I dont know where the ■■■■ it came from but i feel very anxious today and my heart palps are not making it easy on me at all! Im trying breathing slowly and its helping alittle bit but not as expected… im day 8 into 30mg and had no real probs previously… what a strange day!
hi i know how you feel im 12 days in and today has been a really bad day is this normal! i panic thinking something else is wrong ! yesterday was a good day then wham from the minute i woke up!!
Oh how I wish I could say something other than its still early days. Stick at it and try not to (now this may sound silly) get anxious about feeling anxious. Hope it doesnt last too long.
When your get your palps try and distract yourself. I had them last night, came out of nowhere in bed. I turned the TV on to distract myself, had a glass of water and it passed. I find drinking water helps because when you are drinking you are not breathing so it helps slow the heart. Try not to focus on it too much when it happens it will only prolong it.
thank you i will definately keep that in mind Lina
regards,
James
Its a blip - they’re part of recovery and they’ll come and go and will often appear for no reason at all.
Easy to say this, but not easy to do …… but don’t try and control anything. Let your body do what it wants to and try and ‘ignore’ whatever is going on and just get on with your day, however uncomfortable you feel. By trying to control things you’re paying it attention, making yourself anxious by worrying about it. By ignoring it, then it will calm down in time, though I would actually think your heart isn’t beating any faster than it normall does - it just feels that way.
If you were a runner and had just finished a race you wouldn’t try and slow your heart beat down, you’d just ‘ignore’ it.
Increasing meds will increase anxiety for a while until things settle.
Hi katecogs
That’s really an excellent analogy. Your advice is always worth noting and very reassuring. Much appreciated😊.
Hiya Kate!
I just got back from my docs and told him that yesterday (7th day on 30mg) and today i feel very anxious and he said he doesnt think its directly not completely related to the cit. he said it could be an underlying issue that i already have with depression and severe anxiety, i also have social anxiety so i think for the next few days eat well, go for a nice walk and fresh air, and just rest. do a few chores around the apt each day to distract myself even for that hour and watch a movie and try and relax. Its so hard to pay attention to tv when my brain seems to be in 4th gear thinking of such trivial thoughts that have no importance accept bother and upset me.
thanks for replying Kate xx
James
Hi Kate
My GP increased my dose from 20 to 30mg last Monday. Yesterday I was not too bad but today I feel nauseous and my tummy feels upset and bloated. Is this normal when increasing the dose?
Aww thanks xx. Took me years and lots of reading before finding and understanding this. But it truly works 
Yes it could be a mix of your initial anxiety and the meds, which heighten anxiety when you start meds and with every increase. Anxiety is all the same underneath, but with different ‘hats’ on, as generally it ends up being the fear of anxiety itself, not the situation. We all have a different path that leads us to the point, and depending how we get here seems to stick with us and become our fears. Anticipatory anxiety, fearing the ‘what if’ makes it worse too.
You need to get ‘that’ book I always talk of. Its brilliant and the author also had social anxiety, though you can treat all anxiety as he treated his.
Thats the usual trick anxiety plays - one of the side effects is anxious thoughts and often scary thoughts too. These play over and over as your mind tries to makes of it all and constantly looks for an answer. The trick with the thoughts is to understand they will be present, they are a side effect, and to just let them come and go but don’t engage with them, allowing them to be in the background. By keep analysing everything then the anxiety is just being fed fuel to keep the fire burning.
We get stuck in a cycle of fear / anxiety / fear, and the thoughts, anxiety, etc etc keep that cycle going round and round. Breaking the cycle is key and that’s by working on the thoughts (above), relaxing whilst moving around (letting go of tension) and taking the meds. All this helps break that viscous cycle.
We all think how could this possibly treat ‘my’ particular anxiety because mine is different - and that’s exactly what I thought. Anxiety foxes you and masks the way forward with fear. But honestly this really does work.
If you want the book title I can message you with it as I can’t post links or books on here or the post will be deleted by Admin.
K x
Are you on Citalopram (Celexa)?
SSRI’s affect everyone differently and think tummy upset / bloatedness is another side effect. It could well be the increase as increasing often heightens side effects again, and nausea is definitely something I had for a while on meds. It should settle down … but see your doctor if it doesn’t as sometimes loweing the dose or change of meds sorts it out.
Hi Katecogs
My GP increased my Citalopram from 20 to 30mg last Monday and my anxiety increased. Any idea how long it will take for things to settle down?
Hi Kate,
I would love the title of the book please.
Niall xx
Hi Kate,
I do take Celexa/Cipramil.
Niall xx
The meds don’t give you an instant boost and usually take between 2-4 weeks maybe? Everyone’s so different how they react to medicine so there’s no exactly time - but reckon 2-4. Could be sooner?
I’ll message you.
In the past when my Cipramil was increased I usually got better quite quickly.
Often when you take meds for a second, third time etc the experience can be so different.
Three little words. All totally normal. Not being dismissive, it’s just to reassure you your experience is not unusual at all.