Is it possible to recover from anxiety that I've had since primary school. I'm 53 now.

[SaffronMilkCap]

Anxiety has plagued my life. It's ruined so much. I'm going through hell at the moment. I feel like this is my last chance. I've just completed an online Dr request. I've told them SSRIs have never worked for me and I need therapy. They're just going to palm me off with some more meds or stick me on a 6 months waiting list for a 6 session phone call aren't they?!

I'd willingly join a clinical trial or something. I'm desperate. I've started talking to myself. I can't eat or sleep.

Anyone actually managed to control their anxiety,?

I guess not. Feeling rock bottom. I've no friends. How sad is it that I need to post on here.

Yes absolutely there are ways to get rid of your anxiety

Can you afford therapy privately?

have you tried anti anxiety medication like propranolol which isn't an SSRI but used to combat the physical symptoms of anxiety like shaking hands and racing heart? CBT can be useful at providing tools to cope with anxiety and can look at the feelings/thought/behaviour vicious cycle. A more long term humanistic therapy might be more appropriate at this point though, where you can unpick the underlying causes, going back to childhood. An integrative therapist could help with this.

I hope so. My dc (2 now adult) have always struggled with anxiety. The older 2 are much better but still Fage occasional panic attacks. The younger one has extreme test anxiety and at present we are not sure she will be able to sit a-levels.

It's terrible. A terrible awful condition to have and even with therapy and medication whilst miles better, it's still there

Yes you can massively reduce anxiety, it’s a deeply grooved pattern but it can change. Have you found anything that’s helped previously? Walking / reading / dancing / meditation / time in nature / journaling / somatic exercises / yoga. What have you tried so far?

try these for now? And

Have you read "At last a life, anxiety and panic free"? I found it a useful guide.

I haven’t managed to sadly. I’ve tried multiple meds (still on them), had CBT. Read books. Had inpatient stays (have other MH issues too). I’ve just had another psychological assessment and they’ve said they are now doing an autism assessment. I’m so sorry, it’s horrible isn’t it?

Have you had an ADHD assessment?

I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression when I was 14. I'm 53 now. Diagnosed about 18m ago and have medication.

the comment about autism is really interesting.
Adults with long term anxiety often have undiagnosed autism, especially at your age (same as me) when ASD wasn't really understood.
Do you have any trauma from childhood or was it a happy childhood?
Any other markers for ASD such as sensory sensitivity, restrictive repetitive behaviours and social communication struggles?

I didn't have a happy childhood. Unhappy parents and broken home.
I've recently thought I could be autistic. But I'm incredibly shy and I think that can have similar symptoms to autism. I can't stand certain noises (OH picking his fingers, children playing,). I'm socially hopeless. I daydream a lot. My brain won't stop thinking.

I'm socially hopeless. I daydream a lot. My brain won't stop thinking.

I’m like this too. Also suffer badly with anxiety, all my life. SSRIs did nothing. Nothing good anyway, they actually made me worse. It took a lot of psychiatric treatment but I got diagnosed as having atypical bipolar eventually. A combination of mood stabilisers and mirtazapine is what works for me. I still get stressed sometimes and go up and down a bit but my brain has slowed right down. The downside is I struggle with lethargy from the meds, I’ve gained a lot of weight and feel quite numb at times but to be honest I really don’t care. It’s so much better than the way I was without them. I may well have some nd going on, I have a lot of the signs, but my biggest problem is with my moods so it doesn’t really matter anyway. The meds are not perfect but I have tried different things and they are the only thing that makes my life liveable. Thankfully I got my diagnosis years ago when there was some hope of getting proper psychiatric treatment. If I was you I would keep pushing and trying to get in front of a psychiatrist and really explain about this feeling that your brain won’t stop thinking. I’d been in treatment as an out patient and as an in patient for ages and gotten nowhere but when I told them that my thoughts were going really fast, I couldn’t stop thinking, that’s when things started to get better. I thought it was just a by product of the anxiety before that. It might be for you but you need to mention it specifically if you haven’t already.

SSRIs never worked on me. Wasted years of my life being told I had depression and anxiety. Then I had an autistic child. Sought my own diagnosis and literally cured my anxiety instantly. I'd read up a lot in autism for my son so gave myself the accommodations I needed, taking a break or avoiding sensory triggers drastically reduced the anxiety. Accepting I'm not wrong or broken just different got rid of all the frustration I had at myself for joy coping when everyone else seems to be able to cope. And then funnily enough I can now cope with most things as I plan around my own needs.

As you have suspected yourself to be autistic I think you should read up on it in women and ask for an assessment. Assessment isn't actually necessary unless you want accommodations a ly work etc it the understanding yourself that is the cure

I agree with a previous poster. This definitely sounds like undiagnosed autism.

If so, then understanding the condition may go a long way in helping you manage your anxiety.

High animal fat ketovore or carnivore diet will help you immensely. Try FB group, Keto For Neuro. Amazing.

Thank you so much for posting this - the way you've described the manifestation of your anxiety makes total sense to me. I always thought the racing thoughts, the constant head buzz, meaningless words just randomly firing in my mind, inability to shut my thoughts off at all resulting in chronic insomnia, were just part of anxiety and thus, have never explained that indepth to the gp. I suspect I'm the same as you - ssri meds sent me literally crazy with zero sleep, extreme agitation and the anxiety cranked up to 100, so much so I started to hallucinate. I'm so happy you found a solution, it's awful living this way.

@PinkFrieda

What you have described is exactly how I feel when I’m off my meds. It really is awful. I think it is a really difficult thing to put into words. It’s like most of it is under the surface so people just don’t see it, but you feel it. Outwardly, the signs are very hard to spot. I was initially diagnosed with unipolar disorder but it didn’t respond to antidepressants at all. After about a year, my doctor admitted me to hospital under a different consultant to get a second opinion. There they saw that I was not just depressed, I was actually in a mixed state (depression with simultaneous symptoms of elation). They cut the ad’s right back straight away and put me on lithium, then another mood stabiliser and eventually mirtazapine. Things got a lot better after that but it took another two years and further two admissions to get the diagnosis and then to get the meds balanced.
It is really important to try to really get to the heart of what is causing you problems and then to try to explain that to the doctor, but it’s hard to do and it really does need a psychiatrist because a gp just isn’t qualified. Definitely tell all you’ve said here to any doctor you see and push for a referral.

Thank you so much for sharing that. I share so many of your symptoms. I honestly thought I was going mad as every ssri sent me nuts, did absolutely nothing to alleviate the anxiety/ ensuing depression - so much so I've questionned my own reality, thinking well if these meds work for everyone else, it must just be me and I'm ' crazy'. You've given me a good starting point to discuss with my gp - i realise now that if I keep on saying I have anxiety, without going into minute detail what that actually means for me, they'll have a better idea for treatment. It's such a long journey when you don't even seem to suffer in the ' right, normal' way, if you know what I mean! Best of luck to you moving forward , may you continue to be well

@PinkFrieda
Absolutely. I do know what you mean. Best of luck to you too. Hope you get the support that you need.

OP, please don't give up. I think a few of us on here can relate to that feeling of hopelessness, but we have to keep trying. If the ssri don't agree with you, could you see if something else would. Like I posted above ssri don't work for me either , but like the pp explained she's finally found something that does - so there's hope for us all.

I have just been watching a video on this very subject. It's part of a course, free on YouTube.

This sounds so familiar to me OP. I can’t remember a time before anxiety. It feels very much part of me.

I tried medication and NHS therapy but it didn’t do much. Like others I suspect autism and so did one of my therapists but I didn’t get anywhere with the GP. I suspect if I could pay I might find something more helpful but as I can’t I have given up and just try to live alongside the anxiety as best I can and accept it’s the way I am.

You’re not alone. I hope you find an answer.

Thank you. It's a shame there is not more help out there for people like us.

@SaffronMilkCap

DBT (dialectical behaviour therapy) is recommended for neurodivergent women. CBT doesn't work for big, unmanageable feelings. You can google DBT practitioners in your area. It's apparently very effective.

I had a breakdown down at 39. I was suicidal I felt like I would never recover. It took18 months to get me to a better place.
Things that worked-

CBT - I had 6 weeks face to face . But I wasn't good enough at the end so I got referred to a senior practitioner and had a further 6 months. It helped me manage my thoughts better as understand unhelpful thinking patterns. NHS service

Hypnotherapy- I paid for this but it was amazing. £80 a session but worth every penny. I felt so much more relaxed.

Yoga- helped me manage thoughts and breathing. I do yoga with Adrienne on you tube.

Meditation- I did a 6 week course with NHS. It changed my life, I learnt to be ok with negative emotions and that they pass . And that thoughts aren't real it's just stuff in your head. I use the calm app now.

Other stuff I tried which was less effective but can work -

Reiki
Acupuncture
St John's wort
CBD oil

Im the same op