this is long but please read. ok so heres my story, in august I came down with a massive case of mononucleosis and missed the first two months of my senior year in high school (it was a really bad case of mono). well I had a MASSIVE brain fog from the mono and it made going to school and doing things extremely stressful and hard. skip to November, one day I felt a little pain in my left rib (where my spleen was swollen 2 months prior) and I immediately thought I was having a mono relapse. I was at school and I just felt like death and not right so I went home and got my mom to get me a doctors appointment. well I went to the doctor and he said I was fine but I didn't believe him. so I went home and got in bed and had a HUGE panic attack. my body went completely numb I was shaking and my hands were purple and I thought my spleen ruptured. I went to the em emergency room and they did a sonogram and did blood tests and said I was 100% fine and it was probably anxiety. I went home and continued to be a state of panic attacks. FOR LIKE 5 DAYS. it was hell on earth, I didn't want to be alive, I didn't want to be dead, I just wanted to feel normal again. well my parents ( thank God for them they are amazing) they gave me a talk and motivated me to somehow get out of it. sort of. this happened in November. it is now January and life is still a struggle. I feel BRAIN DEAD from the anxiety and have derealization and feel like I'm in a dream and just want to feel myself again. I cannot do things normally or enjoy them at least without this anxiety creeping up in the back of my mind. I have been going to counseling for about a month and it has helped but today I just had a massive breakdown. I am a pretty big guy and I'm 17 6'0 about 180, look good, play baseball, and have life going great. but this is so depressing having to deal with it everyday. I have felt so "off" since the anxiety and that feeling of "off" and confusion makes me have anxiety which creates more "off" feeling. I have a hard time remembering things and I just don't feel right. I have had a decent week with dealing with it but I came home from counseling today and just absolutely broke down. I don't even know why. like this isn't me why would I cry about anxiety? I feel so hopeless and just not right and the anxiety is so much to deal with and my mom works her butt off trying to help me and I'm so screwed up in the head I have to come home and cry and tell her about all I'm feeling and she is talking about college and stuff and its so stressful and depressing. I WANT TO FEEL NORMAL AGAIN DAMN IT 😭😭😭 the anxiety messes with my head so much and I don't feel right I dont even know why. I am currently a week and a half Into 10mg of lexapro and idek if its working. I'm so scared and so p****d off that I have to feel this way. my mind obsesses about how I feel 24/7 and I can't seem to enjoy life. I want to feel normal again so bad I'm sitting behind the screen of my brand new Mac crying my eyes out and can't even seem to get excited about it. I feel like I'm disappointing my mom by not being able to get out of this and I love her so much it makes me so sad to see her watch her son go through this I don't know what to do. somebody please help I am so scared and lost. I just want my life back😭😔😩😭
life seems so dull and weird now and nothing excites me and I'm crying like crazy right now because I feel so trapped and helpless😭 I don't even know why.. this is no quality of living please help. I took some garbage anxiety med for like a week that didn't do anything, then Xanax for 2, which did nothing, and now I'm a little over a week into lexapro. please somebody help with words of hope or something I don't even know. I'm so depressed and scared I have to feel this way any longer. I used to be so energetic and happy and full of life. and when I look at pictures of me before this I break down. pls help.
my mind is constantly telling me that I don't feel right and I'm trapped in this stage of anxiety and feeling not myself and my brain like perceives things strangely and I don't even know I'm just so scared and tired for this. I haven't felt myself since JULY because I got mono so bad before the anxiety.
my lexapro makes me lazy and not want to do anything, and that gives me anxiety. and having the brain fog and derealization gives me anxiety, and the anxiety causes those two. i feel like I've lost all ability to function and make decisions and I just feel so scared please if anybody is reading this please give me some words to help
Listen buddy you have to try & calm yourself down. All this excessive worry & stress isn't good for the body. Your having all these symptoms because your body is trying to tell you your under too much stress & it's unnecessary. You're 17. & Play sports. I seriously doubt something is wrong. You've had tests what else do you need? You've been told your okay. Accept it.
Don't Google & allow your mind to be consumed by it's own negative thoughts. Cut them off. You've been told you're okay already. I know it's hard because the symptoms are so physical but theyve already been evaluated. Anxiety has over 100 symptoms & brain fog is most certainly one of them along with slowness in activity, trouble concentrating etc. If you were brain dead you wouldn't be able to type this. That's just your imagination running wild.
You're young. Live your life. Illness or not. Stressing Wil make your life a whole lot less appealing & once you keep prolonging your stress you will eventually cause real problems.
Eventually you'll get sick of worrying about the same thing over & over. That's how I beat my hypochondria. I got so tired of being down, i just stopped caring. My peace is more important.
You're okay. Remember that. Live your life. You're healthy.
- "Anxiety can make us sad and upset, but knowing that God is with us can bring so much joy in the face of desolation." Psalm 94:19 ❤
Peace. Love. Happiness. I wish you the best.
I agree with Jessica. You do need to calm down. You are young. Why are you taking this medication when it is simply having a bad effect on you and making it worse?
personally I feel it best to rely on non medication and to seek psychotherapy. These drugs do not suit everyone we all react differently myself included.
A good psychotherapist can help you through this. You really need to discusss the way you feel and your adverse reaction to these drugs with your dr.
Take care
hi again
If you google non medication treatment of anxiety, depression and derealisation you will find a lot of useful information to help you. Drugs can worsen the derealisation especially opiates .
You will be ok but need time and I would suggest seeking a good psychotherapist to help you through this tough time. Take care
thank you so much. I really needed that. The thing that makes me anxious the most is not feeling myself and questioning if things are "right" because the anxiety has just made me feel so off and the anxiety is constantly focusing on how I feel and what I should be doing. I just want my old life back but sometimes you don't get what you want, you get what you need. I know a lot of good will come out of this when I finally get over it and I will for sure live life to the fullest, I just need to get out of this. do you have any other tips that helped you or gave you that drive to live life? its very depressing going through this because before this I knew what I wanted to do 100% of the time and now I'm the most indecisive person ever. I just need that energy and drive with no anxiety and all the effects that come with it, to leave...
yeah that is definitely correct, I tried going the non medication route but my anxiety was so bad it was hell on earth. it makes me feel like a zombie to because my brain is just fried from it
I already go to a therapist, and they help a lot. but ,my anxiety makes me feel like a zombie and not myself (especially before medication) and I simply lost the ability to process what was going on and I just felt like I was in a bubble of death it was horrible, and still is, but its gotten better, still not bearable though
I understand. Honestly, i just accepted the fact that we all die. It's something that I can't control. Why worry about something you can't control? I was afraid of being sick, but i had to realize that the more i worry, the sicker i will become. I was shortening my life by stressing so much. I also realized that I was told that I was healthy over & over. So obviously there is no real threat here. I am in no danger with my health. I'm fine. I also stayed off Google. Your symptoms are evaluated differently from everybody else. Doctors go by your medical history, meds you take, weight, age, gender, diet, family history, etc.
That's why Google is So inaccurate when it comes to health. It does not pertain to your specific situation. It's generald & worst case scenarios. It's full of lies because anyone can type anything at anytime. Doctors go to school for a minimum of 6 years or so. Trust me they know if somethings wrong.
You need to accept that your okay. No matter how you feel. You've had tests. I mean there's nothing they can do. If you keep having unnecessary tests you'll end up with a ton of unnecessary medication, & possibly misdiagnosises from switch multiple doctors. You're okay. Bottom line. If you want your life back? Accept it. Dont feed into the anxiety. Its going to paint IRRATIONAL thoughts in your head that will probably never happen. & that's what I had to realize in order to get over this.
Perhaps a different therapist may help.
i dont even think i have health anxiety.... its non stop no matter what i do and its making me feel like a zombie. i dont feel right and right now im at school and feel like im gonna throw up. no matter how hard i try to engage in conversation or focus on school work i cant get my mind off it. i literally feel like im dying. this is hell on earth. i need to cry so bad
Hi again
Have you taken any drugs prescribed or otherwise. Please do not be offended by my question. Some drugs such as codeine and/or other opiods can cause all the signs and symptoms you are describing. Have you taken any Ibuprofen plus?
Have to ask to help you.
no i have not. i try to stay away from drugs. i do take ibuprofen every day, as my doctor said it will help my brain fog
I am very surprised to hear that Ibubrufen will help with brain fog. It is a NSAID and has many side effects including bronchospasms, gatric upsets, it is contraindicated in asthma and copd.
Have you looked up the side effects?
no ive been taking ibuprofen for years because i play baseball and am a pitcher and never had problems. im going to trust my doctor on this one because well he is my doctor