If I go to the GP about anxiety, what will happen?

[BarneyRonson]

Will I get a prescription or be advised to do CBT first? What prescriptions are offered and what have you found worked for you?

Im tired of anxiety attacks, I really am. Haven’t mentioned it to Dr before.

I was offered talking therapies or meds. Or recommended to have some 'me time' 🤔

I was given a prescription for Sertraline, and also recommended to refer myself to talking therapy. My GP was so so lovely (as was the nurse who triaged me) and I wish I had done something about it sooner. I hope yours is just as nice to you. Well done for taking steps to get help.

I was offered meds, a referral for CBT, directed to some self help stuff and given a fit note for a month. The GPs were nothing but lovely and supportive the whole time.

Meds were Mirtazipine so that I could sleep, and propranolol as needed.

I've been given Propranolol in different doses. I've been given a few different SSRIs. I've been given Mirtazipine.
They have suggested online NHS CBT, which I know would be shit.

I always go in and strongly advocate for myself and tell them what I'd like to do, and have never had push back.

I've also been signed off a couple of times with anxiety and they've always done me a favour and labelled it as something more physical (post-covid fatigue etc) so I don't have to have conversations about 'anxiety' with work.

I was told I could self refer to talking therapy, which was rubbish you only get six sessions.

I was also told meds won't cure you so no point taking them and to basically stop making a fuss.

I really hope your GP is more sympathetic but would definitely say go prepared and advocate for yourself.

Admitting how I felt to someone was incredibly hard and I wasn't prepared for the pushback.

Most will just chuck some antidepressants at you and tell you to self refer to shitty talking therapies.

I don't know what age you are but HRT has massively helped my anxiety

Depending on how bad the anxiety is you may be offered meds before or alongside therapy. My heart rate was a concern due to repeated panic attacks and an embolism so I was put on proprananol and said I would wait for therapy (big mistake) before starting any others. I had about 9 months wait for "talking therapy" which was basic CBT given by someone I am not 100% sure was qualified for CPTSD and I stopped it. I had already waited several years trying to struggle through and can't start on the waiting list again because I "refused" treatment... Make sure you know what kind of therapy you need and want before getting into the long process of waiting and don't let them bully you into a cheaper/quicker/less qualified person helping.

I was given a prescription for sertraline and put on an 18 week waitlist for CBT. I went private for CBT and the therapist was amazing. Exactly the kind of woman I needed. Straight talking and confident. She explained the physiological route of my anxiety and that really helped me. When it finally came the NHS CBT was terrible and, like someone above mentioned, was "delivered" by what looked like a nurse who had gone on a weekend training course. Her hands were literally shaking as she read her questions off of a piece of paper. I ditched it and went back to using the homework materials that my lovely private therapist gave me. Each private session was 70 (ten years ago) and I had three sessions and it helped me immensely. If I feel anxiety coming back I still use the techniques the therapist taught me. Best £210 I spent. Came off the sertraline after 6 months.

"She explained the physiological route of my anxiety and that really helped me" @BadSil , would you mind explaining this a bit further, I'm really interested in conquering my anxiety.

Im currently doing talking therapy with an NHS psychologist and have a prescription for sertraline. Having been on antidepressants years ago for anxiety I have to say they really did work. Once I was on them nothing felt quite so bad. It’s such a horrible feeling when anxiety takes hold so I really do sympathise with you. One thing that I find helpful is guided meditation and breathing techniques. Hope you get the help you need

Root...not route. Sorry.

Anyway. Part of my anxiety was the fear of losing control of my emotional state (or being a "crazy person") I was terrified I would never feel "normal" again. I had had a recent miscarriage and was diagnosed with a hormone disorder within weeks of one another. I woke up one day and was filled with dread and my body was jangling. I couldn't eat or sleep. I started to get obtrusive thoughts that I would never get better. Then I'd be terrified of the thoughts and try and push them out of mind, but it made it worse.

My therapist basically showed me that my body had gone through what she called "a hormonal storm" that triggered the anxiety. And even though logically I knew I was safe and everything was ok, my anxiety was out of control. She told me about the amygdala and it's role in the flight/fight response. Mine was stuck in a state of flight or fight. I was exhausted. But knowing that there was a physical element to my illness made it more "fixable" to me. It gave me hope that I wouldn't be ill for ever.

Honestly just having someone fully explain my brain and hormones to me was worth the money. It allowed me to rationalise a lot of my obtrusive thoughts.

Thanks @BadSil . That does make sense, and knowing its your body rather than just your mind makes it more fixable somehow.

Do you know what you would like to do? After reading about sertraline I decided I wanted to try that. So I went to gp, told them about my anxiety (which has been ongoing for years) and said I wanted to try sertraline. They prescribed it to me along with propranolol and also sent me info for talking therapies. I’m having regular check ins now to see how it’s all going and adjust my dose if needed.

I've done online CBT and it was great.

OK so it's pretty generic but I found it really helpful in changing my mindset about social anxiety.

Plus you can do it at any time, and go back over it when you need a refresher (or kick up the arse).

Ok Thankyou for these responses. I have taught myself some CBT so I question my thoughts as true/ helpful. I do breathing exercises and long walks and calming meditations. All of these help. But then I get physical surges of dread and fear and m concentration goes and my insides quake.

do you find sertraline and propanadol helpful?

Thankyou for this question. I don’t know what I want. I’ve looked at the various drugs and haven’t focused clearly enough on the pros of them, I get overwhelmed by potential negatives. ( which obviously is part of the problem…! )
how did you know what was right for you?

Do you find any medication works particularly well for you? I’d like very much to advocate for myself. Honestly I’ve never told anyone at all that I have this problem.

I feel more sane and balanced now that I’m on HRT. I am wondering if upping oestradiol from one pump would help, or getting testosterone boosted.

GP will give meds and tell you to self refer.

HRT made a massive difference to my anxiety and it's pretty much gone now. Can't recommend it enough

That’s so unhelpful. As many posters have said and my experience is that I was offered various options and sympathetically received.

I self referred for talking therapies which said would take 3 mths but one month in they have contacted me already.

Already on propanol. GP asked me to read up on ADs versus HRT at first appt. Appt last week they have given me a prescription for HRT.

Honestly, I've not been able to persevere past day 1 with any SSRI because they make me feel so awful. I'm into week 4 on Mirtazipine, and I'm not yet sure if it's done anything for my anxiety, but it's given me no side effects at all, which is great so I'll keep going.

If I have something coming up which will definitely make me very anxious - a flight, an interview, public speaking etc - I've found the most effective thing for me is to completely avoid alcohol and caffeine for a couple of days on the lead up, then on the day itself have a low GI breakfast like porridge and take a propranolol.

I'm 41 so will consider HRT soon too.

I was told to refer myself to talking therapies. The person who assessed me said I needed 1-1 in person support.

I was given an online course because it was my first time. 🙄 It got me out of the deepest depths, but expecting someone who can just about manage to get out of bed, shower and sit on the sofa all day, to get better by reading a screen is ludicrous.

I've been on Sertraline for a month now and things have really improved.

I might try the CBT again now that I haven't got multiple incomplete thoughts rushing round my head. The GP I'm dealing with now is so understanding!

Good luck with the GP. It's good that you know it's anxiety, so hopefully they will put you in touch with the GP that specialises in mental health.

My anxiety was reactive. Something horrible happened, I developed anxiety over it happening again, and then 8 weeks later it happened again. After the second event I spiraled and got very unwell. I was given a a short course of benzos, referred for counseling, and told to come back in two weeks. After the two weeks I was given another short course, and one more after that.

I was given a fourth course last week as it's now the one year anniversary of it which brought it all back. But between the first couple of months and now I was mostly fine.

It depends on what sort of anxiety you have and why you are having it really. Something more chronic than mine might warrant a longer term medication instead of just two weeks at a time, or different types of counseling / talking therapies.

Often you do get a choice in what happens to a point. I was given three options to choose from and picked what I felt was right for me.