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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by dragonfly25 on December 28, 2003, at 18:07:14
i have recently been experiencing bad anxiety, related to school issues and some specific social issues. my doctor says i do not have an anxiety problem buti am beginning to think i do...he says i am stressed in situations everyone is stressed about- but he doesn't feel what i feel. i am really worried and i have just stummbled upon this site in teh last few days and it has some great info on it. i thought maybe someone could help me figure out what is happening to me.
i have always attributed all of the anxiety to meds- and it is still possible. but i recently saw a, i guess therapist and they think i have anxiety problems- so who is right? but i am not sure about this therapy thing either- i can come in completely calm and by the end i feel so stressed/anxious. any ideas...i would really appreciate it.
thanks dragonfly
i am at teh point where i am considering going off all my pills
Posted by Poet on December 29, 2003, at 11:33:26
In reply to Help- how can i tell if i have GAD??, posted by dragonfly25 on December 28, 2003, at 18:07:14
Hi Dragonfly,
Welcome to Babble. There are lots of online quizes you can take for GAD. Keep in mind that anxiety has many causes and symptoms: I have social anxiety as well as depression and am a recovered/ing bulimic.
Is your anxiety about school specifically about class(es) or grades or ? Did you feel okay until something just started worrying you or has it been going on a long time and has gotten worse?
My social anxiety has been there since I was a little girl. I used to hide in class and pray nobody noticed me. I never volunteered an answer and stammered if called upon even if I knew the answer. In college I blamed my bulimia for running to the ladies room to throw up after giving presentations in front of the class. Foolish me, it was social anxiety and I didn't know it.
For me meds and therapy have helped me a great deal. I still get panicky but not nearly as bad. My therapist suggested I go to grad school, but I need to work my way up to that, so I'm taking writing classes. I can do presentations in front of the class without fear!
Please don't go off your meds cold turkey. My doctor (she's not a psychiatrist, just family medicine) told me if I decide to go off it to call her and she'll tell me how and when to gradually lower the dose.
Talk to your doctor or better yet, find a new doctor as soon as you can. Your current doctor might not be experienced with treating anxiety and doesn't realize that what he thinks is everyday stress is much more intense for you.
Therapy is something that you will have to decide for yourself if it's helping you. It's very painful for me, but it has helped.
Let me know how you're doing.
Poet
Posted by dragonfly25 on December 29, 2003, at 12:45:32
In reply to Re: Help- how can i tell if i have GAD?? » dragonfly25, posted by Poet on December 29, 2003, at 11:33:26
thanks poet,
here is a little about me in case you have any more input, i am so stressed, i don't want to have an anxiety disorder- i didn't know what anxiety was until recently...
i have suffered from severe bouts of depression for years. i was sent away which exaserbated it b/c it was an awful experience. after graduating high school i didn't have my head on right. i was exposed to other screwed up kids so my direction in life was warped and i didn't have any focus. i was lost and i just sort of screwed around for a few years. i took some college classes but not too serious on my part. eventually i some how knocked some sense into my self and saw a future ahead of me...i didn't want to be a nobody anymore. i new i had a brain but i wasn't using it. so i applied to college and got in to the one i wanted. i was insecure about being out of school for a few years and that i was a litlle older than other 1st year students. in 1st year i was picked on by a prof terribly- i couldn't think straight and the stress was causing me to blank out, she humiliated me in front of the class several times (it was a small class) - i finally went ot speak to her and she actually felt awful about it. but it stuck with me. i sit in class now worrying about the possibility of being called on or having to do something in front of class. i failed all but 1 class in 1st year b/c i started having anxiety at exam time and i would blank right out. i have a better handle on things now and i am doing much better, but when i am at school i am a stress case. i guess it is a feeling of my intellect being questioned in front of younger people (realisticly only i would know the age difference tho) i also have developed an incredible fear of public speaking. but i am fine in other group settings. i think some of it has to do with meds effecting my thinking and making me more stressed that i am not saying things right. that is why i want to go off my drugs- i'm too scared to tho. i have become very critical of myself, like what i say to peoplpe etc. this is new- my sister told me recently that she thinks my drugs have done something because in the last year or 2 i have changed alot (worrying and stuff) i think it is deeper than meds tho.
wow, that was long! sorry about that, but if you have any suggestions or advice id appreciate it.
dragonfly
Posted by dragonfly25 on December 29, 2003, at 13:01:18
In reply to Re: Help- how can i tell if i have GAD?? » dragonfly25, posted by Poet on December 29, 2003, at 11:33:26
hi again
i just thought id let you know i took a quiz and i scored right on the border. i undersand now what my psychiatrist is talking about compared to this new therapist (who doesn't really now me), and what you said about different reason for anxiety etc.
my doc new me when i didn't have anxiety, but i also wasn't in school either. and this new therapist is only seeing me as a stressed out student. i supose i should really explain that to her. and as for my doc, i really need to make him undersatnd that he may not see me as having an anxiety problem but he is not sitting beside me in class. and it doesn't really matter as long as i get help with it- but i would prefer only have only contact, not 2 doctors.
thanks for reading, it really helped writing it
dragonfly
Posted by Poet on December 29, 2003, at 16:48:37
In reply to Re: Help- how can i tell if i have GAD?? » Poet, posted by dragonfly25 on December 29, 2003, at 13:01:18
Dragonfly,
I'm glad I could offer some insight. I think your first step is to have a serious talk with your psychiatrist about your meds and if they might be inducing anxiety, not reducing it. Also talk about that you didn't feel this anxiety before you went back to school. I can understand why you don't want to go to another doctor since you've been seeing him for two years.
I think you should tell your therapist that this stressed out version of you happened when you went back to school if you decide to continue.
Your professor sounded just horrible, no wonder you're now uncomfortable speaking in class. I hope she's not in your major subject or if so, you can avoid taking any more classes with her. The college I'm going to lets students evaluate the professors, I wish yours did.
Poet
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