Can't stop...

[nrun90]

I don't want to be a nuisance...and the last thing I want to do is upset someone for my constant posting here...but idk what else to do.

The last month as been really bad with my anxiety...and I think that's all this is for the most part (which I think is most upsetting.) But I still, every day wake up and feel a twitch, pain, numbness/tingling, cramping or shaking muscles when I use them and I automatically think you know what...and I spend most mornings on these forums looking up post after post just trying to calm myself down. At work we talk about "quality of life" for our patients. Well I can wholeheartedly say that this isn't a quality of life that I want or desire. It's been 2 years of this constant anxiety and strange symptoms. As far as I can remember I have worried about my health...but this is getting extreme. Please reassure me this is nothing to worry about...I'm a wreck right now.

I have an appointment with my family doc and I'm going to ask him about anti-anxiety meds. Nothing I have tried has worked but I think they were more for depression. I'm depressed because I think I'm dying! So I figure if I stop the negative thoughts I can stop the depression? Who knows. Something has to work...does anyone have any experience with Xanax? I know it's a personal question...but we talk about a lot of personal things here. I've heard it can be addicting...which that's the last thing I need...

As always any thoughts/comments/suggestions are appreciated.

-Nick

[Yuliasir]

Nick,
on the basis of my personal experience which is not unique, I can say that you may need not only antidepressants but a work with psychologist too.
Antidepressants may decrease physical symptomes of anxiety and make you less restless, but they alone would definitely not do the job you need to break the circle of continual fears. They would not affect the way how you think about yourself and the world etc. They only will make you less reactive to those thoughts. But the thoiughts would remain and will bout again and again and if you would not learn how to deal with them, you would again and again need more meds without true relief.
Believe me I am GAD sufferere since 6yo and right now I am trying to survive in the country taken over by so called revolution under constant threat of invasion only psychotherapy I got before and current contacts with the therapist really help me to live in such conditions.
Rewiev of the way of thinking could be done only together with a person to whom you may build a personal trust and to whom you may confess all the fears in a professional way to see what exactly you fear of and what is the cituation you repetitively going itno to re-traumatize yourself and letting fears overcome you.

[nrun90]

Yes-I can't imagine what fears you must be having right now. I do appreciate you always taking the time to comment on my posts on here. Your advice is much appreciated. I was planning to see a psychologist as well to figure out how I can change my behaviors. Just so hard when I have all these physical symptoms to believe that it could all be caused by anxiety. -Nick

[Yuliasir]

not all our symptomes are casued by anxiety, mostly those are lack of breathing, paresthesias in fingers and toes (spasms due to hyperventialtion), dizziness, 'bulbar' symptomes (globus, 'slurring', pain in the throat, husky voice due to swelling of the throat), GERD (pain in the chest, persistent cough, especially after meal), pseudocardiac symptomes etc. - mostly dysautonomic in the nature.

Working with psychologist would not stop your twitches but it will let you see them from the more critical point of view - and therefore your fears would faint and go away.
Fear is the loss of criticality (becasue of natural neuronal mechanism - your frontal lobes switch off due to overload). Working with psychologist helps to restoer their ability to work, and probably your immune system will get recovered and you may twitch less too, but first goal is to decrease the power of fears, face them and fight them and understand them and learn how to live ewith them - altogether.

When I was styding modern literature on Coursera portal, the professor asked us to read "Dracula' by Bram Stocker and write an essay. And mine was about the dicovering how vampirism depicted by Stoker was close to anxiety disorder (by symptomes, aggravitng at night, by lack of any analytically proved disease - as Mina's blood was analysed!, and of course by the symptomes of agitation and by its incredible ability to spoil not only the victim's life but the life of her dear and beloved), and how final fight with the vampire was close to typical GAD/OCD treatment. The charcaters had to board the ship, take a doctor with them and go to a seemingly nowhere, with no clear goal, just to find Dracula, face him and fight him with bare hands, only by the strenght of their spirits.

So you may also fight your own Dracula

I did it, and you can do it too.
Just be decisive, you must not be even corageous, just decisive.