Please help! I've had some mental health issues over the last few months, triggered off my some stressful life events. My GP prescribed anti-depressants but they made things worse and I stopped them. Since then I've been trying to manage with self-help. I've seen a psychiatrist who was very reassuring and thought I was getting better. I've been coping ok on most days for the last few weeks.
The problem is there are some times when I am not coping, and today is one of them. I was awake most of the night with an awful feeling which is still with me now in the early afternoon. It is so extreme I can't describe: it's like an intense fear and it goes on for hours and hours. It just seems to come out of nowhere and there's nothing I can do about it. I try to distract myself, I try talking to people, I try exercising - nothing works. I end up just pacing about, trying to control the panic.
When I'm feeling like this I'm sure I must be on the verge of psychosis: it feels so extreme. Or is it just 'normal' anxiety? There are other days on which I feel much more normal. When I saw the psychiatrist it was a 'normal' day so of course he thought I was alright. If he saw me today, he wouldn't.