I would like to share my experience with generalized anxiety disorder. My anxiety started when I was 16 years old, and I came close to having a nervous breakdown several times. I even had to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital for inpatient treatment.
I had already tried around 10 different medications, including Citalopram, Fluoxetine, Venlafaxine, Paroxetine, Duloxetine, Bupropion, Lithium, Lamotrigine, Opipramol, and Lorazepam.
After countless attempts to overcome my anxiety, my doctor prescribed Pregabalin as a last resort.
And I have to tell you that, even though it carries some risk of dependence, this is the medication that has improved my anxiety disorder by approximately 80%.
It has been amazing. I finally feel like I am starting to live again and do things that I used to be afraid of.
It helps not only with my physical symptoms but also with my psychological anxiety. For the first time in years, I feel like I am getting my life back.
I currently take 450 mg per day, and I would recommend discussing Pregabalin with your doctor if you have tried numerous other medications without success and feel like you have run out of options.
Of course, everyone responds differently to medication, and Pregabalin does carry a risk of dependence, so it is important to discuss the potential benefits and risks with your doctor.

Hi everyone, I need urgent advice. Has anyone experienced something similar?
I usually take Propranolol 40mg once a day for anxiety and a fast heart rate. I took one tablet at around 2:00 pm this morning, then accidentally took another 40mg tablet at around 12:25 AM tonight because I forgot I had already taken it.
So I may have taken 80mg within approximately 22 hours and 25 minutes. I tried vomiting, but I didn’t see the tablet in the vomit.
I’m currently home alone, and the nearest doctor is not close to me. I’m really worried and want to know what I should do right now.
Has this happened to anyone else?
Did you experience any side effects?
What did you do, and did you need emergency medical care?
Please, if anyone has reliable medical advice, I would really appreciate it. I’m especially worried because I’m alone right now.
Thank you.

I could really use some inspo!

I have been having immense anxiety and panic attacks lately,the last few days I have been getting this exhausted anxious feeling in my chest randomly and some nausea here and there,if I do anything requiring physical activity or stand up too quick my heart rate also spikes to like a 100+ , anyone else?

Like I really don't want to take an SSRI. I don't.

I'm already feeling bad so starting this guessing game with SSRI's "maybe it will work, maybe it won't, remember that it gets worse in the beginning and you might get awful side effects wich might or might not fade during the time you are taking the medicine, it might take 2-12 weeks to show any signs of working, also if the lowest dosage doesn't work for you be prepared to experience starting symptoms all over again at the higher dosage..... Ah and also you want to quit taking it? Haha it's not that easy and you are going to get withdrawals which sucks but you know it is what it is".

Aaarrrgghhh!!!!!!

And how about benzos? Well, they WORK! Immediately. No side effects for me when I take them only when needed. But the downside is that I can't rely on them too often because even they are super super addictive.

When are we going to get anxiety medication which actually doesn't involve suffering when starting/quitting the medicine and actually works immediately for our symptoms?

I'm aware of propranolol, works great for heart palpations but that's it. Emotionally I'm still anxious mess while on it.

I have health anxiety and GAD, and I’ve had lots of stuff medically going on the last few weeks. And this week, every day since Monday, I’ve been in a constant state of panic worrying that I’ll suddenly drop dead. I’ve been constantly telling my mom about symptoms and it’s gotten to a point where she told me to stop (which I have. For reference, I’m a college student not currently at home). I’m not here to seek reassurance on whether my symptoms are serious or not, I just want to know how to make it stop. Deep breathing doesn’t work cause I get lightheaded, and I can’t focus on other things at all, and I’m just constantly scared and I have no one to talk to.

My anxiety is from the minute I wake up until the time I go to sleep. This has been going on for months now. Meds not working. Im so tired of feeling like this.

Hey team,

I've been on 40mg paroxetine for years and am tapering off now.

This week I've dropped down to 20mg, then will need to do 10mg for a week, then a day of nothing, then a week of 30mg duloxetine and then 60mg of duloxetine onwards.

I'm only on day 3 of 20mg paroxetine and I'm really struggling. Headaches, panic attacks, nausea. Feeling insane, like I need to call an ambulance. I don't know what to do. I need help, please!

As the title says. I am currently experiencing the highest levels of anxiety i ever have before. Ive always suffered with anxiety but I feel worse now than ever before

I am the mother to a profoundly disabled 6 yr old beautiful little boy, he developed a line down his thumb which grew quickly and got darker. I had no idea but this is a sign of melanoma. While my son was being assessed at hospital, 5 separate dermatologists came out to view him, 1 noticed a mole on my husband's arm and said that needs to come off straight away! So we left that appointment with even more fear that they both could have it.

My mother whom is my best friend has parkinsons disease, she needed a colonoscopy where they found 2 suspicious growths

We are now waiting for those results too.

So waiting on results of THREE biopsys for the people I love the most

Once home my soul cat collapsed and rushed to vet. They couldn't find a cause but im certain shes dying.

I am trying to make a gp appointment but im sure she wont be able to do anything but refer me to taking therapies that would be a 18 month wait here currently in uk.

Im just reaching out for words of advice really. Does anyone have any tips on how to deal with this level of anxiety?

Thank you for listening to me and I appreciate every reply

I’m 19 female. I’ve been anxious my whole life and got diagnosed with autism, panic disorder, agoraphobia etc when I was 16/17.

My whole life has been spent in survival mode. I can never enjoy anything unless my thoughts physically cannot form.
I can’t sit in my own house without feeling sick or anxious.

I want to be an actor, I want to see the world, I want to be in a romantic relationship and feel comfortable around people. But I simply cannot.

I try every day to better myself and to motivate myself but at the end of the day I am just wasted potential.

I have to force myself to eat, wake up, sleep, see friends and go to work. And through all daily activities I’d rather just be asleep.

I've no prior history of allergies yet for some reason last week my anxiety attached itself on to the thought. Now I'm scared all food, even what I've had before, might give me a reaction. I'm spending ages before eating worrying and stressing and when I force the food I immediately start hyper focusing on my throat and mouth sensations. It's gotten bad, even a sandwich I had two days ago I had again today and nearly had a panic attack.

After probably having GAD my entire life, I finally sought help at the ripe age of 30. I’ve made and scheduled appointments with psychiatrists, therapists, multiple times but always blew them off thinking I could “man up” and deal with it. I worry literally constantly about everything and I’m assuming the stress I’ve put on myself has cut years off my life, my poor ole ticker.

I followed the advice of my amazing support system and finally met with someone this week. Funnily enough they also validated the thoughts in the back of my head, and I was prescribed some medication and am now being referred to a therapist.

The irony is how anxious I was to take the meds haha I guess there’s a little humor there.

Really really proud of myself and just wanted to share that with a group who could probably understand where I’m at.

Does anyone else have extremely high heartrate when their body is anxious? Sometimes my brain won't even be anxious but my heart rate will be sky high.

I’ve tried lexapro and sertraline but both gave me an allergic reaction. I like how it stops my overthinking, but both leave me dissociated and kind of numb. Are there any meds that make you happier instead of stopping both the lows and the highs? I really value being present and aware of my emotions, but both meds I’ve tried in the past leave me zoned out all the time. I either want a stop or lessening of my anxiety, or a mood/ energy boost so I can better deal with it if I can’t get rid of it. But so far, meds have been worse than just dealing with it without any medication. But I also know I can’t deal with it forever without medication, it’s a lot for me to handle. Anyone have an experience with meds that don’t leave you numb or zoned out?

I (20f) have been pretty shy since I was like 11 and throughout my following school years I have developed social anxiety. Then from like 14-16 I tried to fight my social anxiety by putting myself out of my comfort zone and eventhough it didnt fix it obviously during that time I was the most expressive and happiest but then since I was 17 and now the last few months it became way worse. I am scared to look people in the face, I think about peoples facial expressions for weeks, I just feel off. I am in college right now and everyone seems like a full person and I am just there. I am so scared of being perceived by others. Its not even that I think I am ugly. I got a nice part time job recently after searching for a long time and it covered my rent perfectly and was a very nice and fun job and I tried so hard to act normal and extroverted but they fired me after a month (its a social job not retail or waitress job) because they think I look like I dont wanna be there and like I am in my own world and hate the job basically, which is not true. They even said out of all the student workers they had I was the least open etc. I dont know whats wrong with me, even when I try my hardest I am still the worst basically.

And sorry for my bad grammar, english is my third language but I am improving it.

Ive been through a lot this year. I found out my ex fiance was cheating on me the entire time last October and broke it off. Couldnt join the marines. Left my job to work for a friend and was taken advantage of and lost that friend. Got kicked out. Dealt with domestic violence. Dealt with severe emotional abuse from my last ex that was, admitedly, a rebound. Moved into a roach coach then transfered to a potential roach coach. Had my wallet stolen. Got sick twice in in a month and almost got a kidney infection. (Last bit was since August lol) And now im short about 145 dollars this month on my rent.

The problem is, I know I can get it. Im pulling from my HSA to cover the medical expenses of this month, but the waiting for it to hit is so unbearably stressful. I can easily doordash that money or sell things to get it, but fuck ive been so incredibly stressed.

I cant turn it off. Everything puts me towards max stress. Im medicated for an anxiety disorder and had gotten to a point where I could very easily tame the beast and sit in discomfort or using coping mechanisms, but with all the chaos, I am struggling to turn off the stress switch.

Ive not got a full night's sleep since I got kicked out in August. I try. Nothing helps. Im drowning in stress. The only thing that gets my mind off of how crazy things have been is my bf. Even then, I worry the fact im not okay and easily stressed now will drive him away.

I just feel so broken inside after it all. I dont know what to do and how to stop this constant feeling of dread and anxiety.

I’ve been with anxiety for a decade so far, but the reality is that anxiety is a talker of its own. It doesn’t guarantee anything. It tries to control things beyond our control.

So whether you’re in therapy or not, whether you take meds or not, whether you have other things in your life that you don’t deserve to have, the base underneath it all is the worldview. You don’t control anything. There is nothing you control. You have influence. You are entitled to your actions and they matter, but not to the results that you imagine.

Relax, nothing will go as planned.

Another thing is that anxiety is an emotion like any other. It is not bad, and neither is grief, but it is for sure unpleasant. The goal is not to get rid of anxiety but to learn to tolerate its presence and do stuff beside it. It’s like having a controlling parent. You can fight them, or agree with them and give up on your dreams, or... or you can say “Yeah, yeah, whatever, heard this many times, thanks” and do your thing.

Listen, no visions of anxiety can do anything, but they can force you to react based on them. An anxiety disorder can use all the information it knows about you to stop you, but it can’t stop you unless you decide. The same way an intrusive thought can’t lift your hand, the decision does it, the response.

You control decisions. You can be blackmailed at the negotiating table, but how you respond is your free will. Own it. Dare it.

The same with shame.

it is that simple but in reality as hard as breaking the wall with a head. i know. i feel us. especially, when the ground is swept under your feet and there is nothing to rely on.

i think in recovery the goal is not to get rid of anxiety, its not to be tortured and ruled by it. to go through the process of separation from the emotion that tries to save us without eliminating it.

all the love.

Hi, some people have intrusive thoughts that aren't actually tied to something happening in life right after (imaginary stuff on their heads) but what if I have anxiety of making a mistake on a task I do at my job, how to control something that IS real and not just an idea and so stop checking 200 times.

lately i've been stuck in a loop of anxiety. i'll be okay one second, then my mind will wander and be like "hey, panic attacks are really scary. what if we had one right now lol" and i'll end up making myself panic. and when i manage to calm myself down, it'll repeat again. i'm in my room, i'm safe, there are no outside triggers, it's just MY BRAIN😭 does anyone have any tips on how to stop these intrusive thoughts? any time i'm not completely distracted, my mind will literally convince itself to freak out, and it's SO exhausting :( plz help

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Today, I went to the office feeling a little on edge, with constant negative thoughts running through my mind. As work started getting overwhelming, my anxiety gradually intensified.

I asked a coworker who knows about my anxiety to go for a walk with me, but by then, it had already peaked. When I returned, I was overwhelmed by this constant fear that something terrible was going to happen, that I might faint, lose control, or somehow not make it home.

Eventually, I told my manager I wasn't feeling well, booked a ride, and left. Strangely, the moment I sat in the car, I started feeling better, and my anxiety almost completely disappeared.

I've been dealing with this for about four months and have made significant progress through therapy and working on myself. I don't know whether it's general anxiety, panic attacks, or GAD, and I've never really asked my therapist because I don't want to put a label on it.

I previously took two weeks of working from home because of my anxiety, but after improving, I returned to the office. I've been going regularly for almost three months now, and this is the first time I've had to leave because of it.

I know recovery isn't always linear, but I can't help wondering whether this counts as a setback. Does anyone else experience this cycle of constant negative thoughts that gradually builds into intense fear or panic, only to disappear once you're out of the situation? Is this a normal part of recovery?

How do you guys handle anxiety when there are always new symptoms and you get always the answer - it’s anxiety.

How do you differentiate then between anxiety and an actual medical emergency?

Example what I’m currently in…

I usually have anxiety because of my heart. I have bad family history of heart issues and after I got heavy palpitations I developed anxiety. Which I understand and accepted after a serious numbers of tests.

Now since around a week I have daily stupid head aches, neck paid, ringing ears and get hot flashes which makes my ears and cheeks red…

My PCP said I have no concerning signs it’s anxiety and I don’t know why I can’t accept that… but I also don’t want to go to the ER…

How do you handle that and can anxiety actually cause those type of symptoms?

I’ve been biting the skin around my nails and my lips pretty badly. How can I stop doing these things? My nails are bloody and scabbed up and my lips pretty badly had a huge trauma blister on it. It’s absolutely hideous and horrific and I still cannot seem to stop doing these things.

What supplements have helped when medication has failed you?