I have PTSD also along with major depression. I take Hydroxyzine for my anxiety and Fluoxetine (Generic prozac) for my depression. I have to say that after 3 years, I can take my Hydrixyzine only as needed but god I went through what seems like tons of therapy with my therapist to get to this point-not that I'm complaining.

Me too! It sucks, eh...

I have panic disorder and am on Celexa and Valium as well as beta-blockers. My main issues are agoraphobia and claustrophobia which sounds like a strange combo but my claustrophobic issues are mainly about being in a small place with a lot of people. I can't travel by bus and long car journeys (longer than about 20 min) I can't do either. In meetings at work I have to sit next to the door and walk out if I start a panic attack. I struggle with cinema and (especially) theatre. In fact there are a lot of situations where I have to explain I am claustrophobic...embarrassing...


Isn't it strange what issues we have and what can crop up with our phobias? No-one can understand it until it happens to them IMO.

I had my first panic attack back three years ago. I was on Zoloft for six months, then was taken off of it.

I had another one last October, and it stopped my weight loss journey, as I ended up on Lorazapam, and I gained the weight back that I worked so hard to get off plus more. I switched back over to Zoloft three months ago, as the Lorazapam wasn't working as well as I wanted to- I still had boughts of anxiety, and I feared I would end up having another full blown attack soon, if I didn't find something else to help me. The doctor agreed.

I absolutely hate having this. It has hampered my ability to drive further than 15-20 minutes away. I've had to miss my kid's away sports games because I can't drive that far- thank goodness they take the bus to most of their sports, or they would have to ride with someone else to get there. I feel like such a pansy sometimes- I try to fight it, try to overcome it, and some days I can do a little more than 20 minutes, but not much more.

What causes this? I see others, like my husband, being able to drive in cities, highways, or long drives for several hours and it doesn't even faze them. Myself? Just the thoughts of driving for more than 20 minutes overwhelms me for days before the event, often to which I miss, if my husband doesn't drive us. It has crippled me socially- I can't go back to Massachusetts to visit family and friends on my own or with the kids, unless my husband or friends drive me. I so want to be normal......

Thanks for starting this topic. It's so nice to know I am not alone in this.

to everyone.

Hello all. I have Severe Depression, OCD, Severe Anxiety Disorder and a Social Phobia. Im surely glad im not at all alone! Im currently on Lexapro and Seroquel. I love going out, however, will go through extreme lengths to avoid people, also busy parking lots..basically anything where confrontation can occur, which is pretty much anywhere.lol.

I hope everyone gets their anxiety under control. I know how difficult it can be and how life ruining it can become.

I get anxiety sometimes, though not enough to quite call it a disorder. Still, I get nervous and tense about things very easily and it impedes with the rest of my day/life. I was diagnosed as having mild OCD back when I was 16, along with eating disorders. I've been eating disorder free for almost two years now, but the mindset never really disappears.

I overanalyze things A LOT, too, and sometimes get paranoid...

Oh yeah - BiPolar II, anxiety disorder, panic attacks................

if its a depression, anxiety or panic med - I've tried it.

I have really bad social anxiety, especially around people my own age. I can't go to parties or anything because of it. Not that anyone would want me there, but if I were to go to one I wouldn't be able to do it. It's just getting worse too. I've always had it, but the more I isolate myself from others the worse it gets. I know I should try and go out more, but I hate the way people look at me. I hate being made fun of.

Raising my hand, ya uh.... I have had Anxiety/Panic Attacks ..since I was 25 years old. It turned out that it runs in my family.....thanks fam...lol...sometimes it scares the heck out of me because we use the chemical up faster than a person who does not suffer with it. So we go round in round when all of the sudden you get a panic attack it takes you a moment to let it subside. My kids are now teenagers and when I have a panic attack they just tell me everything is ok, and that I have great color...they try their hardest to get me to not think about it...or will give me water...its cute....I had a break down when I was 25 years old..I thought I was dying because I was having a series of panic attacks through out the day...then I went and saw a shrink, and I have been on different medicines through out the years and the best one thus far for me is Zoloft. I really helps me....a great deal however one has to remember in order for it to work, you diet and exercise and not have caffine because too much of that will trigger it sometimes.... There is no magic pill, but there are pills that help people through times like we all have gone through. My daughter is 15 years old and she gets minor panic attacks but being that she has seen me go through it she understands the process...you get scared out of your skin for a few moments.....then you are back to feeling normal and at peace .. Well I just totally rambled. Oh I heard that when you have pets, and your have these disorders they are theripuetic to one who is going through this....

Well thanks for reading my novel.... hehehehe....

I've always had a dislike of heights. Used to be controllable and in context. I mean I could go to the top of the Empire State Building and look down but I wouldn't go on ferris wheels, roller coasters, etc.

The last few years, I've been experiencing white knuckle anxiety at lesser heights...2nd story windows, going over bridges, mezzanine at theaters...
A year or two ago, I was at a Neil Diamond concert (up in the mezzanine, of course, for the 3rd time....man, my wish would be to see him up close for once) and about halfway through it, I just became overwhelmed with the idea that I was going to fall forward out of my seat and down to the ground level. It came out of nowhere and I was literally gripping the armrests. I was scared just sitting there and I was scared to stand up. It was hard even forcing myself to let go of the armrests so I could stand up and walk away from there. I ended up leaving the concert early in tears, heartbroken because I couldn't make myself go back to that seat to see the rest of the show. I've been in the front seat of coach buses white knuckling again because I hated looking forward and down at the road (but if I sit in the middle, listen to my mp3 player and look out the window, I'm fine except over bridges sometimes). Another weird thing now is it it sometimes even happens in places like restaurants, where I'm not sitting high or anything but I've noticed after I've been sitting in the same seat for some time and not really moving too much, I get that same forward falling sensation. Nobody picks up on it, I mask it and just sort of seemingly rest my hand on the table when I'm actually gripping it for dear life. Sometimes I'll stand and move around to regain control and hope I don't pass out (I never have).

I don't know if this is anxiety, chemical or what. The falling from a height thing seems like pure fear. The restaurant thing, I get more of a light headed feeling, like I need to shake my head out of a fog, accompanying the falling sensation. I don't know if the fact that I have low bp (I often see 85/55) is a factor. A couple of people have even suggested 9/11 (I live in NYC) and the images of people falling from the buildings. All I know is this behavior started just a few years ago and while I can control myself enough for the most part to sweat it out til it passes, I can't control it happening in the first place. It's like I try to make myself get over it while it's happening but the relief comes externally (i.e., getting over that bridge or moving around) rather than from me conquering it.

Hey there. I've got it too, social anxiety disorder. The only times I go out are to school or a store, and even those are difficult. Always feel that people are staring at and judging me. Sometimes I'm under the delusion that if I lost an appropriate amount of weight, that this would go away. But that's probably wrong.

I also feel anxious for seemingly no reason sometimes, just sitting in my room, on the computer...ativan has helped me somewhat with the physical components of it.

I had what I now know to be a panic attack a few weeks back and my doctor
has put me on ativan. I was at a cingular store and all the sudden I could not breath my heart was racing mouth was dry and I started to shake uncontrollably. I swear I thought I was going to die. I am 38 years old and this has never happened to me. I was so scared. My doc told me to carry the ativan and if I feel one coming on again to take one-has not happened yet and I hope I don't need to. However the other day I was sitting in the waiting room of my daughters orthodontist and I started to feel anxious again like before-I had to drive and was afraid of how I would react to the ativan so I just got some water and put my head against the wall behind me and closed my eyes and tried to relax myself-It worked that time.

to everyone who has to deal with this daily!

i am new here and this post caught my eye. i have terrible anxiety. i have ocd really bad. my kids drive me nuts. i have a 6, 4 and 2 year old. i have terrible fears of the doctor. i'm actually afraid to see one. on top of this my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, had a double masectomy. she had a blood test taken to see if she carries the bc gene and we found out that she does. i'm scared **** but i have not gone to a doctor yet. i scream at my kids all day. i am miserable 24 hours aday. i know i need help bad. on top of this my weight is driving me crazy. i refused to get a scale when i started this journey and i finally did get one to see that i still weigh over 200 pounds. i bought a treadmill, joined ***********, eat between 1200-1400 cal a day and workout 5 days a week. i'm pissed to say the least. sorry for rambling....

Y'all got put on meds for a single panic attack? Thats really underestimating the human power to cope....ain't it worrying that docs are so willing to get prescription-happy over a single attack which isn't fatal in any way and can be overcome without toxcic chemicals in therapy?

Of course longerterm problems may benefit from meds, but I think its a bit worrying and unecessary that you get drugs in America from ONE panic attack?! I've had several - daily! - but obviously the system is different here? Have been offered lithium a lot though.

emily
xxx

Wow, that's a lot of **** to deal with, I'm so sorry you're going through this. I'm afraid of the doc too but sometimes I know I just have to make myself go, because my life depends on it. It sounds like your life may depend on it at this point as well. I think you need to treat this as though it's just like any other emergency. If you broke a bone you'd go, right? You need to see one, and you can ask about all these things while you're there.


Chemicals are in everything, this is not a bad word. There are chemicals in your food, even organic food. It's these chemicals that our body uses to keep itself alive. "Toxic" means poisonous, as in a substance that causes damage, illness, or death when ingested. I can guarantee you that benzodiazepines, which are commonly prescribed for panic attacks and other kinds of anxiety disorders, are not toxic. They are actually one of the safest drugs out there.

Moreover, stand-alone panic attacks, that come from nowhere, with no warning, in an individual without other anxiety issues, would be almost impossible to tackle in therapy. The drugs are out there, they work, they're safe, and if they improve the quality of one's life, where's the problem?

I do understand it may seem a little odd that my doctor gave me this
script with only one attack however, she only perscribed 30 tablets with
no refills and instructed me to only take as needed. She also said that if
I find myself taking them daily to call her because there may be other
issues. So far so good