15 years. But any medication changes etc, you really really need to discuss with your doctor, you need to taper of etc. Personally I am thinking about going back on, but that is my choice which is important for me to feel that I made the choice for myself. Just remember that the medication does not have to be forever..you may choose to and that is fine, but if it helps don't think of it as a life long prescription, just a tool to assist with the treatment for however long it takes.

Look forward to seeing you around mate.

[Kizzels]

Hi Frankie96,

My son and I are suffering from the same ailments as you and it is debilitating, unfortunately people that have never suffered from any of these, let alone all of them, do not understand that it is not something you can control or just snap out of.

My son and I have found that different methods work for each of us, but we both see phsycologyists. They are helping him understand his emotions and teaching him coping mechanisms to get through his attaches, me, I have been given tasks and activities I need to complete between my appointments. Both of us do take something when we are at our worse. I did get a prescription from the doctor that I only use when the attaches are extremely sever or don't pass and he takes Valerian, a herbal remedy from the chemist and finds this works well for him.

I hope when you start talking to your friends about what you are going through, that you will find a friend that does completely understand. A lot of people suffer from one or more of these ailments so please know you are not alone, even though you may feel like it. You can beat this, just stay strong .

Kizzels

[Gruffudd]

Hi frankie,

Welcome, and I am glad you found us. I love that you can find those little positives, they keep me going to be honest. With the medication you do it with your doctor and no one else really need know, if it is works for you that is kind of great. I agree to go on it when things are a little intolerable and come off it again when things are better, the GP helps with that and knows I don't want to take anything I don't have too. I find there are side effects on the way on and off like a grumpy stomach and being more moody but they pass soon enough for me. It is a bit of an individual thing.

So anyway welcome, please post here and the other forums when you feel like it, certainly I would welcome seeing that.

Rob.