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Help! My anxiety is literally ruining my life! :-(

Posted , 10 users are following.

Tammy83279
Tammy83279

Hello

At the moment my anxiety is getting worse and affecting my entire life. I do not want to do anything at all. It takes a lot for me to leave my bed or the sofa and that really is unlike me. i have no appetite or zest for life right now. I am very very scared. 

I have been on Citalopram for the past 17 years and over the past 2 years there has been quite a lot of changes and challenges in life for me. I don’t cope with change well and extremely upsetting things happened in my job/career and family life. 

Anyway from January 2018 onwards my mental health has went downhill drastically. After about 3 months in, the doc thought that the citalopram was no longer working for me so then started me on Mirtazapine the 2nd week in April. 15mg still with the citalopram.  I then reduced the citalopram to 30mg. 

I did get a good sleep and my mood improved a for a short period a tiny bit. 3 weeks after this  I started on 30mg Mirtazapine. They also gave me Quetiapine (anti psychotic drug) but it only lasts an hour every time (if it works at all) and even then I’m still worrying.  And I am that desperate that I have taken more than I should.  I have got worse I think. My anxiety is through the roof. 14 days ago they put it up to 45mg. 

I have absolutely no lust for life at all, no interest in doing anything, no appetite, not enjoying work, in fact it has been very difficult to go, I don’t want to be awake as it is torture. I hate when it is bedtime as I dread the next day for the torture to happen all over again. I am absolutely terrified that I won’t get Better and that I’ll have to give up my business and work etc... which scares me to death. My work is my passion so feeling the way I do at the moment is not like me at all. I just want the old me back. 

I appreciate that coming down off citalopram May not be helping things as lots of different things happening in the brain therefore 5 days ago I went back up to 30mg. Both Mirtazapine and citalopram can be taken together as they are different types of antidepressants.

I am wondering if the Mirtazapine will work? I am so scared and desperate. I have been told to give it a month. It is the kids holidays where i usually get a lot of stuff done for my business but this anxiety is so debilitating, the physical symptoms are awful, shaking, weak, that heavy weight in the pit of your stomach etc... 

Any help, advice or own experiences would be appreciated. 

Thanks

Samm

1 like, 22 replies

22 Replies

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  • Guest
    Guest Tammy83279

    Posted

    Hi Samantha,

    I’m so sorry you’re going through this, if anything, perhaps it is nice to know I’m not alone- (though it would of course be better if it were under different circumstances!)  I’m a mid 30s F with chronic anxiety.  I’ve never known a day without the tightness, tense body and ruminating thoughts, and I was surprised that it could get worse- this past year, triggered by my much-beloved pet passing away.  

    Now for the good:  CBT never, ever worked for me.  It wasn’t until I took DBT Classes that I started to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  If there aren’t classes near you, there are books to buy online but I really recommend doing it in a group if possible.  

    CBT is thought based.  DBT is acceptance and action based.  All the good of CBT with clear tools and sensible approaches of how to navigate thought patterns, and life experiences in general.  I cannot reiterate enough how much CBT did NOT do enough for me.

    I still have anxiety, I still want this massive discomfort to end, but DBT shows you there’s hope to get through the toughest of those times.  Let me know if you have any questions.❤️

    • Tammy83279
      Tammy83279 Guest

      Posted

      Hi

      Awe I’m sorry to hear you are struggling too. 

      Ive had CBT and Mindfullness. The doc did mention DBT but said I basically was t a bad enough case  eg I was t self harming etc...

      I’ll try look it up though. Thank you. 

      🙂

  • Guest
    Guest Tammy83279

    Posted

    Hi Samantha, I’m glad it sounds like CBT has worked for you some.  That’s strange to me that someone said something about DBt needing to be for serious issues, I have only ever had General Anxiety— no self harm or anything like that at all and DBT was great.  They even have DBT for new mothers and parents to learn skills for child rearing.  Anyway, we are all in this together and here’s hoping that you have a better Monday with even just a little bit of relief! 💕

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