Fully recovered from sudden severe anxiety

Mental health
1

Dear all,

I would like to share my experience and hope it helps someone else with what i dealt with.

Im 30 years old always been happy go lucky, social and sporty.

6 months ago my life changed when i was hit with severe anxiety for no apparent reason.

I couldnt work out what was happening to me, i was having panic attacks, being sick, became shakey and ended up crying in a corner desperate for help.

My brain turned my life situation into feeling trapped and thinking there was no way out from this ever again and ridiculous suicidal thoughts came into play.

Extremely scary.

I immediately seeked medical help and was lucky enough to see a very compassionate doctor and i made an appointment with a therapist.

They put me on a combination of Pregablin and Mertazapine - instant relief at night for sleeping but be warned they have serious side effects , i became very depressed and tearful !!

Next i tried Citralopram 10mg , these helped alot just to steady me out a little.

The therapist was i thought very helpful but i spent the 1st 2 months going round in circles with what i thought my problems were , this is common , i also now have a phd in googling mental health problems trying to find answers on whats wrong with me.

The scary part of all this is you think you are going crazy and there is never a way out again, this is complete rubbish, your brain just manipulates your thoughts into complete worse case scenarios , totally itrational.

Coming up to my 5th month i started to realise that i needed to start making a few changes and see how i could change my life for the better, living with anxiety was incredibly tiring but showed me how strong i was to cope under this much pressure.

My situation will be completely different to yours but the changes i made were to evaluate my weekly timetable and to put in place some goals that i could work with and were passionate about ie running the marathon and the training that needs to be put in place to do it, took up more time in my life , it was social and reqarding, this them made my work life alot easier as i felt i had some structure in my life.

Half way through month 5 i woke up and decided enough was enough with the Citralopram tablets , as i felt the only person who could control my brain was me.

I am now in month 6 and have my life back , work is flying , my relationship is 10 times easier with my gf, im eating and training well and enjoying socialising and travelling again.

I really thought that i would never be the same again and it was all over for me but i can assure you i feel now back to my old self but stronger for it and hugely more compassionate.

Whatever your situation , there is a solution and i would defianately recommend a good therapist and reassure yourself you will get through it ! I hit tock bottom and survived, its very common and there are so many people who have been there !!

My personal opinion is to be very wary of the drug route especially if you can manage day to day with some self belief it will pass !

I hope this helps, ive had all the terrible symptoms and coming out the other side gives me belief you all will too !!

Danno

2

Did you still have the anxiety while on the medication? Just asking because I was prescribed Lexapro. I am able to function somewhat and go to work but I don't do anything extra and I want my life back.

3

But I'm so happy that you overcame this! It gives me hope because alot of the time I think that I will never get better and that this will be an issue for the rest of my life.

4

Hi Simon,

Yes i still had the anxiety but wasnt as tearful and emotional, Citralopram was the lowest dose.

Completely understand and you will get your life back , everyone said the same to me and its really hard to believe, what really helped me is that i started to associate my anxiety as a secondry person that tries to interfere.

I could highly recommend getting into some positive training or exercise or sign up for something that interests you !

You will get there it just takes a bit of time !!!

Be careful if you come of the drugs though they are powerful and can be addictive to the body !!

5

Thank you. I started CBT last week so hopefully that helps! I'm not a big fan of medicine so it's my last resort.

6

Definately not !!! Is it sudden for you or re occuring ??

You will get there ! Not really sure of your situation but theres always something that will change for the better !! I have found out that lots of people that have this gain from it !! Keep in there !!

7

Hi Dan, I'm so pleased that you are fully recovered. I am in my 6th month of this and have been having CBT for the past 3 months. I am making great progress but still feel mildly anxious and get the beginnings of panick. Could you elaborate on the secondary person, it sounds like a great technique. Thank you

8

Hi Michelle,

Glad to hear your doing well !! It gradually gets better and you will get stronger !

Well it sounds a bit strange but i basically look at the anxiety as a person in my head thats trying to bring me down, the brain can be really clever and even when you feel you are stronger again the anxiety can then evolve and try a different angle to get at you.

If your getting to that stage thats really good progress as now you begin to see it weakening and becoming desperate which makes it so much easier to laugh at it and just cut the thoughts out and crack on with whatever your doing !

Eventually it really weakens and you start to enjoy the things you used to again and the thoughts lose their power and relavence !!

Keep going sounds like your on your way !!! 😜😜😜

9

This is very inspiring. Thank you. I've been dealing with a lot of physical issues for 7 weeks and my tests and MRI have all come back normal. I still haven't ruled out a deficiency somewhere but if it really is because of anxiety then I'm glad I know about others who have overcome.

10

Hi Travis,

Yes i had the physical symptoms really bad at the start , then spent loads of money on tests etc and all healthy !

Could be worth testing your vit B12 that can have an effect.

I struggled with shakes , really wobbly legs , and felt lethargic , but that has all completely disapeared now .

Just try to remind yourself that its only the anxiety and it wont kill you. Its tough but definately will subside !!

Dan

11

B12 levels were fine and there aren't any issues with my thyroid but I'm still feeling upper body weakness and muscle shakes. I dread the idea of taking meds but once I've ruled out a deficiency somewhere, they may be my only option. I just want my energy back.

12

Yea know how you feel , to be honest i hate all types of meds , they did sort me out short term but then u have the issue of getting off them , defo recommend a good therapist just to start off , they usually work you out quite quick! Forcing myself out in the mornings and intense cardio did help but its hard to keep it up !! It will just end up subsiding in the end , and things that seem so difficult become laughable again!! Just keep plugging away !!

13

Thanks I can relate to that. Appreciate the response

14

Hi Dan and all my fellow anxiety survivors!

I have to say, this is the first blog I actually felt obliged to respond and contribute to, because I finally see some light at the end of the tunnel and I refuse to see this experience as a negative any longer!

Dan, I feel as though you were telling my story verbatim! About two months ago I was as happy as can be, just moved to Arizona to be with my boyfriend who I love very much. New job, new house and the prospect of a ring right around the corner! Then bam! The panic attacks hit,"out of the blue" once or twice at first, then developed into a constant state of panic/intense anxiety/obsessive-intrusive thoughts and finally the life of the party! - depression.

I took all of the initial desperate approaches- trips to the doctor,reassurance from a therapist that I was not going crazy, I too earned a doctorate in google-searching even the most complex thoughts/symptoms. Until finally the WORST of the physical symptoms (shaking,heart palpitations,derealisation,sensory overload, dizziness, you name it!) started to scare me less and less, and they began to slowly subside- after I learned to calm my body back into homeostasis. I've

But the rollercoaster ride wasn't over, it had just started to evolve into its second form- It's amazing how this condition makes you question EVERYTHING, even the most basic primal things about yourself and how you look at the world!

Now coming into month 3 of this terrible experience but I'm starting to change my way of thinking, I'm learning to stop victimizing myself and to stop googling/reading labels and stupid crap that only fuels my anxiety and you know what? It is getting better! One. Day. At. A. Time.

I also began thinking of the "anxiety" as a separate entity to myself and even though it's still hard at times, it makes it easier to keep myself from spiraling down the very slippery self-pity slope. With the wonderful support of my guy, my family and stories like yours, I can see the light!

I'd also like to note that I have not gone the pharma drugs route, as many times as I've been tempted, because well, it simply terrifies me! But I have been taking L-5HTP for the past week and it actually has helped tremendously to even out my emotions!

Thank you so much Dan for sharing your story, I am clinging to the belief that this thing will pass! Even though the road to recovery seems long and unpredictable, overall I do see improvement - Gtboit there and do your daily routine DESPITE how terrible your brain is telling you that you are/feel. I'm praying for you all, stay strong! See you on the other side <3

Ash