I feel ya on this one. I say the same thing everyday - like "Please let me have a good day" I use to be so out going. Hell I was a bartender at Coyote Ugly for 4 or 5 years and was just totally crazy and now I hide in my house - I dont get it! I go to a therapist this Thursday so I wil see what he says and if I hear anything good ill let u know. We can get thru this. Have u tried working out? I go to the gym and try to let some of my stress out and just keep telling myself im fine and to just keep working out.

I didn't start feeling anxious until AFTER I had divorced, moved, remarried, settled into a new life -- it's almost as if now that things are "calm" all the anxiety is able to come out -- start reading every positive thinking book you can...."panic over power", "the secret", etc - you need to do all you can to get your thoughts in a positive direction! You WON'T go crazy (even though we all know that it feels like you will)- you WON'T.

Wow, we're all going through same thing. Forget the "man'ing up" and all the other crap right now. You HAVE to. I think you're driving yourself nuts and you need to just ride the wave a little.
Take the pressure OFF yourself, even if just for a little while until you give the medication time to kick in and see the doctor. Think about dealing with everything after that, when you're going to feel a little better.
After an intense anxiety episode, there's all "the calm". I know, it's happened to me over and over again and the WORST thing i did was try to fight it - the absolute worst! It WILL ABATE, TRUST ME!

Yes, I use to run 2 miles everyday. Now when I start running I think I am going to have a heart attack even though I know I am not. I am sure it would do me some good to start running again. But I have picked smoking back up ( I know shame shame) and now iget winded real quick. I know that I am making excuses and I just need to do it.

I am here for you, I am getting back on effexor xr for severe aniexty. I feel like
everything is a dream as well. I feel
enclosed and trapped by these attacks.
At one point i felt like i was disconnected from reality looking in.
I looked at my kids one day and couldn't believe they were mine. I am only 26 and have 3 kids i thought. Lights bothered me,
staying in, going out, being alone,
meeting people, not meeting people all bothered me. I use to drive until i had a panic attack while driving. My face got hot, my lips went numb, i got dizzy, felt like i was going to pass out. my heart was beating fast and my hands were trembling.
My throat has been tight for weeks, like choking sensation. sometimes, i feel like i'm moving when i'm not. when standing or sitting.

Yeah it almost makes it harder when there isn't something wrong. Then you wonder why you still feel the anxiety. I totally get what you are saying...Hang in there. Your meds will work soon. Or the quack will get you some that will.

Hey u better stop that smoking - I talked to my doc and she said smoking adds to anxioty! Thats why I quit

When I finally DO have a good day, I think, hey, there's nothing wrong with me, but then I look at my pill-box, drive to counselling, and feel like crap because I'm so messed up, but I then remember to pray. I will pray for you, jcutler.

I know how you feel. I changed my situation too, (simplified my life) I sold my house and moved closer to family, left my job, left my boyfriend, left my life that I had while I was having anxiety and panic attacks, it took over a year before I started feeling in control of it (anxiety) and that was 8 years ago! I still get anxiety now and then but not nearly as bad. I find I get it now when I'm uncertain of the future and which way my life is headed. So then I make new goals. You find ways to control it and not let it control you. I've read that often people that experience anxiety are often overcontrolling of their life, have an excessive need to please, perfectionism, overcautious, and are insecure (which descirbes me!) I've been taking lexapro for nearly a month now and I found it actually made my anxiety worse at the start, so hang in there.

I wish it was just that easy to stop smoking. At first it was social now it because I am stressed.

I did cut out weed about a year and a half ago. Which was like an everyday thing. Sometimes I wonder if after smoking the chronic for so long my body misses it. I have no idea I was always so chill when I was high. But I know it was wrong and trying to get my life straight with God.

I sometimes wonder if I were to start smoking again if it would balance me out. But I can't cause all the work I do is for the DoD (Dept. of Defense) and Dept. of homeland security and I could lose my clearance which I worked so hard to get.


But if something that simple could fix my problem I wonder if it would be worth it.

I wasn't a lazy stoner, I worked socialized everything better. I don't know just like you guys I just wanna be better and want this daily burden to be lifted. I keep looking up to God I hope he comes soon to take this garbage away.

As far as the weed smoking goes...I also smoked several times a day for years, but I recently moved to a new state and haven't smoked at all. The weed did help me manage my anxiety at the time-whenever i felt stressed or an anxiety attack was coming on i would smoke a bowl and feel all better, but recently my boyfriend came to visit me and brought some with him. It had been a few weeks since I smoked, and several since i was doing it regularly, and I had the worst anxiety attacks smoking with him. The weed totally brought it on. You may find now that it is out of your system that it has the opposite affect on you. I too needed weed to be chill, but now it makes me so anxious. It is upsetting because I always turned to it for a temporary fix, and now I find myself not having a coping mechanism (also having given up smoking cigarettes recently), and in a very stressful place mentally right now. I would say that weed is not a good fix though, atleast for me it makes me numb to the world around me, which helps anxiety in the moment, but is not a long term fix, i have just made an appointment with a hypnotherapist and a psychologist...so we'll see if they can offer me something better.

JCutler and the rest of my Anxiety friends. Please stay on your medications and listen to your doctors. I have walked your path and am trying something right now that I think can help all of us suffering from this anxiety. Please check this out:: THE MIDWEST CENTER for STRESS and ANXIETY. HERE is the e-mail and #. Promise me you will look into this ,but do stay on your meds and see your doctor.
www.stresscenter.com. Here is the # 1-800-944-9428. I have been going through this program for a few weeks and I feel I have found my answer to coping maybe even ridding this anxiety/ panic disorder once and for ALL!! Lets keep in touch. Just promise you will look into this program!! It is by Lucinda Basset THE MIDWEST CENTER for Stress and Anxiety

Beauty Queen,

Not to be rude, but Lucinda Bassets program is a rip off. We don't take kindly to people that make a profit off of our anxiety and panic attacks. She has no ground breaking info and charges out the wazzo for her product.