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I guess it first stsrted back in 2011. I suffered an injury nd at the time I didn't realize it was my back. since I was a contract employee awaiting to be hired on, I had no insurance and since I was out sick, I had no money coming in. I lost my home to foreclosure, had to give away my dog, I moved into a friend's 1 bedroom apartment where I currently reside. since then, I went to the chiropractor in 2012 as well as had some counseling sessions with a certified psychologist. I was feeling better. early this year I got a part time job close by and I worked there for 7 months without any incidents. I went back to work at another job I had last worked at in 2010. the money was great, but since I started back there, I was having more stress and anxiety. I had a full panic attack one night and left in the middle of the shift. I came back home to see if I would feel better. I didn't. I went to the emergency room, where the doctor on call prescribed me anti anxiety medication. I took 1 little pill and it took 2 more days to shake off the affects. I went to a physician who prescribed me loratadine. its a non stimulant non drowsy anthistamine found in Claritin. I found out that its in the same family as low dose anti anxiety meds. it has been working though. however, I still would like to know what triggered the panic attack to begin with. I am unemployed now. so I cannot afford to pay for counseling. what I do know is it happened at this last job.

Ahhh im so frustrated!!! I am all over the place, low, crying, frustrated, angry, annoyed, sad. I have no energy and things are getting rediculious. (i have no clue how to spell that) The past week or so, whenever i leave the house to go anyway, i can barely leave the car. My heart races and i have pins and needles, i no this is panic!!! But i dont no why its happening every where i go. Going in to work has been a nightmare, since i work in a shopping center. Its all about selling and i can barely talk to customers at the minute never mind sell. IT makes me angry because i dont understand when i go out, why i am like this. People and crowds dont seem to bother me, but when my heart is racing like that and everything is loud, and i feel like im about to faint, i just cant do it, deal with it. I just want to stay in bed to be honest. Making descions is a nightmare and i cant decide. Im already 5 weeks behind if i go back to uni and i cant make the descion. I hate everything. I just keep thinking i dont want to be here anymore. I really cant settle. I dont want anyone near me and as soon as anyone gets close i just want them to go a way. Then ill want to be close again and then ill push them away, it just keeps happening. I met my new therapist and he made eveything postive but like i dont see how he can help me. Im sick of hearing you will get better soon!!!! omg just dont fucking say that. Everyone says that. Im going be livign like this, differently from now on. It isnt going to disapper. My mum just annoys me, gets frustrated with me, i no its not her fault but i dont like her right now. I just stuck and dont no what to do. Everyday goes by and i just feel mixed up. Im angry, sad, clingly, want to be alone. I change so easily, i dont get it and im angry of it.

Hello My name is Tiffany and I am a 20 year old from the US. I have lived with anxiety for most of my life and recently it has become pretty severe health anxiety. I have almost constant headaches, neck pains, chest pains and other random pains throughout my body. I also suffer from mild social anxiety, depression and panic disorder. It has consumed my life and made it difficult to even get up in the morning. I recently started law school and i think that is helping but who knows? Anyways I thought it would be good to talk to some people going through the same thing so here I am. If anyone has any advise or personal experiences to share I would love to hear it. Thanks

Hello Everyone, I just registered on this website as I had been doing a google search using terms like "anxiety", "relieving stress", "getting rid of palpitation"...you get the drift. I have been suffering from periods of tingling sensation and weakness in the left side of my body, on and off for quite some time now and on going to the doctor, I was told that my nerves were weaker. My mum has the same problem. It normally helps after a 15 day dose of vitamins. But for the past 2-3 weeks, this has increased. I cannot sleep. The thought of going to work leads to my heart fluttering like crazy, a slight feeling of loss of balance, heavy eyes, heaviness and tingling sensation in the left side of my body and face. When I am not feeling this, I feel extremely and uncontrollably angry. I am like this flammable person for whom one word is sufficient to feel under confident. I think practically and decide to not be affected by negative feelings, but this simply doesn't reflect in practice. I am at a point where I hate my job, but leaving it is not an option. I am only 26 and have hardly 2 years of work experience. I desperately want to feel happy, confident, relaxed and casual but am at such a loss. Plus, I don't really want to take any medicine. I want to try to deal with it by changing my attitude and taking small steps but for a permanent change, before its too late. These days I feel tense even before office calls and there's no way to get out of it. Please let me know if you have any suggestions to take control of my situation.

I recently took a neurotransmitter test from 2 differernt labs. One was called NeuroScience and the other was from a different company (can't remember the name, Geo-something). I was wondering if anyone has taken these tests before and curious of the validity. I got the results back from both and my brain chemistry is whack, to say the least. These tests were both given to me by my N.D., but when I brought the results to my pdoc he says they aren't valid and that "if testing for neurotransmitters was so easy, we would be able to do it for everyone and woulnd't have to play a guessing game with medications." Now, I did a LOT of research for each result I got and depending on what I was low/high in, was a dead ringer for my symptoms. Which leads me to believe the tests must be somewhat valid, no? Also, I got to thinking that maybe if these tests were more popular it would eliminate the need for pdocs. You could go to your GP, take the test, and get the exact medication you need. Why do M.D.'s not know about this test and/or validate it?

Hello everyone. My name is Lexie. I suffer from GAD. I found this site through another social site for anxiety sufferers. http://www.anxietysocialnet.com/ Its kinda a bit like facebook. Everyone there is really helpful. I am interested in this site because the forums are a lot mroe active and have a wider range of topics. I look forward to sharing my wisdom and insights on anxiety. I have a degree in Psychology so I'm an ok advice giver, I would be a lot better off if I actually followed the advice I give LOL.

Hi everyone, I've only been dealing with severe anxiety and panic attacks for a couple months now and was wondering if any one had advice for dealing with it in public and at night? I have searched everywhere and asked multiple people and all I can find is "breath deep" but that only seems to make me feel worse or shift my fears temporarily. Any help is GREATLY appreciated.

Hi all, The other month I came to this forum to ask for some feedback on a pilot episode I created for a new series on You Tube. The series is used to show the journey I took from a worrier, to the current day where I no longer suffer from anxiety. Each episode explains one of the successful techniques I used along the way. I received lots of praise for my work on the pilot, so I just wanted to let you know about the release of my first episode. The technique I focus on in this episode is ‘Goal Setting’. If you did not watch the pilot I would just like to point out that each video is under 4 minutes and is professionally made with your recovery in mind. As before all feedback would be greatly appreciated and for those of you who asked, yes my dog will make an appearance. The video is of relaxing scenery I filmed with a commentary over the top explaining how I used goal setting to help me escape the grasp anxiety once had on my life. The commentary in each episode focuses only on my recovery and not about the time when I suffered. We all know what the symptoms are and the idea of the videos is to “Stop Feeding the Worry and Start Feeding the Recovery”. Please click the link below to view the brand new episode: Many thanks

Looking back, I guess I always had anxiety. I just didn't know what it was. I remember telling my best friend, when we were little kids, that I felt like I could not catch my breath. This would happen quite often. Never gave it much thought.....then I grew up. All throughout my marriage, I always felt like my husband was into someone else. I am JUST now putting this together and realizing it was an anxiety/OCD issue. I just thought I was insecure. He was not real nice to me, but was very friendly to the wives of our friends. Ehhh....okay, no biggy. He became pretty verbally abusive through the years and I was, honestly, the perfect wife. I just wanted to be a mom and wife and live happily ever after. (I know all of this sounds like nothing to do w/ health anxiety, YET!) We had a stable marriage and did well for ourselves financially. Had (I still live in it) a nice home, nice trucks (yes, we are in Texas) and lots of friends and family. Skip forward to 9/11....I had my first emotional breakdown ever! Without getting into too many details, I thought we were all going to die in a nuclear war. This emotion was brought on by a friend whose husband was in the Secret Service and she called me one day to tell me to stay home w/ my family that weekend. FREAKED! ME! OUT! For two weeks....I was a basket case. I could not eat, sleep or function. I cried constantly and had claustrophobia just going up to the 2nd floor of my office building. I snapped out of that two weeks later and went about my life. Six months later I started getting a mild burning sensation on my upper arms. Didn't get upset....but after it continued, I went to the doctor and talked to him about it. He sent me to a rheumatologist thinking it was a connective tissue issue like Lupus or something. I saw the rheumy and he found nothing to be concerned over. All tests were negative. He even did an MRI of my c-spine to check for anything that could cause peripheral neuropathy in my arms. Nothing was found. I ended up at a neuro's office doing EMGs, etc. No answers. I believe this is when I was first told it was probably anxiety. I started reading stuff on the net.... Jump back to 1994 when I was dx w/ Pars Planitis in my left eye. A rare eye disease that CAN be linked to MS, in fairly small percentages...but linked to MS, just the same! I recall being told that in 1994 and it upset me....but we didn't have internet, nor did we have medical literature at our fingertips like we do now. I was clueless as to what MS really was, but that MS seed was planted in my head the day the nurse mentioned it at the eye doctor's office. Well...at this point (in 2002), I'm reading and starting to worry! The husband is NO HELP. He would tell me I was crazy and all that entails. He also was NOT supportive of my emotions when I was scared to death after the 9/11 incident. Which, of course, made it worse. My partner in life was supposed to support me and make me feel safe. Didn't happen. So...basically...anytime I had a concern or worry, I was to suck it up and deal with it. I will have to cut this short, because I'd have to type all day. I went through 2 rough years of hurting all over, not sleeping, skin pain, skin burning (which had started to cover my entire body), depression, etc....until I FINALLY took my doctor's advice and got on Zoloft. The first week was ROUGH. It made it all worse. I remember talking to him on the phone and telling him it was making me worse. He told me to stick with and I would soon feel better. He was RIGHT! A week later, I was my old self again. Pain and burning were GONE! I was sleeping again and felt great. A couple of months into the Zoloft, I would have breakthroughs of the burning, but never called the dr. I think it's cause I was on a low dose and probably needed to be bumped up. I would get off and back on the Zoloft after about 6-8 months and a month or so later, the symptoms would come back. So...I got back on it in 2007 and said I would NEVER get off of it. My husband left me for our next door neighbor in September 2007 and, luckily, I was on the Zoloft at that time. I had breakdowns and was in misery, but I was not hurting physically. I got off of it in November 2007 and felt great, physically, for almost 4 yrs. On Mother's Day 2011, the x husband pulled a nasty stunt that REALLY upset me and had me hysterical....and low and behold two days later, I was waking up in the middle of the night, started hurting...and then the burning came back. I was a WRECK for 3 straight months!!!! A complete WRECK. Even had to miss my 2nd day on a new job because I had attempted to get back on Zoloft and it made me worse. I woke up crying uncontrollably. My story is very spotty, but for the past 2 yrs, I have bouts of fatigue that lasts for weeks (somtimes w/ the burning - sometimes not). When I talk about burning now, it's usually on my face for the most part. My face will feel like it's on fire. No redness....nothing. I had a brain MRI in 1996 due to ringing ears. I had the c-spine MRI in 2002. I had another brain MRI in 2003. Then after taking myself to an MS specialist in 2004 and 2005, he finally ordered a brain MRI in 2005. All of my MRIs were clear and I was sent home w/ the anxiety/depression diagnosis. I went and saw a new neuro in 2011 and again last year in 2012. She said it's anxiety/depression. She did an EMG of my arms due to me waking up w/ numb hands (only during the night) and find something abnormal in my neck, but I never went for my c-spine MRI. This is the basics of my story. I do believe I have PTSD/OCD/depression/anxiety all packed into one nice package. I am now a single mom of a 15 yr old son. I have a great job and make great money...I maintain my house, pool and yard. I function pretty well despite the crap I've been through. ANXIETY SUCKS!

Hi there. I am new here -came looking for support and help. I have dealt with depression and anxiety for some time now. I have been on all sorts of medications and they worked pretty well. But then I decided to get pregnant, and I had to go off all meds. That didn't work, so I was put onto zoloft-went to the max of 200 mgs. Got pregnant-yay. But anxiety got really really bad. I have panic attacks daily now and I am unable to function at work. I work and I am trying to finish my PhD. I have a huge deadline coming up in two months and this is a big anxiety trigger for me. My psychiatrist decided it was worth it to put me on lorezapam (.5 mgs at first but had to go up to 1 mg). We discussed the risks-which both my doc and (I saw after reading quite a few studies) that most of the issues that could effect baby were in the first and third trimesters-so we felt it was worth the risk. So I was taking the meds both lorezapam and zoloft. That helped a lot, but I was taking it nearly daily. But I could function and do work and get out of the house. I went and saw my OB (I am 17 weeks pregnant in my second trimester). She made me feel like I was trying to kill my baby-which of course sent me into a huge panic attack and craziness. According to her this medicine could cause brain development issues (something that wasn't in any of the literature that I read) and it didn't matter what trimester you were in. I don't know what to do? I have two docs who are conflicting in their advice and I am freaking out. If I don't make my PhD deadline-I get kicked out of the program-8 years of work down the toilet. But I can't seem to function well enough to work on it without the help of medication. But I don't want to hurt my baby. I don't know what to do? I see a therapist, I try yoga, meditation etc. But nothing is making a difference for my increased anxiety. The only thing that helps some is distraction-but as soon as the distraction is over I feel worse because I am even more nervous about the fact that I just wasted that time when I could have been working on my PhD. Has anyone out there tried hypnotherapy? Or have any kind of suggestions? I am willing to try anything. I have done acupuncture but haven't found much of a relief. Please Help-feeling so desperate and afraid! Thank you!

I feel once diagnosed with panic attacks any new physical symptoms experienced are often overlooked by health care professionals with the assumption they are dreamed up and associated with anxiety. I had a 4 month stint with trying to get doctors to diagnose what was wrong with me and they missed a 1.5 pound 12 inch long fibroid which nearly caused me to bleed to death because my origninal symptom was chest pain. Turns out the thing was so large it was pushing on my internal organs. And I was in the ER 3 times for excessive bleeding. How did they miss that? I also fear some day I will sit at home and die from a heart attack or stroke all the while trying to convince myself it is yet another panick attack. Has anyone suffering from severe anxiety attacks also had a real heart attack and if so did you know it was the real thing. They say you wil know. But these panic attacks feel so real to me. On Xanax...post surgery. But want to get off the meds and deal with through lifestyle change. 6 years sober and I don't want to rely on drugs to treat this. Any ideas? Not depressed. Actually love my life the way it is. Minus this disorder.

Hello, I'm a pretty happy knock around sort of guy... Or so I thought. After a recent death in my family, I found my self sitting in a clinicians rooms talking about stuff in my life. After a few sessions, he had a pretty good idea of the course my life had taken, the events, ups and downs. He began with saying that my brain chemistry had probably been altered by years of pretty high stress levels and feeling of powerlessness. Maybe upto 30 years worth maybe longer. I agreed with this. He talked of clinical depression and we discussed medication. Personally I would like to explore more gentle, natural remedies such as exercise and diet. He gave me some info on depression and I looked into it and ended up focussing on neg thought patterns and such, not dwelling as such but standing outside and observing so to speak. Yep. But, my thoughts now are that maybe it's chronic anxiety I'm dealing with and not depression as such. So that's why I'm here. How I ended up there was the death of a child, and the sessions have helped with those feeling greatly. Out of that tree fell this (maybe) depression-or-anxiety stuff. Why do I say I'm a happy-knock-around sort of guy? Well maybe this condition has been so pervasive that it is all I know? Could this be the case? Is it possible to forget what "happy" is?

Hi, I registered to a different anxiety forum a few months ago, but it didn't stick. I hope this one will. I have been suffering from what I feel like is anxiety for many years now. I feel like it has become worse and worse. Now, it definitely is a part of me. It affects everything I do. When I talk to my friends about maybe going to see a therapist again, they feel that I should be strong and that they are there for me to talk if I need them, but I don't think they understand exactly what I'm feeling. I constantly worry about everything and talk myself down. My self-esteem is probably lower than it's ever been before. I used to be happy. Now, I feel like I being happy for just an hour isn't possible. Something is either wrong at the moment or I'm scared that something is going to go wrong. When I feel somewhat okay, I feel like that feeling isn't going to last. I know have a bit of OCD and no one has any idea and that makes me feel alone. I feel like if I did explain my OCD to someone, they would do what they do when I tell them about my anxiety, tell me to work through it. It's not that easy.

I was wondering if any of you are going what I have been going through for about the last 2 years. I am 40, recently married to a gorgeous woman with whom I plan to have children, I control my work schedule and I am financially secure. Relatively healthy, too. Here's the problem: I am constantly worrying about where the next client/payment is going to come in (I am a lawyer). It keeps me up at night. I think about it all the time. It's absurd! I have always been a saver and could easily not work for the next three years and go to the beach everyday, so why the obsession and nervousness over where the next few dollars are coming from?!? Every month for the last two years I worried that "it's going to be a bad month..." or "where am I going to find work this month?" Every month something comes through, but the worrying continues. I just don't know what to do -- I can't get this irrational fear out of my head. Do others face this or a similar problem? Are there any recommendations on a good book that may help me? Any advice is welcome and thanks to all. Irrational Thoughts

I honestly don't even know what to classify myself at this point. I don't feel like my anxiety "issues" are even worth mentioning because it could be much worse. My anxiety attacks aren't really physical, but they are still very real to me. I do have the occasional shortness of breath, and sweaty palms... but I just don't feel my anxiety is as bad as most. Is it normal? Am I in denial? I am so utterly confused. Help me. I feel trapped.

Under the oversight of the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology (MSPP), I am running a study on benzodiazepine users. If you are an individual who takes benzodiazepines (anti-anxiety medications such as Xanax, Klonopin, and Ativan), we’d like you to fill out a survey – it takes about 5-10 minutes. The survey looks at participants’ benzodiazepine regiment, their knowledge about their medication(s), and the sources of this knowledge. After completing the survey, participants may enter a raffle for a chance to win one of several $10 amazon.com gift cards. These are the criteria to participate in this study: · You must be 18 years of age or older to take the survey. · You must have a current prescription for one or more benzodiazepine(s), used to treat symptoms of a diagnosed anxiety disorder and/or insomnia. · You must currently reside in the United States. Additionally, you must have received your benzodiazepine prescription(s) from prescribers in the United States. If you’re interested in learning more about the survey, click on the link below. You’ll be presented with an informed consent form to give you some more information about the study, so you can decide if you wish to take it. If you’re not interested, but know someone who might be and who meets the criteria, feel free to forward this message to them. The survey will be open until April, 2013 at the latest. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5TF2HMM If you have any questions or comments about the study, you can contact Samuel Skeen, the Principal Investigator, at the email address below. Thanks for looking, Samuel Skeen samuel_skeen@mspp.edu Doctoral Student, Clinical Psychology Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology

Hello everyone, I'm brand new here and this is my first post. Here it goes. My name is Kara and I am 24 years old. I've been suffering from health anxiety since I was 16 years old, but it's gotten much worse over the last year. I have severe panic attacks, that usually result in my begging my boyfriend to take my to the hospital. I had a slight agoraphobia, so I used to be primarily house bound. I didn't even want to go to therapy, but I made myself. I've been up and down for the past month, but all I want in the world is to get better. I look forward to getting to know people on here. As for now, a therapy session awaits me. I hope this message finds you all as well as can be. Kara

Hi Everyone! I am new to this support group. I was recently diagnosed with an Anxiety/Panic Disorder. The panic attacks that I had were truly scary and I was put on meds,but I want to be able to learn how to control my anxiety without them,if possible. I really don't want to become dependent on drugs. Can anyone here control their anxiety without medicine,and if,how do you do it?

Hello everyone. My name is Brittany and I was officially diagnosed with anxiety, depression and OCD in 2009. I have been on Citalopram since then, and just recently decided to make the huge decision to come off my meds and try to take life on by myself. I would not recommend that to anyone who has not first spoken to their doctor/therapist and really put a lot of thought into it. Meds are serious business and you need to make sure you come off them right. (I'm sure many of you know this already ) I have been going through a lot lately including my fiance' breaking up with me. I'm sure you can imagine how tough that can be on someone like me. I've been crying a lot and I'm just so glad to have this site now as a place to come and talk. I have so many emotions built up inside me and it's taken me a very long time to be open and honest like I am today. If you're reading this, feel free to message me anytime. I would love to chat with you. I actually hope to one day be a Psychologist! Anyway, if you want to know more about me, just ask

whats the weirdest symptoms you've ever experienced with anxiety/ panic?

Hi, I introduce myself because I am a functioning individual, diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I have done it all, it seems. And while trial and error seemed to be a major league way of getting by in life, I feel like crying some times of guilt for all I've done. I am very outspoken and irritable, but I respect people's mental health disorders. I have one and know the mind can be a pandora's box sometimes. So I hope to hear good and bad things on this forum. Thanks for your time.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/wellbeing/9204746/Anxiety-a-very-modern-malaise.html