My farewell from the internet..!

Hi all,

I joined this forum last month when my panic disorder hit a peak. I wanted to share my experience on anxiety meds which was a disaster and has made my anxiety so much worse. I am now off the horrid drug but still having way more panic attacks then I even had before the medication was started.

Ive been doing CBT with my psychologist and so far so good - only four sessions in. The reason for my post is that Ive discovered quite quickly that most if not all of our anxiety symptoms come from some physical sensation that we have, which spirals into panic and anxiety. We find ourselves googling symptoms or looking for forums such as this to discuss our issues.

The problem with this is - 1. Google is not a doctor and you are probably going to get search results like your symptoms are MS or something ridiculous - this is not going to help your anxiety. And 2. Anxiety perpetuates itself and has a mind of its own. If you are constantly searching google about anxiety and participating in forums, your devilish anxiety is going to start taking notice of all the symptoms that other people might have had and before you know it, you are experiencing the same thing. This has happened to me so many times.

I 100% believe that if I did not have the internet or exposure to forums like this then my anxiety would have never perpetuated to what it is today. Ive been through it all. This post isnt intended as an insult to this page at all. Seriously, this page has helped me through some seriously rough times and I appreciate that so much!!! Dont get me wronf!!

But, see your doctor. Dont google symptoms. Dont read about symptoms. Commence therapy with a psychologist or psychistrist. Dont let it get out of control before its too late!!!

Finally, thank you to everyone on here for your support while I have been a member. I am truly so thankful. The best part of this forum is knowing you are not alone. However, my current path and treatment means trusting my doctor and psychologist and accepting the fact i will always have anxiety and use techniques and exposure therapy to desensitise myself to it - this also includes avoiding google and forums. However, i will hang around a few more days in case anyone else needs advice or responds to this thread xxxx

Much love

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