Hi all,
Settle in peeps as this is a long one...
Think I'm just looking for some encouragement. I started on 50mg of Sertraline 2 years ago after acute anxiety (all related to climate change). For 18 months it worked like a dream, ruminating thoughts were dampened right down and whilst I could be worried about things I wasn't anxious (if that makes sense). I supposedly did the work by paying for a therapist but looking back I didn't put a lot of it into practice.
Cue 10 days ago or so (as the first of the recent heat waves built) and my anxiety came back with a vengence (I did have less acute break outs of anxiety in January and last month but put it down to being a being lax with my medication at time I was taking it and occasionally forgetting to take it). I've had a week of increasing it from 75mg with a view to perhaps increasing to 100mg.
It's not as brutal as when I first went onto Sertraline but I'm struggling to do much more than get dressed, force myself to go out for a walk at some point, do the very basic house stuff enough for it to not turn into a tip, and just about look after my kids when they're about(who are 6 and 8). Thankfully I don't work currently (paid anyway- I have a lot of voluntary responsibilities) and have an incredibly supportive husband BUT we've got a big celebration coming up on Saturday where we're staying at a very nice place for the night and then a very emotional week next week where I have to support family through something pretty traumatic. I do get a bit of relief by the evening with the Sertraline but the rest of the day I'm often very low and hopeless, poor attention and quite tearful as well as coping with constant physical symptoms (racing heart, clenched jaw and it's hard to explain but these uncomfortable sensation all in my hands and wrists and sometimes the back of my legs). All I want to do is watch TV (think light comedy/comfort TV) and get the occasional bit of a 10 minute cat nap before my body wakes me up with a start. It doesn't help with the heat either which at the moment, is like a big siren in my head for all my anxieties about climate change.
My therapist has very quickly put me through a referral to see a psychiatrist as she's been convinced for a long time I have ADHD and she thinks this new episode shows I have OCD centered on climate change.
I suppose as well as a bit of encouragement I'm wondering if I need to be pushing myself to keep busier or just do what I need to to get through till symptoms settle down? And secondly would you increase the dose this week to 100mg with such big events coming up the next 7 days or wait till their over to increase my dose?