Anxiety getting worse

[user1492538376]

Since the start of December my anxiety has been through the roof. Its all work related - I have been in my job 7 years and always suffered with it but coped. (I was signed off work once before with stress about 4 years ago for about a month)

Now I cannot stop ruminating and playjng out worst case scenerios. What seems to have triggered it is doing a work presentation and also increased workload. I have done presentaions before and been fine so I dont know why this time is different. I want to get out of the presentation (next month) and its causing me a lot of distress and its not a big part of my job anyway.

I started cbt in December and already am on antidepressants - I feel very hopeless and not sure what to do. I have a husband and young daughter and I dont want this to affect them. I’ve not been physically well this week - have had a fever - so that’s not really helping.

Anyone any advice?

Hello OP,

I'm going ask how old you are as I spent my whole life running a successful and stressful business, fronting meetings talking in public and I hit 47 and out of nowhere crippling anxiety, it impacted my business, my relationships and pretty much floored me.

It's taken me a year to get the right combination but for me it was 100% hormones.

I'm now using patches and progesterone and the anxiety attacks have gone, it took a while to get the balance right. (HRT)

But the fear is there and I'm scaling back and I can't cope with stressful situations as well anymore, I'm approaching 50 and I'm really rethinking live as a whole and removing as much stress as possible a possible and being grateful that this is a new thing for me, god knows how anyone copes.

Maybe anti depressants are not the right route for you, they can make some people worse? But depending on your age, you cycles and life just take a look at oestrogen levels and speak to your GP.

Propranolol is a beta blocker - it is very very good for when you have presentations. I got so bad I would have collapsed or ran out the room if I didn't have this. It completely controls the physical manifestations of anxiety - the shaking, the voice, the heart racing. You still feel scared mentally but when you start speaking and realise your body is calm, it calms your mind. This will ease alot of your stress I feel.

I used to take half about 20 minutes before. Look it up online.

It lowers your BP. Mine is already low so you have to be careful. I used to pinch one from my mum 😬.

Hi op

Xmas for me was anxiety inducing at the same time as it being my busiest time in my job so I think both were a factor.

The day after Boxing Day I felt awful and knew it was anxiety so I really took pressure off myself and it settled down after a few days.

Xmas day didn't go quite as planned and my parents had a set to at the table while we were out as a group of 11

That really didn't help so I've culled next years plans altogether and am doing it differently.

In terms of work schedule I'm working for myself so can't really change that but I'm going to see if I can jiggle things abit better next time.

Thanks all for your replies. Im 38 and though I don’t think am perimenopausal I have wondered if its hormone related. I overthink everything. I’ll stick with the cbt for now and I think go back to my gp. Im on citalopram
and have been for a while but I dont think its working anymore.

The beta blockers maybe an option if I do the presentation - tbh my workload is very high at the moment which is adding to the stress and anxiety. I feel like not doing the presentation would be the easy option - perhaps I should give myself a few days and see how i feel then as I havnet been very well this week.

Maybe a bit of burn out as well? Could you book any leave and cut yourself some slack?

Are you on the pill?

I'm in the same situation regarding worsening anxiety. I have been anxious for decades now and tried several anti-depressants, as well as propranolol. But these days it seems to have got to a whole new level.
In addition to all the crippling ruminations I now have this pervasive sense of the world as a hostile place, as if every situation has some horror lurking in it that will flower into some crisis in which I will be at fault in some way, or perceived as being at fault.
It is kind of an anxiety miasma, on top of all of the specific sources of anxious rumination. Almost like how I imagine the very very edges of paranoia to be.

I've been googling Buspirone. Has anyone tried it?

BTW I found propranolol completely unhelpful for me, as it only mitigates the physical symptoms of anxiety, not the crippling thought tsunami. I expect it is useful for people who have panic attacks, or who are doing tasks that require physical self-control (playing an instrument, speaking in public, taking a driving test, and so on). ADs have in the past been very helpful, but recently much less so.

That’s interesting regarding propranolol - I think I am similar in that it is more the mental cognitive side than the physical symptoms of anxiety - though I get some of these too. Its more my thoughts - which is why I’m trying the cbt.

Mindfulness would really help but i find that tough - don’t know if anyone has any tips?

I have not tried Buspirone - I wonder if a GP would prescribe it - I think for many of these you need to be referred to a psychiatrist? On the NHS I imagine that would be a long wait these days.

Op I switched from citalopram to escicialtram as my gp said it was e newer version and a lot better.

It made a huge huge difference

Thanks thats interesting and I will ask GP about this.

Hi op how is your anxiety now

Thanks for asking well things took a bad turn after my initial post and I was signed off work recently for some time. I am however now feeling better and due back at work on a phased return tomorrow. I am on a high dose AD and trying to manage with self care. I am however fearful the anxiety will return once back at work so need to be vigilant.