Anxiety fighting with depression! How to cope?
Posted , 6 users are following.
On a daily basis I have this constant feeling of dread and anxiety inside me. I worry about things such as loved ones dying, loosing my job, finances etc etc and I have no reason to.
I am fluoxetine 20mg and propanol 40mg twice a day but I can't shake this constant anxiety, which makes me depressed. I lay awake at night imagining ridiculous made up scenarios and worry about them coming true.
My Dr has diagnosed me with Anxiety, Depression and OCD. I feel as if tho I do I things over and over again I'm preventing the "bad things" I worry about coming true, for example I don't wear certain clothes because they remind me of a bad day I've had or when taking a drink I take 5 big gulps. It has to be 5 no more or no less and I try my hardest to stop myself thinking like this but I just can't shake the feeling of dread.
Is this normal? How do others cope with these feelings?
1 like, 11 replies
sam18386 rebecca_00787
Posted
Hi Rebecca, this doesn't sound right to me, you need to find out what is causing such severe anxiety and what you can do about it, it may be that the medication you have been given is making this worse for you, I'd see if you can either go on another medication or if you can come off completely, some medications don't work for some people and what your doctor thinks is good may be the wrong thing, I refuse to take anything as my body reacts to chemical medication.
ann55375 sam18386
Posted
rebecca_00787 sam18386
Posted
Hi Sam,
Thank you for your reply.
I've struggled with this for years with and without medication, I finally gave in last year and my Dr put me onto sertaline which at first felt great but slowly the anxiety crept in again and I was worse than before. I then tried mirtazapiene which made me a horrible person so I've now switched to fluoxetine. I have had some traumatic experiences and I am currently wanting on some therapy for this which I hope will help but it's a 6 month waiting list. I'd just like this anxiety to lift so I begin taking control of my life and making descions that aren't influenced by my fear and worry
thurmanmurman ann55375
Posted
Hi Ann,
Never come off medication on your without getting advice from your doctor 🙂X
thurmanmurman rebecca_00787
Posted
Oops, i didnt see this post.
Im on sertraline for depression and my doctor said it tends to increase anxiety unlike lots of other antidepressants! How long have you been on the fluoxetine? Give it up to 6 weeks to let it work xx
Are you in the uk waiting for therapy on the NHS? The waiting times are terrible right now as so many people struggle with mental health problems! And many probably feel like you do. Just try and hang in there and ride this out, 6 months is probably the worst case scenario they are offering and you may even get a placement in a months' time. 🙂
rebecca_00787 thurmanmurman
Posted
Hello Thurman,
Yeah I found sertaline made me a lot worse, then onto mirtazapiene for about 8 weeks (horrible medication!!) and now the fluoxetine and have only been on them a week, so I'm hoping these will work!!
Yeah I am in the UK, I've had an initial assessment so now I'm just waiting on an appointment coming through I think I will benefit a lot from therapy but it's just the waiting around.
Thank you for your reply and Take care!
Aspinan rebecca_00787
Posted
Hi Rebecca, your thoughts and feelings are generated due to your anxiety and deoression and your actions such as wearing certain clothing is typical OCD, to an extent everyone who suffers these conditions have similar "rituals", but when you think about it it's totally irrational including the scenarios your anxiety dreams up for you to worry about.
Your right you don't need to as you have no reason too.
You might want to look up mindfulness for it all, there are a couple of good books out there with guided CD practices you can do, you could also do seeing a therapist to discuss your thoughts and feelings.
Regarding the OCD side you need to "test" yourself and perhaps look up strategies on dealing with OCD, yours is very mild OCD but the more you engage it the more you re enforce the belief that something might happen, again you probably know that it doesn't effect anything and can't but that doesn't help your fear and the "what if" thinking.
Nothing you do will have any effect on whether something nice or bad will happen.
There are some good anti depressants for OCD Clamipramine is a good one, perhaps speak to your GP about what options both medically and theraputicaly such as CBT, in the meantime search the Internet for self help advise. Neil
thurmanmurman rebecca_00787
Posted
Hi Rebecca,
It sounds like you do have a mild case of OCD as your doctor says, and that's ok. It might help you to tell yourself that, and try and accept that this is how things are for you right now. It's great that you are able to go to work and go about things despite how much youre struggling. While your medication is probably helping to keep you on an even keel right noe, have you thought of starting to see a counsellor? That way, you can get to the root of all yout anxious thoughts and learn how to create new, positive thoughts and cope with the anxiety if it ever resurfaces. What youre feeling, and the little tricks you do that make you feel like your loved ones will be ok if you do them, are very common but that doesnt mean you should have to live like that. I understand where youre coming from with the anxiety that everyone is going to die, but at the end of the day you know its an irrational thought and the chances of somethig happening is much lower than your brain is presenting it as. A therapist will listen to everything thats on your mind and help to teach you to reject these negative thoughts 🙂 And do not worry about telling them about every little thing you think of, the way you drink your drinks etc. They have heard it before, its so common and is nothing to be embarrassed about. They want to help you to feel better 💛
Good luck and i hope you consider speaking to a professional! X
hypercat rebecca_00787
Posted
Hi I can't add to the excellent replies you have had except to say google 'Magical Thinking'. It may help you.x
rebecca_00787 hypercat
Posted
Wow!! It is actually like I was reading about myself, I'm going to sit down later and read through it properly. What a relief to know that the way I think isn't just me being crazy!! Thank you x
hypercat rebecca_00787
Posted
Ha ha. Magical thinking is probably more common than you realise. So is catastrophising, another nice one for you to look up. Us humans are funny creatures aren't we?
xx