To think actually nobody can help me? Do other people live like this too?

[SoStResseds]

I’m 37. I have struggled with anxiety all my life. I remember being 5 and almost being physically sick worrying about spelling tests and since then I’ve worried about everything under the sun… health, people dying, paranoia, thinking people hate me, worrying I will become bankrupt, worrying I will be shot while driving (?!), worrying I have offended people… it goes on and on and on. I have sought help often. Had therapy, it works a little and I am not as bad as I used to be but I’m still 37 and a huge proportion of my life is lived in anxiety. Is this just it for me? I have tried so hard, spoken to gp, read books, meditation. I’m too anxious to take medication so I haven’t tried that although it’s been offered over the years. I’ve been told it’s a sticking plaster anyway and not dealing properly with the anxiety itself. I know this has come from huge pressure academically as a child and I have had therapy for that. I understand I am probably of that nature too and it’s just been an awful mix of things and now I’m here. I genuinely feel mildly nauseous everyday even when I don’t know why im anxious. Do other people live like this too?

What a horrible cycle you’re in. Too anxious to take something that will help stop the anxiety. Take them. What’s the worst that could happen?

Medication will just numb you.

You need hypnotherapy.

How does OCD hypnotherapy work? Hypnosis works by accessing the subconscious mind, where our habits, behaviours and emotions are controlled. The therapist will guide you into a state of deep relaxation and then make suggestions that are designed to help you change the way you think and behave.

www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/understanding-hypnosis/202207/using-hypnosis-obsessive-compulsive-disorder?amp

Yes me, I also live like this OP. I am the same age as you. I wasn't too bad as a child but I have been getting progressively worse and it now affects me day to day.

It's no way to live but I'm also too scared to take meds and therapy hasn't helped much. My life is otherwise so great, I should be having the time of my life and it's all getting wasted.

Meds are the only thing that have ever helped me

Yes, I have. Was told I'd grow out of it. I never have. I've had an absolute shit tonne of therapy of all sorts and tried every medication and natural remedy under the sun, plus exercise, medictation, etc etc, you name it I've tried it. Nothing has helped TBH. I have just accepted this is how I am. Sometimes it's really bad and sometimes it's OK.

please try medication if it doesnt work fair enough but you havent tried everything you can

That's true and so can low levels of the Vitamin Bs, especially 6 and 12. Worth checking.

I do agree with PPs. Give medication a go, just to give yourself a breather from it. Sertraline is frequently prescribed for anxiety and also has fewer side effects than lots of other SSRIs.

I took meds for lifelong anxiety. They were effective in the short run but in the long run not, plus had side effects such as significant memory loss and worsening medication-resistant mood disorders. Ultimately I found safer and more effective approaches, such as EMDR, a technology aided talk therapy,and neurofeedback. Exercise and nutrition also helped. Among other things I would highly recommend magnesium glycinate.

My brother is on medication for depression. He now cannot exist without them and has terrible withdrawal symptoms if he tries to wean off them.

And I have a cousin who is a Type 1 diabetic and would be dead if it wasn't for insulin. Instead, she leads a happy and fulfilling life that's even better now she wears a monitor that constantly checks her blood sugar levels. Taking medication isn't an indication of failure.

Drugs did it for me. I only wish I'd tried them sooner. There's no harm giving them a try.

Sorry you’re feeling like this. I’m similar, but on 20mg of citalopram I’m like a completely different person. It’s life-changing

Kindly, you sound tired and overwhelmed right now. I strongly believe that some things work sometimes, so because a thing hasn’t given a long term solution before doesn’t mean it never will.

But I ask, if nothing changes, what will change? Sure there is a risk in meds but you can give yourself, say, 6 months and see if you feel better or more able to deal with things in that time. If nothing changes, nothing changes.

Sounds like you’re really struggling which I’m really sorry to hear. I also have crippling anxiety. I have been on various medications in the past; Citalopram and Sertraline (not at the same time, over different periods), but these I was told by the doctors was more to tackle my depression. Both worked wonders though. I was given Propanalol alongside the Sertraline which was specifically for anxiety. I believe it’s a Beta Blocker and I just take this when I feel an anxiety episode coming on. I didn’t feel “numbed” by any of them, just myself again which was a breath of relief.

I think though you should really speak to a doctor about what is best suited for your own situation. Sometimes just feeling like you are doing something helps ease the load a bit. I hope you find a solution which works for you x

I can’t stress enough about how medication can help.
peroxatine literally saved my life.
please see your gp

I didn’t realise it was really bad but mine was caused by abusive parents who actually acted in
public so I totally gaslit for 30 years, married and awful divorce (married a version of my father, got pregnant and he left - raised a child alone met someone again abusive and highly controlling family - had another baby and then abuse from both families. A divorce from hell.

recently - within the last 5 years - my anxiety is mostly under control. Long term low dose meds, Light box daily, good ish diet, daily small exercise, pets and letting go of anger- staying away from family and ex and better connections with others through a local liberal church

counselling opened my eyes
unresolved trauma, physically abused etc and literally beaten and dropped off at hospital with a black eye and cut lip and my father telling them I had fallen down the stairs etc - or actually denying he had done anything

nothing will change him

the root of it will always be there and I can spiral quickly but I know feel I have a team

one day I will get a call to say he is ill etc or dead and then I know I may need more support.

try to find a good counselling and get to why this childhood feeling started?
expectant parents
a stern teacher
feeling the need to succeed etc
what caused it? Are they still alive? How did it mould you?

we can also learn to be different and reconnect. I was told I was stupid stupid stupid

3 degrees. And I still feel like a stupid 6 year old. I’m not - it was never about me - it was about him. Learning what is important and my worth

It might sound a bit out there, but one day consider giving psychedelics a go. There has been a lot of research into how they can be incredibly helpful. You could go somewhere they can be enjoyed legally if you can't get access via a clinical trial. Obviously have a safe and comfortable setting, do your research etc, but it could offer a new perspective.

OP it would be useful to know what your anxiety regarding medication is about? Side effects? Dependence? Stigma?

Meds are rarely the whole answer. But they can help with sleep, energy, mood and focus, appetite etc so they can give you the strength to cope better with what life throws at you.

They are not a ‘sticking plaster’. They are an evidence-based treatment. They do make some people feel a bit flat and numb but that’s the minority.

You may have to try a few before finding the right one for you. But it has got to be better than the hell you are inhabiting right now?

Please try beta blockers they changed my life and that of a close friend. They simply lower your blood pressure and ease the physical symptoms of anxiety and you become more rational,
Anxiety took over my life and now I don't often think about it and I don't even take them now. It was a circuit breaker for me which really worked well although it took about a year. Well worth a try.

My lovely friend was very sceptical but has suddenly come back to life after being crippled with anxiety and is quite astonished.

I resisted medication for years, but then tried Citalopram. It has been life changing for me. I still get anxious at times, but feel like it is now just "normal" levels.